Viva Vinyl

Viva Vinyl

Whether it’s late night at the Orange Court or regular Red Marquee revelry, Fujirock has you covered for DJs. Headliners like Rusko, Z-Trip, Ken Ishii and Riva Star will deliver the goods like they always do, but dig a little deeper into the lineup and you’ll find even more choice selectors.

This year has quite a handful of DJs plucked from bands in the lineup: Alexis Taylor from Hot Chip and James Murphy from LCD Sound System play back-to-back sets at the Red Marquee Sunday night. Both should be stellar, but Murphy’s will be a must-see. Check out his label’s mix series for a primer.

Now dig even deeper and we arrive at the Palace of Wonder, where some of the best spinning takes place every year…

The members of Chk Chk Chk will tag-team a set, but let’s move beyond the headliners to the real DJ heroes of Fujirock: the Crystal Palace crew. These guys spin until long after sunrise, playing vintage vinyl from on old-school equipment. Palace veterans Gaz Mayal and Baby Soul have one of the most enviable collections of jump blues, R&B and rock n’ roll anywhere, and their sessions have always been been able to shake the shack. Expect sparkly suits, fancy-ass hats and plenty of grins. DJ Jim (aka Jim West) fits a similar mold, with one of those 45-inch collections (original pressings, only please) that fill a garage 2-crates deep. The Cumbias Cumbias Cumbias set will be led by Jason Mayal, elder brother of Gaz and one of the most prestigious Latin groove aficionados you’ll find at the fest. The one of the final sets each year is the JVC force, who play – you guessed it – records from the JVC catalog. Roll your eyes if you will, but once you see people go ape-shit for cheerleaders doing handstands to the Ramones, the Boom Town Rats and other classic tracks, you’ll be a believer.

There are plenty of other spectacular DJs I’ve left out here. Who have I missed?

Photo courtesy of Kables via Flickr Creative Commons