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Contact The NJ State Council
on the Arts
Mailing Address:
NJ State Council on the Arts
P.O. Box 306
Trenton, NJ 08625-0306
Office Address:
225 West State Street, 4th Floor
Trenton, NJ 08608
Tel: (609) 292-6130
NJ Relay: 711
Email: Feedback@sos.nj.gov
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Making Magic with the Beat
A Look into New Brunswick’s Music Producing Community
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When an infectious beat grabs your ear, and you can feel the floor pulsating beneath your feet, how can you help but move your body in time with the music? In the world of DJs and music production, the ultimate goal is to build community on the dance floor wherever that may be - in a local park, or a city club, at a 50th birthday party, or a massive music festival.
“If people aren’t moving, you’re doing something wrong," says John ‘Wes’ McGee, a Music Production Apprentice in the State Arts Council’s Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. He’s only been DJing since 2016 but his Master and accomplished Music Producer, Derrick Braxton (Brax), shares that in due time Wes will be one of the greats in the broader House music community. His natural talent is matched by his fierce dedication to the craft and according to Brax, (pictured above left), Wes has made great strides in the short time they’ve been working together.
Both artists are from New Brunswick, a community they care deeply for and give back to regularly, sometimes even playing music for free - creating space for people to gather, commune, and of course dance. The effect of the music can be easily seen. What goes unnoticed or misunderstood by folks outside the scene is the knowledge the DJ and Music Producer must possess, and the level of skill they must hone to excel. There is a required capacity for executing intricate and improvised details through what a DJ can hear, see, and feel, but there is also the practical side of understanding the technological tools of the art form. It shouldn’t go unmentioned that building an encyclopedia of music history for a brain (which both Wes and Brax have done) is like having a playground of sound at their fingertips. The more they know, the more they can access to create new, exciting, and original sounds. “The sky’s the limit,” says Brax, “But you have to know what draws people in and makes them move.”
We were recently invited to meet with Wes and Brax in their beloved hometown of New Brunswick at The Arts Institute of Middlesex County. Welcomed by 124 beats per minute, we swayed back and forth between moving and chatting, listening and sharing. It is safe to say that there is no better way to learn about this art form than experiencing it in real-time with the artists who make it happen.
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Q & A with Master Music Producer Derrick Braxton and Apprentice John ‘Wes' McGee
Passing It On: Can you describe what the connection is between DJing and Music Production?
Derrick Braxton: Being a DJ is so much more than putting a song list together. You have to understand music composition, melodics, key, and be able to manipulate different frequencies at the same time. There’s also an incredible attention to detail involved in the ability to play ten songs and make the experience sound like one. Production is said to be the next step of musical evolution after DJing. Once one has mastered the art of playing the compositions of others, they look to create compositions of their own. Wes has now started to do that, and it’s opened up a whole new opportunity for him.
PIO: What do you love about this art form, Wes?
John 'Wes' McGee: I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t love it and there’s hardly a day that goes by that I don’t work on this. When I walk into a party or a club, there’s a feeling of euphoria that comes over me – one that doesn’t require anything but the music. It has me, it moves me. I want the music I play to allow a person to escape from his or her daily life and stress, even if it’s only for a few hours. And when you start attending festivals, you’re not going there solely for the music. You go for the fellowship and the vibe, and you go to DANCE.
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PIO: What are your goals for the Apprenticeship?
DB: Wes is known as the master of blending. That’s when a DJ transitions from one sound or beat to another. Wes’s ability is uncanny, especially given how few years he’s been doing this. His ear is so sharp. The initial goal is to get Wes utilizing production tools so he can immediately apply them to what he already knows how to do. He’s already leveling up learning how to use tools like Ableton.
JWM: Yeah, I want to take my talent to another level. Brax is introducing me to things I never even considered before. I’m learning how to separate myself from the pack and build my community – my following. Technically, this apprenticeship will help me make new kinds of music, play with ideas, and move freely between musical elements without breaking the flow.
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PIO: Community is such an important part of this art form. Tell us more about your experience of community through music.
JWM: The music we play, listen to and create is a direct result of the community we grew up in. Our parents listened to Jazz, Blues, Folk, R&B, and Country music. We listen to some of the same music our parents listened to but as society changed, along with attitudes from within some of the inner cities, that’s where you get Hip Hop, P-Funk, and Club/House music. We love music so much we do it for FREE at times. We’ll never stop giving back because we‘re doing this because of the love of music and the city that created us!
DB: The community I’m from has several layers. I’m extremely proud to belong to the African-American community and the New Brunswick community. Music has helped us through the best and worst of times. It could be argued that the first Music Producers in New Brunswick were the slaves who composed and sang spirituals used to guide slaves on the Underground Railroad – yes, which passed right through this city. We’ve come a long way to crafting the songs that are guiding our nation, using music to soothe, inspire, and tell the story – our story.
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The title for this publication was inspired by Rita Moonsammy's book,
Passing it On, Folk Artists and Education in Cumberland County, NJ, 1992. Photos used were included with permission from the participants. Generous support for the Council's Folk and Traditional Arts Programs provided in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
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The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, created in 1966, is a division of the NJ Department of State. The Council was established to encourage and foster public interest in the arts; enlarge public and private resources devoted to the arts; promote freedom of expression in the arts; and facilitate the inclusion of art in every public building in New Jersey. The Council receives direct appropriations from the State of New Jersey through a dedicated, renewable Hotel/Motel Occupancy fee, as well as competitive grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. To learn more about the Council, please visit www.artscouncil.nj.gov.
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