Declan fell in love with dance music at an early age, he grew up listening to mix tapes handed down from his cousin who went to the Asylum/Sides and the Olympic ball room which was where the dublin /irish dance scene emerged. He didn’t realise he wanted to be a DJ until he attended his first rave in the legendary Ormond multi media centre. It was an under 18s dance event with DJs Orbit, Keno Flanagan,DJ Pressure and MC Danny Kearns.. “ It is what he had been looking for and finally he was in a place were he felt he belonged” From that night on he knew what his calling in life was.
Aquiring a set of Decks became Dec’s top priority, so he landed his first summer job and started saving. Buying records became an addiction, he would race in on Thursday evening to Abbey Discs to get his hands on the newest releases, Music Power, Tag and HMV were also on his hit list for new music and he didn’t stop there, Friday Saturday & Sunday were also record days.
He spent most of his youth perfecting the art of mixing and playing at house parties or anywhere the opportunity came about to play and share new music. Dec was asked to come on as a guest DJ on Nova Fm’s DJ Tempo’s show, from that experience Dec got the radio bug and decided he wanted his own show. Kiss Fm, Dublin was where he began his first radio show. He hosted this show Every Thursday night and was privy to a lot of exclusive music kept by especially for him by his close friend who worked in Abbey Discs.. He felt great pride at the fact that he managed to play a lot of promos test pressings and white labels first on the scene.
It was time to expand his passion & talent & soon Dec co -founded MDJ Entertainments with some friends. They began hosting their own parties in small clubs and Venues in Dublin and Kildare. MDJ became many different things associated with Djing in general. They took over a premises and created MDJ Studios, a place for DJ’s to come and network, share music and Ideas. Before social media arrived,this was a real network of like minded people who shared a love for Djing and Music. MDJ wasn’t only about Dance Music it also welcomed Hip Hop Dj’s and Mc’s to do their thing. It became a popular hang out and caught the attention of the film makers within RTE, Ireland’s national broadcaster. They wanted to shoot a day in the life of Dec and MDJ Studios. Dec thought it would be great to showcase some of the DJ’s and Mc’s who came to the studio and to promote these alternative music styles. The documentary was aired on RTE the countries national broadcaster on one of their shows about different topics / projects and alternative lifestyles called Capital D.
The years to come saw Dec back doing what he loved, playing music to people who really appreciated it. This journey lead him to conquer most of the top venues & clubs nationwide including Pygmalion, Radio City, SFX Theatre: Dublin,Temple Theatre Main room & The Crypt,Temple Bar Music Centre ,The Academy ,The Cave ,The Vaults ,The Pint ,Twisted Pepper ,Traffic ,The Bernard Shaw ,Room 19 ,The Lost Society Main room & Basement ,The Mezz ,The Hub ,Tivoli Theatre Dublin – Area 51 Festival – Mystic Festival Ireland,Ballinamore Fringe Festival; Letrim ,Eclipse Festival, Life Festival.
Dec has an infectious energy & skill when in action behind the decks, his ability to fully immerse & connect with his crowd while delivering accurately timed displays of beat juggling, scratching & a multitude of subtle Dj effects ,is inspiring.
Is it any wonder that Djing became his chosen profession with his birth name being Declan Joseph Coleman… DJ is in the name..
