art of mixing vs the birth of "shuffling"

D-Jam, post: 38790, member: 3 wrote: I think you more need to understand that everyone is different, and thus has a different philosophy on how DJ mixing should be like.

I’ve listened to many mixes and felt there were strange transitions, but others felt the mixes sounded great. I mostly looked at it as “one person’s garbage is another person’s treasure”. Everyone has a different feel. I’d hear mixes where it seems the DJ is slamming in tunes and going all over the place…and feel like it’s a mess. However, some listen to a more fluid mix and think it’s boring.

And the crowd is also a factor. Everyone is ADHD with music now. They don’t want transitions, building, a journey, etc. They want the instant gratification. I remember when rap music was popular 5-6 years ago, but notice the crowds mainly wanted the catchy hooks played over and over. The “sing a long” parts.

You should toy across different sounds if you can meld them in a set. I honestly hate it when someone shows me a 60+ minute mix, and it sounds like the same tune for 60+ minutes. I never was a subscriber to harmonic mixing either…because I felt it limits DJs. It tells too many not to play certain tunes because they aren’t “harmonic”, but I think they should try anyway. Be imaginative.

In the end, the goal is to do what feels right to you, respect what others do, and most importantly please the crowd.

Thanks for the reply jam.

I understand where you are coming from. I think there is a time a place for everything- quick mix, slam, long mixes, everything. I never speak on the absolute. I play a wide range of dance through my sets but I keep two – three tracks along the same sound depending on if its a lounge or a club where I need to keep the pace. I wont mix a techy track with a deep soulful track unless Im switching the vibe. No matter what they want, it just is not what I represent. Nor will I follow my first percussive track with a tech track without percussion. But I will go up and down the scale.

But the mix I was referring to is 90 minutes long and nothing but deep funk at 123 beats per minute- it was meant to be just that- groovy the entire set. Just straight deep grooves. – Jam I will send you a PM as I don’t want to put people out there.. 🙂