Guinness World Record Attempt: Longest Club DJ Session - Part 1

How does a UK born DJ who makes his own music and has played in clubs all over the world end up in Melbourne with a Guinness World Record in his sights? Starting with a party to celebrate the end of school, Matt Solo's career as a promoter had begun and he went on to organise many successful events at the same time as he was representing DJs and running a record store. The promoting game had its perks, free records, but this wasn't enough to satisfy the needs of an avid record collector so the next step was to start working as a DJ. He did this in 1997 by starting up a night called Aural Sex in London and installing himself as the resident DJ, using the name DJ Promo. From there, his career went from strength to strength taking him all over the world and he came to Melbourne in late 2003. The idea to break the world record came from typical male one-upmanship. He and a DJ friend were boasting about how long they could DJ for and one day the boasting included a claim for being able to beat the world record. From there the idea grew and grew and now he’s on the verge of seeing his dream come true, a dream to, "set a world record that stays for some time (and) set a precedent in that it was done without drugs."

The current world record for the longest club DJ session was set in the UK by DJ Genix, who lasted 84 hours at the decks in February 2005. DJ Promo aims to not only break the record but to go an amazing 16 hours further. To set a new world record, he needs to play a continuous live mix of vinyl or CDs, no premixing is allowed and he can only use two turntables or CD players. As you could imagine, a DJ session spanning 100 hours needs a lot of records and, while the Guinness World Record rules stipulate that no piece of music can be repeated within four hours, DJ Promo is determined not to play anything twice. At an estimated four minutes for each song, he'll need 1,500 tracks and, to top it all off, he has to keep a record of every song played. His marathon set will encompass all genres of house music, from dark and dirty progressive through to techno, jazzy vocal and his personal favourite, tribal. After breaking the world record at the 84 hour mark, he'll be playing some of his all-time favourite tracks and has planned a special, but top secret, track for the grand finale.

The thought of staying awake for 100 hours is a daunting prospect, let alone standing at the decks and maintaining the mental and physical agility required to mix properly. Surprisingly, there’s nothing in the Guinness World Record rules that ban the use of illegal stimulants. To prove that the new world record is the result of hard work, determination and nothing stronger than caffeine, DJ Promo will abide by the anti-doping rules for elite athletes and has insisted on being drug tested by the toxicology service of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and will lobby the Guinness World Record organisation to include drug testing in the rules for any future attempt to break the world record.

DJ Promo lives a hectic lifestyle as a club DJ and promoter and is used to late nights and is no stranger to the occasional sleepless night. He expects that the first two days will be easy going and that getting towards the 84 hour mark and breaking the existing world record, the time when tiredness should be kicking in, adrenaline and excitement will keep him going. After that, there's only a mere 16 hours to reach the 100 hour target and he's expecting to be on such a high that it will see him through to the end. The only breaks he'll be taking are those required by the Guinness World Record rules; 15 minutes every eight hours.

The world record attempt is for the longest club DJ session so, of course, the event has to take place in a club. A temporary venue, an architect designed transparent trapezoidal pyramid dubbed the Vertex, will be built in Federation Square for the event. Not content to play on just any old sound system, DJ Promo will have a world class system at his fingertips. Melbourne based company, Group Technologies, are providing a NEXO speaker system and amplifiers and a DIGICO D1 mixing desk for the event. The entire 100 hour long set will be recorded and he's investigating the possibility of streaming it live over the Internet for those who can't make it to Melbourne.

 

For DJ Promo, staging an event of this magnitude is not just about a personal achievement but is also an opportunity to raise money for charity and to show that clubbing and an unhealthy lifestyle are not necessarily synonymous. Two Australian charities, the Big Issue and Challenge are the chosen beneficiaries. The Big Issue is a fortnightly publication which is sold on the streets by, and to benefit, the homeless and long-term unemployed while Challenge provides support, focussing on making life fun, for children living with cancer or life-threatening blood disorders and their families. DJ Promo's enthusiasm is evident when explains these aspects of the event, "we have an opportunity, not only to unite as an industry, all of the service providers, all of the people who build the sound equipment and everything, they all have to come on board to make this happen, and the clubbers themselves to be there to dance, and me... all of these people have a chance to unite to show the positive aspects of clubbing. No drugs, no alcohol, no smoking, just the music and raising money for two very worthy causes." While DJ Promo aims to raise a staggering $500,000 through donations, the sale of CDs and from selling tickets to the Saturday night victory party, the charity work will not stop there, "if I can support myself at the weekends (as a DJ and promoter) then I would love to put on events, not necessarily of this scale, but of a charitable nature and use the skills that I have as a promoter."

One of the Guinness World Record rules is the requirement that there must be a dancing audience present the whole time, even if it just one person. The event will be alcohol and cigarette free and open to the public throughout. DJ Promo is encouraging people from all walks of life, of all ages and of any dancing ability to come along and be a part of the world record with him. DJ Promo estimates that more than 100,000 people will pass through Federation Square during his marathon DJ session providing an opportunity to improve the much maligned image of electronic dance music and clubbing by showing people who might never usually go to a club that it is possible to have fun without drugs or alcohol. As he explains, "people are interested because it is a world record, people are interested because it is a charity thing, kids are interested because they will never get the opportunity to go into a nightclub and see a world class DJ playing on a world class sound system until they are 18 or older. Here they're being invited in."

Organising an event of this scale is a huge task but DJ Promo is taking it in his stride. His extensive background in event promotion serves him well and, for him, the organisation involves breaking it down into a lot of smaller tasks, which on their own are manageable and then pulling them all together at the end. He has received an enormous amount of support from volunteers, the business community and sponsors. A dedicated group of volunteers will be working multiple shifts to help make it a success and ensure that the Guinness World Record rules are followed. DJ Promo says that they are an essential part of the event as, "it would be a really, really sad shame to go to all of this bother and fail half-way through it because we're disqualified because we haven't followed the rules." In addition, while many companies were quick to offer help and have donated services, expertise and equipment either free or at drastically reduced prices, others, he said, were not so forthcoming, "what's very interesting... is how many companies have said straight away unconditionally yes and how many other companies only care about what they’re getting out of it. Some companies have made me question humanity and some other companies have restored my faith."

DJ Promo is bursting with enthusiasm, anticipation and excitement as he eagerly awaits 9am on June 12, the day when all of the hard work comes together and his world record attempt gets underway. He summed up his feelings succinctly, saying that, "to be responsible for making a difference, to whatever degree you do it, is the best feeling."

DJ Promo's attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest club DJ session will be held at Federation Square in Melbourne and begins at 9am on Monday June 12 with the existing world record broken at 9pm Thursday and then the 100 hour mark reached at 1pm Friday.

Next Article: The article continues with an in-depth look at the effects of sleep deprivation and DJ Promo's physical preparation for his assault on the world record.

Next article: On the spot updates from Federation Square June 12-16.

 

 Good luck. You will probably feel really horrible towards the end. Going without food may help you keep going. You will probably be forgetting things towards the end, so be careful about what songs you have played. Hallucinations can lead rapidly to sleep. If you have your car there, sleep for a few hours before you drive anywhere. Sounds pretty dreadful, though - I have done 72 hrs as a result of insomnia and it is not fun. Alan

ALAN, June 13, 2006 12:47

 go DJ Promo! im gonna come tomorow and check it out. sounds awesome!

Aleks .. yearhh!, June 12, 2006 8:05

 I would like to join your dancing ww attempt,and I would aIso like to encourage you in your charitable work, by saying "Good on you mate".

Simon Garland-Williams, May 9, 2006 11:46

 I would like to join your dancing ww attempt,and I would aIso like to encourage you in your charitable work, by saying "Good on you mate".

Simon Garland-Williams, May 9, 2006 11:46

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