DJ Blakeland

2/3/2011

“It’s not love for music, it’s a passion, and it goes beyond liking, and beyond a hobby. It’s about a way of living…Music is essential for my life.” Armin Van Buuren

The quote above is one that Blakeland Ellis Lazcano, also known as DJ Blakeland, lives by. A native of Chicago, Illinois, Blakeland has been spinning in the valley for six years now.

“Watching other Djs perform was a big push for me to start Djing,” he said. “You could just feel the emotion in the room changing as you watched these people putting their heart and soul into what they were doing. I felt that same passion and it’s what drove me to do what I do today.”

Blakeland’s style of music he likes to play the most is trance. “I can express myself through this genre. It only took one track to hook me, it washed over my soul and I fell in love.” His favorite trance song is Tiesto’s “Forever Today.”

Local and big name Djs equally inspire Blakeland to spin. It’s hard for him to choose a few because so many make a big impact on him and his music. “If you have a chance to see some huge name act you will always just stare in awe as they do their thing,” Blakeland said. “Even local Djs here in the valley will surprise you; you can feel the passion for the music radiating off them.”

According to Blakeland, Djs should not only inspire one another. “I think that most Djs should be open to helping each other achieve their goals because we all want the same thing,” he said. “Who says we can’t grow together?”

There is one big change he would like to see in the local scene, and that’s more interest in the actual Djs. “I’d like to see kids become more interested in the music rather than hanging outside of parties just to be seen.”

Blakeland has performed at many events here in the valley, including Wonder 4, every Powersurge and FREEZE, Hackers 2, Cyberlia, Rainbow Brite, the last 4 Mary Xmas events, Diablo 2, and many more. He’s also played at Unity 2 in Miami, Florida. He would love to play one of the big event shows in the valley. “I would love to see my name on a flier for Electric Daisy Carnival in California or Ultra Music Festival in Florida,” Blakeland said. “One day, though, I will be performing in front of 40,000 people at Sensation in Europe. That’s the dream.”

What’s one thing that some may not know about Blakeland? He’s a self-proclaimed video game and anime nerd! “I love sitting down in front of the Xbox and rocking out some RPGs,” he said. “I love watching Japanese Anime, I also frequent local anime and video game conventions here in Arizona.”

He has a piece of advice for those who are aspiring Djs: “Keep at it! Don’t give it up! If you feel passionate about it, don’t let anything stand in your way.” Oh, and one more thing: “Practice, Practice, Practice!”

Blakeland is not interested in just keeping Djing as a hobby. “I could see myself Djing as a full-time career, traveling all over the world and playing for 100 to 100,000 people,” he said. “I love performing, it means the world to me.”

Blakeland is working on a new mix that he hopes to have done within the next month, in his words, “definitely before Bubble Bobble 3.” Stay tuned.