When it comes to DJs, few match the passion for music exhibited by Preston Onfroy whose infectious joy for rhythms, beats and sounds radiates from behind the sound console.
DJ Preston may be familiar to many in the Cayman Islands by now, as his Roll Out show, which can be heard on Saturdays between 10am and 3pm on Hot 104.1 FM, has eclipsed a plethora of established Saturday evening programming to become one of the most popular shows in the Cayman Islands.
The DJ and radio personality can also be heard launching tunes on weekdays from 5am to 7am.
The Mandeville, Jamaica, native is not just known for his skills as a DJ though. Instead, he decided to take his passion for music from behind the turntable into the studio.
“I like to make the music too. When you are one side of the coin you wonder what it’s like on the other and so I decided to contribute to what I was doing in another way.
I also had an idea of what people wanted to hear from playing music for so long,” he explains.
Some of the notable artists the producer has worked with include Vibez Cartel, Capleton, Cecile and Sizzla. But you would not know the depth of his expertise at a glance, as the DJ/producer maintains a modest disposition and saves his flamboyance for the audiences he entertains.
“With musical selection it is important to take the listeners on a journey. It must be interactive and this can be done in many different ways. You can start with the older stuff and come right up, ending the night with the newest releases on the market.”
A scholar in his own right, the budding musical prodigy refined the skills he had developed through years of music appreciation and an inclination to pull devices apart and put them together again at the University of Technology in Jamaica where he studied to be a studio engineer.
Preston’s musical resume reads like the dean’s list of reggae music and the DJ has worked for the likes of Irie FM, as well as RJR in Jamaica as an on air personality and television presenter before taking up his post with dms Broadcasting.
“Everything I have done in my life prepared me to be where I am at now and there is work to be done in terms of invigorating the society in Cayman, who deserve nothing but the best,” says Preston. WH