My name is Petko Nikolov (junior, major in CS, minor in ECE). Unlike many others in this class, I don't play any musical instrument. In the past year or two however I've been getting into DJ-ing, using mostly my laptop with software like Traktor DJ Studio together with an external midi controller (M-Audio X-session Pro), and every once in a while a friend's turntable or cd-deck setup. I'm currently saving up to get a cd-deck/mixer setup of my own.

My passion for electronic music started much earlier than my passion for DJ-ing. I've been hooked since my early teenage years. I lived in Europe until the age of 10, and grew up listening to a lot of eurodance/italodance, disco, and other pop dance music. I can't usually describe in one word the genre I like, as I believe there is quality music of all kinds out there, regardless of how it is labeled, but currently I listen to mostly progressive/electro/minimal/deep/funky/soulful house, trance, and some drum 'n' bass, jungle, and chillout/ambient. I am a member of Cornell's EMC (Electronic Music Collective), and invite all of you who have any interest in electronic music or are even just curious to join.

With this class I hope to take it to the next level. I want to learn the theory as well as get the practice with the hardware and software, which would hopefully make me a better DJ as well as open the doors to production, an area that is still very gray to me. I also look forward to collaborating with many of you, who seem very talented and open-minded when it comes to music, which will result in some awesome creations I'm sure.

To anyone interested, here is a link to one of my mixes. This one is mostly prog house with a focus on deep basslines, so it's best to listen to it on a system that you can "feel" literally ;)

Petkonik - Ride My Bassline