wordplay: Shauna Hannon
image: Sean Hartgrove
From the Hollywood-immortalized, stylish city of Casablanca, Simo (aka DJ Elite) flavors the Mile-High City’s sexy lounge LeRouge with sounds of the house music variety-but the extent of his musical talent is far-reaching. DJ Elite shared with me his beginnings in Casablanca, his journey to Denver, and his passionate drive to bring house to the LoDo masses.
How did you become DJ Elite?
DJ Elite was the invention of Eddie (owner of LeRouge). He noticed my talent and came up with a name that fits me.
Can you give me some background of the type of work you did in Casablanca?
I was 17 and I was in high school back in Casablanca when I heard about garage parties. I’ve always liked music and since the day I went to one of those parties, I decided to start organizing similar ones. So I invested in DJ equipment, with the help of my father. He was cool about it, and advised me to follow my hobby. Once I learned spinning at home, I started my way towards professionalism. Slowly, I started renting clubs in Casablanca and promoting my parties. I became famous in that business. After that, a new club called me; I had an audition and was hired as the resident DJ. The owner was French, and he suggested I play house music. Since then, I fell in love with the style and it worked perfectly. Because of that, the owner started bringing famous DJs such as David Guetta, Benny Benassi…and that allowed me to get huge experience. I built my reputation and started DJ-ing in many clubs all over Morocco. I didn’t want to stop there. I looked toward doing live house music, which consisted in working with different musicians such as saxophonists, violinists and percussionists.
Who mainly influences your sound?
My main influences are David Guetta, Klaas, Axwell, Sebastien Ingrosso, Kurd Maverick, and many others…they influenced and still influence my work. They are the best in the field and I try to be as them.
What series of events brought you from Casablanca to Denver?
I first came to Denver to study, which I have put on hold for awhile. Actually, I am going to school for music production and recording arts next spring.
In what ways does the club scene in Morocco compare to the club scene in Denver? In what ways are they different?
The club scene in Denver is kind of similar to the one in Casablanca. Both have an enthusiastic crowd ready to have fun. The only difference is that back there we play more house music.
How did you come to DJ at LeRouge?
At the beginning, I didn’t speak English, which made it hard to find a DJ job. After going to school and buying my equipment, I recorded my own demo. Then I worked with Eddie at 5 Degrees, but I couldn’t play my style over there. When Eddie opened LeRouge, he wanted something new. That’s why he called me. It was a good combination.
How do you stand out from the rest? What’s in store for the future?
The difference with other DJs is obvious. I play trendy international music that people downtown like. Also, my experience with famous DJs helps me to understand the crowd’s expectations. At the beginning, it was hard for both me and Eddie to introduce this kind of music to LoDo or the lounge crowd, knowing that every one else plays Top 40 or other kinds of music. We decided to stick to the concept and try harder to make them love this newborn combination. Week after week we saw the results, and the crowd’s appreciation of my music. Now we are very confident about our concept. This was the beginning and there is a lot more to come. Now that I accomplished the first step, I will move to the improvement of my ideas. Last week I had performers with me; saxophonist Mr. Pete Wall, violinist Adam, and of course the percussionist master ChiChi, and that was an amazing night that everyone loved. I will work harder to get better and achieve my goals. As far as my music goes, thank you, thank you, and thank you to everyone that believed in Simo. And I promise you a lot of surprises this year. God bless.
Thursdays @ Le Rouge (1448 Market St)
myspace.com/DJElitt
LeRouge.us
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