In the coming weeks we are making some changes to the site. Bear with us as we make those adjustments and call the Hotline for more information. We have a couple of events happening like our Open Turntable Sessions (OTS) at Revilla Grooves and Gear on Saturday Oct. 18th from 1pm to 6pm. The Ebony Craft Market at Hackensack Brewery on Sunday Oct. 19th is also home to OTS and that event is all day. The Open Turntable Session starts at 1pm and a few of the featured DJ’s are DJ QS, DJ Dan.CE and yours truly Kortez. On Thursday Oct. 30th I will be spinning a special Halloween/Scorpio party with Charli3Rox at Tierney’s Tavern located at 138 Valley Road Montclair NJ from 8pm to 1am. Call The G.O.T. hotline at 732 294 7161 for more information.
Welcome to Gathering of Tribes, below are promos to our events and details as to who we are and what we represent. We are a creative collective and U are welcome to collaborate with us. Our motto is “Leave your ego at the door and bring a brick, we are building something. All of our contact info is at the bottom of the page. Thank U for your support and this is my favorite mixes featured on MixCloud and a hot new mix on Youtube.
The 1st Open Turntable Session that put Gathering of Tribes on the map was our 1st Sunday sessions at Four City Brewing. At the start I had a Thursday night event that was right after we opened up for covid. I suggested we do a Open Turntables and it was more successful then my spinning on Thursdays and the rest is history. We are still looking for performers and poets to incorporate into these sessions at other venues. This was a free event open to all ages from 1pm to 6pm every 1st Sunday. Four City was located at 55 South Essex Ave in Orange New Jersey. Call 732 294 7161 for more information and note that this event is no longer happening. Please note we are making changes on the site and call the hotline for all updates.
Every 2nd Friday at Four City Brewery from 6pm to 10pm we feature 3 DJ’s who frequent the Open Turntable Sessions. Each DJ gets an hour to play and I curate the evening in a way that is cohesive and enjoyable. While the DJ’s play I work the room making sure everything and everybody is cool and I usually start one of my paintings. The paintings are inspired by the energy in the room and eventually end up being exhibited at Vonda’s Kitchen. There is a connection to everything I do and U have a unique opportunity to witness the creativity of Gathering of Tribes in real time. Call the hotline for more info!
At Hackensack Brewery we do things a little different. Gathering of Tribes is collaborating with Ebony Craft Society and their Ebony Craft Market. This is a combination of outdoor vending (weather permitting), DJ Culture and some of the best craft beers in NJ. The OTS portion is special as well. It’s “Digital vs Vinyl” where we are allowing folks to bring their controller or any device that has a 1/4″ jack and can plug into my Mackie 6 channel board. Ever since we have been doing Open Turntables, Digital DJ’s have complained that they can’t partake in the fun due to either not feeling comfortable on 1200’s or they have never played on turntables. Now y’all have no excuse for not getting down every 3rd Sunday at Hackensack Brewery located at 78 Johnson Ave (Behind the tombstones) in Hackensack New Jersey. If U have any questions about the set up, simply call the G.O.T. hotline at 732 294 7161 and we will be happy to give U the information about the event.
Every 3rd Saturday of the month we switch things up a bit and do it at Revilla Grooves and Gear. Both locations is no cover just good music, dope art and lots of vinyl! At Revilla we are going to see if we can coax people to play what they purchased. This is a very unique shopping experience and this is open to the public all ages and all genres! Revilla has a wide selection and great prices. This is one of the main sources for my vinyl, vinyl accessories and used audio. Revilla is located at 126 North Main Street in Milltown New Jersey. For those who aren’t familiar with the area, its close to New Brunswick NJ.
The African Diaspora Arts Festival is going in a different direction and will relaunch in 2026! The festival ran for 5 years and because of creative differences the festival was put on pause. The focus will continue to be bringing culture via the arts and sharing a Pan African mindset to suburban communities. DJ Culture will be a major part of this cultural festival. Stay tuned for more and if you have a desire to participate, please reach out and call the G.O.T. Hotline at 732 294 7161 and please state that your call is for the African Diaspora Arts festival and you want to volunteer, perform or be a vendor.
DJ’s Kortez and Adam Cruz of MixTape Sessions shared their love of DJ culture in a two part series at the East Orange Public Library. We are sharing this and other highlight in our journey as Gathering of Tribes. We not only play clubs, we also participate in panel discussions centered on fine art and DJ Culture. These forums are great in libraries, schools and other educational facilities for adults and children. If U would like to book Gathering of Tribes for an educational event, call the G.O.T. Hotline at 732 294 7161 we will be honored to discuss the creative possibilities of this type of collaboration.
The 2nd part of that series was DJ’s Kortez and Adam Cruz discussing the history of House Music from Asbury Park to East Orange, NJ has a rich musical history. We also discussed Adam’s book titled Free The Music Business, Tips and Tales from an Indie Music Nerd. Adam had his book available for sale and signed copies. Please note the book is now in circulation at the East Orange Library and will be available for all to check out. Both events were free and open to the public. This is how we share DJ culture and control the narrative.
The promo from our Gathering of Tribe Sessions on Thursday nights at Four City. This was the start of our journey collaborating with the Orange NJ Brewery.
Art created by DJ Adam Cruz
May 6th, 2022 was the last BORN AGAIN VINYL SESSION at House of BAV in East Orange NJ. This was the start and it all began as a way to get people to shop in the boutique.
A classic “Born Again Vinyl” Promo
If you are interested in hosting a Open TurnTable Event at your establishment, please reach out via email at DJKortezis@gmail.com or text me directly at 732 610 2146. Also leave a message at 732 294 7161. Also note that all of the graphics U see on this site was created by KORTEZ. Reach out and we can discuss the creative possibilities.
Note that we are looking for DJ’s who spin a little bit off the beaten path. If you spin genres of music that aren’t of the main stream and especially music coming from the African Diaspora, please hit us up. Also if you sit around and complain that you have no place to play due to the main stream formats are not your cup of tea, reach out and lets connect. There are so many opportunities if you are will to think outside the box… We are running around the box, setting things off!!
DJ KV formerly of Feel It Radio is a DJ from Jersey City who is down with us!
KORTEZ Bio
There is so much that makes up DJ Kortez AKA Mojito Jones and the creator of Gathering of Tribes, (formerly Born Again Vinyl, a name coined by dear friend, DJ, Playwright and Podcast host of For the Love of House Podcast, Mark Henderson). The DJ/artist was the 2nd half of House of BAV, a sustainable Fashion boutique in East Orange NJ. The boutique is actually “Home of Born Again Vintage“, a sustainable fashion line created by upcycle designer Bridgett Artise. The store became a creative hub for the artist who sells his art and collaborations on fashion. The music from the start was one of the things that makes the boutique unique but the music didn’t start there. Kortez has been a DJ since 1984 and his introduction to DJ Culture was during the Sunday afternoon parties hosted by the Pegasus Disco in Midtown NYC in the late70’s. Kortez’s older Brother Demmick Peace attended the night club and was a regular at the Paradise Garage. So from the very beginning Kortez was taught the differences of so-called mainstream and underground culture and he naturally felt more at home with the underground. When Kortez was becoming a teen and finding himself in the music, Hip Hop was becoming a new music force and neighborhood DJ’s were becoming a staple in suburban Black neighborhoods.
By 1984 Kortez was assisting local DJ Ian Francis with his parties and he wanted to focus on scratching and cutting. Ian stressed the importance of mixing before trying to learn all the tricks. Ian frequented clubs like Zanzibar in Newark and Club 12 which was an underground spot located in Asbury Park NJ. Both clubs played Club Music and House Music from a Black perspective. After hearing this new sound Kortez began to focus on the music that was being created in Chicago/Detroit and combining it with the NYC/NJ Club sound that was coming out of Zanzibar, The Garage and Club 88. Since Kortez was located in Central NJ, he frequented Clubs like Mingles, Club 35 which later became Club Abyss. Although Kortez would never spin at these night clubs, being a patron Kortez saw the difference in the crowds and because of those differences, Kortez always wanted and has maintained a focus on underground music and culture.
While studying the nuances of the nightlife, this was also the beginning of his arts education at The Newark School of Fine & Industrial Arts. This period started in 1989 where Kortez began to purposely fuse fine arts, fashion and DJ Culture. Kortez started painting on clothes during the onset of the Hip Hop era in High School but by the time he got to college, he saw this as an opportunity to stand out. Painting on Denim Jackets, pants & sneakers were starting to become visually connected to Hip Hop. Artists such as Keith Haring and Jean Michael Basqiuat were incorporating DJ Culture and Hip Hop into their creative practice. As Hip Hop and Graffiti were starting to become a part of the so called mainstream, Kortez began to focus on the underground House scene. During this time Kortez began to notice how so called RACE was infused into DJ Culture and the art scene just like it was with everything else. Because Kortez had a love of many genres it was kind of hard for Kortez to find a comfort zone and difficult to connect to an audience because most people weren’t as open to different music.
Growing up in the New Jersey suburbs most of the music that dominated the airwaves was a combination of Jersey Shore rock n Roll by the likes of Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen and the mainstream pop music and Hip Hop that was coming from NY radio. At the very same time you also had this Jersey Club sound happening and NYC was thriving with clubs all over the place with new music there as well. The New Jersey Shore sound and the NJ Club/House sounds were two completely different sounds and like to or not, so called race was at the root of it. The Club scene was and still is segregated. As the music being created for and by Black people began to become more popular, you started to see a fusion happen and this would seem apparent from the patrons of particular clubs. Keep in mind, it wasn’t just a Black and White thing.
The Latin influence on popular music and culture was also happening, especially in NY and Jersey. The popular Club Abyss was a stone’s throw from Perth Amboy NJ and one of the largest Latino populations in the state. That alone was definitely going to have an influence on the music being played in Central Jersey. Keep in mind NYC clubs like the Latin Quarter, The Tunnel, The Limelight, Nell’s, Red Zone, Save The Robots, Life, and so many other spots were also becoming popular places to hear the latest music and it was all becoming more mixed due to the influence of Black and Latino music in the 80’s. Genres like Freestyle, Hip Hop, House and New Wave were beginning to fuse together. Figure all of this is happening during the developmental stages of Kortez’s artistic and DJ career. As this was was going on on the local level, House Music worked its way to the UK and the rest of the world. Because of this Kortez couldn’t help but notice music from Europe. Groups like Kraftwerk, The Thompson Twins, Culture Club and other New Wave acts from Europe were really making a splash on American radio and club scene. Kortez then became aware of groups stateside like Ministry, Talking Heads, Depeche Mode and Blondie. Because of this musical palette, it created a very unique opportunity for Kortez and it’s apparent in his DJ sets to this very day.
By the early late 80’s and early 90’s Kortez was more focused on art and began attending the Newark School of Fine & Industrial Arts in Newark NJ. That was Kortez’s introduction to a more personal connection to Zanzibar and other Newark hot spots. He was doing Flyers for Club Sensations, Club 280 and other private underground parties and during this time Kortez met artist Jerry Gant. Jerry was more attuned to the Hip Hop and Poetry scene and was making a name for himself as a Graf writer in Newark NJ. “My meeting Jerry was so influential to what I saw myself doing in the future. With Jerry, he totally understood my wanting to fuse the music with the art. There were very few people within my circle who saw the connection, Jerry was a visionary and thats why we became close friends.” The two remained friends until Jerry’s death in 2018. The relationship with Jerry is a book all in itself and the artist plans to speak on that subject more in the future.
After college Kortez worked mostly in retail doing windows for outfits like Nordstrom, The Gap and a boutique called SCREEEM. It was SCREEEM that opened Kortez up to the opportunity of DJ in a retail spaces and incorporating his talents as an artist. In total Kortez and a crew of artists painted 14 stores NJ, NY, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. This was around 1995 and Kortez was also making a name for himself on the local NJ rave scene after locking down a DJ residency at a Screeem sister store called Jean Country. While venturing out on this new frontier called RAVE. Kortez saw the need to go back to his soulful roots to stand out on the Rave circuit. Again, so called RACE rearing it’s ugly head.
The artist/DJ stated, “Most of the DJ’s on the RAVE scene were White dudes and they played a more aggressive style of House Music. There was very few Black DJ’s in the circles I was rolling in. Although I was used to it and the guys I was close to were very open minded, it was still difficult to get bookings. U would have 10 DJ’s on a line up for the night and for the most part, they all sounded the same. Because of this, I felt the need to sound different. At the time, I was interning at Strictly Rhythm for a very short period and passing out flyers for the Subliminal Sessions. The Wednesday night party that was frequented by HOUSE Royalty.” This is where Kortez met some of his DJ heroes like Erick Morillo, Masters At Work, Armand Van Helden and the legendary Todd Terry. It all started to come together and the music he was listening to at these events was so different from what was playing on the rave scene. So Kortez began to incorporate Speed Garage, Soulful House and House Classics on the Rave circuit and it definitely made him stand out…maybe too much! Kortez said, “It would open doors and shut them at the same time. Sounding different was a blessing and a curse“. But he still pushed on with his unique style of mixing.
Fast forward to this very day, the Kortez sound is a blend of genres and eras with a focus on House and music from the African Diaspora. Kortez’s art and his DJing at times become one. Kortez states, “The music influences the canvas and the canvas inspires the music I play.” So to experience Kortez as a creative, one can’t help but notice his passion for both visual art and music. Kortez says, “For so long I tried to keep the two separate (art and music). So many people, especially my Father, couldn’t see the reason for the connection. It wasn’t until I fully embraced my love of both, that things started falling in place. I have a full understanding that I can’t do both at once, thus the reason for my creative collaborations. By uniting with like minded people, I’m able to do so much more.” With that said, Kortez leaves his ego at the door and treasures the creativity of other artists and DJ’s who share the same passion. Sample Kortez’s style of mixing on his podomatic and soundcloud platforms. For Booking Kortez and the DJ’s affiliated with him, check out the information below.
DJ and Live Painting Bookings
732 294 7161
Email:
DJKortezis@gmail.com
ESOTERIC URBANISM| KORTEZ 