Mixing Tech House

Hee Won Jung, post: 33941, member: 948 wrote: Layer that stuff. Progressive and Electro are more of a A to B as there is a lot of the sound spectrum used within a single track.

With Tech House/Deep/Soul/House, layer that shit…get track A going add in B add in C…sample…a bit from Deck D..

I really enjoy mixing what i will call “Euro” House…thats the real stuff…Stefano Noferini, Grabriel Rocha, Manuel De La Mere, all amazing tech house…but it can sound boring and dull to a crowd as the beat is so simple…just gotta add in more from other tracks….Mixing in Key helps a ton

Indeed, that is the real stuff. It doesn’t necessarily sound boring to all crowds by itself, however. I have been at gigs in Europe where it was the same tech house beat for nearly 24 hours (literally), and the crowd ate that shit up like candy.

I guess it depends on the room and the audience. Where I am now…no effing way it would work. All they want to hear is generic Guetta and Dubstep 24/7.

I definitely agree with you on layering though.

gilman, post: 33945, member: 510 wrote: What about going from A to B. Which effects can I use for transitioning from A to B. I like Sebastien Leger but I find it harder to layer or transition between his tracks, since his music is more funky/complex (with more sound spectrum than many other tech house tracks).

Tech House is a very Minimal Style so you dont really want to use effects too much because most effects color the sound too much for such minimal music. However some effects that work well are the Echos and Delays, maybe a gate, but stay away from Flangers and Phasers as they create too much color.

As for mixing…dont think of it in a traditional sense…I will often let my entire track play out and not even cut out my 2nd track…i find that this adds a lot more depth.

Im gonna try my best to describe it here.

Start playing Track A, Cue up track B…lets say 1 minute in bring in Track B…you now have Track A and B going together, with EQing you can make either Track A or B more enunciated. Then Bring in Track C…As track A is on the outtro bring in Track D…when you want to reset your vibe Kill all your Tracks except 1 and build it back up again.
A lot of this has to do with proper EQing and just knowing your music. I know my explanation isnt the greatest but i really cant think of another way to describe it lol.

The Biggest thing to remember about this genre is that it has Techno Roots…and that means that its a steady beat…disrupting the beat can really affect your floor for these sets…so add subtract and blend but never ever loose your steady beat.

One way that i will usually blend my tracks is first line up my beats and phrasing…then i will put all my EQs @ 9oclock and bring in my 2nd track…At the right moment i will either snap up to 12 and switch the other track to 9 or i will do a slow rise of the 2nd track to 12 and then cut down to 9 on the other track at the right moment(usually at the end of a 32beat phrase)

There is no wrong or right way…just what sounds good and what doesnt 😀

But Tech-house doesnt usually have any build ups or peaks…they have breakdowns and then just go back to what was before the breakdown…Thats why they call it Tech House….You refer to beatless breakdowns but tech house doesnt have beatless breakdowns…there is always a kick, snare or hi hat that keeps a steady beat going.

You idea of Mixing tech-house is exactly what D-Jam was refering to when he is speaking about long boring bland mixes.

Sorry just read that and it sounded kinda harsh…not my intention.

Yes House music does…but thats why its called Tech-House…Techno House…and the majority of Techno is not about buildups or breakdowns and about that steady rhythm.

Intro and Outtro yes…but not all EDM has a climax…like Techno lol

Yeah i was just seeing exactly what you are talking about…and i think we are using different terminolgy here.
Beatless breakdowns i refer to as something that has ZERO time signature…anything that has a time signature to it has a beat.

So if i were to bring in any type of drums or what not into it then it would not clash.

TBH the mix was well done and technically it was very well put together…but there wasnt really much going on it with…it was simple and just song after song…Good song selection…but this type of mixing wouldnt work on a Dance floor as there is zero energy level…this is all just personal preference. IMO you need to create dynamics and energy…Tension and Release to move a crowd. You have a full 5 minutes roughly per song…thats like the entire body of a song…1 minute intro 5 minute song 1 minute outtro…7 minutes and thats the typical Techno/TechHouse pattern…so in essence all that is happening is you putting on a playlist of 13 songs in 1 hour…Tech House allows you to do SOOOOO much more and i think u need to take advantage of that.

just my 2 cents.