Today we’d like to introduce you to Dustin Caputo.
Hi Dustin, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
“Curator of emotional, energetic, and euphoric tunes, with a feel-good atmosphere”
That’s how Dustin describes himself as a DJ. Never afraid to dive deep into the soul, as music is his therapy. His goal is to create a safe space for music lovers alike, to experience the true power of music. Having grown up with a father who loved the disco sounds of Studio 54, the golden era of electronic dance music (Avicii, Alesso, Porter Robinson, Swedish House Mafia), emo & punk-rock bands (All Time Low, A Day To Remember, Taking Back Sunday, My Chemical Romance) energetic glitch & growl-infused melodic bass & dubstep (Seven Lions, Illenium, Skrillex, Excision)… all which became infused with his love for euphoric 2000’s trance (Armin Van Buuren, Above & Beyond, Aly & Fila, Gareth Emery), Dustin ended up with quite a wide array of musical influences. Today, this translates into his sets (Most notably, his DayDreamin’ mixes) where he picks apart and imbues together all the pieces of this music that he loves the most: wide, heavy saw stacks, beautiful synth work, emotional drops, and some catchy vocal hooks… all on top of foot-shuffling euphoric melodies.
As a graduate of Scratch DJ Academy in NY, Cosmic Academy in Miami, and after a decade+ of DJing, Dustin is no stranger to the ups-and-downs of the music scene. Though he loves playing at nightclubs, festivals, and special events, his love for music goes beyond the spectrum of mixing tunes. As a producer and visual artist, he has found many ways to express himself. He also likes to draw and use his own artwork in conjunction with his music, just like he did on his most recent compilation – Dreams.
“Music saved my life. If I can help just one person escape from their anxiety or daily stress for a bit, then I’ll be happy! Music brings me true joy and has always been my getaway from reality. I never want anyone to experience the struggles that I have, but if they do, I want them to know there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel through my music”
With love,
DiLLZ
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have been many ups & downs along the way. I gave up music when I worked for JP Morgan for 7 years because I didn’t have a life. Then I looked myself in the mirror one day after so much time had passed and said what am I doing with my life? I did everything I copuld from then on to change my career and move so I could pursue the dreams I once forgot about. It took me about 3 years, but I was able to change careers and move halfway across the country to Austin. I didn’t know anyone and at 31 years old, I got to start all over again, it was truly the best decision I ever made
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I used to be in investment banking and I used to trade for JP Morgan & Morgan Stanley in NY. I then transitioned into being a Senior Financial Consultant for Deloitte, which gave me the ability to transfer to Austin. Then I became a Director of Finance for a Guardian Health subsidiary called Clearwater Benefits, and then I was unfortunatly laid-off. I was unemployeed from my career for over a year, which is when I started workling with Secret Disco Society and picking up contract work. I used to work for for Handshake.AI & Mercor Intelligence, and now today I work for Patronus AI as a Financial Consultant, where I help improve their platforms by building AI prompts for Investment Banks
Who else deserves credit in your story?
I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for my Cosmic Academy family (especially Zack & Justin), my incredible mentor Carlos Marcelo
Contact Info:
- Website: Under construction, should be finished soon
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dillz.ofc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeJDiLLZ/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustin-caputo-a5932156
- Twitter: https://x.com/DJ_DiLLZ_
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/dj-dillz
