Most of our Pacemaker users are probably wondering on a daily basis… who is @illtino?  How does he have time to make so many smashing mixtapes? How does he have the energy to support everyone with a nice compliment or constructive feedback? What’s his secret to be so awesome? We were super curious to find out more about one of our most hardcore users, so here comes the naked truth – @illtino: up close & personal!

Where in the world do you live?

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area home of some of the BEST DJ’s in the world!

How did you discover Pacemaker?

I used to play around with different DJ apps, my favorites were the mashup music ones. So about this time last year I was randomly searching for a DJ/mashup app and saw Pacemaker, downloaded it and have been hooked ever since!

What is your favourite thing about Pacemaker?

I LOVE the Pacemaker community! I try to spread love to everyone I can, new or experienced users. We’re all in here cuz we LOVE music and enjoy mixing it!

Name one of your most favourite mixes from another user on Pacemaker.

My favorite mix from another Pacemaker is Groovin House by @stanfitz! He’s the “House” master at Pacemaker IMO! His house blends are smooth and his transitions are on point, I can tell he’s been doing this for a long time, LOVE the playlist on his mixes. So I look forward to whenever he drops his mixtapes!

If you could pick just one favourite user in the Pacemaker community, who would that be?

My favorite Pacemaker person is @stanfitz! We both have different styles, he’s Ying and I’m Yang, I’m very hyped, he’s very mellow! We should combine on a mix that would be fun!

How do you usually discover music, what are your favourite sources?

LOL not gonna reveal all my secrets, but one of my favorite shows right now is Insecure on HBO and I’ll have my Shazam app so that I can Shazam their show soundtrack. They have the best show playlist and it ranges from the most ratchet song to the most soulful song, I love it!

How much time do you usually spend on creating a mixtape?

It varies…I have a bunch of mixes that I have saved or projects that I published and want to pull back to remix. So I’ll build my mix until it’s perfect to me, it can take an hour to a whole week or month just piecing it together. I look at Pacemaker like it’s a puzzle, you want to piece tracks together so they flow right together. It’s all about the vibes!

We only see a username and sometimes a picture when it comes to users. Who is behind your username?

One of my favorite albums of all time is iLLmatic, my first name is Santino so I combined the 2. So in high school I was putting these mixtapes together for my friends or for parties I’d have iLLTiNo all over those mixtapes. I’ve always been a fan of mixtapes too so I used to have stacks of mixtapes of all types, hood mixtapes to baby making R&B mixtapes. I was everyone’s go-to source for what was new out at the time, I still am!

What do you do when not mixing on Pacemaker?

I have a tech job so I’m dead tired by the time I get home. So it’s kind of therapeutic to come back home, throw on my headphones and zone out to make mixes on Pacemaker.

Did Pacemaker change the way you’re listening to music? If so, in what sense?

Being in the Pacemaker community you get influenced by everyone’s different style in music. So many vibes to choose from, I love it! I have different projects I’m working on so I’ll be inspired by what I’m listening to in the Pacemaker community. I find myself studying other DJ’s style a lot more, I’m a student of the game. I start to see music in waveforms thanks to Pacemaker lol!

Have you had any DJ experiences before joining Pacemaker?

In high school I had my Technics 1200, at the time I was big into the  turntabalist style so scratching and beat juggling like DJ Qbert. And like I said I was putting all these mixtapes together and DJ’ing parties with the homies. When I got into college I was focused more on promoting parties behind the club scenes work.

Are you making music yourself in any way?

Not currently producing anything at the moment, but used to make beats and mixtapes back in the day. Speaking of which I need to dig up my old material (there’s some tracks I’ve rapped on lol).

Name 3 of your current favourite artists.

I’m a big Diplo fan and the Mad Decent crew they got so much energy I dig that, and the variety of music that’s on the label they really got some great music coming from them. I think Kendrick Lamar is the best rapper alive right now he’s definitely reppin Cali right now. And Anderson.Paak he’s so dope, feelin the jazzy R&B style he puts out.

Name one of your own mixes that you’re the most proud of.

Definitely my Trapmaker Plus mix! My mixes before that we’re around an hour, but for Trapmaker I wanted to condense it down and remix my favorite hip hop tracks over house beats. I get inspired by the Pacemaker community, it’s a mashup of everyone’s style!

Who would you like to see posting a mixtape on Pacemaker?

Diplo and Mad Decent on Pacemaker… that would be DOPE!!

Name one friend who should be on Pacemaker but isn’t.

Aww wish I could get my HYPHY party crew to join some have but they’re not as consistent as I am.

Is there a question you always wanted to ask from a Pacemaker user but you never did?

Hey @stanfitz where do you collect your house tracks from? Nevermind, surprise me bro!