Interview with DJ Lennox Broderick aka broderbeats

My name is Lennox and I am currently a first year student studying a Bachelor of Commercial at Massey University Wellington. I am a DJ and Music Producer under the stage name ‘broderbeats.’ After finishing high school last year in the Wairarapa, I moved to Wellington for university and to pursue my passion for music. This resulted in beginning a daily vlog journey on social media to attempt to be booked for New Zealand’s major music festival, Rhythm and Vines. Through this journey, I met James Manttan who suggested I could host a DJ set in the Massey University music block elevator. As there were no power outlets in the elevator, James got me in touch with Rubber Monkey to source an EcoFlow battery.

How did you get into your field / what aspect do you enjoy the most?

Through a lot of hustle and networking, I now have regular DJ work in the wellington nightclub scene as well as work with Dj4you and some social media and promotional work too. I began DJing in November 2023 and played a couple house parties in my hometown and found a lot of enjoyment from it. I then decided to begin my hustle to improve my DJing as soon as I came to Wellington. Wednesday of 2024 O-Week, I was introduced to a nightclub DJ and asked if I could learn from him. Fortunately he agreed. This led to me landing my first club gig on Homegrown weekend. I kept learning and networking from more and more DJ’s and increasingly gained more DJ opportunities. On the music production side, I have been producing since 2020 but decided to take a small step back this year and focus on DJing. I really enjoy crafting DJ sets that take an audience on a journey and feel cohesive. I also enjoy matching that craft with selecting songs to get a crowd dancing and enjoy themselves. Nothing beats the feeling when your decision to play a certain song or transition pays off when the crowd resonates with it.

Talk a bit about your recent sets that you used the EcoFlow for – what was the most challenging aspect / what was fun etc?

As mentioned before, we used the EcoFlow to power our Elevator DJ set. Our rig included 2 CDJ 2000’s, a Pioneer mixer and two Turbosound speakers. It was an incredible feeling DJing in a moving elevator. We would have people come in from the first floor, stay for a rave then would leave us as we descended down to the ground floor and vice versa. We prepared the whole rig in an adjacent room then wheeled the fully portable rig to the elevator where the rest of the team setup cameras and lighting. I had a few mates of mine film the whole DJ set so if you would like to watch the set we have uploaded the full set featuring myself and my good friend Raff aka FFAR on YouTube.

We also used the EcoFlow for our opener set at the Quarter Finals Wellington Lions game. We began our set in the concourse of Sky Stadium with a mains powered rig then as kickoff neared, we moved our rig to the grass with the EcoFlow powering the setup. We had a sleek setup with two baseplates and a small truss then our two Turbosound’s spread across the grass. It was an awesome experience DJing in the Sky Stadium and super helpful to have a portable DJ setup at our disposal.

Who are your main influences?

I have a lot of different influences for different aspects of life but for DJing it would be 33 Below. After seeing his Pusher Set this year and finding out he’s from the same place I grew up, that gave me a lot of inspiration and hope that, if I go after it, I too can make it as a DJ and music producer. I also secretly recorded his whole set and studied his DJing, from song selection to transitions, trying to figure out why he made the decisions he made musically. This improved my DJing so much and gained positive feedback for my DJ sets following.

The second would be another kiwi music producer and DJ, Mikeyy. He’s been a massive influence as he’s inspired me to keep working towards my goals and chase my dreams. He’s also been a big supporter of mine and FFAR’s journey of getting booked for Rhythm and Vines and has provided us with some awesome opportunities. 

And finally, my Mum. I’m super grateful that she’s supported and encouraged my aspirations throughout my life. She had her motherly doubts around job security and potential financial struggles of choosing a career in music but trusted that I would find my way and continues to support me through my journey.

Any favourite gear you use? Anything on your wishlist?

My favourite gear I’ve been using at the moment has been my recent upgrade to the Pioneer HDJ-CX Headphones. They’re lightweight and easy to take on the go, they sound great when DJing and the fact that the coiled cord comes with a ¼ Jack to 3.5mm adapter holder is a massive bonus. Some gear on my Wishlist would definitely be the DDJ - GRV6. This would allow me to use four channels while DJing and it’s compatible with Serato DJ Pro which is my preferred DJ software when DJing Hip-Hop as the Stem Separation feature is next to none.

Any upcoming projects?

I’m currently planning a Skatepark Rave in my home town in the Wairarapa to bring a new kind of event for the youth. The same crew that helped with the Elevator Rave will support this event so it will be filmed and Raff and I will DJ it too. I’m starting to run more events now as I enjoy creating cool experiences for people that are unique and aren’t the norm. Other than that, I will continue to work towards my goal of getting to play at Rhythm and Vines this year through social media, networking, playing and doing as much as I can.