Whether in London or Syracuse, Troyce Pitones knows how to energize a crowd
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Before Khari Brandes packed venues like the Ministry of Sound in London and The Cage at Syracuse University with his DJ sets, he had humble beginnings: the San Diego recording studio of his dad’s band. When his father was an active member of Kush & Jah Blood Fiyah Angels, Brandes would play around with the band’s turntables in their studio as a toddler.
“It all initially stems from my dad,” Brandes said. “And then it was more catalyzed by me wanting to make (music).”
Before Brandes — who is professionally known as Troyce Pitones — became a DJ, he began to learn basic drumming at around 7 years old and picked up bass guitar soon after.
Even though Sean Brandes, Brandes’ father, played bass for Kush & Jah Blood Fiyah Angels, he recalled his son being independent when it came to learning the instrument.
“He basically taught himself how to play bass,” Sean said.
Along with the time he spent in the recording studio of his dad’s band, Brandes also got firsthand experience with music from three of his mom’s brothers when he went to live in the U.K. with her at the age of nine.
From Dominique music like reggae and soca to tofu decorated with spices, Brandes, who has a white dad from San Diego and a Black mom from the U.K., said the time he spent in London helped him connect with his Caribbean heritage.
“It really helped me grow as a person and understand my culture,” Brandes said.
Valerie Brandes, Brandes’ mom, was just as glad her son got to spend time with his Dominique relatives in the U.K. Because her brothers had their own sound systems and actively performed at functions, Brandes occasionally performed small sets of his own while with his uncles.
“Because we have such a strong family structure and culture, he was able to really draw from that,” Valerie said. “And that automatically expanded his interest in music and how he wanted to play music.”
In 2019, Brandes got the chance to open for Koffee and DUCKWRTH, his two favorite artists at the time, at Bandersnatch.
Corey Henry | Senior Staff Photographer
Even though he only visited Dominica once, Brandes is highly proud of his Dominique culture. In 2017, during his only trip to the island, Brandes got his stage name. While he was looking at the Trois Pitons, a mountain range, the DJ said he jokingly called the site “Troyce Pitones,” and he and his cousin agreed that it sounded like it could be a name.
It was also in London that Brandes got some of his biggest gigs as a DJ. Once Brandes turned 18, he began to DJ at various clubs. As a student at the London Sound Academy, Brandes performed a set at Egg, a prominent London nightclub. Brandes and other DJs played music for a room packed with night revelers until 6 a.m. Brandes recalled this set as the first time he learned to step out of his comfort zone and change his sound while performing.
“The energy was just crazy. Like everything was perfect,” he said. “It was literally like five in the morning and it was still wall to wall.”
A highlight of Brandes’ time DJing on campus was at The Cage, located in the backlot of 604 Walnut Ave. While the parties initially started with just him and his friends, before they knew it, the venue was packed with people screaming lyrics from the top of their lungs. Whether Brandes played chart-toppers or lesser-known songs from artists like Skepta, he said he was able to keep the audience in a groove as music boomed from the speakers.
“If you can mix songs well, it doesn’t matter much if people know them,” he said
However, Brandes’ time DJing on campus wasn’t always filled with positive highlights. Police were often called to stop Brandes’ sets before they could even start. Brandes said his craziest experience with police happened in 2019, while he was performing for a friend’s birthday party. He said officers came and argued with Brandes and other organizers, and later that same night, people went around pistol-whipping people at parties around campus, including Brandes’.
When the same police officers who argued with Brandes came back to the house, they filed a report that glossed over some details, including the extent of the injuries of the people who got pistol-whipped. The producer said the ordeal, as well as other similar incidents, resulted in protests across SU because of DPS’ failure to protect students of color.
“That was really scary because we didn’t know if they were gonna do anything more,” Brandes said. “And it was a really patchy memory because it was so scary.”
In 2019, Brandes produced his first episode for 11th Street Radio — a radio show that mixes together a variety of music from The Marías to Travis Scott — after being invited by his friend Miles Franklyn in 2018. Franklyn initially created the show in 2017 with his high school friends, but it died out after he stopped making mixes. Once Franklyn found out Brandes could DJ, the 11th Street Radio founder saw it as fate since he was coincidentally looking for a DJ for the show.
“Khari is the best DJ I have ever seen in person,” Franklyn said. “Have you seen him DJ? He enters this trance and looks like a mad scientist controlling the minds of everyone in the room.”
Brandes sees the work he puts in at 11th Street Radio as a time capsule, because it allows him to track his growth as a DJ with each episode he puts out. Before the radio show relaunches in 2022, Brandes said they’re looking to bring more DJs to the show to allow more people to share their music taste.
One of Brandes’ inspirations for the curations he creates for and outside of 11th Street Radio is Virgil Abloh. Brandes said that he’s seen Abloh perform around four or five times, and each set was different from the last. In 2018, he saw the late DJ and fashion designer perform at Camp Flog Gnaw and contextualize “Nights” by Frank Ocean from a somber song to a track the crowd could jam to, which Brandes admitted is not an easy feat.
“That was really inspiring to me,” Brandes said. “If it was a less skilled DJ … it might ruin the vibe.”
Brandes is now finishing his last semester at SU as an intern for APG, a record label in Los Angeles. Although he still goes to classes, he also searches for producers and songwriters to pass along to his bosses.
Brandes is currently a student in SU’s Bandier Program, a program which allows students to get hands-on experience to prepare for careers in the music world, and was in the same Bandier class as notable musicians like Clairo and Claud. Despite the popularity of other members of his class, Brandes insists that it is his passion that allows him to be where he’s at now.
“A lot of what gets you into Bandier is not the skill, but it’s how much you show you wanna be there,” he said. “It’s a reflection of how much you want it.”