Meet Tony El | Acid Techno Player & Owner of Stric-9 Productions

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tony El and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tony, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
I think that comes with age. When I was younger with no kids, I could stay up all night doing whatever and still get up for work the next day on time. When the kids came, I had to cut back and get my priorities straight. School, sports, meetings and travelling. That took a toll until you get adjusted which took me a couple of years. Now that my kids are all grown and out of the house, I can do my 6-3 at work and have the rest of the afternoon and weekends off to actually get out of the house or work on music. Usually both. I believe it all balances out over time if you do it the correct way.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
So I am a Hard Acid Techno DJ. Vinyl only. I am just now getting into playing an all Live P.A. using drum machines, samplers, synths, etc. What sets me apart is that my style is straight raw, underground, London Style Acid/Techno. You don’t hear that ever around these parts so any chance I get to play out, I get excited. I got into the sound by going to underground raves so I stay true to that syle. If you see me playing a wedding, just know it’s going to be Acid Techno…lol. I don’t consider myself a dj in the same sense as others, I don’t play various styles nor does that interest me. I still believe in promotion, so most of my time is going out to events and promoting my brand (Stric-9 Productions). Social media is still new to me as far as a main platform but I do have some ventures in the works that I am pretty excited about but will have more information on that later. I first started dj’ing in San Diego and that was a long process to get into the scene, but once I did there was no looking back. Definitely not easy when everyone wants to be a dj but I hustled and that’s when mixtapes were the main way to showcase your skills. Along the way, I have learned that more than half the people in the “industry” are doing it for the wrong reasons, whether throwing parties, dj’ing or just being in the scence itself. I’ve thrown lots of parties over the years with world famous talent with mixed results, but one thing I can say is I have never worked with anyone else to throw my own events. It is 100% me because the brand I bring isn’t to have a bunch of phones out taking pics of poser dj’s, it’s to show that the underground is still alive and well, you just need to do your research and find out. Stric-9 Productions is all about quality over quantity and that will never change. July 1st I just officially opened my office space to conduct business out of so be on the lookout for dj interviews, dj sets and whatever else we can get into… Going to be a great summer.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If I had a friend visit and it was a week long, I would start at the furthest south of Colorado and head furthest north that way we go thru the whole state. To eat, I would do no chains. I support food trucks heavy so that would be on the menu for lunch a few days of the week. I don’t travel the state much myself so a week would be great. Depending on our route, we would visit Garden of the Gods, Pikes Peak, a casino (cripple creek/blackhawk), maybe zipline, hot springs for a day/night, castle rock, olympic center, sand dunes, etc. I think it would be cool to check out ski resorts at night and see them all lit up and dine at some of their fancy restaurants. I think an escape room would also be fun. The icing on the cake would be if I was able to play an event that week and they could come watch me rock a crowd!!! May need 2 weeks….lol

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shout out to my man Cee who helped me start this journey of Stric-9 Productions almost 25 years ago. Bobby Cherry my old roommate back in San Diego who really helped me to get the word out about my mission of just wanting to play music, He worked for BPM magazine and let me write a couple of record reviews and that is how I really got into Techno and learned how to make connections. My right hand man DJ Loko, which explains itself. DJ TimmE, one of Colorado Springs originals who is always there to help out when he can and unless you know the history here in the city, most don’t realize the countless hours he used to put in just helping other dj’s get their music out around town. There was also Blake who owned Elevator records in downtown San Diego and he actually gave me my first paying gig ever. It was a rock climbing gym which also turned into a residency at Club Evolver. Last but not least, all the dj’s that have played for my events over the years and the promoters who have had me play at theirs. Much respect.

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