A new group of disc jockey pals are taking over the Charleston scene

Electric Friends, which features DJs Jeff ET, CMNDer and MACHETE (also known as Jeff Turner, Matthew Bowers and Nick De Nitto), began spinning together this past fall, following respective performances at the Blume art show at Pantheon in October.

Originally created as a record label under which the three could record and produce their own mixes, Electric Friends quickly transformed into the collaborative musical act.

The trio is performing tonight at 11 p.m. at Flash Bang, the New Year's Eve bash at Shine. They also will perform at 10 p.m. Wednesday at O'Malley's Bar and Grille.

I chatted with MACHETE and asked a few questions.

Q: The name Electric Friends reminds me of crime-fighting superheroes. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

A: I would definitely want to be telepathic, just like Professor Xavier from X-Men. As a DJ, being telepathic would be convenient; you would know exactly what to play. And when you're trying to pick up chicks, you would know exactly what to say. But Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth would work as well.

Q: How did you guys get your respective starts as DJs?

A: Matthew got his start when he traveled to France three or four years ago and got to experience the Paris club scene. Jeff started DJing two years ago, but he picked it up really quickly. He's always loved hip-hop and funk music. I went to the Governor's School for Sciences and Mathematics for high school. My first year there, my roommate was Aziz Ansari. Out of the blue, he got turntables for Christmas that year, and he doesn't even celebrate Christmas! So instead of studying, we were DJing all the time.

Q: What equipment do you guys use?

A: We all use very different equipment. Jeff uses mostly vinyl, but he'll also use Serato Scratch Live, which is what I use. With the Serato, you use your Mac to control MP3s. Then the vinyl sends a signal to a box, and the box sends it to your computer. So it's basically as though you're scratching the MP3s. Matthew uses Traktor Pro, which is more popular in Europe.

Q: What was your favorite album of 2009?

A: Major Lazer's "Guns Don't Kill People, Lazers Do." They did the beat for MIA's "Paper Planes" and won a Grammy. They did another album together, and it's crazy.

Q: How do you guys spin together live?

A: We do a lot of improvising when we play live. One person will mix a track, and the other two will layer tracks into it. From that spawns ideas for new remixes.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: Baltimore club, or Bmore club, music is basically really fast and repetitive beats. Baltimore club music hasn't really taken off in Charleston or even the South yet. We've been mixing that into our stuff a lot. I'm doing a whole Baltimore club mix tape now and producing all of the beats.

Electric Friends

Members: Jeff ET (vinyl), CMNDer (Traktor Pro), MACHETE (Serato).

Originally from: Charleston.

Hear them at: 11 p.m. tonight at Shine, 58 Line St.; 10 p.m. Wednesday at O'Malley's Bar and Grille, 549 King St.