You may or may not agree that K-pop is taking the world by a psychedelic storm but it’s everywhere and it looks like it’s here to stay—well, for the next five years at least. Bringing this almost teenybopper phenomenon to the DJ console for the first time in Singapore, is 23-year old Brazilian DJ Carlos Brandão or DJ Masa as he’s better known.
A self-confessed Boa fan boy, DJ Masa kicked off the night at Dbl O on Apr 22 with creative mashups derived from K-pop’s greatest hits by the likes of DBSK, SNSD, Big Bang, 2NE1, Super Junior and of course Boa, to a crowd that was running on some kind of potent adrenaline we’d really like to get our hands on.
For two full hours, the club was perpetually pumped with kids free-styling and screaming themselves hoarse in response to bits of their favorite songs coming on but what set this night apart from any other in Singapore are the handfuls of enthusiastic and seemingly talented dancers mimicking music video choreography on the podiums provided.
“In all my years of spinning, I’ve never had this kind of response,” revealed resident DJ, DJ Timo.
DJ MASA, who is known in Latin America for being a pioneer of the K-pop nightlife scene, was admirably in tune with the crowd, throwing his own bits of dance choreography into his interaction for good measure.
He ended the set with the mashup propeled his stardom into Asia, “K-pop in a G6” and GD & T.O.P’s “High High”, leaving the crowd, well, pretty darn high.
Interview with DJ Masa
How did you enjoy your set?
I was really wet throughout but I gave it my all. I really wanted everyone to get into the vibe. I don’t know if I was being a little weird.
Why did you end up venturing into K-pop?
When I first started making Asian music mashups, I had a really a good response from the K-pop fandom, who was really supportive and started sharing my works online. K-pop is really international. I have followers all over the world. K-pop was what made me important and recognized. And I’m sticking to it because it’s the next big thing.
When did you begin showing interest in K-pop?
In 2005. I’m a big Boa fan. She was just coming back for her Girls on Top album and I felt like I had to show myself as a fan and that’s where it all started.
How do you make sure you reach out to everyone, considering K-pop is split into many fandoms?
I like to create mashups from all kinds of songs, so that each mix represents as many fandoms as possible.
Diplo shared his work with GD & T.O.P for the track “High High”. Who would you most want to collaborate with?
SM Entertainment is my favorite agency in K-pop so I’d really like to work with their artistes. I would definitely start from lesser known artistes and not necessarily Boa because really, she’s a superstar. Dongho from U-Kiss and I tweet each other quite a bit and his agency knows about my work and supports me. I’m not earning anything from them but right now, it’s okay for me because it’s my gift back to K-pop.
What else can we expect from DJ Masa this year?
I have been having issues with my work and haven’t been able to travel for too long but for the second half of the year I’d really like to come back to Asia and all the other places that have invited me to spin. I really want to come back to Singapore though. I got so emotional after the party from the response that I got. I’ve also got a new mega mashup coming up.
