Meet Sydney DJ Dom de Sousa

Meet Sydney DJ Dom de Sousa

DOMD

The Star Observer chats one-on-one with DJ Dom de Sousa as the first in a series of interviews of Australia’s LGBTI scene DJs, where we intend to find out more about the artists who make us move each weekend on the dance floor.
DJ Dom de Sousa

Dom has been a huge fan of music anywhere from soul/R’n’B to punk rock for as long as he can remember.

One day when he was about 16, he got his hands on some virtual DJ mixing software and ripped a few CDs to his computer and started to teach himself how to beat match.

Just after he turned 17, he purchased his first set of CDJs and a mixer (which he still has today). He said it was very different to DJ’ing on a computer and he struggled for a few weeks trying to grasp the concept.

However, he finally worked out how to beat match properly on the CDJs and how to mix tracks together seamlessly.

He then started DJ’ing at friends’ house parties and inside the clothing store he was working at at the time. Just after he turned 18, he entered into the So You Think You Can DJ competition at ARQ Nightclub and took first place in his heat. He went on to the grand final where he ended up coming third. He then entered the same competition the following year, and took first place in the competition. The rest is history.

He recalled his most interesting song request in his career thus far: “It was 4am on a Sunday morning at ARQ and I had a tall slim guy with long hair come over to me and ask ‘can you play anything by AC/DC or Mötley Crüe?'”

“I replied with ‘you’re in the wrong club, buddy’.”

Dom de Sousa added that his favourite track of all time wasBreathe Me by Sia.

“Since the very first time I heard her voice (in 2008) I knew she would quickly become one of my favourite artists, shortly after I went out and purchased her whole back catalogue,” Dom de Sousa said.

A self-confessed #teamgaga fan, he also thought the hottest song out at the moment was Neon Lights by Demi Lovato.

“The vocals are so happy and uplifting that I can’t help but smile every time I hear it,” he said.

Dom de Sousa said that he doesn’t usually pre-prepare anything, unless of course it was a major party or event. But when he does, he breaks it down by looking at the venue, the time slot and the type of crowd.

“This system helps influence what I play and when I play it, however nothing I prepare is ever set in stone as part of the job is reading the crowd and adapting to what resonates with them,” he said.

He also said he was thankful that the DJ’s nightmare of an empty dance floor has never happened to him before.

“You can’t go wrong at a gay venue with your pop divas: Whitney, Britney, Gaga, Cher and Beyonce, oh and Kylie. I’ve got a full room now, right?”

Find out more: www.domdesousa.com

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