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Miami DJ offers free download of mix tapes under MIOX records

Jenni Wiener

Miami University sophomore Su Dong, also known as DJ Sona, released a new series of two mix tapes for students called "Into the Dark" Jan. 1.

According to Dong, the first mix tape is comprised of pop music, such as those songs that can be found on the Top 40 list. Dong described the first tape as a dance mix while the second tape consists of less popular hip-hop songs.

"Each tape appeals to a different audience in order to reach more people," said Dan Albert, Dong's manager and a senior at Miami. "The dance mix appeals more to girls, whereas the hip-hop tape appeals to people at the bars."

As of Tuesday, Albert said there had been more than 3,000 downloads of the full album and 12,000 downloads of individual songs.

Senior Jason Carter, a graphic design major, designed DJ Sona's logo and the cover art of his latest mix tapes.

"We didn't have much money to put towards the tape so we uploaded it to Megaload, where people can have easy access to it at no cost," Albert said.

The goal is to create greater recognition for DJ Sona at Miami to secure him bigger gigs and shows at events and uptown, Albert said.

MIOX Records, which serves as the voice of students for musical entertainment and their branch, Knuckle Up which represents DJs, helped Dong by helping him obtain uptown gigs as well as performances at house parties, said sophomore Anthony Harris, head of MIOX Records.

"Music is my interest and my hobby," Dong said. "I want to give Miami students better music that is more enjoyable."

Dong said he started this hobby at age 13 with the help of computer programs. Eventually, Dong said he made remixes of songs and posted them on his MySpace page.

Individual club owners across the country have contacted DJ Sona, asking him to perform at their clubs, Dong said. He added that even though he has traveled a lot, he has never had a permanent place to DJ and he hopes to find one at Miami.

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According to Albert, DJ Sona has performed for fraternities, sororities, organizations and parties. Albert is currently in the process of trying to book more performances at uptown bars.

"We are trying to gain DJ Sona more support by releasing the new mix tapes as well as through social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace so he can get bigger gigs, which is usually hard for students to achieve," Albert said.

Harris said he meets with the owners of uptown venues to promote DJ Sona.

"Su has real talent," Harris said. "I think the mix tapes are amazing."

Albert said he believes student DJs need more opportunities to perform, which would promote new chances for students to provide entertainment.

DJ Sona plans to release another mix tape before spring break in March. His current releases can be found at http://www.box.net/shared/fmhb9syhx4 and http://www.box.net/shared/li5lrsmoqo.