Merlin

In 1992, DJ Merlin and a few “hip-hop head” friends ingratiated themselves to Troy Cormack, aka DJ Sound Machine; Merlin was spellbound. “I really kind of fell in love with what he was doing,” he remembers. “We would go to his house and jump on the turntables anytime he hopped up to go to the bathroom or to do something.” Weaseling time on Cormack’s turntable setup, Merlin learned to cut, scratch and “make all these weird noises [he]’d never heard,” finessing his tricks of the trade in order to share the music he loved.

Nowadays, that music runs from hip-hop, soul and reggae to top 40, dance hall and beyond. “[I play] whatever the gig calls for.” he says, emphatic that he’s ready to spin for “anything from a bar mitzvah to a full-on, top 40, hip-hop club.” That readiness comes from years of digging through vinyl bins or mining the far reaches of the Internet. Whatever the gig, Merlin’s got a veritable stockade of old favorites and deep cuts to throw down.

“I try to walk that fine line between introducing people to new music and also keeping them happy and keeping it relevant,” he reasons. “When you’ve got a room full of people, whether it’s a small venue or it’s a concert venue with hundreds and hundreds of people, just to see them really enjoying what you’re doing—it’s a rush.” —Ashley Melzer