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On 25 November 2006, in the midst of pulsating victories by our campus sports
groups, Republic Polytechnic's flag unfurled proudly in a sporting arena of
another kind - the
Northeast CDC Music Mix DJ Competition with Member of Parliament Mr. Ong
Kian Min in residence as the Guest of Honour.
Put four RP students from three different schools, each with a distinctive
taste for music behind the decks at the mega-club Ministry of Sound on any given
Saturday and what do you get? Champions all round. EMP romped home with a clean
sweep of the prizes available at the competition, an annual country-wide
talent quest endorsed by Pioneer for upcoming DJs in both the student and open
categories.
It had been a busy week for EMP. Juggling between providing our regular
staple of service to the school at the Create.republic Flame Awards, performing
at our weekly Freestylin' residency at Kaffe Esplanade, guest-DJing at a social
entrepreneurial event at Club Momo - it seemed like a herculean stretch for Kan
Chee Hoo (3rd year SAS), Guo Yuan (2nd year STA), Idayat B Mohamed Bahjuri and
Nelson Tan (2nd year SIT) to put up a reasonable fight at the competition, but
they did.
In the student category, Guo Yuan emerged champion and walked home with $700
cash and DJ equipment sponsored by Pioneer. Having only recently proved herself
as a top producer at the Heineken Thirst Studio, she displayed her all-round
ability as performer with a set best described as "You should have been there."
Completing the rout were Nelson Tan (1st-runner-up) with an inspired set
incorporating turntablism, syncopated break-beats and an endless supply of
energy that got everyone onto their feet and Idayat B Mohamed Bahjuri (2nd-runner-up), whose delightful use of production
skills and techniques in his live set caught the eye of many. His relaxed
demeanour at the decks was a joy to watch as he dropped track after track of
vocal-layered uplifting trance.
Coming home first in the open category against all expectations was EMP
president Kan Chee Hoo. A shining example for all, this gold medal award winning student kept the
judges engaged thoroughly with a set that had the electro genre organically
weaving itself between layers of techno and trance on a gentle collision course.
This achievement is all the more amazing considering that Chee Hoo was eligible
for the student category, but his choice to compete in the open against industry
veterans was both bold, and commendable. Chee Hoo walked home with $1,000 cash
and DJ equipment sponsored by Pioneer.
All in all, EMP returns home happy with our achievements at the Music Mix
this year, winning more than $2,500 in cash and a mountain load of sponsored
equipment by Pioneer ranging from professional DJ headphones, Mixers and Digital
Turntables.
EMP thanks our trainers from Frontal Labs for their invaluable guidance,
patience and friendship and Syafiq bin Omar, EMP alumnus for constantly
inspiring our crew to greater heights. Now, EMP will be concentrating all efforts on our annual party "Vibes", watch out for
invites to the party soon!
Your EMP advisors,
Luke Chen, Sam Yap, Varian Lim and Bob Tan
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