One fateful night in Austin, 1996, a young man found himself surrounded by flashing strobe lights, thousands of sweaty men and throbbing music, a style of which he’d never heard. He instantly fell in love with the scene. The name of the event was Meltdown, and the kid was Roland Belmares. As he joined the crowd in dancing throughout the night, Belmares realized he could never again return to a world without this energy, these people, this music. After years of feeling like an outsider, he ironically felt immediately integrated among smiling strangers intent only on celebrating life together. He knew he had to figure out a way he could give them something back. That was the night Roland Belmares decided to become a DJ.
"My first gigs were small, but still nerve wracking," says Belmares. "But the more intimate settings helped me hone my skills for reading the crowd and adjusting the music accordingly. It was Belmares' dedicated fine-tuning and attention to finesse and style that eventually caught the ear of Ben Parsley, promoter for two of Austin's biggest circuit events, Perfect Day and, the one that started it all, Meltdown. An expert in the art of identifying talent, Parsley liked what he heard so much that he decided to give Roland a shot at the big leagues. In just one year, Belmares had already achieved his original goal of simply becoming a good DJ. Now it was time to become a great DJ.
The incredible impact Belmares made on audiences at both Meltdown and Perfect Day secured him a position on the discerning partygoer's hotlist of circuit DJs. "Those events marked the first time I really had a full night to develop the evening," Roland says. "It was also the first time every mix I did seemed to flow flawlessly into the next song. And to hear the crowd applauding for me at the end of the night was truly unexpected. It made me feel like I was finally a "real" DJ in the circuit scene."
"Still, my debut gig at The Forum will always be considered my first major thrill," says Belmares in regard to his now-legendary DJ sets at one of Austin's premier nightspots. "Getting to perform in a real club and seeing the audience react to the music I was playing was true joy." Since that time, Belmares has been called to play several events outside Austin's County line; spinning parties located from the hills of San Francisco to the beaches of Miami and even making it to the pinnacle of club scenes, New York City. Then, of course, there are those major events that can either make or break a burgeoning DJ, names like White Party, Winter Party (Miami), Cherry (DC) and Fireball (Chicago) among all of which Roland rose to the occasion, delivering audiences the unique sound they had all heard so much about.
With a growing fan base spanning coast to coast, it was only a matter of time before Belmares received recognition from the industry's leading dance labels, including 4Play Records, Dance One (Dance One) and Centaur (Global Groove & Party Groove). The latter having recently released his critically acclaimed club mix for The Winter Party in Miami.
Despite such commercials successes, Roland is not the kind to rest on his artistic laurels. Instead, he cheerfully admits to having already made several significant changes to his style, further developing his skills and creating greater distance between any examples that have found their way to a commercially recorded CD. Asked to describe his current sound, Belmares offers his usual blend of genuine humility, with a pinch of the kind of clever secrecy you can expect from most professional DJs. "It's hard for me to single-out any one particular style of music. There are many elements from different genres that move me, and if it moves me, it helps me to move the audience," he laughs. "But I definitely favor a housier, tribal sound, so long as it stays interesting and not just a drum loop. My current strategy, I would have to say, is to keep the energy level high and always start off with songs that are familiar or have a commonly recognizable tone to them. I feel this creates an inviting atmosphere that encourages that first group of people to congregate on the floor."
As for what lies ahead for Belmares, it appears he's dedicated to dance music beyond simply maintaining his status as one of the scene's top rated DJs. "In the future, I see myself changing with the times; keeping an overall consistency of high energy in my DJ sets. However, I also hope to eventually move into production work and follow in the footsteps of such greats as Ralphi Rosario and Victor Calderone." If that goal sounds out-of-reach, just consider how quickly Belmares realized his dream to become a great DJ. Don't blink, Roland Belmares will be a great producer before you know it.
By Mateo Segade
Event: DJ Roland Belmares Spins Anthem Sunday 11-23-2003
Related Article: Anthem Arrives In Chicago
"My first gigs were small, but still nerve wracking," says Belmares. "But the more intimate settings helped me hone my skills for reading the crowd and adjusting the music accordingly. It was Belmares' dedicated fine-tuning and attention to finesse and style that eventually caught the ear of Ben Parsley, promoter for two of Austin's biggest circuit events, Perfect Day and, the one that started it all, Meltdown. An expert in the art of identifying talent, Parsley liked what he heard so much that he decided to give Roland a shot at the big leagues. In just one year, Belmares had already achieved his original goal of simply becoming a good DJ. Now it was time to become a great DJ.
The incredible impact Belmares made on audiences at both Meltdown and Perfect Day secured him a position on the discerning partygoer's hotlist of circuit DJs. "Those events marked the first time I really had a full night to develop the evening," Roland says. "It was also the first time every mix I did seemed to flow flawlessly into the next song. And to hear the crowd applauding for me at the end of the night was truly unexpected. It made me feel like I was finally a "real" DJ in the circuit scene."
"Still, my debut gig at The Forum will always be considered my first major thrill," says Belmares in regard to his now-legendary DJ sets at one of Austin's premier nightspots. "Getting to perform in a real club and seeing the audience react to the music I was playing was true joy." Since that time, Belmares has been called to play several events outside Austin's County line; spinning parties located from the hills of San Francisco to the beaches of Miami and even making it to the pinnacle of club scenes, New York City. Then, of course, there are those major events that can either make or break a burgeoning DJ, names like White Party, Winter Party (Miami), Cherry (DC) and Fireball (Chicago) among all of which Roland rose to the occasion, delivering audiences the unique sound they had all heard so much about.
With a growing fan base spanning coast to coast, it was only a matter of time before Belmares received recognition from the industry's leading dance labels, including 4Play Records, Dance One (Dance One) and Centaur (Global Groove & Party Groove). The latter having recently released his critically acclaimed club mix for The Winter Party in Miami.
Despite such commercials successes, Roland is not the kind to rest on his artistic laurels. Instead, he cheerfully admits to having already made several significant changes to his style, further developing his skills and creating greater distance between any examples that have found their way to a commercially recorded CD. Asked to describe his current sound, Belmares offers his usual blend of genuine humility, with a pinch of the kind of clever secrecy you can expect from most professional DJs. "It's hard for me to single-out any one particular style of music. There are many elements from different genres that move me, and if it moves me, it helps me to move the audience," he laughs. "But I definitely favor a housier, tribal sound, so long as it stays interesting and not just a drum loop. My current strategy, I would have to say, is to keep the energy level high and always start off with songs that are familiar or have a commonly recognizable tone to them. I feel this creates an inviting atmosphere that encourages that first group of people to congregate on the floor."
As for what lies ahead for Belmares, it appears he's dedicated to dance music beyond simply maintaining his status as one of the scene's top rated DJs. "In the future, I see myself changing with the times; keeping an overall consistency of high energy in my DJ sets. However, I also hope to eventually move into production work and follow in the footsteps of such greats as Ralphi Rosario and Victor Calderone." If that goal sounds out-of-reach, just consider how quickly Belmares realized his dream to become a great DJ. Don't blink, Roland Belmares will be a great producer before you know it.
By Mateo Segade
Event: DJ Roland Belmares Spins Anthem Sunday 11-23-2003
Related Article: Anthem Arrives In Chicago
