Twitch DJ Profile – DJ Moases (Canada)
Anybody reading this who is a regular Twitch DNB viewer will know the name DJ Moases. Famed for ultra-extended stream sessions on the regular and friendly interaction on the mic to all who comment in the chat, this fella from Vancouver, Canada has been a regular face in Twitch DNB land for the last year and a half and is showing no signs of slowing.
An avid snowboarder as well as DNB fanatic, this guy has a lot to say. Here’s how the conversation went down!
DJ Moases, welcome to INSIDE DNB! What you saying?
Well, I appreciate you taking the time to do this for the community and for me! It’s very much an honour to be chosen to do this interview by a site that has had such a positive impact on the culture overall without a doubt!
Thank you so much. That means an awful lot and makes all of the hard work worthwhile!
You’ve built up a steady rep in Twitch DNB land over the last few years, but how did you come to be playing DNB in the first place?
When I expressed interest in DJ’ing and started trying out my first setup, I started building a small library of breaks, garage, bassline, house, and drum & bass. I enjoyed all the new sounds, DNB being the one that spoke to me the most.
One of my first exposures to drum and bass would be through video games like 1080 snowboarding. To hear those sounds again tapped into that nostalgia within me, igniting a new passion and desire to discover more. Some of my friends were turntablists and long-time DJ’s locally.
They also dabbled in drum and bass as well. Between their creativity and passion for it, and my new found enjoyment, I naturally gravitated towards mixing primarily drum and bass and break beats.
I was already a keen listener of drum and bass, attending lots of events revolving around it. You could often find me dancing the night away in front of the speaker stacks, soaking in the pure vibes within the genre and culture. That was well before trying my hand at DJ’ing.
An opportunity to mix came along when I was gifted my first mixer. It was an odd piece of gear, a beginner level controller from Vestax. It proved more than acceptable to get the hang of it on, and it was very kind of my friend to gift it to me. I purchased the rest of the gear needed to make it happen, then the journey began!
How has the Twitch experience been for you so far? What about the ups and downs?
The Twitch experience has been extremely rewarding and life-changing for me. I started legitimately streaming in February of 2021, and really found a spark of passion and curiosity within me to explore the platform as a streamer. Having the opportunity to share my deep love for music has been quite fulfilling.
Creating memories and sharing happiness with those within the community has been so rewarding. The experience continues to push me to strive to do more for the community and grow in a variety of ways.
So, you played out before streaming? What’s the live DNB scene like in Vancouver?
Yes, I’m thankful to have had the opportunities to play at venues locally here. I cherish the times I get to share with those that care about the music, the people, and dance. We have some pretty awesome people in different fields of the industry locally, and the individuals that build it up to what it is are a special bunch. Being in Vancouver we definitely are lucky to have drum and bass events on a pretty regular basis.
It’s been nice to have people who have been doing it a long time keeping the grassroots structure here, as well as those just finding it that breathe new life into it. It could be more, but it’s something I am proud of and feel pretty lucky to have.
Red Room Vancouver / Digital Motion BC hosts regular drum and bass nights I attend and have also had the honour to perform at as well.
You play a wide range of DNB in your streams. Are there any sub genres you prefer more than others?
I’m not too picky with my sub genres as I truly enjoy them all. I find mood, emotion, setting, and what the crowd is feeling lend into what I end up playing. A beach day time set is going to fetch more summer and ragga vibes from me for example, where as a set at 1 AM prime time at a festival is going to get me digging into my heavier stuff full, bringing a lot of energy and the ambition to dance your heart out. I’m always trying to put forth an experience with what I do. Flow and song selection is so important.
I try not to limit myself by being closed minded with my song selections or how I let the set flow as it can lead to a more creative set.
Tell us a bit about your streaming set up.
My streaming setup is in its 4th or 5th iteration so to say now. It started out with a cell phone as a webcam mounted on a chia pet box playing from a broker Pioneer DDJ SR (the play and cue didn’t even work on the left deck haha!) and my laptop could barely handle running Serato.
Now I use a Pioneer DDJ RZX which has been an absolutely fantastic unit. My laptop is at it’s limits these days, what with all my streaming content on there and OBS trying to run everything at once, as I keep improving and adding to my stream.
So next for me will be upgrading the computer so it can handle the demands easier. I play in a limited space so far as where I am setup and what I can do with it right now, but frankly I am pretty happy with it all. To see the evolution of the setup and everything over time is pretty incredible.
And what about the ‘Moases Massive’? What’s that all about?
The Moases Massive really includes anybody who wants to be a part of the community of amazing people that have supported, and passionately built some incredible memories and bonds together with me, and with each other. We try to create an inclusive space for people to come together for the passion of dance and music, and the culture behind it all, while really showing respect and love and support to those who choose to be a part of it as well.
So, is Twitch your full-time occupation?
Yes, Twitch is indeed my full-time occupation and I am lucky and blessed to be able to say so! It’s an up and down venture and takes some ability to have faith and also work hard. Things are never predictable and it changes all the time. The roller coaster of it can be a bit intense but I am so proud and happy to be doing what I love.
You’ve won 3 Breakbeat Awards! That’s a wicked accolade!
The breakbeat awards were unexpected no doubt, but I am really glad they put those awards and everything together to recognize people in the community doing awesome things. It’s another thing I am proud of and am thankful that there is that kind of support behind what I do. It’s nice to see some recognition for the hard work as well.
Well, this years awards are coming up, so it will be interesting to see what happens this year! We wish you the best of luck! Do you have any aspirations to make music of your own in the future?
I do indeed have plans for more music production. I am currently learning and getting my bearing amongst the DAW’s (Digital Audio Workstation) and how everything is structured. I have a couple of tracks I am pretty happy with that are reaching their final iterations, and there are also a good dozen or so projects on the go that will be slowly but surely made into something.
I’m really excited to get going more on that and create my own sounds and styles. It’s such a privilege getting to create things others will hear and potentially enjoy.
You regularly stream through the night with marathon DJ sessions. This must be pretty taxing, unless you’re a night owl?
Yeah, most of my sets are marathons that run from mid/late evening and into the next morning or early evening. A mix of being a night owl and just the pure adrenaline I get from finding blends that work well, and vibing on the music with the audience really fires up my soul with energy.
I am thankful to have such a close connection with the music and how it affects me to be able to use it as a fuel. I know some people struggle to find the energy without substances or without it being really taxing on the body, so I am blessed to not need that and have my body co-operate for as long as it does despite the injuries I have.
Could you share some information about your snowboarding? The boards are always a backdrop for your streams, so it’s evidently a big part of your life?
Great observation! The snowboarding has become a major part of my life the last 2 and a half years or so. I got through of a bit of a tough time of my life by pouring myself into learning it independently and getting on the snow as much as I could. I was really motivated by it and am still constantly motivated to learn and grow and achieve new gnarly things on the mountain.
I really enjoy big mountain stuff like cliff drops and chutes (double black diamond+ terrain) and tree riding. I ride the north shore mountains mostly here in Vancouver and Whistler Blackcomb as well. I’m looking forward to keeping up my progress on the mountain as well.
What boarding set up do you have? (I am clueless about this but I’m interested to know more!)
My boarding setup usually consists of the essentials + some extra goodies in the backpack like snacks etc. I ride a Capita Mercury 153cm All Mountain snowboard primarily, Vans Infuse Boots, Smith gear for my helmet and goggles, and a mix of Gore-Tex items for the clothing to keep me dry, as I ride anything from pouring rain to sunny spring riding.
I also picked up a 2022 Lib Tech Orca to try out next season. I rode a pretty cheap and mish mash setup for my first 2 seasons while learning, so it has been a really nice change up to have some decent gear this past season.
Sounds amazing! Have you ever taken part in any competitions?
No, I haven’t taken part in any snowboarding competitions, but I may be one of the first people to have combined snowboarding and LED / Fire staffing (flow arts) at the same time, and am working on that more and more, as well as creating content with it. I used to play professional paintball for years though, and even won the world cup in Florida back in 2014!
Wow! Sounds like you’ve had a lot of fun over the years! Which stream teams are you a part of, and for those who aren’t aware, what are the benefits of being in a stream team?
I am honoured to be a part of multiple stream teams! Teams are essentially a way for partnered Twitch streamers to collect people under a team label and create a community that matches their vision. This can range to many different types of teams and styles. I am part of Team Brisk, Team Drum and Bass, United By Breakbeat, & the Twitch Mob.
With the pandemic slowly starting to control society less and less, do you have any intention of travelling further afield to DJ?
Yes, things are pretty decently reopened here and in our surrounding areas, but obviously there are still some limitations. I didn’t expect to be considering international bookings and such already, so it’s been a pretty crazy prospect of traveling and doing this all over the world. I have some things in the works, plus events I am participating in this summer, so I can only imagine next year will lead to more expansion on where I am booked and growing the Moases Massive!
Fair play. I know your UK audience would definitely love to see you over here. To finish then, what would you say are your goals for the next 12 months. What have you got planned?
Goals for the next 12 months include working on creating more original content via music production, and footage I film with my go pro when snowboarding for stream content additions. I plan on upgrading my streaming setup a good deal to provide an even better experience for all those joining us in stream.
I also plan on growing my DJ skills a good deal as well and seeing what new things I can add to my skill sets. My celebration streams on Twitch are usually a pretty thought out and worked on curation from myself, so I look forward to planning and executing more of those for everyone to enjoy. I really love making people smile and feeling a part of something special.
You’re a firm favourite here at camp INSIDE. Keep up with all the hard work man. Stay safe.
Thank you so much! It means a ton to know I have become a staple within the favourite streams you and the crew at camp INSIDE enjoy.
FIND OUT MORE HERE:
Moases (@djmoases) • Instagram photos and videos
