Electronic music scenes don’t grow from algorithms—they grow from people, late nights, and local rooms that shape the sound. Each episode of Behind the Decks MPLS features an in-depth interview with a DJ from the Minneapolis–Twin Cities scene, followed by a back-to-back DJ set that captures their style, influences, and energy behind the decks. If you love house and electronic music, DJ culture, local scenes, and discovering the stories behind the music—this show is for you.
Latest episodes
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35 min
SEO title: Jazz Is Black American Music: A Minneapolis DJ on Jazz Radio Roots with Kenna
📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube"Somehow people don't understand maybe that jazz is Black American music... and that people gave it the name jazz to try to, like, diminish it…
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54 min
Dory Kahalé aka Ralph Laurenn - Minneapolis Rave Scene & DJ History: From Vinyl to Techno
📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube"I've been the nostalgia act since like 2003... now I don't even know what I am—what's a really old cat? A super senior? So I'm a super senior…
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44 min
Nigerian House Music, Amapiano, & Minneapolis DJ Scene with Abel Johnson
📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube“You can't pay me enough money to walk on a frozen lake. That's where I draw my line,” laughs Abel, Minneapolis DJ and house music mainstay, a…
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56 min
I Was Addicted & Homeless, Then Music Changed Everything - James Patrick
📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube"The music will set you free, baby. It’s the most important language the human species has ever developed," says James Patrick (JP), founder o…
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33 min
DJ Culture in Minneapolis: From Rondo to House Music with Sheltron
📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube"I just think anybody who really enjoys music should try to do some sort of creative outlet involving music. And if that's DJing, because it's…
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35 min
Dana Kazuko - House Music Community: How Gateway Became a Trans-Centered Safe Space
📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube“Trans joy is resistance,” says Dana Kazuko, founder of Gateway, Minneapolis’ underground, trans-centered nightclub, who joins Behind the Deck…
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35 min
DJ Scene Diversity: What Most People Miss in Minneapolis Nightlife with DJ Madre
📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube"Bring your own perspective, bring your culture into it, bring your background into it, bring your loves and likes into it," says DJ Madre, th…
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31 min
6a. St. Xose - From Colombia to New York: DJ Success Without Connections
📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube“You gotta support the people that support you and don’t go overboard for people that don’t do shit for you, basically. And buy your friends’…
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19 min
TNA on Finding Your Unique Sound
📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube"Take advantage of your circle and the people around you that are already doing it, and don't be afraid to ask for help," says TNA, a rising s…
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50 min
Nick Gunz - House Music Promotion: What Most DJs Miss About Building a Real Crowd
📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube“When you talk to someone that you’ve never met, that is feeling a way—that you’ve created a space for them to have an emotion or a feeling or…
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35 min
Dazy Haze - Building a DJ Brand Without Losing Your Authentic Sound
📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube“It’s like a charcuterie board of music—variety is the spice of life,” says Dazy Haze, Minneapolis-based DJ, public health professional, and c…
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1 h 31
2b: Noel Jean B2B Harry Duran
📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTubeDiscover in-depth DJ interviews, music production tips, and mental health discussions with Minneapolis artist Noel Jean in this Behind the Dec…
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43 min
2a: How Noel Jean Discovered the Healing Power of Music to Enhance Mental Wellness
📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube“So that really just like that first experience of being up till the break of dawn and, you know, hearing vinyl for the first time, that just…
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53 min
DJ Turnstyle B2B Harry Duran
📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTubeDiscover the vibrant Minneapolis–Twin Cities house and electronic music scene with Behind the Decks MPLS! In this premiere episode, host Harry…
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26 min
How DJ Turnstyle Discovered the Blueprint of House Music to Shape His Unique Sound
📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube"Love music. If you don't love music, if you're doing it for all the wrong reasons, that sincerity or lack of sincerity is going to show to th…
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48 sec
Welcome to Behind the Decks MPLS
Music scenes don’t grow from algorithms—they grow from people, late nights, and local rooms that shape the sound.Each episode of Behind the Decks features an in-depth interview wit…