dj sean mather

maestro: a master in an art, esp: an eminent composer, conductor, or teacher of music.

Sean Mather's music story started off like many stories in the industry; with someone discovering him. He was DJing and mixing records at J.P. Manhattan's in Rockville when Al Bie D. walked in one night and liked what he heard. (Al Bie D. was the music director and an on-air personality for WPGC 95.5.) The two began talking and Sean was offered a shot on-air doing a mix show.

It worked.

Ten years later, Sean is getting ready to seriously make his assault on the music world. He has his own production company and is still doing a weekly DJ mix show on WPGC, Thursday nights from 8:30 to 10pm. People around Washington probably will recognize his on-air name, "The Mystro". And just like his pseudonym, Sean is in control of where he is going, and what he wants to do, with his music.

The first rap concert he attended was at the 9:30 club where he saw Run DMC. When he was 13 he got his first set of turntables. He began working private parties shortly thereafter, which led him to working at clubs around Rockville. Which, of course, gave him the opportunity to meet Al Bie D. Sean admits that a lot of his success is due to the fact of that meeting and the shot he got to do a show on WPGC.

That show helped him parlay his abilities into creating his own studio for production and remixing. Over the last three years, that little company he runs with his partner Robert Jazayeri, Rickidy Raw, has gone from the ground to gold records, and hopefully soon, platinum. He just finished producing the title track on Salt 'n Pepa's new album, "Brand New". They want him to remix their first single, "Giddyup". He produced three of the tracks on Immature's gold album, "We Got It". He has also worked on songs by Arrested Development, Lionel Richie, En Vogue and Meredith Brooks.

When asked about his unexpected run of good luck in a business notorious for so many broken dreams, Sean shrugs his shoulders, "I can't explain how things happen to me".

Well, he certainly can point to his career at WPGC. Besides giving him the break he needed, the radio station gave him the access to the latest music and a perspective to see where the scene was heading. It also allowed him to establish ties with record companies and industry contacts. The station has also continued supporting him now as he has cut back his work hours to one night a week. This gives him the freedom he needs to develop his style and create the tracks he is given. The show still gives him the chance to get his music out to the public, and WPGC benefits by playing his latest remixes, helping to keep them current and new.

Everyone wants to work in music; the glitz, the glamour, the fame. Sean shakes his head and begins to count off on his fingers what you need to survive in this business: patience, focus, the ability to never give up, and the loss of most of your free time. And sometimes, even after all that, it still doesn't work. Or sometimes, you work hard (and with a little luck), you make it. Sometimes.

Sean's studio both produces and remixes songs. With remixes, the record companies send him the vocal tracks on DAT which he transfers to his computer. Then he adds everything else. He aims to change the songs as much as he can and create something new. Sean feels that sampling enhances songs, and has done it frequently in the past. He is however, trying to get away from that for two reasons; one, he is responsible for paying the sampling rights; and two, he wants to focus on actually creating his own sound. Raised in the Washington DC area, he feels a heavy influence from Go-Go, really liking the percussion effects of the genre, which helps give a song that "swing" feel.

The production aspect requires a 100% focus on the music while you are in the studio, always looking for that vibe. Sean has to record and arrange the vocals, lay down all the tracks, and mix it all together, eq-ing it, until he comes up with a beautiful piece of music. The producer has to listen to all these components and find the sound that is going to work.

Now what does the future hold? Sean wants to produce his own artists now, new groups that he can help break into the business. The need for creation and doing something of his own surfaces again in our conversation. He has been looking at some local groups he wants to work with; Gigi and 3LG are two that come up.

As for the future of music itself, Sean feels hip hop, rap and R&B are going to be just as popular in the future. But their paths will be divergent. Hip hop will keep sampling, but at the same time, Sean feels they will keep breaking big with instrument groups, like Jamiroquai. Rap should continue the more poppy, commercial trend it is beginning on now. R&B is going to go searching for its roots, finding the funk that defined it in the 70's, following the lead of Maxwell and Bayduh.

At the end of the interview, I am left with one memory etched in my mind. We were talking about the business and his success and how he was handling it. He leaned back in his chair, let out a big sigh and explained, "At age 30 I have just begun." I can't wait to see where he goes from here.