Moombahton and moombahsoul are the hottest new trends in dance music, and the San Francisco DJ known as J Boogie—real name Justin Boland—has a theory as to why. To him, 108 to 115 beats per minute has been a lost tempo in EDM for too long.
“It’s not super fast, it’s not super slow,” says Boland. “It’s that mid-level, that boogie stepper’s level, like you’re getting warmed up on the dance floor.”
As one of the Bay Area’s top DJs, Boland was influential in bringing the moombahton and moombahsoul styles to the Bay Area, after adopting them as his favorite new sounds. His authoritative take on the music was acknowledged when he contributed a track to a moombahsoul compilation produced by David Heartbreak, who pretty much created the sound out of the framework of moombahton (which itself didn’t officially exist as the bastard love child of EDM and reggaeton until two years ago—although Diplo might not agree—and didn’t break until last summer).
At his show at the Pagoda this week, he’ll demonstrate his knack for combining them with classic genres for a very different musical experience.
.Interview: J Boogie Brings Moombahton, Moombahsoul Sounds to South Bay
