Students find their beat: DJs at MVHS

Juniors Jaz Livnat and Paulo Cho share the sources of their inspirations

Ava Li, Web Features Editor

Jan 20, 2024

Paulo Cho, Junior

If you ever see junior Paulo Cho walking around campus, you will likely see a soundboard tucked under his arm, formerly belonging to his late friend whom he credits as his inspiration and motivation to start and continue DJing.

Only 10-years-old at the time, Cho posted on Reddit back in 2017, asking for help with his music production.

He said he received a response from 13-year-old Ian Chopori, living in the UK. The two soon became very close, with Chopori guiding Cho on the basics of music production, influencing him to start DJing.

“He would walk me through the process of how to make music,” Cho said. “He got me into the process of mixing music, basically taught me everything.”

Cho said he shadowed Chopori, improving his skills and working together on music projects for around 3 years until, unfortunately, Chopori passed.

Other than gaining knowledge from Chopori, Cho learned most of his skills on his own and from YouTube tutorials, also drawing inspiration from EDM artist Tokyo Machine, whose music Cho said has a “euphoric effect” that evokes an infectious energy from the crowd.

However, his biggest inspiration remains his late friend Chopori.

Cho said he mainly DJs electronic dance music, usually bass house and future house, which are types of EDM typically seen in the party and festival scene. He said that he enjoys future house because of how energetic it is.

Cho uses Serato DJ and FL Studio to mix and produce his music. Previously, his laptop was his only device, but after Chopori’s passing, Chopori’s parents shipped him their son’s soundboard. Now, Cho brings it with him to school everyday, practicing in the morning and at lunch, sometimes in class.

“One time in AP Psychology, we had finished up a documentary and we had a little bit of time, so I just performed a quick 10 minute set which was fun,” Cho said.

He has been hired to perform at different parties, the most memorable being a 12-year-old’s birthday party.

“[There was] a crowd with about 60 little kids,” Cho said. “Just all of them going along with the rhythm and the song was really fun to see.”

When mixing, Cho said he likes to do it on the spot, with his headphones which allow him to listen to what he’s doing before it’s released to the crowd. But, he said he does research and preparation prior to a gig to find tracks that fit seamlessly.

“You have to find a certain tempo that you can line up [the music] with,” Cho said. “You have to find tracks that are similar enough that can mix well, like you can’t mix Katy Perry with Eminem.”

Cho has released nine songs with Chopori, five of which can be found on his Spotify, Xpollo, and the rest on YouTube. Their most popular song, “The Unknown,” has received nearly 150,000 streams on Spotify and their music has been featured in two YouTube videos, one with 2.2 million views.

While Cho is unsure if he will pursue a career in music production, he said he still wants to be involved in performative entertainment at parties and other festive gatherings. He is also continuing to work on solo projects in honor of Chopori.

“DJing and music in general, it’s a journey,” Cho said. “There’s gonna be ups, there’s definitely gonna be downs, but if you stick with it, you’ll succeed.”

Jaz Livnat, Junior

From goofing around with his water polo friends to eventually performing for audiences in front of taco stands and at house parties, junior Jaz Livnat has discovered and explored his love for DJing.

On rainy days last school year, Livnat and his friends would spend their lunches in their water polo coach, Rafael Alapont’s, classroom.

“[As a group], we started messing around pretending to DJ with just big speakers and a laptop with Spotify,” Livnat said.

Later on, he received a soundboard for his birthday and started practicing in his room before debuting as a DJ in downtown Mountain View in front of a taco stand.

“This nearby taco stand waved me over [and said,] ‘We’ll give you free tacos if you DJ in front of our stand.’” Livnat said. “So I started doing that on the weekends.”

His setup includes a table, speakers, and his soundboard with RekordBox as the software.

Livnat said he performs alone, but his friends and family often show up to his DJ sets to express their support.

“It is very intimidating because [the audience is] like a whole bunch of people I don’t know,” Livnat said. “[It’s] kind of awkward but it works out.”

He said he primarily DJs in the house electronic dance music genre, but has also experimented with drum and bass, and his own mixes where he combines house music with 90’s R&B.

“[DJing is] an interactive way to listen to music,” Livnat said.

Livnat’s process when DJing is to quickly come up with two songs that go well together and match the energy of the next.

“It’s finding a song that’s in key or close enough in tempo, and then mixing them in a way that’s seamless and pleasant to the ears,” Livnat said.

He uses his software and soundboard to line up the tracks before piecing them together.

Livnat said that most of his inspiration comes from the YouTube channel Boiler Room, where clubs with DJs upload their sets.

He said he learned most of his skills from watching YouTube tutorials, as well as from his friend Yhali Sheba, an MVHS graduate, who DJed with Livnat last year.

Once water polo season ends and he has more time, Livnat said he will continue DJing downtown. He also said he plans on taking his DJing to college and to parties.

“For the listeners, it’s fun because it brings people together,” Livant says. “It sounds good, it’s fun to do, and creates a cool environment.”

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