Meet X-Change, DJ and Producer

X-Change is an electro and progressive house music DJ and producer residing in Los Angeles. A University of Michigan alumni, he has a strong background and knowledge of acoustics and engineering. While fine tuning his original singles, he also releases custom edits and mash-ups, and is always on the lookout for talented people to collaborate and work with. X-Change brings a new sound to the world of dance music with original tracks coming out in 2015.

Learn more about his work on his website, SoundCloud, Facebook, and Twitter.

1. How did you first get started working as a DJ?

I actually started DJing when I was a college student at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. I was also interested in music, and a few honor societies wanted me to DJ their banquets, so I sort of stumbled into it and from there wanted to learn everything there was to know about DJing.

2. When you do a custom edit of a song, how do you decide what to emphasize from the original work?

Usually when doing an edit, I'm working on my mixshow X-Change Theory Radio, and I hear a track that I love but want to play in a different way in my set either due to a cool vocal or synth breakdown or drop section. Then I structure my edit for my DJing style so that my favorite part of the original is highlighted.

3. Would you tell us a little bit about your experience collaborating with Jessica Louise?

Jessica Louise is an amazing singer! She has been a pleasure to work with on "Stronger." I wrote the song with Jeff Zacharski and Hannah Taylor a while ago, and we looked for months for a female singer that would fit the track perfectly. Then when we heard Jessica's voice, we knew she had to be on it! We are actually following the track up with an acoustic version stripping the track back to just her vocals and piano. I'm super excited for everyone to hear that!

4. What are some of the other original tracks you've been working on--and what are you planning to release in 2015?

It's been a busy 2015 so far. I've been working on a lot of different tracks and concepts in the studio and have a bunch of releases planned. I have an all-instrumental electro house track called "Kandiland" coming out soon as well as more female vocal based progressive house tracks titled "Amnesia" and "Weight Of Your Love" that are almost finished as well. On top of that I'm releasing a lot of my private edits and working on some remixes for other artists.

5. For you personally as a listener, what separates great dance music from good dance music?

For me, my favorite tracks have killer melodies that you just can't stop humming. I also love a great vocal over the track. There is just something so cool about a song that gives you chills when you listen to the vocal riding over the chord progression and it all crescendos up into this massive drop that makes you want to jump up and down wherever you are!

Thanks, X-Change!