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• Physical Challenge showcases up-and-coming local DJs

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Physical Challenge Dance Night »

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• Canopy Club »
  708 S. Goodwin Ave. Urbana, IL 61801
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The art of beatmixing and matching and is not the most common of hobbies. While the average college party almost isn’t complete until someone announces his or her prowess at acoustic guitar — and ability to take requests, finding a true DJ is less of a common occurance. Becoming a DJ is not an interest one can just “pick up” without a drive to produce and ear for not only what will blend well together, but what songs and beats can get a crowd out of their chairs and onto the dance floor.

“One of my best friend’s older brother is DJ Bozak [a local DJ], and he was always playing records while we were playing video games in the basement and I thought it was really cool. I started collecting a lot of electronic records, and at one point I thought, ‘I have a lot of this. Why don’t I start mixing it myself?’” explained DJ Famicom aka Ian LeSueur.

“I probably wasn’t into it as quickly as Ian,” shared Lucknow aka Justin Cudmore. “I grew up and my mom was always into pop music, and I think a lot of the rock music I listen to lends itself to remixes and I started to take an interest.”

LeSueur and Cudmore, both seniors at the University, are just two names in a rising crowd of recognizable student DJs representing their art at weekly events like the Canopy Club’s Physical Challenge Dance Night. While LeSueur also regularly plays a more Top 40’s influenced set for the crowd at downtown Champaign’s Chester Street, or “C Street,” both DJs also work at local house parties and anywhere an opportunity is provided.

“The Physical Challenge is great because we really have a lot of freedom and choice in what we play. At C Street I have to throw in a Beyonce song or Katy Perry, and I’m pretty much limited to strictly Top 40, but on Wednesday nights we get the opportunity to experiment — do things like add a video screen of movie mash-ups, which is something I have been working on lately,” LeSueur said.

As regulars for the Wednesday night Canopy Club crowd, Cudmore and LeSueur are better known as Lucknow and Famicom (not Famicon as often incorrectly advertised) respectively, their self-appointed DJ names. An important part of the DJ culture, the names create an identity that is often indicative of the individual style and music preferences of each DJ.

Playing what Lucknow refers to as the “big beat” style, Famicom’s name is a reflection of the Family Computer, the Asian version of Nintendo’s original 8-bit console. “I never know what my genre is ... I play so much random stuff and I like to mix it up,” he explained.

On the other hand, Lucknow finds his inspiration from “a lot of disco and ’90s house,” and his name was taken from a city in a story he read for an English course last year. “I had a harder time coming up with the name, but I just thought it sounded right,” he shared.

Either way, both agree that their music works well together because of a number of common grounds. “There’s a point where you kind of have to intermix songs that everyone knows,” Cudmore said. “We’ll throw in things like Passion Pit — music that is still recognizable to the crowd, but able to be manipulated,” LeSueur added.

Realizing the power of common themes, the two mentioned a great deal of plans for the upcoming season of Physical Challenge, which could include a whole crop of new fans when students arrive on campus looking for a weekly routine.

“We want to introduce a new aspect to the music. We’ll call it Jukebox night for now,” the two shared with a laugh, not wanting to spoil too much of the surprise.

For now, you can find DJ Famicom and Lucknow at the Canopy Club on Wednesday evenings hard at work for the Physical Challenge. With a slew of plans ahead and a prime spot DJing a preshow for the Pygmalion Music Festival, there’s little sign of slowing down for the two friends, or CU’s emerging DJ scene.