Red Sessions presents A-Trak

Alain Macklovitch, alias A-Trak, was destined to be a DJ. At the tender age of 13, the ambitious Macklovitch traded his bar mitzvah money for a turntable and a mixer. A-Trak relates that he spent 18 hours a day honing his craft. 

It paid off. Two years later, he took home the 1997 DMC World DJ Championship title. He goes down in history as the youngest winner ever and the very first DMC champion from Canada. He continued dropping his name into DJ-ing history as the first to win all three of the major DJ competitions—DMC, ITF (International Turntablist Federation) and Vestax.

Broadening his horizons, he kickstarted the independent hip hop label called Audio Research with older brother David who you might know as Dave 1 from Canadian electro/funk act Chromeo. As recent as last year, A-Trak launched yet another label, this time with friend Nick Catchdubs. Entitled Fool’s Gold, the label has under its wing acts like rapper Kid Sister and DJ/producers/remixers Jokers Of The Scene. Regardless of who they represent or the kind of music they put out, Fool’s Gold aim is to represent the best of what club music has to offer, regardless if it’s hip hop, electro, or techno.

Currently, A-Trak is the official tour DJ for Kanye West. No surprises why—A-Track strikes that balance between hip hop and electro that so many try to emulate, but fail. And simply put, he drops jaws when he drops beats. Don’t take our word for it; have a listen for yourself at www.myspace.com/djatrak. Better yet, check out A-Trak’s mix CD Infinity+1. 

Text Sarah Chan