Name: Dj Damented
Location: Leuven, Belgium (Europe)
Occupations: Dj'ing / turntablism / graphic design / webdesign / snowboarding / baseball / allround music fiend
Crew: Killa Tactics / The Mixfitz / Riot Squad
Dj'ing since: 1994
Titles: DMC Benelux 2008 champion / 4x DMC Belgium champion / ITF Benelux champion / 2x ITF Team vice world champion / JIMtv 411 champion / Studio Brussel Snowcase Battle of the DJ's winner (with DJ Jack)
Genres: hiphop / dancehall / reggae / drum'n'bass / dubstep / electro / breakbeat / baltimore / UK steppas / funk / disco / 80's & 90's classics / dance / homemade mashups & remixes
Equipment: Technics SL1210 turntables / Rane TTM-57 SL mixer / Audio Innovate AEM-100 mixer / Pioneer DJM-909 mixer / Stanton SA-8 mixer / Stanton ST-150 turntables / Shure M44-7 needles / Technics RP-DJ1200 headphones / Serato Scratch Live / 13" MacBook / Ableton Live 7 / M-Audio Trigger Finger / M-Audio ProFire 610
As one of the founding members of Killa Tactics, Damented started deejaying around 1994. About a year later, he picked up a copy of the first X-ecutioners VHS, “X-Men In X-ercise 1â€. Seeing the X-Men take deejaying to another level with tight beat juggling and scratching, Damented knew that he wanted to become a turntablist rather than just a dj. In 1998, he began participating in national and international battles such as DMC, ITF, the 411 Battle, and the infamous online World Series Turntable Championships. Turntablism took him all over the world, to cities such as San Francisco, London, Kopenhagen, Paris, Munich and Amsterdam. His titles include 4 national DMC titles, the title of ITF Benelux 2004 champ, and he is the reigning DMC Benelux champion. Apart from his individual battle career, he also built a huge rep with his crew, which holds two European ITF titles and two national titles.
But Damented has always been about more than battling. In between championships, he kept doing his thing in clubs too. Since ’99, he has had residencies at big clubs and concepts such as City Queens (Gent, Belgium), TMF’s Coolsweat (Gent, Belgium), Saiko’s BKA (Les Arcs, France), Boom Boom Room (Antwerp, Belgium), Tecktonic (Gent, Belgium), R&B Summer Jamz (Ostend, Belgium), Cargo (London), Fataal, Juice and Fresh (Louvain, Belgium). Furthermore, he has played at practically every club in and around Belgium, alongside names such as Cash Money, A-Trak, Discobar Galaxie, TLP, DJ Chuckie, The Supreme Team and Goldfingers.
His club sets display his broad musical taste; Damented selects hiphop, dancehall, reggae, electro, funk, disco, breaks, drum’n’bass, r&b, 80’s and 90’s classics and anything else that’ll make the dancefloor move – all mixed up and cut up with the skills of a true turntablist and the ear of an excellent dj.
Around mid 2008, Damented joined forces with longtime friend DJ Jack to form The Mixfitz, a dj duo that is looking to redefine the term 'mashup' - check them out right here !
Some oldies but goodies:
The Super DJ routine (2001)
Tyrese routine (2001)
