Carter Van Pelt
Carter Van Pelt had an inauspicious beginning for a reggae DJ, event producer, and historian. Born and raised in Nebraska, Van Pelt grew up surrounded by the sounds of John Denver, the Eagles, Simon & Garfunkel, and Bread—music beloved by his ever-encouraging, artistic mother. Although he had an ear for soft rock, Carter’s musical passion was grounded in something Nebraska knew little about–reggae. He found the genre as many would in the ‘70s and ‘80s, through Bob Marley and The W
Grace of Spades
Grace of Spades is unmissable: She has a shock of short, platinum hair, extremities covered in tattoos, and the confident, comfortable attitude of a native New Yorker in that takes-one-to-know-one way. Crucially, Grace is often found with a bag of big, big tunes. "At the end of the day, I'm here because I enjoy myself. I like seeing people enjoy themselves," Grace says of DJing while sipping a beer inside the Roxy Hotel on a torrentially rainy Friday evening. "Obviously, as a Virgo, controlling
Melissa Dueñas
Melissa Dueñas made her first mixtape in elementary school, staying up late to record her favorite songs on a San Diego “Oldies” station. When she played the tape on a Walkman for her dad at a local park, a jolt of pride went through her as she watched him enjoy her mix. It was a spark that lit a long-burning fire. In the intervening years, she lived in a punk house, did a brief stint in a band, founded the long-running San Diego dance night Sleepwalking, moved to the Bay Area and got h
Ellen G
Israeli selectress Ellen G may be part of a couple, one half of Tel Aviv reggae DJ/party My Lord Sound, but she has a style all her own.
Jonny Go Figure
I'm sorry I didn’t pretty this up for you guys,” Jonny Go Figure says, walking into the center of his Flatbush, Brooklyn living room which is littered with records. “I know it looks like a clusterfuck in here, but this is just how it is. And I know where everything is.” Jonny closes his eyes and thinks of a record he hasn’t played in a while before digging into a stack and pulling out reggae breakbeat LP by Paul Nice and DJ Wisdom called Beef Patty Breaks. He explains the history of
Binky Griptite
For more than a decade, Binky Griptite was the voice of the Dap-Kings, the hard-hitting funk and soul eight piece behind the incomparable Sharon Jones.
Lexis
Montreal-based collector Alexis Charpentier is nothing if not eclectic. He’s equally comfortable digging for fusion jazz records in Serbia as he is vibing to Quebec hip-hop. With a voracious appetite for musical knowledge, DJ Lexis’ collection spans genre and medium to create the best collection in the world—for him, anyway.
Carlos Vera
Carlos Vera, a.k.a DJ Turmix, has always been interested in mashups. From his early days spinning breakbeats, house and acid jazz in Spanish clubs, to sharing the stage with Latin soul and boogaloo legends in New York, sonic combination has been his jam.
