Stinoe Interview
When did you first fall in love with 45s, why do you like the format and what was the first 45 you bought?
In the years 2015/2016. I was annoyed of playing with Serato after more than 10 years and I was looking for a new challenge. One day I grabbed a 45 that in fact DJ Suspect of DustyDonuts had given me as a goodie a few gigs back. So I started trying to play with 45s and it was amazing. My very first 45 I got when I was a kid – it was from a german comedian called Dieter Hallervorden. Probably around 2001 I bought my first 45 for DJing, that was “Candy girl” by New Edition.
You played an amazing set recently on Jim Sharp’s Pre-game show as part of True Beatz Crew. How long have the two of you been rocking sets, what styles do you play, and what do you have planned for 2021?First of all, the TrueBeatzCrew is a crew of four members: DJ Rolle, DJ Resoul, Stoned Fingers and me. I met Rolle in 1997. After a few private party gigs we founded this DJ-team as a part of our graffiti crew called TRB. Since 2001 we are playing with 3 turntables and 2 mixers. (Sorry, I did’t have enough space for this setup at home for the pre-game show).
When and how did you first get involved with the Dusty Donuts crew and why do you think as a collective they have been so successful?
I know Marc since 2005. In our Serato times we did a few gigs together. The breakthrough came when Marc asked me if I could play on his 45th birthday. It was the largest 45 DJ gig I have ever seen. Normally, every DJ had a set time of 30 minutes. At the end I played over 2 hours until the lights went on. (Thx for that, Marc). I think DustyDonuts makes a difference by keeping a family atmosphere and having it all in one hand: the DJs, the producer and people like me for video/graphic content (and sometimes technical help).
I understand that you run a lot of the behind the scenes organisation for the Dusty Donuts broadcasts including the 25th Anniversary Ball. Can you tell us a little about what was involved in that amazing show and how you see things progressing with live streams and events as we come out of lockdown?
Marc had the idea to do a stream party for his birthday. So we asked our good friends from the Cassiopeia club in Berlin if we could stream from there. The good thing was that they have a resident streaming pro and high end equipment. The next step was to ask some DJ friends if they could stream with us over the globe. The rest is history, haha.
I think streaming helped the culture scene to survive the pandemic. Now we are actually more connected within the 45 scene than before, which is great. For the future I hope we can do both at the same time: Having a gig with the crowd and streaming it. Why not?! It would be awesome, too, if a result of the new connections is that DJs are booked in other countries by other DJs and friends.
You are also responsible for filming some of the promo videos for Dusty Donuts including through the use of drone footage. How long have you been flying drones, what was involved in the video shoot at the air strip/hanger, and what tips do you have for other drone users?
Fun fact: I bought my drone in spring 2020. I watched some tutorials and learned to fly on fields outside of Berlin. That’s all.
For the shoot I used the DJI Marvic Air 2 drone and the ZhiYun Smooth 4 gimbal. The DJI is a good drone to start this filming because the handling is easy. It is for beginners and pros. The gimbal has a good slow motion mode. My tip: just try it and have fun.