emy Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 I suppose I could change things round, just I have some vinyl which you would not expect to go so well together so those bits are planned. I am still a learner, sometimes it takes a while to find those tracks which sound wicked together Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Kane Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 I suppose I could change things round, just I have some vinyl which you would not expect to go so well together so those bits are planned. I am still a learner, sometimes it takes a while to find those tracks which sound wicked together Of course, there are always a couple of tunes which fit really well together, as long as you have those combinations in your head you can get them into a set here & there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonman Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 To replicate that true "club feel" i dont even plan mix cd's. That last one i uploaded here wasn't pre planned. I did it in one go off the cuff. I do agree with tom though on the point he makes about pre planning mixes in clubs. I never plan ahead apart from the next tune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briggsy Posted February 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 I know a lot of people do this but I would really advise against it, you need to be flexible when you play out & pre-planning really can limit the direction you take the set in. Pre-planning promo mixes & such is something I'd recommend but definately not when you're playing out I agree with this! It restricts you a lot, and you don't really develop as a DJ - plus, if your gig is after another DJ and your first record is a lot slower or calmer than what they played, you'll kill the dancefloor straight away. You need to continue from where the previous DJ finished, and if a set is pre-planned, then its impossible to do that unless you've got 3 or 4 different pre-planned sets organised for different situations. There's nothing wrong with a few set-pieces (ie, 2 or 3 tunes that go together well) - even DJ's such as Eddie Halliwell and Tiesto do that - but a whole set like that will restrict you so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonross46 Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 I have made notes for every single mix set I have ever done. I have a book full of them dated years back and I planned to refer to them if I ever got in a touch of bother on the spot - but since my hard drive broke all the old tracks I played I don't actually have so most of my notes are just for sentimental value now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Kane Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 With my sets for radio I always used to play them off the cuff, but just find easier now to do a bit of planning. It's very rare that I follow the pre-planned setlist very strictly but it ensures that the sets have direction & I don't go off on too many tangents. For the hour long mixes it's easy to just press record & play for an hour without an issue but recording the longer two hours shows, that I have to do regularly, I always like a rough plan for the setlist. Clubwise I agree with everything Briggsy said, if you follow on from another DJ then you don't wana kill the vibe by adhering to a pre-planned set when the night has been built up a certain way. It always annoys me a little when DJs insist on stopping the previous DJs final track to start things the way they want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emy Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 (edited) Ah now that is where with DnB you are fine, as it is normal for the last DJ to stop to leave a gap for when the next DJ comes on So the MC can introduce them Edited February 21, 2009 by emy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briggsy Posted February 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 (edited) Ah now that is where with DnB you are fine, as it is normal for the last DJ to stop to leave a gap for when the next DJ comes on So the MC can introduce them Yeah I guess thats where DnB is so different from the rest of the dance genres - DnB is the only genre I know all the DJ's do their own thing, regardless of what the other DJ's have done. Its also the only genre I know where there doesn't appear to be loads of sub-genres mixed in with it - there's no hard stuff or warm-up stuff. Its all just flat-out DnB. The DnB tent at Global Gathering is always quite humerous - the other tents take 2 or 3 hours to get going, but the DnB tent is already going flat-out at 4pm That's where Trance is so different - its probably one of the most, if not the most, diverse genres out there - on a typical night, from the warm-up set to the hardest full on set, there can be as much as 13bpm difference - and the differences in warm-up Proggy style Trance through to banging Tech-Trance are so different, they should almost be classed as a different genre. That's why I couldn't do warm-up sets - there's absolutely no similarities between the style I play and warm-up style stuff. Edited February 21, 2009 by Briggsy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number2Fan Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 Never planned a single moment of any mix or Party or Pub Djing I've ever done. Ever. Even if I did plan something, I wouldn't stick to it, I know that half way through a tune I will want to play something else and it's half the fun having a rummage and knowing where to look and what to look for at the time. Besides in pubs or at parties people come and ask for stuff, and also you may end up playing something more than once because of it's popularity, or some people not being there the first time it was played, or a different mix of it or something. Go with the flow. You couldn't do that if you planned, it would throw you right out. I find this makes for a more interesting life. I never plan anything! It will always go wrong anyway. Sometimes too I've DJed and the next DJ has come along and said they wanted to play and then I come back and play something else, as long as everyone's enjoying it, including DJs all is good! Thinking about it I was probably saying "oh ooh oh let me play this let me play this att" ah well, it worked, no one ever complained! Obviously there are sometunes that you just KNOW what to put after it, because you've done it before and practised etc, but it's never law! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tremor Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 Yeah I never plan out sets either live or for Cds. If I wanna make a recording I'll just hit record and have a general mix as normal and see what comes out. When playing live you definitely need to go with the flow and work off the energy of the crowd. Often as soon as Ive dropped a tune I'll think of another thats going to work to follow it based on the way the crowd are responding. I've often found I'll discover a brilliant mix between 2 tracks purely off the cuff just doing it live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briggsy Posted February 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 I've got all my tunes labelled in key, so in theory, I should be able to grab two tunes in key, and they should always sound good together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tremor Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 Thats a nice Idea.. I must admit im not that organised. I tend to try and avoid mixing tunes with melodies in the outro of one and the intro of the other, or cut over before any potential clash. Unfortunately I often record mixes and even play tunes out which ive downloaded the same day and never even tried mixing before so sometimes that catches me out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonross46 Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 My biggest fear is being caught out in transitions, because unless you know the track inside-out it can happen. Because I'm a perfectionist too it all has to be spot on perfect, no beats can be out of synch by the slightest, no equaliser levels can be too high nor too low, no obvious looping, no sounds where I don't want them, it all has to be belissimo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tremor Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 Yeah there's nothing like the feeling of pulling off a perfect mix. Perhaps I should make more effort to get more of mine sounding that good. I do think that as you get further into the DJing though you will learn to be able to adapt those skills to an unfamiliar mix situation. It's very hard to play a whole set without one beat going out of sync or without the bass eq being too high on both tracks giving the effect of both beats coupling up together and sounding too loud or boomy. When playing live I think you get away with far more than you do say making a mix CD. The quality of the sound system, the factor of people shouting and talking over the music masks a certain amount of it also. Thats not to say dont aim for perfection but you can get away with more mistakes live than you'd think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonross46 Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 Although I haven't played (or heard mixes) live before, I do understand what you mean about getting away with mistakes a lot easier. In the comfort of your own home you can hear every single aspect clearly, but on a sound system it is obviously not as easy to hear everything quite as easily, so the minor faults are not recogniseable. I remember listening to someones mix which was recorded live, and there was a lot of rough patches, but the chap said how when he did it live it sounded fine - these are things which will be grasped from experience more than anything. Bring on the University student union DJ booth, thats what I look forward to this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tremor Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 yeah definitely get involved if you're at Uni mate. Thats where I got some good experience playing out. If you get in with the bar staff or the people running entertainments in the bar they are usually quite up for anyone getting on the decks and having a go. At the end of the day its free entertainment for them, especially day time slots when people are just drinking in there anyway.. its always a good time to go in and spin some tunes without it being a high pressure situation. By doing pretty much that when I was at uni I actually get asked back there now to play at proper events cos they have seen I can do it and love doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Kane Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 Playing live does give you a little bit of a window to be slightly out with some mixes but if you really mess it up on a Funktion 1 then quite frankly you're screwed, they're so loud, crisp & clear that it sounds ten times worse than a mistake would normally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tremor Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 well true. Some sound systems really do sound great and will show up all your flaws. But I doubt if many in the crowd are stood in deep concentration critically analysing every beat in the mix! Its certainly not ideal to make big mistakes but let's be honest, even the pro's mixes sound good in the clubs but I bet they are a bit off. You can hear some of Jules' mixes from the live radio shows of 2000 etc which are slightly out and you can tell listening to the radio but in the club the live crowd probably couldn't tell and probably Jules couldn't either through the monitors. I am talking only slight errors here as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briggsy Posted February 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 Its certainly not ideal to make big mistakes but let's be honest, even the pro's mixes sound good in the clubs but I bet they are a bit off. That is true! I remember the time I was at Godskitchen and heard a Jules set whch sounded really good - but then when he uploaded it as one of his website mixes, there were so many mixes that were out. You can actually get away with a lot on the Gods soundsystem because its starting to show its age now - its not very clear any more. Playing live does give you a little bit of a window to be slightly out with some mixes but if you really mess it up on a Funktion 1 then quite frankly you're screwed, they're so loud, crisp & clear that it sounds ten times worse than a mistake would normally. Very true. The Ministry of Sound has, in my opinion, the best sound system i've ever heard. Its mega-clear, everything sounds so crisp, and its the only sound system that doesn't leave me with ringing in my ears after i've left. If any DJ makes a mistake on that sound system, it stands out a mile! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emy Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 Its also the only genre I know where there doesn't appear to be loads of sub-genres mixed in with it - there's no hard stuff or warm-up stuff. Its all just flat-out DnB. Excuse me sir, there is liquid, jump up, hard stuff, tech stuff, dark, deep. Liquid is gentle, with vocals about love. Then you can get really hard drum and bass too I just had to point that out. I mean that is like me saying all trance sounds the same, you don't get hard or soft trance, it is all the same Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briggsy Posted February 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 It all sounds the same to me though, with some MC talking over the top saying daft things like "Wickety wickety wack, I've got a poorly back so i'm off out at 4pm to go to see my quack". Some of the stuff the MC's were saying at Global last year made me chuckle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emy Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 Well I think trance all sounds the same Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonross46 Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 (edited) wickety wickety wack!!! Edited February 22, 2009 by simonross46 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briggsy Posted February 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 Well I think trance all sounds the same If Above & Beyond are playing, then I agree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emy Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 Does anyone else think that board activity has been greatly reduced lately? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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