World-Class DJs Put Their Party-Rocking Skills to the Test at Red Bull Thre3style December 15, 2011

What started out as a local Tuesday night event in Kelowna, British Columbia has become one of the biggest talent showcases for DJs around the world. Red Bull’s Thre3style competition has grown to include 22 countries and 90 cities participating. MINI is there, globetrotting alongside the event series, in support of the music talent on display at tour stops like Columbia, Peru or Chile, where hosts organize elimination rounds and send representatives from each to Vancouver where they battle it out for a chance to be named the “World’s Best Party Rocker.” With each DJ given a 15-minute set to prove they can move the crowd, Thre3style is a skills showdown that doubles as a dance party. En route to earning a spot in the World Finals, hundreds of DJs from around the globe went head to head in regional and national qualifiers. The turntablists were each given 15 minutes to impress judges and rock the party with a set that incorporates at least three genres of music that will keep heads nodding and the dance floor moving. The first four nights of the competition serve as elimination stages, with the winner of each advancing to the Red Bull Thre3Style World Final on Saturday, Dec. 17 at the Commodore Ballroom. The judges’ panel will include veteran Canadian DJ Skratch Bastid, 2003 DMC Champion and MTV Canada resident DJ Dopey, and the 2010 Thre3style Champion DJ Karve of France. The judges will be evaluating each performer on originality/creativity, track selection, technical skills, stage presence and of course audience response. The innovative, high-energy sets from this year’s samurai-skilled batch of contestants is a perfect match with Red Bull’s high octane body fuel. Today’s DJs pull from a bag of tricks that includes sampling, mixing and scratching while using technology and quick access to a vast template of music and sounds as the foundation for building sets in their own unique style. Thre3style’s globe-spanning talent pool may speak many different languages, but once the DJs put their hands on the one’s and two’s they speak a language any crowd can understand. Red Bull has enlisted some of the genre’s elder statesman to lend the contest some credibility and keep bodies moving in the process. This year’s headliners include turntable vets from The Rub (Cosmo Baker and DJ Ayres), Stone Throw Records' Peanut Butter Wolf and legendary producer Just Blaze. LA’s DJ Nu-Mark will perform his signature Toy Set and hip-hop pioneers DJ Premier and Pete Rock will face off for a friendly beat battle of their own. One of the DJ world’s most revered icons Z-Trip will close out the World Final’s festivities with a special set geared to try and impress the plugged-in crowd. Music fans will be selected to arrive in style at the Thre3style World Finals chauffeured to and from the event in a MINI Countryman and one lucky pair will win all-access passes to the Finals, a 2-night stay at Whistler Resort with access to their own Countryman. MINI is also hosting an art-car Installation at Vancouver’s TD Plaza where there will be live painting of a MINI (inside and out) while DJs perform Thre3style sets for the public. MINI will help keep the party going throughout the week at various local venues with VIP lounges and many chances to go home with plenty of swag. Perhaps the most exciting part of MINI’s involvement in this year’s competition is the newly created “MINI Wild Card DJ slot” that allows one lucky DJ chosen by the jury a second chance and a spot on the bill for Thre3style’s final night.  The event series has partnered with Mixcloud to allow fans to judge this year’s Thre3style contestants for themselves. With audio links to official live sets from the competition you can hear some of the world’s best DJs use their creativity and technical skills to rock the party while trying to put their own name on the map. Related Links:
Red Bull Thre3style on Facebook
Red Bull Thre3style Official
MINI Canada on Facebook