ELECTRiC DANCE PARTY

Nam Nguyen aka “NAWM”
myspace.com/nawmdjset 

“Winter 2007 found me writing electronic music. I’d hit a writer’s block, though, because I didn’t have the necessary equipment to foster my ideas. I found something called an M-Audio Torq Xponent which is designed for DJing, but you can also use it for writing music. My class schedule caught up with me and I didn’t have the time to write pieces from scratch. I’d already spent the money on it, though, and felt the need to get my money’s worth. So, I learned how to DJ with it. And I started to like it. Just a little.

I was introduced to the electro scene while at home for Summer 2007 but didn’t really get into it until I realized what the DJs were doing. Daft Punk’s live show inspired me to get better at DJing. I kept practicing by myself through April 2008. Memorial Day weekend came and I made the decision: the money I’d been saving for a MacBook Pro got spent on professional DJ equipment. At that point, none of my friends knew I wanted to be a DJ because I was really embarrassed about it. All that summer, I didn’t have a job… I just spent all my time practicing.

While at home in Southern California, I went to clubs and music festivals all surrounding the electro scene. I really got into it and it pushed me to become a better DJ. I came back up to Provo to attend BYU and by February 2008, I was contemplating what it would take to create an electro scene here. Most of the parties in Provo were all hip-hop and top 40, with little to no actual DJing beyond hitting play on an iTunes playlist. After one particularly inspiring entrepreneurship lecture, I’d made up my mind. In August of 2008, I messaged a couple people on Facebook and asked them what they thought.

The people on Facebook were not people I knew, I just looked at the music they liked or pictures of them DJing. We started a Facebook group and added our friends. It grew slowly but people sounded like they liked the idea. Jason, Scott, Cody, Jamie, Brock, and I started planning the first party. Originally, we weren’t going to throw an event until Winter semester, but we decided a small house party would be good get things started. Word spred pretty quickly and the house that should only hold fifty, was looking like it was going to have to hold 100+. Unfortunately, we were shut down by a noise complaint by 12 am and I didn’t even get to DJ.

 That house party, though, was instrumental in bringing EDP to what it is now. I met Denzil there and he became our designated graphic designer and advertiser. Garrett was there and Ryan was DJing another party but heard about EDP. Ryan messaged me on Facebook the next day about it. I was really hesitant at first because I knew he was primarily a hip-hop and top 40 DJ.  I gave him a chance at the second EDP at Alpine Village. I was impressed when I heard him spin because he’d actually done his research. He got the crowd going and he brought something new to EDP. His sound fused electro with the good parts of top 40 by remixing bits and pieces. It also became clear that he’s a super nice guy and really into the idea of new music and diversifying the party scene in Provo.

EDP continues to host events monthly, with more in attendance than expected. People like it and appreciate what we’re doing. They are exposed to new music and they give us a chance to become better at what we do. We’ve recently begun parterning with local businesses and venues to show citizens of Provo that this electro scene is quite eclectic.”