DJ Colin, Gavin and ENTO played a surprise set for customers
By RORY CONLON — city@theaggie.org
Volt Coffee, Tea & Taps, a shop located on Olive Drive, hosted a surprise DJ set in collaboration with Davis Rave Company (DRC) Creatives on April 7.
Caden Velasquez, the founder and chief executive officer of DRC Creatives, started the organization in 2022 to give a platform to artists in the Davis community. He said this is DRC’s third time hosting a live music event in collaboration with Volt.
“It’s this new initiative where we’re taking a unique approach towards music and the nightlife scene,” Velasquez said. “I love this event so much because when it ends around 2:30 [p.m.], you’ve met amazing people, you’ve danced and you’ve had a great start to your day.”
Mikaela Bailey, a fourth-year environmental science and management major, is a member of the promoter team for DRC Creatives. She said holding daytime events helps DJs reach a broader audience.
“[Electronic dance music] (EDM) nightlife comes with a bit of stigma,” Bailey said. “People have crazy ideas about what it’s gonna look like. Bringing it into the morning gives people the opportunity to dip their toes [in], figure out if they like it and give them a chance to experience [EDM through] a different lens.”
The event featured three artists: DJ Colin, Gavin and ENTO. DJ Colin, whose real name is Josh Ansel, said he incorporated a mix of music he’s been listening to over the last couple of months into his set.
“I started with some more hyperpop, electronic music, like Rebecca Black and Mura Masa,” Ansel said. “My heart is always with soul and groove funk music, so I put that in the middle to mellow it back out. Then, there was a stint where I listened exclusively to hard garage music and techy sort of sounds, and so I put that in at the end.”
This was the first time Ansel played a live set for DRC Creatives after participating in a YouTube series the organization recorded back in January. He also works with other Davis organizations, like Red Velvet Productions and Eclectic Collective, to play live gigs.
Ansel said he prefers making in-person connections as opposed to promoting himself online.
“It’s hard to get your name out there that way because everything is so saturated,” Ansel said. “[Social media] is accessible to a lot of people, which is really awesome, but I think it makes it hard to elbow your way through. So, I’m trying to do it the word-of-mouth way and see how it goes.”
Jacob Weller, a third-year English major, attended the event after hearing about it on Instagram. He said that, as a DJ himself, finding a community has been invaluable to him.
“I’m a DJ for the Sody Collective, and we just got funded last week,” Weller said. “We’re going to be doing our first-ever thing on Picnic Day.”
Weller said the most rewarding part of being a DJ is conceptualizing a show and engaging with live audiences.
“You feel the crowd, you know what the crowd is wanting and you fill that gap,” Weller said. “That is the fulfilling part of DJing — it’s so awesome. On top of that, there’s also a broad concept that a lot of DJs will have for what they’re trying to put out there, and when they get it exactly right, nothing feels better.”
Written By: Rory Conlon — city@theaggie.org
