Jules's mixing....

[Briggsy]

I've heard a lot of remarks about people hating Jules because he spoils nights, etc with his poor mixing.

Jules is my favourite DJ, and even I can admit that his mixing isn't anywhere near as good as it was in 1999/2000/2001 (although he still shows occasional glimpses of brilliance - his set at BCM, Mallorca last year was one of the best i've ever heard!!).

After listening to Jules time and time again, i've come to the conclusion that Jules's mixing isn't down to poor beatmatching most of the time - It seems to be more down to the fact that he mixes random tunes together (or not very well complimenting shall I say) - would you tend to agree?

I remember some of his sets from 1999/2000 and the mixes would be REALLY long, and the tunes would fit together seamlessly - these days, Jules doesn't appear to spend as long in the mix and build his set so well.

What do you guys think?

[Bjorn]

i'd probably have to agree, jules is my fav dj too, not cos of his mixing but for who he is and the tunes he plays, i think your quite right in saying he doesn;t seem to spend much time on mixing these days.

[bigsteve]

I think it all depends on where Jules is during a night's roster. In general, I think he plays best sandwiched between a 'funky house' DJ and someone like Eddie Halliwell, who plays harder/techier trance.

Failing that, if he's on last he plays a blinder, as he did at the last IO, which was one of the best sets I've seen him play.

I agree with your point that it isn't his beatmatching, but more the tunes he chooses. I often make this mistake as well, wanting to play a tune, but not until I start mixing them, do I realise the trains are gonna come off the tracks :wall:

However, I have never failed to have a good night when Jules is on; the atmosphere is always there and the way he interacts with the crowd just gets everyone going 8-)

[Max Kane]

I think sometimes Jules can be absolutely flawless, usually if he's on earlier he is better mixing wise and if the booth is relatively quiet he seems to focus more on what he's doing. Generally though he's more about atmosphere and crowd interraction as opposed to water tight mixing, you can go see Sasha for tight mixing, he's probably the best Dj technically i've seen.

[Briggsy]

Yeah, I agree with you there actually. I think he responds better to being the "headldine" DJ too - I think he realises that everyone is there to see him in particular, so rewards them with a good performance.

At BCM last year, the resident DJ's there really got the crowd worked up for Jules and it was obvious they'd all gone there to see him. Jules came on and absolutely tore the roof off - his mixes were long and the tunes complimented each other really well. It was like listening to Jules of 1999 - absolutely immense.

Then I went to see Jules at GodsKitchen in December, and although I enjoyed the set, I did find that the mixing wasn't as good and the set was quite random - its as though Jules was picking any old tune out and just mixing it in without much thought to the flow of the set.

It has to be said though, everyone was there for Armin that night, and Jules wasn't really given much attention. I also found Armin to be very disrespectful and unprofessional after Jules too - my impression of Armin changed drastically after that night

From the things i've heard though, it appears that Jules isn't very well respected at the "big" clubs and events much these days. He's not very well liked at GodsKitchen, the Passion crowd don't seem to welcome him very much, and people complained about his set at Global Gathering last year too

To be honest, I don't care how Jules mixes, etc - he plays awesome music and is a good entertainer. Nobody else seems to play energetic sets like Jules does! Armin might be a great mixer, etc - but his sets are a real yawn-fest.

[Briggsy]

it has to be said aswell, and your comment about being on earlier would kind of back this up - I've heard and seen some Jules performances where he appears to be a little bit too drunk later in the night

[whos_this_guy]

Yes it has to be questioned! Though i rember him playing some wher and looing atthe pics of the gig it turnned out to be one of the first times he was using cdj's. I always though that had something to do with it. And that substance "alachol" has had a few effects on his mixing, even puttin the smae choons on twice.

[Max Kane]

The night at Gods in december he started off very poorly, just seemed to lose the flow of the evening, Jon O'Bir had been on and built it up brilliantly, he even finished on Luminary 'Amsterdam' so that Jules could trance it up or continue to build things but sadly Jules mixed out of the track about a minute in and there was a really sudden jump in the tempo. Then some random records came on like that awful bootleg if 808 State, but i have to say he finished off nicely playing some proper banging tunes and some classics like Electrique Boutique and 'Am 2 Pm', not sure i get what ya mean with Armin disrespecting Jules though?

Armin came on and did stop Jules' last tune but that was probs cos he was on for 3 hrs and needed to slow things down a bit. Jules was hammering it out and Armin clearly couldn't bosh it out for 3 more hours. Stopping the tune by slowing it right down and then starting off with 'Who Is Watching' worked well for me. It let everyone know how the night was gona go and set the tone. I think it's quite obvious that Armin would have been much much more suited to coming on after Jon but with such big names the lineups are usually juggled about a bit. They seemed to have a bit of a chat and then Jules legged it to his next gig. All very pally i.m.o

[bigsteve]

I think that clubs don't structure some rosters very well. Gods being one that I had to suffer Fergie with, sandwiched between Jules and O'Bir :? :?

[Max Kane]

Sometimes they get it right, but mainly if there is a sponsored or themed night, for example if Armada put on a night there then it'll virtually always be a great progression with Schulz playing prior to Armin and then MIKE coming on last. Jon does a great job of fitting in around anyone, i've seen him hammer it out coming on after Jules or Armin, play really deep when warming up for Sasha and even tech it up when he played after Petrae Foy. Mark Eteson seems to be getting more & more bookings at Gods aswell now though so it seems he is usurping Jon's position.

[Briggsy]

Yeah, to be honest, Jon O Bir, Armin then Jules would have been the ideal line up, which is what affected Jules a bit I think. He couldn't really do his natural thing because he's a "bosh it out" DJ in-between two pretty much "mellow" DJ's.

By Armin being disrespectful, I mean really that he stopped Jules's tune fairly early, without attempting to try to do anything with it. He could of at least played the tune out, and started afresh - but the impression I got was that Armin was trying to come across as "i'm here now and i'll do things my way".

I agree that he couldn't bosh it out for three hours, but he could have taken over from Jules by mixing in, reducing the pace of the set over 2 or 3 tunes ready to do his own thing for the remaining 2hrs 45 minutes. Jules has always made it clear that he tries his very best to mix out of the DJ before him - even when the tempo before him has been much faster or slower. Jules and Jon O' Bir are very different DJ's, but at least Jules did mix in after him and carried on from there.

These guys are professionals, and IMO, they should have enough experience to be able to take over from another DJ in whatever way see's fit - but I don't think Armin did, or even intend to, take over from Jules in a more courtious manner.

It was bad scheduling by Gods though really that forced that situation

[Max Kane]

Jules is one of a select few that always try and mix out of the previous tune and i've only seen him fail to do so once (Gods Dec. 04 when he came on after Matt Hardwick). But many other DJs prefer to simply stamp their style straight away. Armin had obviously pre-scheduled to start off with the Tonedepth remix of 'Who Is Watching' and it didn't matter what Jules was doing, he was gona play it. I thought it worked out ok, everyone got to see Jules hammer it out as only he can then they got Armin uncomprimised for three hours without having to start off in a manner that wouldn't befit his style.

Many many people there had gone solely to see Armin and wouldn't want him to carry on with Jules style tunage any longer than he had to, that's just the way they are unfortunately. I do appreciate your point though and it may have worked better but personally i thought it was ok considering the lineup.

[Briggsy]

Yeah I guess so, and I suppose some would argue that Jules could have perhaps ended with a couple of calmer tunes to ease Armin in to it a bit more, so I guess its a case of swings & roundabouts.

On another note, I didn't think many of Jules's tunes were particularly strong that night. During November/December and some of January, I felt Jules had some quite weak tunes compared to normal. For example, I think at the moment, Jules has some great tunes in his box (or should I say CD case ).

Vrantique stood out as being the tune of the night for me that night. I felt that "Keep Me Running" and "Red, Blue, Purple" stood out like a sore thumb as being out of place in Gods though.

[Max Kane]

I've always loathed 'Red, Blue, Purple' and i also hated 'Make Me Scream' which he played, the worst tune was that remix of Randy Katana's 'In Silence' it was sacrilege to the original as it just looped the little trancey riff over & over without ever whacking the beats in.

[Briggsy]

"Red, Blue, Purple" is an OK tune - it just always seems out of place in a set. Its not Trance, its not Techno - its not really anything within its own right - it just doesn't fit into anything particularly well.

I'm surprised you didn't like that Dave202 remix of Play It Louder though. I actually prefer that remix (although I liked the original mix too). I think the Dave202 remix was more gutsy, although the breakdown drones on for far too long. If the breakdown was a bit shorter, it'd be awesome!!

[Briggsy]

Actually, what tunes did Jules play that night? I can't remember that many of them now. There were a few he played that I liked. I know he threw a couple of classics in towards the end of his set.

[Max Kane]

Haven't listed that many of Jules tunes on there but here's my link

http://www.judgejulesarchive.co.uk/board/v...topic.php?t=808

Add to Jules, Keep Me Running, Make Me Scream, Red Blue Purple, 808 State mashup, unknown mix of 'In Silence', Linking People and some others

[Quadrant]

Paul Oakenfold used to turn the motor off on the decks and let the vinyl of the previous DJ wind down slowly, then wait.... the crowd would be wondering what was going on, and then he'd start afresh having a tremendous impact - I think done in the wrong venue it's rude and the atmosphere is lost but sometimes it can really work. Also clearing the dancefloor is no bad thing if you build up your own group of fans on the floor...

Regarding Jules' mixing, he's always been one to throw in bizarre tracks just because he likes them - he is one of the most infuriating DJs because some tunes you absolutely love and others you just hate

[attilasumer]

v good post this one - I've got to agree on the randomness of tunes factor, last honey club gig was good but all over the place with tunes, no real flow but the previous gig in March was phenomenal, 2 hrs solidly built up and played perfectly so I wait with anticipation the next show at the end of June - report will be here as usual, over and out,

Till the Brighton Bunny!

Btw - if someone eventually manages to get a copy of the album please let us know!!

[dormouse]

Seein as ur in Brighton mate... pop along and see myself and the Cut Up Boys @ Creation on Monday night!

[attilasumer]

hehe, yeh I saw you guys talking about that on the board, looks like a decent night but will prob still be slightly mashed from Crasher at the Honey on the sunday night - tho, if I didn't have work I would be up for checking it out, hope it all goes well!!

[Tremor]

Liking the topic. I have to admit I've not seen Jules live nearly as much as I'd have liked but the times I have the atmosphere has been amazing and I actually think his tune selection is very good. I certainly havn't noticed half the crowd suddenly leave the floor during a track that doesn't seem to fit.

I love red blue purple and make me scream personally, break up a set nicely. I think Jules' sets have become more about playing lots of tunes hence quick mixing and his short edits make alot of tracks difficult to mix in the way they were perhaps intended by the producer. Still my fav DJ though.

[bigsteve]

his short edits make alot of tracks difficult to mix

Totally agree with that. If you look at his album, some of the tracks are much shorter than perhaps most other artists would use

[Max Kane]

I've never really agreed with the whole philosophy of editing every single track, i mean yeh some records are needlessly long, but for some tunes it's the build up over the space of 3 or 4 mins that makes the breakdown so enjoyable. Something like Advanced takes ages to get to the main riff but when it comes in it sounds even better as its been building up for ages.

[Briggsy]

I think the thing with Jules though are that his sets are all about energy and drive. He's not overly keen on massive breakdowns.

Some of the edits he plays are barely noticable to be honest - he literally shaves a few seconds off here and there. Some edits are more noticable because he'll cut a big chunk of the tune out.

Most of the time, I think Jules does a good job of the edits - he never cuts out the best bits of tunes - he just tends to cut out the needless bits, or the bits that are repetative.

I've noticed now too that some labels are even including Jules's edits on the B-Side to their original longer mixes, which IMO, is great.