By 2am on a Friday in Greek Row, most of the surrounding residents have long since drifted off to sleep in the nearby apartments. The streets should be dead, aside from a few stray cats or rabbits here or there. During September however, this is prime time for the University of Toronto students to be partying their days away, especially for those who can’t make it into the bustling clubs on King Street.
Behind the ancient stone and wooden walls of UofT’s fraternities dating as far back as to the first Chapter, which was Zeta Psi in 1847, the once quiet buildings now have countless boots and heels jumping on the old wooden floorboards, and red solo cups littered across the rooms. DJ Kaan Atasoy, simply known as “DJ Kaan” to the Greek Life community, waits for the chorus of a 2000s pop hit to die down. Pauses, then brings in a new Drake song that everyone’s had on repeat since its release — practically the figurehead of Toronto nightlife.
“DJing is just a hobby,” he humbly admits in an interview, expanding on its accessible nature, “which means that nowadays anyone could be a DJ.”
You’d be surprised to learn that DJing is a shared hobby among stressed out UofT students. A good DJ makes all the difference at an event, fuelling the energy of the crowd and making people head home happy at the end of it.
Atasoy juggles a seemingly difficult “Hannah Montana” double life, between working towards an Engineering degree during the day and living vibrant, but wild nights DJing or attending nightclubs & fraternities — but somehow makes it look like a normal UofT student’s life.
Growing up in Turkey, DJing was something he did on the side even in High School, preferring his bedroom or hanging out with a few close friends to the packed Friday night on campus or downtown. Being an international student, his academics are an utmost priority; preferring to take this past summer to complete an internship back home. On quieter days in Toronto, Atasoy enjoys a good cup of ayran, a salty and refreshing Turkish yogurt drink to remind him of home.
While there might not be a textbook you can buy at the bookstore on College Street to help you learn the ropes, a lot of what makes DJing such a fun hobby is a massive set list he knows start to finish. Something that Atasoy needs to sort through before every event, as well as about nineteen other playlists via SoundCloud he’s also created for his reference.
What he plays ultimately depends on the crowd's vibe, which Atasoy knows how to read extremely well despite admitting he’s too busy to see himself in a fraternity. Still open to recommendations from the brothers however, it does in fact make up a decent 10% of his set list. His only guilty confession is that he’ll only play a request if it’s on his playlist.
One exception includes Bad Bunny, because in his words, “you have to play Bad Bunny if you're doing a set, and it's like we played it five songs ago, but they were in the washroom.”
The most significant aspect of becoming a DJ, that goes beyond your talent, is your ability to network. There’s nobody in particular that’s looking for a DJ: oftentimes fraternities have their own brothers mixing sets, and established nightclubs have a determined list of people they book. Even for general bars, they tend to hire somebody who has built up enough experience to showcase on a resume.
A student career in DJing begins primarily in knowing somebody already that can invite you in. After that point, you’re really on your own. With the limited amount of gigs, your best bet is to build connections to practice and let them accumulate. As Atasoy reiterated to me, at the end of the day, it’s a business, and you don’t want people to get ahead of you, so people are terrified to help each other out. It also relies heavily on the cost, nightclubs preferring to save money even when it matters.
It might not always be something every single UofT student understands, we all have our own fields of study. A computer science student could be building an AI startup behind the scenes, and an art history student could be able to talk to you for three hours on a singular painting you know nothing about. For DJ Kaan though, his talent is being able to effortlessly manage the past year and a half as a student, juggling a demanding academic life with a simple, long-term passion of his.
When it comes down to it, UofT students have more in common than we do differences. Despite the large campus, I’m sure you can relate to feeling disappointed at a DJ’s less than smooth transition at a party you go to — even Atasoy can, trying to enjoy a nice night out without being overly critical of others’ setlists.
“Unless it's bad, you know what I'm saying? It's like, wow, this guy really messed it up.”