DJ Lumis: Spinning Knowledge

By Ashley Frett
Staff Writer
August 15, 2007


Lumis, a connotation of Illuminate also is defined to mean enlighten, as with knowledge. One guy who lives up to that depiction is CA based artist, DJ Lumis.

The initiator of http://www.InLifeWeSpin.com that was rooted in ’02, documents Lumis’ life as a DJ. Starting out with just him, it has since expanded with other musical artists.

“I wanted to create a support system for myself and other struggling underground artists, where we could share ideas and just jam out,” says Lumis.

Lumis started Djing at 16-years-old. He started playing at house parties. “Then, I got a job in Mexico two days after I got my driver’s license, spinning in clubs and bars in Tijuana.” He couldn’t play anywhere stateside, since he was too young.

The science and art of DJing inspired him to start DJing, than an actual DJ he looked to.

Music has always been apart of his life. He grew up listening to De La Soul, Bob Marley, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Run DMC, Public Enemy, Miles Davis.

“The list goes on and on, since I can’t think of a point in my past [or present either] when there wasn’t music playing. I’m always listening to music, all sorts of artists,” Lumis explains.

Now, you can find Lumis listening to Gnarls Barkley, Gorrilaz, Gym Class Heroes, Mark Farina, Kanye West, Armand Ven Helden, One Block Radius, Amy Winehouse, Common and Pharoah Monch.

With tracks like, “Who Are You” and “Planetary Head Bob;" a unique sound all its own, shuffling a little bit of house mixed with hip-hop.

Some of his goals are to travel everywhere, and see different places and cultures through their music. He used to be content playing other peoples music; now he’s producing his own beats.

“Goals change as life changes,” says Lumis, “The struggles of being an independent musician are worth it if you truly love the craft.”

Check out his myspace page at: http://www.myspace.com/djlumis.