"Living legend" is a term we do not use lightly here at CAMP - but when it comes to turntablism, that's definitely how we describe DJ Craze . Born in Nicaragua, Craze moved to the States at three years old, and grew up in Miami (where he lives now). The Miami Bass movement formed the vibrant backdrop of his formative musical years, providing him with the key components he needed to develop his unique cross-genre style and awe-inspiring technique.

Craze won his first DJ competition aged 16, and then at 18 won the Zulu Nation battle in NYC. The next year, 1996, he won it again - a small hint of what was coming for this explosive performer. 1997 - East Coast DMC Champion. 1998 - USA DMC Champion, and World DMC Champion. 1999, World DMC Champion again. And then the record-breaker - 2000, World DMC Champion for the third year running - an unprecendented feat. Mainstream aknowledgement was inevitable - in 2001, Time Magazine named him USA's best DJ. Craze's style is diverse - building out his hip-hop/breaks foundations, he adds drum n bass, breaks, trap, dubstep and way more to his toolkit. His sets are explosions of perfectly curated dancefloor energy, executed with mind-blowing virtuosic technique; Craze was Kanye West's DJ for the 2008 "Glow in the Dark" tour.

Outside the booth, Craze's positive influence on music spreads into multiple spheres. He runs record labels - from his collaborative project Slow Roast Records (with Matsu) to his drum n bass label Cartel; meanwhile his own productions have hit consistently high production levels - he released "Bully Breaks" in 2001, now widely aknowledged as one of the most famous battle records ever produced, and his production discography spans genres as widely as his DJ sets.

Over five days of exploration, discussion and hands-on practical learning, Craze will lead the group to hone their skills, build personalised development plans, fine-tune technical skills, build collaborations and grow a contextual awareness of the scene. We'll watch/listen to important sets and tracks, analyse techniques and content, explore the historical context of hip-hop and DJ culture, demonstrate specific equipment and technical skills, and share work with Craze and the group. There'll be time for individual tuition sessions, group discussions, and plenty of kicking back in the summer nights.



WHERE AND WHEN?

The course takes place at our residential centre in Aulus les Bains. It's two hours south of Toulouse, high in the French Pyrenees, very near the border with Spain. For detailed travel information, see the transport section. The course starts on Wednesday, July 5, 2023. We advise that you arrive the evening before (04/07/2023) - dinner and accommodation that night is included. The course runs for five days, ending on Sunday night. Accommodation on Sunday night is included, then we leave on Monday morning (10/07/2023). If you decide to take the minibus with us, you will be picked- up in Toulouse at 6pm on 04/07/2023, and will be back in Toulouse at 11am on 10/07/2023.

HOW TO BOOK

To book your place on the course, click the button in the green section above. You won't pay anything right now - we'll send you a booking confirmation email with everything you need to know next. Your place is reserved without payment for three days.

You'll find a payment link in the booking confirmation email - follow the link to make a payment (either in full, or the first payment of a month payment plan). In the latter case, a monthly payment plan will be put in place, so your card will be charged 1/ of the fee today, and 1/ each month (on the same day) for an additional -1 months. All card payments are handled by Stripe, and are extremely secure. We don't store any card data ourselves - all of this is handled securely off-site by Stripe. If you have a discount or grant code, you will be able to add it when you follow the payment link in your confirmation email.

Once you've made a payment, you'll receive another email containing your receipt, links to resources, contact information and access to our group chat to discuss the workshop with other participants.