A-Trak Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Winning DMC World DJ Contest at Age 15

25 Years after winning the premier DJ Battle Competition, A-Trak celebrates the iconic win that put him on the map at the tender age of 15

For over 35 glorious, life-changing years, the world’s largest DJ organization, DMC, has been a platform for hungry DJs who want their shot on the world’s stage to show everyone they have what it takes to be next up. In 1997, A-Trak did just that at the DMC World DJ Championships, winning the competition at the young age of 15.

A-Trak credits winning the DMC World DJ Championships for, “single-handedly kicked off [his] career on an international level.” When thinking back to those nostalgic times, A-Trak stated, “I’d only been DJing for 2 years, obviously too young to see real DJs in the flesh (I was 15), so I obsessively studied VHS tapes of battles and my brother [Dave 1] would give me his best descriptions of what he was seeing in clubs in Montreal. And we prepped together. I didn’t leave my parents’ basement much. In fact I wanted to share one bit of info here: people often asked me what was on the yellow sheet of paper that was seen slipping off the back of the mixer in the video.”

When thinking back on the competition itself, A-Trak stated, “The battle was in Rimini, Italy. I had to ask my school for permission to miss a couple days of class. Normally my brother would travel with me but he had his French Baccalaureate exams, so my mom was the chaperone. I brought my turntables all the way to Italy to practice in my hotel room, and had to figure out those damn voltage converters!! It was all worth it. Shout out to everyone following their passion. And shout out to the incredible DJs who inspired me. At that age I had NO IDEA that I’d still be doing this at 40.”

A-Trak is currently touring for the summer. The Canadian DJ will be in Brooklyn, NY on June 19, 2022 for his A-Trak & Friends Festival, and in Perris, CA September 9th through the 11th for the 2022 Same Same But Different Festival. Be sure to pick up your tickets here and listen to A-Trak’s top hits below!

DMC will be holding their 2022 championships all summer-long, breaking their competitions down into several categories. Their schedule can be found here.

Exron Music Staff

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