"SELF-SATISFACTION. I'M BASICALLY DOING IT FOR MYSELF. I'M MAKING MUSIC THAT I THINK SOUNDS GOOD AND IF SOMEONE ELSE LIKES IT THEN, FUCK, THAT'S GREAT. IF NOT, WHO GIVES A FUCK?" CASUALLY EXPLAINS ONE OF TODAY'S MOST INFAMOUS BREAKBEAT DJS, SIMPLY JEFF, WHO ALONG WITH PARTNER, DJ RON D. CORE, OPENED UP DR. FREECLOUD'S MIXING LAB IN ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

It can be one hell of a trek out to their record shop from Los Angeles, but they feel the same way about the flipside since they once drove up to LA every weekend to buy records. To not end up as a rotting-ass DJ in the scene, it helps to have the newest music, and at one point, there was nowhere to turn to except LA. So in 1994, they opened up their own store. "The reason to open it was for the music. Since we've been open, there've been some other stores that have the same style as us. The more stores, the stronger the music will get, "Simply Jeff (Jeff Adachi) tells me as we sit in front of his unmarked shop that rests just a block south of Niketown and next to a liquor store. While basketball stars sign autographs on shoes up the street, some of the hottest DJs in Southern California are at Jeff's place spinning records, stocking shelves, or thinking about the albums they plan to spin at the next rave.

Unlike most DJs who you read about for their turntable tricks, Jeff got out of that and focused on the music.

"I use the turntable as an instrument, but not like DJ Q-Bert would. I took it to a different level by using computers and keyboards. It's more song-oriented than showcase-oriented. I got more into the music and less scratching."

If you look for his album in a dance music store, you'll have to look under a newer category called "Funky Breaks." According to Jeff, this genre started up in the San Francisco scene in 1993. But Jeff maintains he has always spun the same genre. "It was all breaks, but a different style." Starting off with classic hip-hop Afrika B. albums and then getting into Depeche Mode and New Order, Jeff drifted towards digital music.

"The Funky Breaks genre started when breakbeat was getting into jungle and drum and bass, and when techno was getting faster." For the layman, the genre represents music that has a root in old hip-hop and breakdance music, but Jeff has taken it to another level using new techniques.

To check out some Funky Break DJs you'll have to go to the underground parties and after-hours clubs, but it is slowly reaching the mainstream level and it's spreading fast. Jeff explain why the genre is accessible for most club-going Americans. "In the US, it's easy. Funky Breaks erupted from all the old school and everything we've grown up with. It brings back memories."

Even though the popularity is growing, Jeff has yet to travel to other continents. Because overseas folks have different musical backgrounds, the Funky Breaks genre is slower to catch on. "A certain style needs to be built first, so once they get familiar with those certain sounds, it's cake. They already know what you are all about." Jeff has no worries and thinks that it's a matter of time for him to get jobs around the world.

Perhaps the most commercial moment for Jeff was spinning records at the MTV Music Awards. "A lot of people who work at MTV are into the scene. They like the breaks. It just so happened that the person who was handling the show was into the scene, so I got hooked up." For those who knew his sounds, he was a major player called in to perform, but for most he was in his own words, "a wedding DJ, a small fish in a big pond."

To get to where he's at now, Jeff didn't just start spinning records like so many overnight DJs who end up selling their equipment after they realize that being a DJ isn't easy. Jeff went through exhausting internships at Capitol Records, KROQ, and CEMA music distribution, while he took music recording classes at the University of Sound Arts and UCLA Extension classes in music marketing. At the same time, he also did some film work.

"My day would start at 3:30. I worked at KROQ's morning shows from 4:30 am - noon. Then 12:30 - 5:00 pm , I would work at promotions or other days I would be at Capitol, noon - 5:00. Some days I would be at CEMA, then I would go back to KROQ and work with Eagle for the late-night shift and then maybe the next day, after working 4:30am - 5:00pm, I would take Extension courses from 7:00 - 11:00pm. Then from midnight - 3:00am, I would do the late-night show. Sometimes I was up 24 hours. I'm proud to say, no drugs. Just a lot of caffeine and lot of love for what I wanted to do."

Being from Sacramento, where his family still resides, the glamor of musicians, filmmakers, and folks in the entertainment was what he saw on TV. Yet he didn't know about the sweat it took to get there until he tried everything.

If you look at the credits on his CD, Jeff gives credit where it is due: his family. "Every family member - Mom, Dad, grandparents - all backed me up financially. That's how I did all those internships. I never mentioned I had a job. They knew my focus was music. When I came home from school I'd hit the studio and study music and records. They wanted me to put 100 percent into what I was doing, so they didn't want me to have a job. I was at the top of my class. They saw all the internships, so they supported me even more. I figured I had an opportunity where my parents and grandparents were helping me out, so instead of using the money to party and stuff, I took advantage of it. On a personal level, I needed to show to them that 'I don't want to let you down.' I just kept on bettering myself."

When he's spinning at the tables, people breakdance. And when asked if he ever got into the reviving dance form Jeff gave in, "I couldn't do none of that shit whatsoever. An inside joke between me and some DJs is that we DJ because we can't dance. So all our energy goes into the music - that's why we are so good at it. We spend so much time perfecting our skills because we can't dance. But we have a reason to go to these clubs because we are DJs."

A big name in the Southern California rave scene, Jeff finds it easy to deal with crowds of a few thousand people. "There's no way you can put on a record and make 5,000 leave. In a small crowd, if 10 people leave, you know it." Alongside the big events, Jeff spins at many smaller events, including ones for the industry where no one really knows the genre of funky breaks. "Sometimes no one gets up and I clear the floors. When it gets to that point. I spin for myself. Then two-to-three people get it and that makes it all worthwhile. When I'm at a place like that, I break out the old tunes and I build it toward breaks. I start with Grandmaster Flash or Sugar Hill Gang. Once they are into it, they keep on moving, and then you throw in the breaks and they say, 'All right....'" Jeff hypnotizes or brainwashes unsuspecting crowds to get into his music, and usually they respond. The funniest part is that they have no idea that he's one of the masters of this newer genre.

The Freecloud's experience doesn't end at the shop, we get the extended visit that the other publications don't. In his Orange County house, Jeff takes us into the back room where he sits in front of his music-producing computer workstation. The room is a small bedroom converted into a well-organized studio filled with necessities including vinyl, sampling and recording equipment, Ultraman toys for inspiration, and his two dogs who sit under his chair and table for company. Jeff presses some buttons and with a click of a mouse a beat erupts. He plays with the mouse a bit and the beats change into something strange. He smiles coolly and says, "That's a cool mistake. I'm starting to incorporate sounds that are from mistakes. I hit the wrong button for a sound and something else comes about it. It's all about knowing what sounds you want. It's about having an ear. As long as you have an ear for it is all you need."