Vail Daily asks DJ Lee Mayjahs? seven questions
Deep tech house DJ performs in Vail Saturday
Vail Daily asks DJ Lee Mayjahs? seven questions
VAIL, Colorado — Lee Mayjahs, a DJ who plays in Vail Saturday night, has been deejaying and promoting events throughout the U.S. for more than 20 years. As Founder of the Philadelphia Experiment (PEX), a Philadelphia-based arts and music community, he has rocked crowds from Los Angeles to Ibiza with his deep tech house music.
Vail Daily: How did you get your start in the industry?
Lee Mayjahs: I started deejaying in Maryland in the ’80s at the age of 13. I moved to Santa Fe, N.M., for college and started working in a nightclub where I was exposed to the burgeoning reggae and indie rock scenes. Eventually I returned to the East Coast and settled in Philadelphia where I began spinning large venues and house music became my thing. I love to play extended, five-hour-lus sets outside on large sound systems. I’ve been traveling to the Black Rock desert in Nevada to Burning Man for 11 years and I travel around the world to play outdoor festivals. In 2009 I’ve had the honor of playing with Thievery Corporation, The Prodigy, Playloop and The Crystal Method as well as dance music legends Marques Wyatt, King Britt, Josh Wink, Osunlade and Nickodemus, to name a few.
VD: Why should people come see your show?
LM: I love to move people through sound. The music I play grabs you down deep and penetrates the soul while tickling the cerebral recesses of your psyche.
VD: How do you differ from the other DJs out there?
LM: I have a highly adaptable style and possess that uncanny ability to read the crowd and give them what they want (or need). I love to rock the crowd, but I always keep an underlying soulful vibe that elevates the spirit and mind.
VD: What inspires your sound?
LM: For dance music I usually keep a strong 4/4 rhythm but vary the energy from anything like gospel house to deep tech rhythms with strong African percussion. Lately I’ve been playing a lot of dance music that has a French gypsy feel intertwined within it that gives the music a celebratory carnival sound while still being slightly mysterious and hard. It is sophisticated, yet easy to digest at the same time.
VD: What kind of music do you play?
LM: It really varies depending on the crowd, location, vibe and time of day. I like to play authentic 1970s reggae dub in the mountains at three in the afternoon in the summer. On a rainy night at 3 a.m. in Brooklyn I’ll be playing hard electro-house or dirty grimy breaks. If there are fire performers present I like to play sexy tribal rhythms.
VD: How do you plan on impacting the future of electronic music?
LM: Through The Philadelphia Experiment events that we organize (primarily on the East Coast) we try to create an energy and vibe that is truly positive and that evolves the creative spirit that lies within every one of us.
VD: If you could perform on any stage in the world, where would it be and why?
LM: I would like to play the full moon festival in Thailand on New Year’s Eve. Maybe next year.
High Life Editor Caramie Schnell can be reached at 970-748-2984 or cschnell@vaildaily.com.
Vail Daily: How did you get your start in the industry?
Lee Mayjahs: I started deejaying in Maryland in the ’80s at the age of 13. I moved to Santa Fe, N.M., for college and started working in a nightclub where I was exposed to the burgeoning reggae and indie rock scenes. Eventually I returned to the East Coast and settled in Philadelphia where I began spinning large venues and house music became my thing. I love to play extended, five-hour-lus sets outside on large sound systems. I’ve been traveling to the Black Rock desert in Nevada to Burning Man for 11 years and I travel around the world to play outdoor festivals. In 2009 I’ve had the honor of playing with Thievery Corporation, The Prodigy, Playloop and The Crystal Method as well as dance music legends Marques Wyatt, King Britt, Josh Wink, Osunlade and Nickodemus, to name a few.
VD: Why should people come see your show?
LM: I love to move people through sound. The music I play grabs you down deep and penetrates the soul while tickling the cerebral recesses of your psyche.
VD: How do you differ from the other DJs out there?
LM: I have a highly adaptable style and possess that uncanny ability to read the crowd and give them what they want (or need). I love to rock the crowd, but I always keep an underlying soulful vibe that elevates the spirit and mind.
VD: What inspires your sound?
LM: For dance music I usually keep a strong 4/4 rhythm but vary the energy from anything like gospel house to deep tech rhythms with strong African percussion. Lately I’ve been playing a lot of dance music that has a French gypsy feel intertwined within it that gives the music a celebratory carnival sound while still being slightly mysterious and hard. It is sophisticated, yet easy to digest at the same time.
VD: What kind of music do you play?
LM: It really varies depending on the crowd, location, vibe and time of day. I like to play authentic 1970s reggae dub in the mountains at three in the afternoon in the summer. On a rainy night at 3 a.m. in Brooklyn I’ll be playing hard electro-house or dirty grimy breaks. If there are fire performers present I like to play sexy tribal rhythms.
VD: How do you plan on impacting the future of electronic music?
LM: Through The Philadelphia Experiment events that we organize (primarily on the East Coast) we try to create an energy and vibe that is truly positive and that evolves the creative spirit that lies within every one of us.
VD: If you could perform on any stage in the world, where would it be and why?
LM: I would like to play the full moon festival in Thailand on New Year’s Eve. Maybe next year.
High Life Editor Caramie Schnell can be reached at 970-748-2984 or cschnell@vaildaily.com.
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