DJ Azúcar, aka Signey Hernandez-Melendez, is a Chicago-based DJ.
This very talented, self-described "regular guy who loves music and enjoys sharing that love with everyone" has a natural affinity for Latin music and its diverse range of genres and House music with lots of percussion and African and Caribbean influence. His sets also include music from the 70′s & 80′s as well as Techno and its derivatives.
Signey got his start in his hometown of Moca, a small town in the northwest region of Puerto Rico where he created mix tapes of radio songs using a cassette recorder. He later relocated to mainland United States where he began to actively DJ.
K: Thanks for joining me.
S: You're welcome. Yeah, thank you for the invitation.
K: So help me learn a little bit more about you and how you actually got started. I saw you did a lot of streaming in 2021.
S: Yeah, I had a weekly thing going on.
K: Cool, cool. I also saw that you did radio in Alabama.
S: I did that for almost like, what, seven, eight years?
K: OK.
S: '99 to 2006, yeah.
K: So the mix you sent me is from Luquillo (Beach).
S: Yeah, that's the name of the town, yeah. Yeah, the party was there. It was a beach party, so I had a chance to go there for that event. They had like a lot of the local DJs. They brought someone from New York. Then, you know, I was invited to play, as well, with them.
K: Yeah, man, yeah. I could imagine how awesome that was; and, particularly, you having spent time in New York. I mean, New York's gotta be a great place to be a DJ.
S. Oh, absolutely. I wish I was actually there for longer, for a longer time.
K: When did you move to the mainland?
S: I moved in '96 - went to Texas first for a year and then, in '97, I moved to Alabama.
K: Oh, okay, I got you. Cool, man. Wow, so how long were you in Alabama before you came to Chicago?
S: In Alabama, I was there for 10 years...
K: Okay.
S: ..and then between Alabama and Chicago, I was in New York, actually.
K: Oh, really?
S: Yeah, I was in New York for like four and a half (years) and then I moved here (Chicago).
K: Were you spinning in New York?
S: I actually was with a group of people in Queens. There was, like, a DJ collective in Astoria (that) used to be called the Astoria DJ Group - 'ADG' for short - and then I used to DJ with them on occasion. Yeah, we had a couple of residencies that we (would) split or take turns with the group. Good times, man. I miss that a lot.
K: That's cool, man. So, out of all those places, which one did you like the best?
S: Oh man, I've been - well here's the funny thing, though, is that I had a great time in Huntsville, though, because that's where I was actually able to start DJing, finally, in public - you know, on the regular. But it wasn't House music, it was actually Latin music.
K: Right, right. Okay, that's cool. Yeah, I heard there's a nice scene in Huntsville, though.
S: It is. It's been growing ever since pretty much.
K: Yeah. It's like, that's kind of like a college town, isn't it?
S: It's more like a military base town. They do have a university in Huntsville that gets a lot of people in, but it's mostly the military people on base.
K: Some of the best DJs are like, you know, military affiliated, because you gotta play for a vast cross-section of people and the military people are so well-traveled.
S: Yeah. So they get to see and experience, you know, different places, different cultures...
K: Yeah, exactly.
S: ...different ways of doing things.
K: Wow, man, that's a cool place to get your start, man.
S: Yeah, I loved it. I had a great time. I (would) play a little bit of House in my set but it was mostly, you know, your Salsa, your Merengue, your Bachata, your Cumbia kind of vibe.
K: Yeah, really cool, man. Stoked to hear it, man...you're House, but you're eclectic as well, you know, and you span the different genres of House. I was listening to the mix you sent me and it goes across the different genres of house music.
S: And that's pretty much the way it usually is. I try to kind of, like, always incorporate some different types of house; just so that everyone gets a little bit of everything when I play.
K: Yeah, for sure. That's cool, man. So, like, I know you did a lot of mixes in 2021. What about over the past three years or a couple of years?
S: I haven't done much online because once, you know, once everything opened up after the pandemic, then I started traveling for work quite a bit.
K: Oh, OK. Yeah, understood, understood.
S: Yeah, I wasn't doing much online. I (would) be playing occasionally at different places, and those are some of the sets that I'm trying to get mastered so I can then, finally, update some of the Mixcloud, you know, sets and kind of like put some of them online.
K: Let me ask you this, you know, how would you compare the New York and Chicago DJ scenes? And if you wanna throw in a comparison with Huntsville and, you know, Puerto Rico, feel free. I don't know how much spinning you've done on the island...
S: On the island, it hasn't been that much. It's been more like an occasional thing. Maybe, I don't know, three times a year, maybe. But I can tell you from the experience, you know, in Alabama it was a much smaller type of, you know, and closer type of community there when it comes down to music.
K: Yeah.
S: As far as House, it wasn't that much of it, though. It was more of the EDM/Top 40 type of vibe, but as far as the Latin community goes, they would follow any of the DJs there and when I was there, I was only one of two (Latin) DJs in the whole state.
K: Wow.
S: So, you know, I got to know some of the other people as they were coming up from Birmingham and downstate.
K: Right.
S: So it was good. I mean, it was just a handful of us, you know, during the time that I was there - the 10 years that I was there - so I got to know them; and we were very close to each other. There was no animosity or competition.
K: Right.
S: We all had opportunities in our area. So that was a good thing.
K: Yeah, for sure, man.
S: Yeah, New York is closer...New York and Chicago are very close in terms of the experience and the, you know, the amount of places and options that you have available - every day there's something going on.
K: Yeah.
S: Many more people involved so, you know, the opportunities are not as many. But if you're good, and they get to know you. There will always be more, you know, options or opportunities coming up.
K: Yeah, no, definitely, man. Gotcha, gotcha. Well, I mean, you know, obviously you're very eclectic, not only sonically, but also from your DJ experience geographically. So who are your, like, major influences musically as well as from a DJ standpoint?
S: Oh my, you know, when it comes down to influences from the Chicago side, it will be definitely, you know, the Paul Johnson, (20:08) the Frankie Knuckles, like, you know, type of vibe. Ron Carroll, you know, I do have a lot of respect for him too.
K: He's spinning a show this...I think pretty soon at the Smart Bar - him and Marshall Jefferson.
S: Yeah, I'm gonna be there. I'm gonna hang out there.
K: OK, OK.
S: I'm gonna definitely attend that one.
K: The Latinos In Da House conference is coming up. That's gonna be fire. I can't wait for that, man.
S: Yeah, that's good too.
K: Yeah, I just feel like it's overdue because Latinos have always been a part of the culture, obviously, and a lot of people don't get as much credit as they deserve for developing the House music and dance music culture in Chicago and beyond. And, like, you all always had the Freestyle - the New York Latin freestyle. I mean, that was kind of seen as, like, a Latino - predominantly Latino thing - but I still think that the Latinos deserve more shine in not just with House music, but also Hip-Hop as well - as well as all the different genres, man. But, you know, I've seen the Latin presence become more predominant in the last 20-25 years, man. You know what I'm saying? And, for me, that's just good to see.
So like, you know, what's on the horizon? What's new? What's up with you for 2024 going on into 2025?
S: So my, actually my first goal or my, you know, most immediate goal will be to actually get started finally to play with, you know, production or kind of like mess with production a little bit - maybe do some edits or mashups first...
K: Yeah.
S: ...but I'm gonna see if as time goes on, try to do a little more on occasion and try to get my feet wet, so to speak, on production.
