DJ PSI Interview

Talk about your DJ name, what does it stand for, how did you get it, how well does it fit you and your personality or style?
Well, the name P.S.I. (pee ess eye not Sai) was given to me by the great Sean Saiki... it literally stands for pounds per square inch or as I like to say pressure since the other way makes it sound like I'm hella ginormous. As for it fitting my style or personality, the Style yes.. when playing a set I tend to try and build the music to a climax during the set.. I guess relating it to BOOST. does that make sense? Maybe I'm speaking on behalf of people on recreational liquids and solids, I think they would understand.

How often do you spin nowadays?
Nowadays, Mondays at Venus at Shocked and Livewire. Various special events at Pipeline, Xyloh and the mainland.

When were you the busiest as a deejay?
The busiest period would've been the 2001 - 2006 period when Kaizo Speedgear was throwin crazy one off parties, weekly club joints and even afterhour parties. Oh man the memories I've forgotten about those times...

When were your most memorable times as a deejay?
Most memorable times? There are just sooo many! But one that really sticks out is the ID4 Party held over that Hawaii Raceway Park put on by Kaizo Speedgear, The Imaginary Friends and B.P.T. (Bringing People Together). I was stuffed in between 2 headliners (Scott Bond who owns the legendary Gatecrasher in the U.K. and Taylor who is an amazing producer and DJ) Scott had been having problems with the equipment so he stopped his set short and I had stepped up n started to go through my set, during the peak I dropped a track called Synaesthesia by The Thrillseekers. During the breakdown, build up I had my head down too nervous to look up, when the build up was complete and the music all came back in I had looked up over the turntables to see thousands of people jumping up n down in unison with the music, hands in the air and my name scrolling on the back wall from the 4 watt laser. Saying I had chicken skin at that moment doesnt even come close to describing the feeling I had then. It's a feeling I will never forget and I ALWAYS strive to bring back with every set that I drop at every party.

Goals you've set for yourself in 2008?
Well havent really set any goals for this year. I do still wish to play at every house/trance party there is but with the full time job, I'm limited on time. Although the crew I am with now, (Pure Coalition visit us at www.purecoalition.com) sorry for the shameless plug. but yeah, the crew I am with now, we're planning to bring some real quality talent to the islands. Hopefully the party people respond and show up to support the parties.

What have you learned through your travels to the mainland about the dance music scene?
Money talks LOUD! Advertising is a very close second in being a success in the dance music scene. America is a nation of Hip Hop and MTV. I'm not saying it's bad, I'm saying that most of the people are close minded and mostly go to dance music parties because their friends are going. It's alot more concentrated here in Hawaii and most people here are influenced by Island Music and also Hip Hop. I've learned it's damn hard to be a part of and try to build the electronic dance music scene.

Have you played in the mainland? If so talk about some of your more memorable experiences and what made them so.
Yeah I've played at a few places in the mainland. The people there are really friendly and they're really surprised that we have an EDM scene here and they're really appreciative of the time you take to go there and play for them. sometimes you'll even get free stuff like drinks and... well nevermind about that, but on occasion you'll still run into those few that think we still live in grass shacks. I usually tell them that we just got electricity and indoor plumbing.

How does Hawaii stack up? Talk about the good and the bad.
Some of the parties I've attended in the states feature DJ's that cost in the tens of thousands to book, sound systems that you would see only at concerts, and these are just the club events. The annual parties, times that by about 5. The people.. oh man the people out there! Hawaii can be on the map it really can. BUT, it's gonna take time and ofcourse money. The good of experiencing the scene in the states is that I can come back and talk to people about what I've seen and hopefully they can apply it to their parties making it better. The bad? well the bad is that I have to come back here period. KIDDING! Knowing that there are better parties and more of them that I am missing is the only bad thing I can think of. I'm still hoping, 8 years now, that Hawaii will accept and support the EDM scene as the rest of the world does. Think of it, Hawaii's main business is tourism, some of the tourists that come to Hawaii are from the UK, Japan, mainland Asia, Australia, North and South America. ALL of those locations have HUGE EDM scenes, some larger than others. Some of those people in the 20 - 40 age range are here to let loose and forget about their worries they have at home. If we can get just 10% of those people to come to one of the parties. It would boost the EDM scene and hopefully leave another memorable experience those tourists had in Hawaii.


In your view, since dance music isn't as popular in Hawaii as it was maybe 8 years ago. Do you think it will affect the dance music deejay culture locally?
Yes it does, most people that come out of their bedrooms nowadays pretty much want to play Hip Hop because of the fact that Hawaii is a Hip Hop heavy state. The ones that havent jumped ship and still remain on the darkside exclusively are pretty much considered "underground" DJs. Alot of DJ's that I've met have told me they'd love to play electronic music but its just not popular enough to be played at the places they hold their residencies at. BUT, what I have noticed is that the DJ from Hawaii is pretty well versed in pretty much most types of music so you can have them play hip hop, house, r&b and reggae and they can get through the genre changes pretty well.

Do you consider yourself a deejay from the old school?
Hahahahahaha yeah I do, because I am, but dont tell anyone okay?

How would you consider and describe yourself compared to the newer kats, kats you spun regularly with and those that were doing there thing before you.
To the up and coming dj's?
A relic I guess. I still spin with vinyl and on very rare occasions I will use a CD and even on more rare occasions I will touch that thing called.. skur..scra..cra..crapato...er SERATO!! Yeah thats it. As for the people I spin with now. I'm hoping that towards them, I'm someone they can learn a few things from, someone they can come to for advice and tips. To the DJ's that have been doing their thing before me? I can't even come close to what these guys and ladies have done for the whole DJ culture. They paved the way for the rest of us and let us do something that before, we could only dream of doing. Being them! I give them much props and have mad respect for them and what they have done.