Around the World and Behind the Turntables with DJ...

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Around the World and Behind the Turntables with DJ @locodiceofc

To see more of Loco Dice’s photos, follow @locodiceofc on Instagram. For more music stories from around the world, check out @music on Instagram.

The first time German DJ Loco Dice (@locodiceofc) performed for a crowd was in 1991, at a basement party, using equipment he and his friend had picked out of the garbage.

“You know, Germany is so rich, they throw all the best parts away,” says Dice. “You always find something you can use. ‘Oh, a broken turntable? What is broken? We can fix it with duct tape.’ There’s stuff you can repair if you want to repair it.”

Dice has since upgraded his tools, which you can spot in the concert photos he posts from around the world. But top-of-the-line equipment doesn’t necessarily mean going big every time he hits the stage. When Dice plays abroad, he tends to travel light. No need to tote a huge vinyl collection and studio with you when you can just bring the essentials: a mixer, a turntable and a laptop (also, some tequila).

Loco Dice is a veteran of the international DJ circuit. While his current live tastes veer toward house and techno, his roots are firmly entrenched in hip-hop. Growing up in Germany, Dice would often drive to Amsterdam to get the latest rap records from America. In fact, before he switched to his current gig, he tried emceeing. He even released a single in his native country and was on tour with Snoop Dogg. But, due to his large record stash, friends began to wonder whether he’d be up for DJing instead.

“I was like, ‘I suck as a DJ as much as I suck as a rapper,’” says Dice. “They were like, ‘Well, you can’t go wrong, because you suck at both.’”

Dice was right about changing focus, but wrong about his skills. He was soon performing all over the globe, often for big, sprawling crowds. (A personal highlight was his set at Love Parade, which attracted upward of a million people.) But he’s more anxious about the smaller gigs –– the intimate 150- to 200-seat capacity clubs, where the connection between you and the audience can be both intimate and intimidating. “I get really nervous, because everyone is really close to you,” he says. “Everybody can see every mistake –– they are right in your face.”

Big or small, in cold weather or hot, wherever Dice travels, he likes to soak it all in and get a feel for the community who have gathered to watch him perform. As he explains, once you understand the culture and the people, then you will know how to vibe with them. Take his recent trip to South Africa, with the Bridges For Music program, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness of developing countries through music.

“They are very proud people, they are very good people, they are very intelligent people,” he says. “There is a very colorful culture there. They are very open-minded, and they took me with open arms, and I loved it.”

For Dice, anywhere he goes, the music is always king. It’s about mixing styles and experimenting with new ways of hyping a crowd. It’s about connecting with the audience. It’s about bringing songs to the people, no matter the instrument or newest gadget you have on the table in front of you.

“In the end, I am a musician,” he says. “We work with the music and we work with the vibe and it can’t be 100 percent perfect. Never. I am just a human. It’s not my computer who’s doing the music –– it’s still me, it’s still me who’s deciding how to work it out. This is the exciting thing about being a DJ.”

–– Instagram @music

by via Instagram Blog