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Alex Wood While most DJs mix music digitally, Ale
x Wood, also known as Lex Woo, still uses vinyl and two turntables to keep the music flowing in a club. You might think then that Alex has some deep and abiding love for the format, but the reality is surprisingly pragmatic. “As I started to DJ, the CD culture died out. Serato [a DJ software] took over and a lot of the people who had been DJing with CDs started using digital music. I just never bridged the gap. It seemed like a lot of work to stay at home and digitalize all those tracks or spend money buying all those essential tunes that I regularly play. As time went on, I had so many records that the idea of replacing them was daunting.” That makes sense when you consider the size of his music library; Alex’s vinyl collection spans over 10,000 records, many of which are hard to find tracks from all over the world. His diverse love of music is obvious; over the course of an hour, he touches on a wide array of his favourites, ranging from Peter Gabriel-era Genesis to African funk and bossanova. Nowadays most young DJs begin mixing with digital music and software. But many still intend to learn vinyl mixing at some stage, considering it a lost art. Does Alex recommend that DJs try it at least once? “No!” he laughs. “I envy people with USBs full of music. It’s a commitment to poverty when you start buying records. All my money from my late teens onwards went to buying records. And it just escalates, because the more you DJ, the more things you need to keep things fresh. If you have residencies you can’t keep playing the same tunes all the time. “When I was trying to make a living out of it, I was really ticking the boxes for people. Doing everything from reggae to trip-hop, bossanova, African Rhythms, downbeat electronica. So you’re buying a ton of music to keep each of those genres fresh.” That also means carrying a lot of records between gigs. On any Saturday night, Alex could be playing two to three sets. That requires dropping off records to different venues during the day. “If I’m playing in Anseo, that’s a seven-hour gig. I’m probably going to bring about 400 records. You’d probably get to play 100 tunes but you need to have the choice.” In the last few years, Alex has pursued other interests while maintaining his residency in Anseo. He’s a graphic designer by trade, and recently designed the artwork for a new compilation of rare South African 45s from Johannesburg. The compilation, called Jackpot Jive, is something he’s very passionate about; all profits are going to a project in Lesotho, South Africa in which local children are taught about music technology by international producers and DJs. On the 9th of February, he’ll be playing a re-launch of the compilation in Hang Dai with his friend and fellow DJ, Disco Medusa. Alex has covered the Irish festival circuit many times over, in addition to playing gigs in Berlin, New York and Paris. He’s even played multiple sets with legendary Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen. And yet, he still keeps perspective on things. “I’m not a turntablist, I don’t have incredible skills. I think I mix well, but it’s not brain surgery. I always ask myself, am I DJing just to do it, or is what I’m playing worth hearing? I don’t just do it for the sake of it. I do it because I think these tunes have to be heard.” Lex Woo plays A Jam Named Saturday every Saturday night in Anseo on Camden Street. It’s a commitment to poverty when you start buying records. 24