DJs achieve Malaysia Book of Records feat

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(From left) DJ Veroz, The Pharmacist DJ, and DJ Krizknight (Chris).

GETTING into the Malaysia Book of Records (MBR) never crossed the mind of deejay Chris Zafri Hill.

While he might not have given any thought to such an endeavour before, the 38-year-old did make himself proud by breaking into the ranks of MBR achievers in August this year with an amazing feat — setting a record for the longest DJ live-streaming.

Chris, known by his disc-jockey’s name of Krizknight, pulled off the record attempt alongside two fellow Sarawakian DJs The Pharmacist DJ and DJ Veroz.

The Pharmacist DJ (left) and Chris (right) hold the Malaysia Book of Records certificate witnessed by Jay.

The trio was among a group of 124 DJs nationwide taking part in the project. Calling themselves the Malaysian Collective of DJs, they manned the stations at eight studios throughout the country.

Each DJ played for two hours, covering a variety of song genres, including house disco, hip-hop, trance, afro Latin, handbag house, and techno.

The group cumulatively logged a total running time of 228 hours to earn pride of place in the MBR, a Malaysian project that publishes records set or broken by Malaysians.

The 11-day event, the brainchild of veteran DJ Jay Subramaniam, began on Aug 21 at 10pm and ended on Aug 31 at midnight to ring in National Day.

DJ Krizknight and The Pharmacist DJ are among the three Sarawakian disc jockeys who participated in the record-breaking 228-hour live-streaming event.

Proud of record

“As a Sarawakian, I’m proud to have achieved such a record. What makes it really special for me is that among the 124 DJs, the three of us were the only ones from Sarawak who represented Malaysia in the event,” Chris told thesundaypost.

On how they decided to go for the record attempt, he said he came across a post in a DJ Facebook group, inviting entries from disc jockeys throughout the country.

“I was tagged in the comments section by my friends and that was how we decided to give it a go.”

Chris and a group of DJs nationwide succeeded in their attempt to set the longest live-streaming record.

Chris, The Pharmacist DJ, and DJ Veroz manned their stations in the record attempt on the second day (Aug 22) of the project, playing songs from a recording studio in Metrocity Matang.

Chris led off at 8am, followed by The Pharmacist DJ at 10am, and DJ Veroz at noon.

Chris played a set of old-school Hip-Hop songs, followed by Twerk, and finally some Dubstep beats.

“Our slot was on Day 2 and it was so early. I had to wake up around 5am to get things ready at the studio we rented for the live-stream as my slot was at 8am.

“Another challenging moment before our slot was organising the broadcasting setup; it was all hustle, trial, and error.

“The three of us did our utmost to come up with the best set up so that the live-streaming would reach the main organiser’s studio and allow them to stream as well,” he said.

Chris’ wife Niera Massi helped out while he was setting up the equipment.

“All of us participants, along with our soul partners, the studio owner, and friends helped with the setup,” he added.

 

A hobby

On his passion for DJ-ing, Chris said he had always dreamt of becoming a professional disc jockey, adding that it started as a hobby that saw jamming him at home with his brother and a friend.

After finishing secondary school, he worked as a bartender and picked up a few basic DJ-ing skills.

“Over the years, I learned DJ-ing mostly from research on YouTube and tips from my DJ friends. We did several Hip-Hop events together and I was at the turntable,” he recalled.

Chris and his wife Niera.

In March this year, he decided to take his DJ-ing skills to another level and enrolled for a professional DJ course at Goldsounds Academy by DJ Goldfish in Peninsular Malaysia.

According to him, DJ Goldfish is one of Malaysia’s biggest DJs who has performed in Tomorrowland, one of the biggest DJ festivals in the world.

Asked whether he and his two fellow deejays — The Pharmacist DJ and DJ Veroz — had any plans to break the current record, he replied they were now focusing more on virtual DJ streaming due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chris himself is broadening his DJ-ing horizon through social media streaming on platforms such as Bigo to earn some side income.

He has also been reportedly invited to a well-known DJ platform, Stompin Beats from the UK, to spin his beats.