Did Jules' Music Change When He Switched To CDJs?


drtim

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Jules' tunes changed dramatically in late 2001 / early 2002, and at around the same time he switched from vinyl to cdj's. He was suddenly getting music from different sources. Do people think this played a part in the different direction that he took or were there other reasons? (I don't know much about his team of selectors for eg, did they change?)

I would be interested to hear people's opinions.

Tim.

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I think the same could be applied to a lot of trance at that era in general, though. The digital era ushered in a massive period of over-saturation, imo. Every man and his dog was able to knock out tunes, and if they were hits, great, if not, no worries, knock another one out next week, see if that works. Lather, rinse, repeat. It was also the last era we saw someone make a name for himself solely for dj'ing (Eddie Halliwell).

Admittedly, Jules still has to play the tunes out; he doesn't have to play them if he doesn't like them, which points to him enjoying a lot of the stuff we think isn't fitting of him. I also think we tend to over-look the fact that Jules often had a slant towards the naff, even in his perceived 'pomp'. There were plenty of cheesy bootlegs he was playing, even in 99 etc, though admittedly not on the scale (nor the horror) of some of the ones he played in recent times.

I think some on here have said that he lost who filtered his tunes for him (though I'm not sure what time it was around. Think it was Simon Patterson, may be way out there though), and that appeared to have a massive impact on his sound. Someone much more knowledgeable than me can tell you more about that.

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Good points by milkybar above.

It was a difficult time for DJs - I remember the fierce CD vs Vinyl debate and Jules pounced early on the CDJs, although I don't think his tracks changed too much in 2002 as he would still have been sent some vinyl through the post. I know this because he used to rip a lot of vinyl for his sets.

But you are right that something changed. I'm not sure he always had a "filterer" because he used to pride himself in taking 2 whole days to sift through all the vinyl.... but I think with the volume of mp3s coming in it became impossible to continue that - although I would hasten to add that the explosion in digital choice did dilute the quality available for other DJs too.

As a beast, DJs have to be flexible and Jules has certainly been willing to do that over the last 25 years. Whilst we're all here bemoaning his abandonment of his 1998-2001 sounds, I know that those who loved his early 1990s House sets were also up in arms when Jules jumped fully on the Trance wagon in late 90s... :) It depends on what you experienced at the time.

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I take your points - I remember him playing a Geri Halliwell bootleg in 1999 :ermm:

I have a few Jules mixes from 1995 / 1996 and there is a big difference in style between then and the late '90's.

I heard somewhere that Tristan D helped Jules with filtering through tunes. Does anyone know more about this?

I guess it's all down to personal choice, perhaps Jules loves the music of more recent times just as much as the older stuff!

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I heard somewhere that Tristan D helped Jules with filtering through tunes. Does anyone know more about this?

There are scores (literally) of posts and topics about this and yes it is true.

Simon Patterson was Jules' filterer for a period too (no coincidence it was a better period for Jules!).

I don't you can necessarily blame the medium of DJing for his decline, he just started playing different music for a different audience.

If Jules is/was passionate about what he is/was playing then there isn't much one can say to his detriment - even if it is against what we like

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Rather odd that Tristan would put Jake as a sibling on his FB page.

How bizarre. Really!?

Anyway I guess at the end of it all, it's all about the music. Luckily we have the archives on here to reminisce at least.

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Tristan's Facebook Information

Relationship Status: In a relationship

Siblings: Jake M. O'Riordan

Birthday: 07 March

Current location: London, United Kingdom

Hometown: Brighton, United Kingdom

Political Views: Conservative

Religious views: Christian

Would explain a lot though ... ;)

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