We have our own platform now and we’re bringing that to the people-and it’s working. “We’ve been the premier breakbeat promoters for the past three years. And it seems the audience has responded well to the headliners Major has chartered. Guest spots are always a prime at the shows and Major says he has no problems filling timeslots.
The two newest members of the Break Beat Dojo are Carson “Funkin’ Right” Kendall and Ben “Benanas” Ferrence, both of whom have contributed to the promotion of shows in the past few months, opening the BBD to a broader audience. “It’s just a play on words, and I’m just a Canadian DJ,” he says with a laugh. When asked to comment about the political value of his moniker, Major was very much Switzerland about it.
He admits that he loves the vibe that Wu-Tang emits, and he had hopes his enclave emulates that sentiment, if only a little. When people come to our shows and want to learn about breakbeats, the Dojo is like a school for breakbeats,” says Major, enthusiastically. I like that a dojo is somewhere that people go to learn martial arts and Kung Fu, and that can apply to us. Possibly in the throes of a dream, he came up with the fun name, which spoke to his childhood love for classic Kung Fu movies and the idea that if people wanted to learn more about the genre, the shows thrown by the collective would school them. He joined forces with a few other DJs-two of whom remain with the group to this day: Ryan “McTwist” Krawec and Leevon “Dirty Leroy Brown” Dance. In response to that, Major launched a collective to throw his beloved genre into the limelight. If you think back to three years ago, Calgary’s local electronic music scene paid plenty of attention to drum ‘n’ bass and house talent, but there weren’t many breakbeat DJs playing out. At least that’s how I understand it after having a warm chat with Brook “Donald Bump” Major of Break Beat Dojo. When you’re a DJ, it’s best to break beats, not hearts.