“All good rap groups have their DJ. For Shades of Culture, one of the best Montreal rap groups, the man in this position is DJ Storm”.

Christophe Bergeron 
La Presse, Cahier “Sortir” 
December 3, 1998 loose translation 

I have been spinning wax as part of one of Montreal`s oldest and most revered hip-hop groups, Shades of Culture, since 1992.

At the time, DJ Choice was their DJ, however, with his commitment to Zero Tolerance, he could no longer handle the load of playing and producing, for both groups. He asked me to come and check out a big hip hop showcase at Foufounes Electriques where he and Shades of Culture were performing. Impressed by their performance & skill, as of November 1st, 1992, DJ Storm, was born. I joined the group the day after their performance, and as the old cliche goes: "the rest is history".

Before joining Shades, I had already been spinning in clubs, as a regular DJ playing everything from hip hop to house. Up to that point I had also been drumming for various rock bands or doing a host of variety showcases and more.

Through drumming, I listened to songs and often did not like how they were arranged . I thought that by using 2 turntables I could rearrange the original composition to how I thought it should sound.

Being a “basement DJ” since 1988, I’d played weddings, made mixed tapes for friends and deejayed local parties. Within the year I had a residency, thanks to a friend of mine, who arranged it without my even knowing. From there I began to play all over the city, while still playing drums for other bands.

Having been offered a baseball scholarship to the US, I left Montreal and the music scene behind.

After spending 2 1/2 years playing baseball seriously, I decided to return home. Upon my return, it didn't take long for me to return to the club scene and join Shades of Culture.

In the 12 years, I've enjoyed with Shades, I've done more then I could ever have imagined. Money, gold records, and world titles are very meaningful and signs of success, however, for me it is my love of music that keeps me playing.

I love what I do and that's why I do it. Nothing more. Over the years I have seen many musicians/turntablists lose interest not long after starting because of their lack of passion and source of motivation. In my opinion we should do things because we love them and not for any other reward or status we might be looking for.

Even if I wasn’t part of today’s music scene, I would still be at home, learning and practicing my flares, crabs, combos and rudiments all the same.

I have been very fortunate to play with some of the greats in and out of the music industry.

 

I’m very proud to have played with these artists for the simple reason that I never thought that I would one day reach a level where I would be able to perform alongside many of my own musical inspirations.

list of performances

Along with playing hip hop gigs in and out of Montreal with and without Shades of Culture, I've been able to expand to other types of music and play with other artists such as: Rennaisance Disco and Montreal’s own: The Aliens.

Having West Indian roots (Jamaica and Trinidad), playing with Renaissance is something that has special meaning to me, not only professionally, but personally as well. Innovating the dancehall/hip hop remixes that have come to be party favorites worldwide, combining our two styles together proved to be a good combination.

For those of you who are truly music lovers, the Aliens are one of those groups that truly make you feel the music you hear. A set of very accomplished musicians and singers who in their own right have achieved great success in the music industry through various projects. Djing for them allows me to be more musical as I have to be part of a musical orchestration as opposed to soloing for the standard 8-16 bars on a hip hop track. Being able to occasionally play drums for them is an added bonus. 2 for the price of 1!

Having played a wide variety of shows and many different types of music by scratching, it only proves that turtablism is not a fad, but a growing artform that when well orchestrated can compliment most forms of contemporary music.

I am currently working in association with VP RECORDS, in distributing reggae and soca vinyl accross the province of Quebec. (STORM MUSIC®)

There are no plans for any type of release from Shades of Culture, as we've all moved on to other jobs in the videogame industry related to sound and/or testing. We are all currently employed at UBISOFT, where we've all worked on such projects as Prince of Persia and/or Splinter Cell respectively.

Although we do have enough new material to put out a full length LP, with the state of hip hop at present time, it's of no interest to any one of us to release. I guess it's safe to say that everyone has heard the last of S.O.C.

Aside from Shades, I still play regularly at clubs, create, produce and compose music for major cell phone carriers as well as putting out mixed CD's (reggae and/or hip hop/r&b).
I also provide musical work formovie soundtracks, sound effects and more, as well as playing studio drums for a various amount of different genres of music and artists.

......time will tell how much longer I remain in this industry, but for now, I still enjoy my music because it's more then a hobby to me...it's a passion.

contact info :djstorm@djstorm.ca