Fellow West Coast Swing dancers, looking for good music to dance to in your living room, kitchen, balcony, or bathroom (I don’t judge 😉)?
Here’s a collection of playlists I gathered for you from some of the best West Coast Swing DJs I know.
Sending you good songs and good vibes!
#WAList by Justin Petersen
This is Justin’s Spotify playlist for the community. He made it so everyone can enjoy and feel good listening to the West Coast Swing music he loves. It’s also the music the dancers have recommended to him and it’s updated monthly! (it’s also available on YouTube)
He’s already DJ’ed at many events including Budafest, Westie Spring Thing, Swingvester, MADjam, and also Baltic Swing.
I asked Justin what his favorite song was and he said: “The one you enjoy dancing to”.
Check out my interview with him here.
TingleTime by Larisa Tingle
Whether she’s competing, teaching, or DJ’ing, Champion West Coast Swing dancer Larisa Tingle always radiates her classy yet sassy style. From competitions to social dancing, her DJ’ing is infectious, and her signature “Tingle Time” late-night set keeps everyone on the dance floor.
She has DJ’ed internationally at countless events, such as MadJam, Swingtacular, Jack & Jill O’Rama, Swingsation, Budafest, Asia Open, Seattle Easter Swing, Halloween Swing Thing, and many others!
2 of her all-time favorite songs are “Let Me Love You” by Mario and “Who Do You Know in Heaven” by The Five Keys.
Larisa also has two other playlists I highly recommend: Blues n Swingy Stuff, and Jazz n Swingy Stuff.
Pro-tip: Since Larisa has been collecting the songs for these playlists for a while and updates them almost daily, it’s best to sort them by date 😎
Pikapicks by Paulina “DJ Pikachu” Gorka
Paulina has been known as DJ Pikachu since she introduced her unforgettable cosplay at the Warsaw Halloween Swing Strictly competition 😉
Justin Petersen was the one who invited her to his DJ Staff on many events and taught her the secrets of the profession.
Paulina loves to play late-night music, create a special atmosphere. From time to time, she throws in some old school and rock music which she has a special knack for.
She DJ’es at every event she travels to and has done so at Baltic Swing, Warsaw Halloween Swing, King Swing, TLV SwingFest, Hungarian Open, Berlin Swing Revolution, Anchor Festival and more.
Her favorite song is “Here with me” by Dido, which she always plays at parties during late night.
Spotlight Finals West Coast Swing Music by Steve Hunt
For those wanting to practice dancing during the shutdown, Steve has a collection of all the songs he has played on spotlights:
Slow blues, fast blues, slow contemporary, fast contemporary, slow old school, fast old school.
Steve has been in the WCS scene for almost 15 years as a dancer, competitor, Head DJ, Head Judge, and event director.
During his long career, he has DJed at multiple events including Warsaw Halloween swing, Baltic Swing, French Open WCS, West in Lyon, Nordic champs, and UK WCS Champs.
If you’re curious about Steve’s favorite song – it’s “Belief” by John Mayer.
#KayList by Ken Knipphals
Music has always been a significant part of Ken’s life. He has been DJ’ing in local west coast swing parties for several years now.
In the last two years, Ken started doing it professionally and was the Head/Co-Head DJ at different WCS events around Europe and the Middle East: Municorn Swing, Anchor Festival, SwingVester, Bavarian Open, Warsaw Halloween Swing, Budafest, and Swing It Like It’s Hot.
The #KayList is Ken’s monthly playlist and this month (May 2020) he will celebrate two years since the first edition! 🙂
Ken’s favorite song is the one most people probably identify him with – “Savage” by Whethan feat. Flux Pavilion & MAX.
Post-COVID West Coast Swing Music by Wayne “DJ Soplica” Powell
Wayne created this playlist, which is a mix of some all-time favorites and fresh from the oven songs, in hope for better days.
He has DJ’ed at D-Town Swing, German Open, Nordic Championships, Scottish Swing Classic, and Uptown Swing. You’ll never find him without a bottle of his favorite Polish drink at the DJ booth.
These days he mainly teaches or MC’es, so DJ Soplica only appears at a few selected events.
QuarenTein by Tana “DJ Tein” Abeni
Tana is Italian and has been living in Israel since 2011, where she got into West Coast Swing. She’s the Head DJ of the WesTLV line by Karin Kakun and plays regularly for the Israeli Community.
She played at King Swing, TLV SwingFest, and Rolling Swing.
In December she gave birth to baby Luna, therefore her favorite song at the moment is “Baby Shark“.
Please enjoy the playlist she made just for the YY Westie followers 🤗
J’EM JAM by Emeline & Jakub
It’s the J’EM JAM official Spotify playlist! It contains all the good tunes and vibes Jakub & Em freestyled on during their April weekly Tuesday quarantine jams.
They also promised to keep updating the playlist with their upcoming social dancing Rendez-Vous!
Em has already been DJ’ing for a while at multiple international events, both for social dancing and comps. She couldn’t imagine life without music, which has been one of her besties since she can remember. This is why she always felt the drive to share her deep love for it with the community.
If you want to watch their cozy and homey jams and dance together with them, you can find them here.
And you can also get to know them better by watching the interview I made with them.
New West Coast Swing Music Hits by Emanuel “DJ Ema” Aguilera
Emanuel ” DJ Ema” Aguilera is a West Coast Swing, Salsa, and Zouk dancer and DJ from València, Spain. He is also one of the organizers of Mad Mad West in Madrid and WestieVal in València, and one of the main promoters of the Spanish westie community.
He has been playing music as Head DJ for social and competitions at the best events all over Europe including Budafest, Hungarian Open, Milan Modern Swing, Swing in Capital, and Mad Mad West.
His style is always fresh, cheerful, and diverse, letting dancers enjoy social dancing to all the different music genres, and he also has a fantastic Blues, Jazz, Soul, and R&B playlist you better check out.
Closing Message
I’d like to thank these wonderful DJs for sharing their music with the whole West Coast Swing community.
If you’re a DJ and you want to share your music as well, just write to me! 😊
Let’s keep on dancing to the songs we love!
