SATURDAY 3 | While he speaks, DJ Illest’s hands move across the decks in his Tuol Kork home studio at what appears to be the speed of sound. Lithe fingers stop and start spinning vinyl, bending beats and splicing vocals. The cross-fader slams back and forth in a blur, blinking lights monitoring the music’s vital signs. Baby scratches, flares and chirps explode from a wall of speakers, a sagging mattress propped against one wall by way of soundproofing. A product of the French hip hop scenes in Paris and Montreal, Illest switched spray cans for wheels of steel after hearing his first Grandmaster Flash mix and thinking: “Wow, he’s making musical notes just by moving the record back and forth!” Today, he’s officially the best DJ in Cambodia, according to our Best Of Phnom Penh 2012 awards – admittedly, old news to anyone who saw him at Pontoon’s decks alongside Grandmaster Flash last year.
WHO: DJ Illest
WHAT: The best DJ in Phnom Penh, as voted for by YOU!
WHERE: Pontoon, Street 172
WHEN: 11pm August 3
WHY: If he’s good enough for Grandmaster Flash…