Student DJ prepares for Summerfest debut

Photo courtesy of Nick Villamizar.

Tamica Jean-Charles/Entertainment Director

 

Before he could attend the festival, Nikolas Lam would drive down Biscayne Boulevard with his parents and look on at Ultra in hopes of catching a glimpse of whatever DJ was performing.

Now at 21, Lam, also known as DJ Silence Of, incorporates the different styles of his favorite DJ’s into his own sets.

“I try to be diverse as I can,” said Lam. “I want to hit every note with the audience so that everybody feels included.”

This year, he will play his biggest set yet–Summerfest 2019. The annual electronic dance music festival hosted by Campus Life takes place between the Blue and Gold Parking Garages on July 18.

Lam was first introduced to EDM after hearing a song on his middle school’s morning news. He discovered the artist behind the song, Skrillex, and quickly fell into the rabbit hole DJ’s and performances.

Lam later found a mentor whom he tagged along with gigs to learn more about the music style. He was later gifted a mixer, a device that fuses different songs and sounds, and has been obsessed ever since.

Later, his high school physics teacher gave Lam an idea for his stage name,  which was a play off the film “Silence of the Lambs.”

The mechanical engineering senior performed at previous FIU events; he mixed at Uproar the past two years and Homecoming in 2018.  The different events posed different set styles, leaning more towards pop and hip hop rather than electronic, which prepared the young DJ for his Summerfest set.

“I think in this specific [setting] that is generally EDM, I get to really show off my expertise [and say] alright, this is what I’m made of,” said Lam.

Lam originally started off as a Summerfest Task Force member. After securing the headlining spots, the festival was in need of a student or local deejay to open the festival. A director suggested Lam for the position, and after getting further approval other directors, he locked in his spot.

This year, Lam is playing simultaneously with Max Sanchez, a fellow student DJ who goes by DJ MXX.

Kayzo, Riotten, 4B, Crankdat are set to perform at Summerfest. Lam said he has seen all the DJ’s live at some point and is “ready to give back”  and “unleash his wild set” with his own set.

“I’m looking forward to being authentic,” said Lam. “I’m ready to give the audience something they will remember while also throwing down.”

Lam believes this will be the best festival to date. The headlining deejays and their takes on EDM, Lam says, will be dark, dubstep-heavy, and overall bats**t crazy.

Lam still plans on continuing his academic and professional career in mechanical engineering while pursuing music.

“I can’t stop deejaying,” said Lam. “Even if it’s deejaying at clubs, music is still a part of me.”

Lam and DJ MXX will open the festival from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Summerfest will be on Thursday, July 18 and is free for all FIU students, and $30 for non-FIU guests.

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