Schoolboy style DJing question!

comin' at ya said:
And remember - if you dont DJ chances are unless the DJ got it REALLY wrong you wont notice something that to them is a mistake.
Click to expand...

i ALWAYS noticed the mistakes :roll: even b4 i started DJing....
i think that explains why i am xtra hard on myself sometimes.....
but IT IS TRUE that sometimes you think you've played like POO & the dancefloor only has praise 4 ur set.... whether u thought it was technically perfect or not..... sometimes i actually ask them "where you actually listening to what i was playing or what?" & they laugh.... (wtf?)
it's WEIRD!!

with regards to the track selection being the most important aspect....
i dont find purchasing good tracks a problem so 4me the mixing is A LOT more important.... ANYONE can walk in2 a record shop & pick choons..... NOT EVERYONE can mix them well.....

are ALL DJs hyper, hyper self critical?
 
discoplayer said:
are ALL DJs hyper, hyper self critical?
Click to expand...

I think u have to be to a certain degree to make sure complacency dosent creep in. Also i guess it depends on the standard u want to reach from a technical aspect.

I set myself high standards but sometimes I go OTT and expect too much too soon. But then I just remind myself its playin music and should be fun and start to enjoy it.
 
To be honest with you mixing is a very simple thing and perfect mixing is only a pre-requisite to becoming a live DJ. Once you play live you will quickly realise that it only comes about 5th down the list of things you need to be a good DJ. No.5 on the list can only enhance a set when you have no.1 through no.4 sorted first. Djing is really all about sub-conscious dance floor psychology. Every time you hear a DJ that you think is technically cr*p but seems to get loads more work than you do, just think this, he probably does so by understanding how to move people and maximise profits for a venue using very intelligent psychological manipulation. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, well this is why you are still years away from getting the kind of work you want. You can learn something from every DJ, even the cheesy Rnb/80's ones. Open your mind a bit and you will realise that they are masters at f*cking with peoples heads without them even knowing it. Most DJs are un-recognised gods and think a lot more proffesionally about what they do than the so called "big names" who just turn up and take the mickey out of the media led kids who believe for some reason that they are the best because they once made a cheesey record/remix which got to no.25 in the charts.
 
knowing wot to play and when to play it.

I'd imagine I would learn that over time. But until I play out I'll never know. 8) :D
 
kn1980 said:
Every time you hear a DJ that you think is technically cr*p but seems to get loads more work than you do, just think this, he probably does so by understanding how to move people and maximise profits for a venue using very intelligent psychological manipulation. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, well this is why you are still years away from getting the kind of work you want.
Click to expand...

what i am finding REALLY quite difficult 2 swallow (since i have bean playing out) is the fact that the DJ is no longer just a DJ.....
the DJ is now expected 2 also b a promoter as well.... :roll:
& you have 2 "play the game"

i have never bean one 2 talk to the "right" people just because they are the "right" people so i am learning the HARD way that either you "play the game" & get gigs in the "cool clubs" (which i did but HATED as you have 2 deal with sooooooo much god damn ego problems it's not even fun anymore) or you choose 2 not "play the game" & play @ the "not so cool" clubs & never really build a reputation as having any talent (from the peers that KNOW you do have talent in the 1st place)

did that make any sense whatsoever? :oops:

overall, what i am trying to say is that i am rather frightened that as a DJ these days mastering your "smooching 2 the right people" factor has almost overridden the mastering of your "talent" factor.....

& i am NOT saying that i think the sun shine's outta my butt either just that i know a HEAP of talented DJs that just dont want 2b part of the whole "nightclub bullshit" that goes down.....

sorry if i offended anyone with this rant.... :?
 
No worries Discoplayer.

Like anything that blows up,for initial success play the game. :?

Its how it is these days as you have said. But do it for the reason u wanted to spin in the first place and if its for the love of musically saying" oi u lot.....check this out" then eventually u will carve out ure "own" way.

Stick at it. I just landed a job (still learning) as a presenter on a commercial radio station and have to play some stuff Im not overly keen on but sound like I'm up for every single tune I play. 8O I take it as fantastic experience and go with blind faith not knowing where it will take me. ;) 8)
 
In my view being technically brilliant you have to be able to do something a bit more than beat match and mix records without making mistakes, you can teach any muppet to do that. The way i see it is that you have to be able to add and implement different effects like scratching, beat juggling, effects, drum machines into your set. I dont see how people can say many of the dj's that you see in hard house / trance clubs can be.
 
Zippy said:
In my view being technically brilliant you have to be able to do something a bit more than beat match and mix records without making mistakes, you can teach any muppet to do that. The way i see it is that you have to be able to add and implement different effects like scratching, beat juggling, effects, drum machines into your set.
Click to expand...

Agreed 1000%. Look at Eddie Halliwell - that man is 'technically' amazing. So many high profile DJs I just dont class as being that. As Zippy rightly said, you can teach any muppet to beat match (look at Dave Pearce!!!), but to me the real art is making the music your own in some way, ie. the way Halliwell scratches and adds his own effects.

Is it just me or is this curent fad of sampling the vocals from other 'pop' songs over tunes via a Pioneer CDJ1000 just getting extremely annoying (ie. Jules)??? I certaily dont class being able to repeatedly press play and pause on a CD player as being 'technically' brilliant either :?
 
Oh yeah, let me add -

LAB4, NU NRG, K90, etc = 'technically' out of this world compared to simple 'beat match' DJs. Now these guys are actually creating their own music and 'playing' it (all be it in a limited and rehursed manner) live. If there was one thing Id change about Ibiza, that would be the lack of these types of acts - can you imagine the atmosphere inside Amnesia if they bought in someone like LAB4?! Those guys are just mad and I have never ever seen a crowd go as mental as when LAB4 are playing - its like a scene from a rock concert, only with much better music :lol: its the way clubbing should be - the DJs feeding off the crowd, and the crowd feeding off the DJs.
 
I can wait to see how DJ sets develop in the coming years with gear like Pioneers dvd/cd player.

Full on relevant visuals fused with talent and great music.

Now theres a thought. 8) :D
 
coley said:
I can wait to see how DJ sets develop in the coming years with gear like Pioneers dvd/cd player.

Full on relevant visuals fused with talent and great music.

Now theres a thought. 8) :D
Click to expand...

Sander Kleinenberg has already got 12 gigs lined up this year where he will be performing his set on the vcdj1000. Should be awesome 8)
 
Performed with Pete Tong at the WMC

1.jpg
 
you have 2b able to afford an effects machine 2b able 2 learn how 2 use them :cry:

regarding sander....
i know it's wrong but he's LURVELY :P
 
Stu Hirst said:
monkehUK said:
I thought that might be the case, but wouldn't it go without saying that an A list DJ would be 'technically flawless' every time he played out? :?:
Click to expand...

Unfortuntely not !
Especially not from the older dj's !

(Pete Tong, Jeff Mills etc are legendary for awful mixing !)
Click to expand...

add fatboy too... although he does make up for it in his choice of music...

still everyone f***s up... i know when i have, and most peeps dont even notice - even if its glaring to myself...

at the end of the day mixing live has that "rawness" - if u dont like that, u may as well stick on a CD u bought and stay indoors.

oh and coley.. once u played out, its a major monkey off your back!

:D
 
chewie_oo7 said:
oh and coley.. once u played out, its a major monkey off your back! :D
Click to expand...


Cheers for that Chewie 8) ;) .....cant wait to be honest although I reckon i might have one or two nerves jangling away. :P
 
[quote="chewie_oo7
at the end of the day mixing live has that "rawness" - if u dont like that, u may as well stick on a CD u bought and stay indoors.[/quote]

I think this should be the closing statement for this thread... :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top