DJ Afro

DJ Afro (A.K.A. Jose Luis Pardo)



“I cant believe that the DJ plays in the band” heard a friend of mine in the crowd of one los amigos invisiblesshow. Since our band started I became a freak trying to make sure that the band had the right mood set up for our performance. So, not listening to Enrique Iglesias or Shakira before our show was a mission that somebody had to take on his back. I love music so, being all night playing and dancing?, not a problem for me.



The time passed and friends started to invite me to their bars to play records, I had the records, I started learning how to work out with the crowd, I learned to do the beat matching….one day I woke up and thought: Shit, maybe I am a DJ, I love it!



Djing tought me a lot about the crowds, about the music, what works, what gets people excited and what sounds make me happy. That helps me so much when I write a song. Did I told you that I am responsible for writing more than 80% LAI’s music?



A friend of the band, Randy Kaye (RIP) loved my dj sets and convinced me to do a remix for a band he managed. That is how I did “Soul Coughings Rolling” and a career as a remixer-producer started. Years after I can say I have done a lot of remixes I love, from David Byrne, to Fantastic Plastic Machine, kinky, dimitri from Paris, etc (please check m reel).



When i moved to New York I became a regular of Louie Vegas parties, I chased him down (I was that guy that annoys the dj when he is picking up all his stuff to go home), I pushed him in to making a record for los amigos, we hit it off and then we started working together in a lot of his stuff. No university would have taught me what I have learned with him. Then I met Dimitri (thru Louie), we still remain close, he is my favorite producer, the best mentor I could have dreamed about. New York has treated me really well, I have known so many talented musicians, I have had the chance to play and work for so many cool producers, only in New York.



A project of radio started in Venezuela started and they wanted me to try a radio show for friday nights. Its been 4 years now and the show is still going on Ateneo 100.7, other radios use it to (Radio 10 Panama, Grita radio Mx and Giant step NY), my friends know they can come to this website and get two hours of music every week, you can come too. it has become a great excercise to stay on top of finding new music and revising whatever comes to my hands.



I cant complain, with my bag full of records that can go from Samba to Boogaloo, from Rare Grooves to Organic House to Disco I have been spinning all around the world always working his way to get behind the wheels of steel in my hometown New York. I am a regular guest in parties like Raza, Alma, Giant Step, Shelter, Cielo, Suba, Remote lounge, Nublu, Pink (SF), and had been in places like PS.1, Knitting Factory (LA), Eighteen Street Lounge (DC), La santanera (playa del Carmen), O bar (Dallas), Sala Arena (Madrid), The Basement (Australia) and others. I have opened for Dimitri from Paris and Little Louie Vega. My afterparties in local clubs following LAI’s gigs are becoming a standard in every city where los amigos perform.



One day me and my wife made a party at our house and one of our guests

(3d-mike) brought a nice girl (Shelly) that suggested me to come work at her company (Expansion Team) making music for commercials. With my experience as remixer this was supposed to be a piece of cake, it wasnt but I love to learn and another career making music for audiovisual pieces started there. I have done works that I love for companies like Mazda, Sears, Miller, General Motors, Comedy Central, Best buy, AT&T and Sony, among others (Check reel).



Los Amigos Invisibles always had the idea of making a record label in mind. After putting out “Venezuelan zinga son vol.1? Gozadera records was born. Young kids starting giving us music and since everything that has happened to me has happened because I gave my music to somebody I just started commiting myself to keep the flow. That is how “Chill out venezuela” started, getting all this amazing music from venezuelan producers was overwhelming. Chill out venezuela came out in 2005, then “Dance Venezuela” came in 2006. I have made an effort in making our Gozadera records become the label that shows the great music that nobody else would. My newest adventure is Frequent Traveling (2009), a compilation I did with tracks i received in all the trips of los amigos over latin america. This 2009 is going to be great for Gozadera, we have amazing stuff lined up: Dj trujillos Yo hago yoga hoy, Nuuro, Indie Venezuela, Groove Venezuela, etc. I love been the head of a record label



Nowadays I am finishing my first solo album that will called Free, working with my Trio in a joropos album (traditional venezuelan music), producing some tracks on the new “Tres dueños” album, finishing details on Nuuros album (which I co-produced with him) and working in the music score of Diego Velascos next movie: “El dia de los pobres”.



I love music