Philip “Bluf” Conally, a Florida Atlantic University senior studying finance, never thought he’d be behind a DJ booth. That all changed after Conally was convinced to go to Club Space in Miami for his 21st birthday. 

When Conally first left the club, he felt inspired by how the atmosphere of the party scene and music connected people together. At that moment, he knew a career as a DJ was his calling in his life. 

“So immediately after leaving Club Space, that day, I was like, ‘I need to learn how to make it,’” Conally said while sharing how he manages this nightlife career with loud music and flashing lights, and taking college classes during the daytime.

Grace Rucker, a former FAU student and close friend of Conally, remembers the night in Club Space with him. Although the two normally travel to Miami to enjoy the music at local clubs, they usually don’t listen to house music.

“We would go to Wynwood a lot; we’d go down to Miami a lot together. We’d go see bands and go look at the local scene,” Rucker said. “We went to see SG Lewis at Club Space, and then after that, we both got really into the house [music] scene.”

House music is a high-energy electronic genre defined by steady beats, looping rhythms and deep basslines. Today, it’s a major part of mainstream music, heard in clubs, at festivals, and in the background of countless pop songs and commercials.

Since practicing in his house was too disturbing for his parents, Conally would bring his DJ equipment and practice around FAU’s Boca Raton campus. Eventually, he said people began to notice him around and compliment his music. 

“People started messing with it, and they would come around and listen to me,” he said. “And it was so cool because I could get a live reaction to my tracks and mixes, and I could watch people engage with it, whereas before, when I was doing it in my room, I had no reference if this was good or not.” 

Conally posts music on his SoundCloud to further increase his following. While he may not be widely known yet, his friend Rucker believes it’s only a matter of time.

“He’s just naturally so good at it,” Rucker said. “And I can tell it makes him happy. I feel like music gives him so much more fulfillment because he’s naturally good at it. He has the gift for it.”

Alexandra Veras, a junior biology major, says she met Conally by seeing him out practicing. She says as he’s pursued DJing further, the improvement is evident. 

“I really like his music. I feel he’s gotten a lot more comfortable with his type of style over the past months, like with experimenting,” Veras said “But I think he’s really good, and I think he’s going to continue to get better from where he’s at.”

The slight public engagement not only caused Conally’s music to gain traction but also boosted his confidence. Now, Conally says he’s focused on playing in clubs and sharpening his craft. He mentions playing for various clubs, with his performance at the Nowhere Lounge in Fort Lauderdale being his most memorable. 

“I had all my friends there to support me, and I opened up. Everybody was loving it. It was so cool. It was very high energy, and it was like nothing I’ve experienced so far after that.”

Conally made note that DJing and producing is a challenging process. While learning how to mix music isn’t extremely difficult, he said creating mixes that an audience will enjoy isn’t easy.

“Learning the basic principles of mixing is not difficult,” Conally said. “But getting your mixes to be engaging, and for people to actually like them and want to listen to them is the difficult part.”

Although it’s just a side gig for now, Conally still hopes to improve his DJing and see how far he can take it. His goal as both a DJ and a producer is to inspire others to push the movement of house music.

 “As a producer, I want to be the person that pushes [house music] so hard that it gets popular in the United States like it is in Europe and building that legacy of other producers making this music,” Conally said

Julius Demosthenes is a Staff Writer for the University Press. For more information on this or other stories, contact Demosthenes at jdemosthenes792@gmail.com or DM jay_dem0 on Instagram.