WHO Whether behind the decks in clubs or college radio, veteran
Toronto DJ Paul E. Lopes has been rocking this city for over 20 years.
He’s played alongside some of the world’s best DJs at deep house hot
spot Roxy Blu and consistently keeps people grooving at his
long-running Bump N’ Hustle residency with fellow local mainstay Mike
Tull. He got his start at 14, playing block parties, rec centres, and
basements in the west end, and truly made his mark between 1994 and
1998, with his influential CIUT radio show “Vibes N’ Stuff,” mixing
jazz, rare groove, hip-hop and soul, which helped build the city’s
jazz-funk DJ scene. Later he moved to more soulful house, for which
Roxy Blu
became much loved. In 2002, he garnered international recognition for
his years of tasteful, skilled mixes with his first major label release
Whatnaut:House — an acclaimed 16-track mix of worldly flavours,
including a cameo from Canadian diva Ivana Santilli, on Virgin Records.
Currently, Lopes is working on Bump N’ Hustle Mix Vol. 5, and likely
digging up rare and classic gems for this weekend’s long-awaited Roxy
reunion.
WHAT Boogie tunes. “Morris Day said it best [in Purple Rain], ‘Let’s have some asses wiggling!’” says Lopes.
WHERE
The Roxy Blu Reunion Party, Nov. 17 at Revival (783 College) with DJs
Blueprint, Jason Palma, Felix & Gani and more. $15 at door.
FAVOURITE RECORD OF ALL TIME Don Blackman “Heart’s Desire” (GRP/Arista)
FAVOURITE RECORD RIGHT NOW Tony Allen “Kilode (Carl Craig remix)" (Honest Jon’s)
FAVOURITE WEBSITE RIGHT NOW “[MP3 blog aggregator] The Hype Machine. Hypem.com — by the people, for the people. And you don’t need a credit card.”
WHAT IS YOUR WEIRDEST DJING EXPERIENCE?
“I DJed a wedding when I was about 15,” recalls Lopes. “A huge brawl
broke out between everyone on the two sides of the family and guests.
Wine and blood was spilled and I ducked into the coat check.”
WHAT IS VITAL TO YOUR DAILY ROUTINE? “Peanut butter.”
WHAT GLOBAL ISSUE CONCERNS YOU MOST RIGHT NOW? “Too much affluenza, too much poverty.”
WHAT IS YOUR RING TONE RIGHT NOW? Stevie Wonder, “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing”
WHAT ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW? “Mags only, really; Wax Poetics and Men’s Health.”
WHAT IS THE LAST GREAT FILM YOU SAW? “When the Road Bends: Tales of a Gypsy Caravan. It’s a documentary.”
WHAT ACTOR WOULD PLAY YOU IN A BIOPIC? “I wanna say Billy Bob Thornton but he’s too old, no?”