Firefighter Is Hot On The Turntables

Chris Buchanan has a burning passion for his art, which is ironic considering he spends part of his time putting out fires.

The talented 23-year-old has been a volunteer at the Amherst Fire Department for the past five years and has loved every minute of it.

However, there is another person inside Chris Buchanan that you should meet: His name is Olik from Berlin.

Olik from Berlin is an electronic music DJ and producer with a fan base that extends across the globe. He is also the host of the weekly radio show/podcast “Eurotrash” that airs online, and locally at 91.3fm WUNH in Durham.

He has manned turntables at live concerts around the world, including Germany, Denmark and as far away as Singapore. Not only that, but the young musician performs at local events in New England, including a performance with one of the top DJs in the world, Avicii.

Music You Can Feel

Before he discovered his favorite music genre and DJ persona, Buchanan was just a third grader who had never heard of electronic music. It all started when he first heard French electronic music duo Daft Punk.

“It just sort of clicked,” he said. “And ever since then I have been a die-hard fan of electronic music.”

In 2007, he lived in Germany for a short while and was able to go to Berlin, which is essentially the capitol of modern electronic music. It was here that he got his first taste of being a DJ and returned to the states as Olik from Berlin.

“It just inspired me to actually do something with the one and only music I liked,” said Buchanan.

He has since heard a healthy mixture artists by traveling around the world, thanks to the fact that getting on a plane is easy when your father is a pilot.

Buchanan describes his style as a mix of electro house, progressive house and trance music. For those unfamiliar with this terminology, it means that the music is loud with big build ups and peppered with a mix of themes and emotions that flow together. Being an electronic DJ isn't just playing a set of songs; it requires on-the-spot performance where reading the crowd's energy is a necessity.

“To me, it is definitely very different from what many people see it to be,” he said. “It is very powerful music and very ‘in-your-face,’ but it can also be subtle. It can be a very extreme style of music, but to me it is one that really speaks to me personally because of the way it works.”

His first concert experience further cemented his love for the music genre, as he was taken away by DJ/producer Armin van Buuren along with 45,000 others in an olympic stadium.

“The audio setup and the lighting was so powerful it almost took you to a different location,” said Buchanan. “You could literally feel the music inside you, even right down to your organs. You can feel it vibrating.”

The young DJ’s musical influences are too numerous to name, but he definitely has some favorites from the global electronic music scene. He said that Swedish House Mafia is changing what it means to be a DJ, with one member even starting their own electronic music opera.

On the producing side, Buchanan said that he is all about Dirty South, an australian DJ/producer that possesses incredible skill. “The dynamics are so far beyond my realm of understanding,” he said. “It is so sophisticated and I am just blown away every time.”

A Desire To Serve

Olik from Berlin may be the manifestation of his love for electronic music, but he still has room in his heart to dedicate as a firefighter. The Amherst native joined his local fire department right after his 18th birthday and has been “in love with it” ever since.

“Just like wanting to be a DJ for electronic music, I always wanted to be a firefighter,” he said. “I like the feeling of being the person that someone might call in an emergency. Every time my pager goes off, or I hear about a fire call, I get very excited when I am there, or disappointed that I can’t respond.”

The fire department has been like a family to him, and Buchanan can’t imagine a life where he is not a part of it. “The Amherst Fire Department has had a tremendous role in shaping who I am today,” he said.

Amherst Fire Chief Mark Boynton said that Buchanan is a "tremendous asset" to the department and has stepped up in so many ways. He has filled in as acting lieutenant, developed their website and even took on a project of creating an updated map of fire hydrants in town.

"He is a genius," said Boynton. "An all-around good guy with a lot of knowledge that is a benefit to the department and he gets along with everybody. He may seem a bit quiet at first, but he is such a great person and can have a conversation with anybody. Everybody finds him fascinating because he has so many ideas and so much enthusiasm. He like never sleeps."

"Olik's" Promising Future

Electronic music has been seeing a huge surge in pop culture and has been making its way into the mainstream American music industry, according to Buchanan. Although many critics compare electronic music to rave or drug culture, he says this is a stereotype that DJs like him are trying to fight.

“To me, you don’t need drugs to enjoy that kind of stuff. You don’t need it because it is all about the music.”

It is more than the music for in the life of Chris Buchanan, who likes to keep busier than most. He juggles his time between volunteering, Djing and working towards his masters in political science and international relations at the University of New Hampshire. He has even put his impressive skills in web and technology to use with local political campaigns in New Hampshire.

The dedicated DJ is also putting together a music festival called “High Fi Music Festival” that will be tearing up the UNH campus next month. Oh, and he is also planning on putting together his own EP, or short-length album, that is set to premier next year.

“I do a lot of things,” said Buchanan. “I have never been a person who can only do one thing at a time. I feel that there is a shortness to life, and if I’m not doing many different things, then I am not finding my max potential of what I can do. I don’t want to feel like I am wasting my life.”

For more information on Chris Buchanan (Olik from Berlin) you can visit his website at olik.co, or find him on the Olik from Berlin Facebook page.