10 Questions With American Phenom MAKJ

The EDM world is about to be taken by storm. A name that is quickly rising to the top, MAKJ, set aside some time to answer 10 questions for us. For those of you who are not familiar, MAKJ is a 22-year-old DJ/producer, hailing from Los Angeles, California, USA.

While he made his name by making and distributing killer mashups to DJs like Tiësto, Hardwell, Laidback Luke, and Quintino. His bootleg for Trinidad James’ track “All Gold Everything” recieved support from Afrojack, Bingo Players, Sidney Samson, Alvaro, and many more.

The man has been producing some originals too, with “Hold Up” just released on Juicy Records, and has upcoming singles for Hardwell‘s Revealed Recordings, Nicky Romero‘s Protocol Recordings, and Bingo Players‘ Hysteria Records.

We asked him about everything from how he finds inspiration to which rock group he wants to collaborate with, read our questions below, and if you have any more for him, we’ll do our best to get them answered!

1. What or who made you fall in love with dance music?

Well, I was living over seas in China when I had my “A-ha!” moment at a club called Today & Tomorrow. Watching the DJ blend House music and old classic hip-hop into each other was definitely one of the most influential moments in my “EDM” career.

2. How did you make the transition from making edits to your own original tracks?

Every DJ I was passing my edits to kept asking me the same question; Where are your original productions? So after graduating college in SLO I made a huge leap of faith and moved down to LA and went to a production school called “Icon Collective.” Upon finding Icon I was in good hands and embarked on the magical journey of sitting in front of a computer screen for the rest of my life.

3. How has the success of your track “Hold Up” affected your outlook on your music career?

Fan support has been awesome! Every gig I’ve been playing it and people have been going bonkers! So I think the effect has been good? Haha

4. What can you tell us about your experiences working with Hardwell and Nicky Romero?

Amazing, those guys are the most humble 23/24 year olds EVER! I learned a lot of stuff from those boys, including a lot of Dutch.

5. Are there any productions (original or remix) that you are working on but have not yet announced?

I just finished a track with Haley who usually sings over all of the Kaskade stuff. It’s a really great change of pace for me, 2AM progressive stuff.

6. Right now, if you could make a collaboration with ANY artist, who would you choose?

Slayer. Just Slayer…..

7. How has your track collaboration contest gone thus far? What does the move to Talenthouse provide for you and your contestants?

Talenthouse is amazing, they give the most equal opportunity for artists to show me their stuff, and it doesn’t blow my email up. There are 2000+ submissions and I’m very excited to hear more. There are so many artists that need to be signed!

8. Do you ever experience time where your creativity is gone? If so, what do you do to restart the creative process?

Actually I always have weird weeks like that, it’s pretty normal in this business, writer’s block as you may call it. Here’s what I do to get those creative juices flowing: Step 1: Go get a sandwich. Step 2: Listen to classic rock. Step 3: Light a candle in my studio. Step 4: Eat sandwich. Step 5: Have TV on, Jeopardy in the background. Step 6: Produce song.

9. What would be your dream gig?

Sunset set with Hardwell at Cafe Mamba in Ibiza.

10. Where can we expect to see you this summer?

All over, festivals and clubs across America and Canada and a mini Asia tour with Avicii.

Check MAKJ out on Facebook, follow him on Twitter, and check his SoundCloud to find out what is up with this young rising star. Do NOT be surprised when you see his name everywhere in the next few months!

Thanks to him, and his management for getting this interview together!