SU sophomore Charel Zeitoune expands DJ career from NYC to Tel Aviv

That night, in Elevate, a New York City nightclub, SU sophomore civil-engineering student Charel Zeitoune was nowhere to be found. Instead, DJ Charel Z was practicing for the biggest show of his life.  

With his noise-cancelling headphones on, he was trying to forget that he would soon be sharing a stage with famed rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie. Uncertainty crept towards Charel Z, but he told himself to forget about the night and focus up. Then, the door opened and patrons filled the hall. It was time to see how well his year of DJ’ing sets across the world had prepared him for the high stakes of the 2020 New Year’s show. 

“I killed it that night,” Zeitoune said. “Great set, great feedback. I only heard great things, and it was a night that I won’t forget honestly.”  

 For the past two years, Zeitoune has been landing gigs in big-time nightclubs and party cruise ships in Tel Aviv, Israel. Zeitoune’s parents are Israeli, and what began as a family reunion visit for the summer turned into a career opportunity. The Brooklyn native later began exercising his music talents for audiences of up to 2,000 people aboard those cruise ships.  

 One of Zeitoune’s earliest club connections was with Samuel Vago, a part owner in a nightclub with 11 different venues and manager of its international division. Vago said that when hiring a DJ, they look for someone who “really knows how to read a crowd, be able to play different genres and see the crowd reacts to it.” After his first show, Vago hired him and had him perform at least once a week at one of his venues, The Lighthouse.

Zeitoune’s continuous passion for music prompted him to download his first music production software at 13 years old. He recalled that the extent of his DJ’ing then was “hitting the spacebar key,” Zeitoune said. But he soon invested in a more professional mixing board and laptop, with his penchant for music allowing him to teach himself.  

 It was around this time that he found his inspiration from Avicii.  He says he still gets goosebumps when he hears work from the late Swedish DJ. Avicii, who Zeitoune has dubbed “the king of EDM,” also began to create music at a young age.

Over the summer, Charel had nightclub sets at least once a week in Tel Aviv, Israel, and had a few gigs onboard a party cruise ship that sailed out to the Meditteranean Sea. Courtesy of Charel Zeitoune

Unlike many up-and-coming DJs, Zeitoune does not use a computer during his set to match beats and transition seamlessly from track to track. Instead, he uses his ear.

“What you would see on the screen, like where you have to nudge and align the beats, I align the beats with my ear saying ‘Oh this sounds right, oh wait that’s a little slow, I need to speed it up from there,’” Zeitoune said. “And I do that fully off my ear.”

Zeitoune’s music tastes align with Israel’s own favorite genre: electronic dance music and techno, Vago said. But Zeitoune is determined to make a name for himself with the sounds of big room. Big room is a genre that was created for large electronic music festivals, and utilizes booming kick drums and long build ups to bass drops, according to EDM.com.  

 While Zeitoune loves the adrenaline rush of being onstage, he also added that DJ’ing serves as a coping mechanism for the stress of being an engineering student. However, Zeitoune repeatedly added that he is a student first and a DJ second. He is constantly listening to music from EDM to country or tinkering with the sound production of a song to release stress.  

 “At the end of the day, I’m an average college student that has a ton of stress, especially with my major so that’s the type of thing that helps me cool off. I go to my studio and just sit down with my headphones,” Zeitoune said.

Vago said that one of Zeitoune’s greatest challenges of the summer came aboard the party cruise ships that sailed from the port of Tel Aviv to the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. He was tasked with entertaining his audiences for four hours.  

 As the only DJ onboard, he had to play a variety of genres to keep people in good spirits. During his sets, Zeitoune learned that people don’t really understand the art behind DJ’ing.

“People think I come with a set that I made at home. I do everything live or else it wouldn’t be fun, I would just be standing there like an idiot for an hour just standing around, but I make everything at live,” Zeitoune said. 

Zeitoune said that he has become much more used to interacting with the audience and now enjoys the adrenaline rush it provides him. Courtesy of Charel Zeitoune

 Initially, Zeitoune would prepare weeks in advance, carefully curating playlists and anticipating the worst. But now, with the sheer amount of music that he has downloaded, Zeitoune needs far less time. 

 While Zeitoune admitted that the New Year’s show was his biggest in terms of artist name recognition, his favorite shows have taken place amidst the Tel Aviv nightlife. Vago also said that “going out is part of our culture,” adding that clubs stay open seven days a week and are always brimming with people ready to party – the perfect backdrop for a young DJ.

“When I headlined a set [in Tel Aviv], EDM is more accepted in the club there,” Zeitoune said. “Here, it’s more of a rap, reggaeton vibe in New York City and America. But in Israel, there’s a lot more EDM and rave music in the clubs, and that’s kind of what I like.” 

 Longtime friend and sophomore marketing management student at SU, Samy Alloui, said that he has watched Zeitoune perform in New York City many times because he “can see the excitement and passion that he has for it.”

As for Zeitoune’s future plans, Vago recently called to tell him that they would be flying Zeitoune back out to Tel Aviv for more sets next summer.  

 In addition, Zeitoune announced a potential EP in the works that would have a diverse assortment of tracks spanning genres like big room, moombahton and deep house. Songs like Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina” are emblematic of the sounds associated with moombahton, according to Complex News. He has previously produced songs with producer Mikey Darwish under the name 2UO. Together they hit 15,000 streams on their mashup of the song, “Reload.”  

 Zeitoune is also hoping to one day grace the stage with a headliner at either University Union’s Juice Jam or Mayfest. Looking back on the past two years, Zeitoune says he has changed from a shy stage persona to become the life of the party.  

 “I used to be nervous and get stage fright,” said Zeitoune. “Now, I’m more than comfortable to speak into the mic in front of 2,000 people. That’s something, but I learned to love looking at the crowd.”