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Bass for your face: Is Charlotte becoming Electronic Dance Music central?
If DJ Odi and other EDM vets have anything to do with it, the answer is yes.
By Jeff Hahne @jhahne
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Castillo dove into the dance scene as both a fan and DJ. He started blending hip-hop, house and freestyle — "taking a beat and finding an attractive girl to sing a love song over it," he says. "That's what I heard in my neighborhood every day." From there, he learned more and more about breakbeat culture, techno and house. It was a natural progression that led him to more aggressive styles. "In the '90s, electronic dance music was the only music that was consistently pushing its boundaries," he says.
At first, Castillo performed as DJ Techno C, but his friends gave him a hard time about the name. A retired graffiti artist allowed Castillo to use his tag — Odi — and Castillo began playing records and working on scratching patterns with a former junior high schoolmate, DJ I-Cue. "One of the things that DJ I-Cue and myself are known for is creating hipstep — it's a joining of hip-hop and rap with drum-and-bass," Castillo says. "We grew up listening to dancehall reggae and hip-hop and combined them into a new sound."
The sound helped to put Castillo on the map as DJ Odi, and he quickly became a fixture on the New York jungle scene, including the original Konkrete Jungle and clubs such as Vinyl and Ozone. DJ Frankie Bones remembers those years well. "Odi comes from the original N.Y.C. scene and also paid attention to techno and rave, which gives him a serious edge in his own game," says Bones, who's often referred to as the Godfather of American Rave Culture.
By the late '90s, Castillo was spending his days working at 36 Chambers, the studio where Wu Tang Clan had recorded their classic 1993 debut Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers), and his nights performing at clubs across the city as DJ Odi. While he says he could have become a "poster boy" for electronic music, Castillo found himself turning down offers, including a stint as Moby's keyboardist.
"I was scared and not taking myself as seriously as I should have," Castillo says. "I'm just a really lucky Puerto Rican kid from Harlem that got out of the neighborhood. I count to four for a living and have gotten paid ridiculous amounts of money to do it. I never wanted to have to make decisions based around what someone else thought would be better for my career."
Castillo says he made the move from Brooklyn to Charlotte because of the lower cost of living, access to a major airport hub and what he sees as a hard-working ethic. He had played his first Charlotte show in 1996 and formed numerous friendships over the years, including the one with Sapien. The two licensed the Konkrete Jungle name as part of a franchise that offers DJs a network of venues throughout the country. While Castillo is behind the Konkrete Jungle events in Charlotte and Charleston, S.C., there are also franchises in other cities, including Philadelphia, Baltimore and Minneapolis.
As DJ Odi, Castillo has released singles and remixes via Jungle Sky and BML Records over the years and still works on his own new music, but his passion is standing behind the decks at a club, controlling the rhythms of a dance floor.
"A DJ in New York taught me one thing — when you're DJing, no matter where you are, it's ladies first," Castillo says. "If you get the girls dancing, the guys will come out on the dance floor. I play bangers and I make people dance. It's the only music that consistently challenges me. Jungle and drum-and-bass has always kept me working and sweating."
As Castillo takes another swig from his pint glass, the EDM elder statesman says he still has a lot to offer, part of which is to help Charlotte continue growing its already formidable scene. "I've never looked back," Castillo says. "My mom and dad say I could have been anything I wanted, but when I bring them out to one of my shows and they see what I do, they're OK with it. I made $150 at my first gig and went home and gave it straight to my mom. There's no better experience in my life and nothing like the feeling of getting paid to DJ. I love what I do."
KonKrete Jungle
With Klute, The_Sheist, DJ Odi, DJ Sapien. $5-$10. March 9. 9:30 p.m. Dharma Lounge.
Dharma Lounge.
9:30 p.m., March 9, 2012.
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