A good DJ set reads the room. A great one changes it. That is the idea behind the concept Charles Stif has been building in Dubai: records played on turntables, with live percussion on drum pads layered on top, so the energy of an evening builds in a way a standard DJ set can't.
Why vinyl?
Vinyl brings a warmth and a presence that guests feel even when they can't name it. Watching records being selected and placed on the platter also turns the booth into something to look at. For Charles, playing on PLX-1000 turntables is a choice of sound and of attitude: every track is picked by hand, in the moment.
Why drum pads?
On top of the records, Charles plays live percussion on Roland SPD-SX PRO drum pads, with drumsticks or by hand, sometimes with LED sticks once the lights go down. The percussion follows the music: discreet during dinner, then more present as the dance floor fills. It is the moment guests take out their phones, and the moment they remember.
How an evening unfolds
Welcome and cocktail: a soft vinyl selection, organic house, disco, afro and lounge, at a volume that leaves room for conversation.
Dinner: the tempo rises slowly; the first percussion touches appear.
After dinner: the drum pads take the room somewhere else entirely, and the set opens up to the requests of the evening.
Saxophone, percussion and vocals
For the bigger moments, Charles brings in musicians he works with regularly: saxophonists, percussionists and singers. A saxophone at sunset, a percussionist on the dance floor, a voice over a familiar track: each addition is planned with the client, according to the venue and the number of guests.
Where it works
The format adapts to corporate galas, weddings, private villas, yachts, brand launches and real estate events. In 2026 it took Charles to Atlantis The Royal for Beyond Developments' O1NE District, after the SIORA launch on Dubai Islands earlier in the year.
Planning an event in Dubai or abroad? Get in touch to talk about the format that suits your evening.
