In the middle of the afternoon in the Red Bull Lounge at Movement 2010, A-Trak quietly weaves his way through a wave of photographers clamoring for a photo. He smiles, turns his head on command, doesn’t give much fuss if a particular shot takes longer than expected. His handler is just as tame, glancing up every now and then from his Blackberry back-and-forth to make sure everything is running on schedule (or at least running in the right direction). At the age of 28, this is already a well-rehearsed routine for A-Trak. For the past 12 years, A-Trak (born Alain Macklovitch) has flown in, enjoyed the array of catering, accommodated the press, smiled for the photographers, grabbed his paycheck and flown out. The only (and most important) part of this routine that refuses to follow a set path is when the articulate, calm yet expressive A-Trak hits the stage, combining the most appealing parts of house and hip-hop with technically savvy takes on turntablism (read: wild card, bitches!).

A-Trak’s performance on the Red Bull Music Academy stage was no different. With the tough task of following up the womp-womp dub-step of Excision (imagine Charlie Brown’s parents arguing over a slick, mud-heavy beat), the New York-based, Montreal-born deejay took to the task of maintaining the momentum while creating his own. Without hesitation, A-Trak launched into what he’s known for best — scratching. With five deejay world championships under his belt (a feat accomplished before he was legally able to vote in the United States), A-Trak is one of the most technically applauded turntablists in the game. Eventually crossing over to the mainstream realm after extensive touring and production with Kanye Wes and producing Kid Sister’s latest record, the fluidity between A-Trak’s two worlds during his live performances is astonishing — one a beat-heavy, house-happy, hip-hop happening of familiar proportions; the other an astonishing lesson in turntablism that leave legendary cats like Daft Punk  and DJ Sneak  patting him on the back. Before A-Trak took to the stage, jumped up on his rig and taunted the crowd with a possible stage dive, the pre-show version of this multifaceted performer eloquently walked ChinaShop through the various chapters of his career, explains the elusive idea of putting out his first official album and just what the Red Bull Music Academy has meant to him over the years.

Considering the multitude of projects you take on — remixes, designing clothing, designing limited edition toys — it’s almost like you attack the music world more like a modern hip-hop entrepreneur would than your run-of-the-mill deejay. Is there an honest effort to stay involved in multiple projects, or do these offers fall in your lap?

A-Trak: There’s an effort. I never try to force it, but there’s a part of me that can never just stay doing one thing. Even within my deejay gigs, there’s a wide range of parties and types of music that I play. Even from that, as a producer and running my record label or doing collaborative projects in the design world … there’s always a bunch of things on my plate. The more I stay involved in various things, the more various offers come my way. It’s definitely a two-way street.

You’re building a brand.

A-Trak: We’re at a time right now where mixing up of different styles, cultures and references is very much so the vogue. It’s something I’ve been trying to do in my world for at least the last couple of years, and now, there is a lot more people taking notice.

Did you carry such mighty ambitions when you were younger?

A-Trak: I did … except when I was really just starting out when all I wanted to do was scratch (laughs). When I started traveling more, I still wanted to battle … but I also wanted to do real tours as well. I also started my first label with my brother [Dave 1 of Chromeo < http://www.chromeo.net/>], doing a lot more of the hip-hop stuff … so already I was dabbling in a few things. The more time went along, I just kept expanding in all different directions. Part of the reason I do so many projects is because I’ve been at for a long time. There are all these paths I’ve been down that I want to still follow.

Is there a dream project that you’re still chasing?

A-Trak: The A-Trak album is still the thing in the pipeline that I’ve been talking about for years and years that I still haven’t really done. I had one halfway done a few years ago that I scrapped. Now, I’m starting to think about it more seriously again. I do plan on starting on it this year, but who knows how long it will actually take. I’m definitely envisioning having … a couple of guests from a few different scenes, but not for every song. I want my production to carry the whole ship … to be the thing that ties it all together.

It’s fascinating to consider the following: at 15, you win your first national deejay competition, the youngest to do so. You go on to lecture on new forms of turntablism a few years later. It’s easy to imagine that your perspective from when you were a teenager on what you wanted to accomplish then and where you are now have wildly changed.

A-Trak: When I was a teenager, every journalist would ask me, “Where do you see yourself in ten years?” I couldn’t really tell. All I knew is that I liked to scratch and that I wanted to keep going and win more championships. I think part of me hoped that I could keep it going for a long time, but I didn’t want to count on it too much. I just wanted to do my best and practice hard every day. I don’t think that I would’ve guessed that I’d be making house music. It’s funny to me to be here now because [Movement 2010] reminds me of these raves I used to play ten years ago when all I listened to was hip-hop. I would get booked at these raves because I knew about turntablism. Literally, when I walked in to this festival today, this guy stopped me and said, “I remember seeing you in ’98. You remember the party that got busted?” Yeah! I completely remember! I was 16 and the promoter jumped out of the window (laughs)! But it’s a world that I used to be on the sidelines of, you know?

But at the end of the day, that’s where it’s taken me. My career has had a lot of chapters, but none of them have ever felt forced to me. It never felt like I had my back against the wall, and I’ve never felt like it wasn’t working. I’ve never had to hit the eject button and try something new. It’s always been continuing to look for the freshest, most exciting sounds and bringing those to the masses.

For years, the Red Bull Music Academy has been inviting you out not only for lecturers but for various performances and workshops as well.

A-Trak: I’ve definitely got a long history with the Red Bull Music Academy. One of the artists on my label is an alumnus of the Red Bull Music Academy, Sammy Bananas. I guess the system works (laughs)! It’s rare to find these scenarios where a brand — a big corporation — gets behind music projects in a way that’s so respectful of the music and completely uncompromised. The [Red Bull Music Academy] is one of those rare occasions where they are doing it for the right reasons, bringing up these really obscure musicians, granting them tons of resources and enlightening the public to amazing talent.

Words by Ryan Hooper, photos by Dustin Downing