I first heard the Soulclap duo at the redline in Cambridge, where they were opening for King Britt. I was impressed at how energetic and incredibly fun to watch they were – in DJ’ing, being fun to watch is not that easy to come by: you have to listen to the music you’re playing, the music you’re about to play and coordinate the complex equipment in front of you. Check out the All-Israeli-Artists mix that they made especially for Shebrew! (click!)

Today I’m meeting them in Harvard Square to talk to Charlie and Eli about music, Jewish community and Jewish identity. It is an amazingly beautiful fall day, a little crisp, very sunny, and we take a walk around the square and down to the Charles river.

During our conversation I can’t help but notice how warm and enthusiastic they are, but also, how surprisingly serious. Both Eli and Chalie are native to the Boston area: Eli is from Cambridge, and Charlie grew up in Brookline. Both have been DJing since high school, starting out with hip-hop, and then moving on to other genres. Eli still sometimes spins at the dances in his old school. After Charlie returned to Boston from California, where he went to Pitzer College, the guys went into business together.

So how did you two meet?

E. – We went to different schools, but we were both involved in student government, so we met on one of the field trips…

How did your music tastes evolve?

C. – I started out with hip-hop, like Eli. Then, around the same time I began going to raves, getting more into house, jungle, drum and bass, funk, soul and disco…

Were you involved Jewishly when you were growing up?

C. – I grew up very involved at Temple Israel in Brookline, I strongly identify as a Reform Jew.

What does that mean for you?

C. – All of it, traditions, values, community. I’m definitely spiritual. I don’t have a lot of money right now, but once I do, I want to support Jewish causes. Being Jewish for me is shared heritage, but also things I do with my family, like High holydays and Passover dinners
E. – I’m not that religious, and I wouldn’t say I grew up very involved. For me, Jews share history and family traditions – I too enjoy Passover…

How do you think our generation of Jews is different?

E. – We’re proud to be Jewish, there is that common bond you know, being a member of the tribe (smiles)

C. - Jewish community is very important, people are everywhere. We often run into Jews in the music and entertainment industry, and that special, since the industry historically was dominated by African-American and Latino artists, and Jews proved themselves to find their way in. I wish we had a special handshake! (both laugh)

When the Soulclap guys did nightclub promotion they always had that connection with being Jewish, “wanted to do cool Jewish events”.

C. - I did a jdate party once, back when I was single, wanted to meet a hot Jewish chick. I really wanted to have an event where it’s “sexy to be Jewish”…

E. – There is potential for these parties, there is a lot of interesting ethnic stuff going on around Boston, and maybe we can create something similar.

C. – The jdate party was pretty lame, though, unfortunately… But we spin at the MatzoBall every year, it’s lot of fun! Younger crowd, very exciting.

E. – Maybe to be successful the events have to be more informal, less of a commitment. Those one-time things sometimes form strong connections.

C. – Like birthright, trips like that let you meet cool people.

So what else do you do, aside from DJing? Do you do promotion?

E. – I wouldn’t say we “promote”. “Promoting” is when you make people go to an even they wouldn’t go to otherwise. We put together parties that we ourselves would wanna go to, and hope others will appreciate them, too.
We DJ, and we also make some beats, produce music – that’s the real way to get out there, to have our name known. And we have a blog, www.soulclap.us – we got 20,000 hits last month. We just really want to educate people about the music, not just have them listen to it.

How do you stay on top of new music?

E. - We buy new music probably once a week. One of our friends literally stays home all day and fills computers with music, so that works out nicely (laughs) There are also some great UK vinyl stores, we get their newsletters to check out new releases.

How has the electronic dance music changed?

C. – It’s moving more towards electro and techno. The boundaries between genres are more blurred now. In the late 90s/ 2000 the genres were very segregated, every DJ was starving to the expert in their own music. Now it’s more of a blend, but not for the old school DJs, for them it seems like the boundaries are the same…

What is the coolest place you’ve played?

C. – Monaco this past summer.

What about the strangest place?

(both laugh)
E. – Oh, remember that tiny bar in Vegas? That was the strangest – this tiny bar way off the strip.

So, do the DJs get all the ladies?

E. – You’re busy spinning.
C. – You can get a lot of action. In general, there are just a lot of women coming up to you and talking.
E. – That’s true. But then the downside if their requests are stupid, that’s the biggest turn-off…
C. – Also, at underground parties there are always more guys than girls. That’s why Dancing on the Charles was so popular – there were a lot of girls!
E. – Jealousy can be an issue, if you do have a girlfriend. But the bigger issue is time. Music is life, no matter how committed you are, you gotta breathe it, live it, work it!

What are the some other downsides of being a DJ?

C. – Unredictable money can be an issue, especially if you think about the future, having a family and all. It does help that we go into everything from a business perspective. You gotta be abale to take the underground culture and package it. We are the “cool factor”.

E. – Boston music scene can be very difficult, DJs are underpaid, and it undermines the job we do.

C. – We used to do a lot of weddings and bar-mitzvahs, it wass our bread and butter for a while. Now we only do friends’ weddings

E. (laughs) – You can only play silly music for the people you care about

In general, would you spin music you don’t like?

E. – We did different gigs before, but now we would only play the music we like. It’s important to be true to yourself as an artist.