DJ Jams

DJ Jams is Jean Lardon, a DJ based in Nods who plays weddings, birthdays, company parties, village festivals and sporting events across the Three Lakes region, canton Neuchatel, Bienne and the Jura Bernois. The French-language site is unusually open for a small Swiss supplier: it publishes a full rate card, two all-in packages, a named equipment list and the payment terms, so a couple can work out a realistic budget before sending a single message.

What a wedding booking looks like

Weddings appear in his list of services as "DJ pour mariages (apéro, soirée dansante)", DJ for weddings, covering the aperitif and the dancing evening. The site does not describe a separate wedding package; weddings are booked through the same rate card as his other private events, and the details of each event are worked out, in his words, by phone or, better still, over a coffee.

The package aimed most directly at weddings is the "Pack 0 souci" (roughly, the no-worries pack), which the tarifs page calls ideal for a wedding or company evening of up to 120 people. It starts at CHF 1400 and covers up to 12 hours of music with the DJ on site. The listed contents are a single point of contact, a music controller with access to up to 100 million titles, up to 3 meetings to plan the evening, a personalized playlist, two microphones (one of them wireless), a 4000-watt sound system, ambient lighting and light effects, and setup and teardown. The page flags a limit: it is meant for rooms of up to 200 square meters.

The "Pack Budget" costs CHF 950 for up to 8 hours of music and is pitched at birthdays and private parties of up to 50 people. It includes a controller with at least 14,000 titles, one wired microphone, one planning meeting, a personalized playlist, a 2000-watt column speaker, simple ambient lighting, and setup and teardown, for rooms of up to 100 square meters. For most weddings the guest limit will make the larger pack the relevant one.

Couples whose venue already has a sound system can book the DJ alone. The hourly rate is CHF 140 per hour started, for up to 3 hours of playing. From 4 hours the per-event rate applies, starting at CHF 520 with rates that go down as the hours go up. Both of these include the DJ controller and two microphones but, as the page stresses with a warning sign, no lighting and no sound system. Sound and lighting can also be rented on their own from CHF 100 per day; that rental has to be requested at least 1 month ahead, and depending on the request it may come from an outside provider.

Payment terms and what the couple must supply

The tarifs page sets out the money side plainly. A 50% deposit is paid before the event to hold the date, and the balance is due up to 14 days before. If the client withdraws, or has not paid in full by 14 days before the event, the deposit is not returned. General terms of sale are linked from the page and count as accepted once a quote request is sent.

The same page lists what the couple has to provide, which is useful for anyone booking a venue from abroad. For the per-hour and per-event offers the client supplies a sturdy table (the page gives minimum dimensions and a 40 kg load), a 240-volt power socket within 5 meters of it, and, unless a sound-and-light option was chosen, a sound system powerful enough for the room with XLR, cinch or jack inputs. The page is explicit that a Bluetooth table speaker does not count. For an outdoor event it asks for a covered area of at least 3 by 3 meters closed on three sides. It also asks for mineral water and a meal for the DJ.

Background and the gear he brings

Born in 1976, Lardon started as a resident DJ in bars and clubs in the 1990s and says he has played close to 2000 nights. From 1993 to 2003 he was resident at Discothèque La Taverne, Café Pub de la Vieille Ville, Pub du Moulin and Momo's Bar, all in Moutier, and a guest DJ at Discothèque le Perroquet in Reconvilier, Casino Club 138 in Courrendlin and Discothèque le Mustang in Crémines. From 1993 to today he has played the Braderie Prévôtoise in Moutier, the Fête des Vendanges in Neuchatel and La Charbonnière in Lignières, plus village festivals and private parties. He has also recorded voice-overs for jingles and adverts since 1999 and has been the announcer for the Course des Pavés in La Neuveville since 2022.

The equipment is named in detail. He mixes on a Denon DJ SC Live 4 standalone controller, with 14,000 titles stored and streaming access to around 100 million more. Sound comes from two HK Polar 10 column systems, each with a subwoofer, 2000 watts and 127 dB. Microphones are a wired Shure SM58 and a Shure BLX24/PG58 wireless set. Lighting is a Chauvet DJ Gigbar Move+ effect bar, four battery-powered Chauvet DJ Freedom PAR Q9 room lights, two Light4Me LED Flower balls and two BeamZ RAGE smoke machines. For events that need more sound and light he works with Event-Solution, an events technology company.

The music

His own description of his style is eclectic and commercial, running from the 1960s to current hits: rock, disco, dance, pop, vintage and French chanson. The about page tells how he grew up on ABBA, Queen and Johnny Hallyday at home and discovered house and dance music behind the decks in the 1990s. The home page jokes that he gets even the least sporty guests dancing the Macarena, and sets one rule: everyone has a good time, from the first cocktails to the last dances at 3 in the morning. The streaming access means requests from any decade are realistic, and a personalized playlist is part of both packs.

What the site does not settle

The whole site is in French and says nothing about which other languages Lardon works in. A couple who do not speak French should ask before booking whether planning meetings and announcements on the night can happen in English or German.

The service area is a long named list of towns in the Jura and Jura Bernois, the Bienne area, canton Neuchatel, the northern part of Vaud, and Fribourg around Murten. The site does not say whether he travels beyond that list or whether travel costs are added, so a wedding in the Alps or around Lake Geneva is a question to put to him directly. The terms quoted on the tarifs page cover a client cancellation; the site does not say what happens if the DJ has to cancel or a date moves. The page also gives no end time for a wedding night beyond the 12-hour ceiling of the larger pack.

Who it suits

DJ Jams fits a couple marrying in the Three Lakes and Jura area who want to know the price early and like a DJ with long local club experience. The Pack 0 souci is sized for a wedding of up to 120 guests in a hall of up to 200 square meters. Couples at a larger venue, or one with a bigger room, should ask what changes. The humor and the playlist lean toward singalong hits and dance classics across the decades rather than a single niche genre, which suits mixed-age guest lists. The main caveats for couples from abroad are the French-only website and the regional focus.