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Showing content with the highest reputation on 10/20/2015 in all areas

  1. I suspect that Jules knows, and has accepted, that he's no longer looked upon as a credible Trance music DJ. I suspect that he's also quite content playing the kind of music and the more mainstream clubs these days because it's enabled him to prolong his career alongside a day job. The UK Trance scene is on its arse now - so gigs in this country have really dried up - and all of the big British DJs are now having to play abroad a lot lot more - to the point where I see the likes of Halliwell, Emery, Above & Beyond, etc on more European, Australian and South American line-ups than UK line-ups now. Jules was at his peak in the mid 90's to late 90's through to around 2004/2005. After that, rather than having the "niche" sound he'd always had (Pacey, Harder-edged Tech-Trance, Trance with funky basslines and House with a Euro bounce to it - plus the occasional outrageous quirky tune that couldn't be categorised into any style or genre - but when you walked into a club, you could just tell it was a "Jules Tune"), he started "following trends" - playing anything that was popular at the time. In recent years, Jules has gone from Trance, through to Tech-Trance, through to House, through to "Trouse" through to EDM and commercial nonsense. He always mixed genres to some extent - but Jules always had his own unique sound that could be easily identified - whereas in the end, he was playing whatever sound was popular. Add into that the sloppy beatmatching, clashing tune selection, god awful bootlegs, OTT unnecessary looping and dragging out of breakdowns, "Somebody screaammmmmmm" voiceovers and attempts at scratching that should only be attempted at home when practicing new tricks, its sad just how quickly Jules went down hill. Even just ten years ago, Jules was my favourite DJ. Even now I get out old Jules sets to listen to - and loved them more than any other DJ's sets I listen to because when Jules was at his best, he really was superb. Every time I went out clubbing, Jules made the night. In just a short space of time, that rapidly changed - to the point where whenever I went out, I never knew which Jules I'd get because he became so inconsistent. I remember seeing him one week in London - and he played one of the best sets I'd ever heard - one week later, he played one of the worst I'd ever heard. It was like hearing two completely different DJs because the difference was so vast between the two sets. Then when those "Somebody screammmmmmm" jingles and god awful bootlegs with RNB or pop vocals, poorly mashed-up into a poor tune, I'd just given up completely - and stopped going to see Jules completely. I don't know whether Jules had just lost interest, become out of touch with the Trance scene, became complacent thinking "I've made it" and "I can do as I like - and people will still see me", whether mainstream music that paid better money became more important than playing "niche" music that he loved, or whether he just naturally went into decline as some of the older DJs did - such as John Kelly, Seb Fontaine, etc. That being said though, Carl Cox has been around for donkeys years - and is now 53 years of age - yet even now, he's still relevant to the scene, he's still current, he's still one of the most in demand DJs in the world - and he's still as good and still as passionate as ever - so I don't think that age can result in a decline that quickly if the heart is still in it. It's a shame Jules didn't go out on a high in 2005 - because then I'd have always regarded him as one of my all time favourite DJs and a true legend of the scene. Those last few years have really tarnished that view for me. I'll never ever forget Jules at his best - but unfortunately, it's going to be difficult to forget those bad few years too, sadly, for all the wrong reasons. May sound harsh - but I'm being honest about how I feel.
    1 point
  2. Jules's style has progressively got slower, cheesier and less focused towards Trance over the last decade - to the point where the bulk of his sets became "EDM" shite and commercial rubbish. He's been irrelevant to the Trance scene for years now unfortunately. His sound is more suited to the "three shots for a fiver" music-for-the-masses commercial / chain-owned clubs these days where 18-25 year olds are happy to hear commercial music with "Somebody screeeeeeeam" jingles slapped over the top. Gone are the days of Jules smashing out a bit of decent, pacey, "niche" tunes like Dark Monks - Insane, BK - Revolution and Mauro Picotto - Baguette at 143bpm in a main room or festival. A 133bpm Swedish House Mafia vs Bananarama vs Will.I.Am vs John McEnroe (Six Sambucas & A Strongbow "You Cannot Be Serious" Vocal Bootleg) mash-up is more apt these days*. *That bootleg may or may not be fictional before anyone tries looking for it*
    1 point