From the other side of the dance floor

i feel ya on all of this. I recently went to see afrojack, and I recognized 99% of his songs. Course he mixed them in very different ways so it kept me guessing. There was never just one song playing. It would be a sampled beat from one song, a chorus from another, and so on. Obviously he’s on a different level, but why shouldn’t the same idea apply? EDM is so versatile, I feel like a dj who just plays it track to track is kinda lame.

pilotmike327, post: 3235 wrote: Let me start of by saying I am drunk. Realllly drunk.

Ok, so I’m at a bar tonight with a few friends and there’s a DJ who comes on at 11 p.m. I have now come to the point where I listen to music COMPLETELY different if there is a DJ. This guy/girl is in command of the music so I’m very critical of how they mix songs together and manage the dance floor. As for tonight, the majority of the music is hip-hop until about 2 a.m. Guess what kind of music I DONT listen to :confused:.

Anyways, even with my lack of knowledge of hip-hop, I had a good time. Here is my biggest worry: The second the DJ switched to EDM, I knew EVERY song he played. Mind you, it was the mainstream house music you would expect (The Island – Steve Angello, Party Rock Remix – LMFAO, Awooga – Calvin Harris, and a few others I cant remember at the moment). The problem is the songs I heard compose about 1/5 of my current DJ library (I’m still building it up; I’m at about 60 tracks). The reason I started freakin out is because I started thinking “what seperates me from this guy. He has the same tracks you have as of right now, possibly more. How do you plan to distinguish yourself from this guy”.

Here’s what I think: What’s more important than the tracks you have is how you mix them. The DJ tonight did a pretty good job mixing them but I would have done it differently. Also, if the EDM set was longer, i’m sure my current analysis would have changed completely. I think what I need to take from this night is to learn to trust my musical instincts, mix songs that i “feel” should go good together, and use the crowd as a gauge on how I’m doing.

Again….really drunk. Just using this post to reflect on tonight.

I haven’t been able to go out to a Club or anything for some time Mike; so for me Personally; this gives me the Opportunity to Express Myself in ways that are Far from Mainstream; in a 1 Hour Set I will play No More than 2 ‘Classics’ (or Tracks that Everybody who has ever been in a Club can Identify with); however; I look for ‘Obscure’ Remixes of these Tracks; and so although they may be ‘Classics’; there are Large Elements to them that are still Exciting; in a 4 hour Set these ‘Classics’ ‘May’ jump to 8 (out of 60+); but in a Recent 2 Hour Set I didn’t play One Single Classic; I am Not Suggesting for a Moment that you Don’t Go Out :); but it is ‘Possible’ over a Period Of Time that you will Feel More Able (Comfortable) in Experimenting with Your Taste; as in the Late ’80’s – Early ’90’s the ‘Only’ Chance people had of Hearing Dance Tracks was through DJ’s playing them in Clubs; and of course they were not all playing ‘Classics’ then; they were Experimenting with White Labels;
It is True that if we were All to be given the Same Tracks we would Mix Them ‘Differently’; but as Phil said; it is the Tracks Inbetween the ‘Classics’ that ‘Makes Us Stand Out From Other DJ’s’;
So; although you were Drunk when you wrote your Post :); it is just a Case of ‘Growth’; I would Personally ‘Get Out’ of the 2010/2011 Period (apart from your Remixed Classics); as you will be ‘Clashing’ with other DJ’s Sets (as you noticed the other night); and Look Back into the ‘Vast Catalogue’ of Dance Music for Tracks that ‘Make You Move’; and will also ‘Fill Your Floor’ as they Most Likely Did when they were Originally Released 🙂

Haroon K, post: 3969 wrote: I think, that most people in the crowd at a bar/club dont care too much for the intricacies of mixing, they just want to have a good time, party and hear some good tunes.

So true. I’ve seen terrible DJs get gigs simply because they play songs people know and dont care about the mixing. Sounds like crap to me, but most of the crowd dont care…

pilotmike327, post: 3235 wrote: The problem is the songs I heard compose about 1/5 of my current DJ library (I’m still building it up; I’m at about 60 tracks). The reason I started freakin out is because I started thinking “what seperates me from this guy. He has the same tracks you have as of right now, possibly more. How do you plan to distinguish yourself from this guy”.

Let me tell you a little story. In Chicago there is a known local DJ named Infinity. He originally was a Euro/NRG DJ who elevated into hard trance and handbag. When those sounds died down in the scene, he managed to find a niche playing what I like to look at as “White people house”. It was the time when Gabriel and Dresden released Tracking Treasure Down and Deep Dish released Flashdance. He made a mix and called it “Downtown” to more or less signify how he and his fan base were not teens anymore and thus were in the downtown 21 and up scene.

Very quickly I noticed many young DJs like yourself were literally buying up every track Infinity played and anything that sounded like that “Downtown” sound. Even at that time the Beatport Top 20 were many of those kinds of tunes, and you would see a plethora of young DJs all playing the same stuff. I even remembered one guy who posted a mix for a show I was doing, but I wanted to post a tracklist (since I think it’s a good practice). He was all adamant on not giving anything because he claimed “I don’t want people stealing my playlist”.

We talked further, and he believed he was managed to snag promos and tunes about as fast as Infinity did, and thus this might not put him ahead of Infinity, but it put him ahead of the pack of people all trying to sound like him. I simply told him he’s trying to make a name for himself by pretending to be a less-expensive carbon copy of a popular local DJ. I told him if I was a promoter, I’d hire Infinity, not him. Nothing personal, but Infinity will bring me bigger numbers of patrons and thus he’s worth the money over a less-expensive copycat.

I told him he needed to really invest in developing his own sound. Granted when you look at my mixes you know there are guys playing deep house, tech house, trance, and electro-house…but my playlist, how I arrange a set, how I like to mix music, etc…that what makes my mixes sound like “D-Jam” and no one else.

You need to do the same Mike. Yes, get the popular tunes when you need to play them, but then go seek out things that make you stand on your own and make you feel good about yourself. I originally came into DJing with an idol worship of Bad Boy Bill, but a few years into it all I started exploring music because everyone was trying to sound like him. I learned that while it’s easy to just buy a playlist and play the music like your favorite DJs or the popular DJs, it’s better when you put your own twist on it and thus you don’t sound like them.

You’re getting the idea with your instinct thought:

pilotmike327, post: 3235 wrote: I think what I need to take from this night is to learn to trust my musical instincts, mix songs that i “feel” should go good together, and use the crowd as a gauge on how I’m doing.

Go forth and do. Next time you go shopping, buy half of what you think is popular, and then buy songs you think compliment your sets well, but aren’t necessarily known. Anyone can sound like some popular DJ, and anyone can make a career out of “playing the hits”, but the guys who become superstars are the ones who do their own thing.

The rest become wannabes and jukeboxes.

D-Jam, post: 4079 wrote: Let me tell you a little story. In Chicago there is a known local DJ named Infinity. He originally was a Euro/NRG DJ who elevated into hard trance and handbag. When those sounds died down in the scene, he managed to find a niche playing what I like to look at as “White people house”. It was the time when Gabriel and Dresden released Tracking Treasure Down and Deep Dish released Flashdance. He made a mix and called it “Downtown” to more or less signify how he and his fan base were not teens anymore and thus were in the downtown 21 and up scene.

Very quickly I noticed many young DJs like yourself were literally buying up every track Infinity played and anything that sounded like that “Downtown” sound. Even at that time the Beatport Top 20 were many of those kinds of tunes, and you would see a plethora of young DJs all playing the same stuff. I even remembered one guy who posted a mix for a show I was doing, but I wanted to post a tracklist (since I think it’s a good practice). He was all adamant on not giving anything because he claimed “I don’t want people stealing my playlist”.

We talked further, and he believed he was managed to snag promos and tunes about as fast as Infinity did, and thus this might not put him ahead of Infinity, but it put him ahead of the pack of people all trying to sound like him. I simply told him he’s trying to make a name for himself by pretending to be a less-expensive carbon copy of a popular local DJ. I told him if I was a promoter, I’d hire Infinity, not him. Nothing personal, but Infinity will bring me bigger numbers of patrons and thus he’s worth the money over a less-expensive copycat.

I told him he needed to really invest in developing his own sound. Granted when you look at my mixes you know there are guys playing deep house, tech house, trance, and electro-house…but my playlist, how I arrange a set, how I like to mix music, etc…that what makes my mixes sound like “D-Jam” and no one else.

You need to do the same Mike. Yes, get the popular tunes when you need to play them, but then go seek out things that make you stand on your own and make you feel good about yourself. I originally came into DJing with an idol worship of Bad Boy Bill, but a few years into it all I started exploring music because everyone was trying to sound like him. I learned that while it’s easy to just buy a playlist and play the music like your favorite DJs or the popular DJs, it’s better when you put your own twist on it and thus you don’t sound like them.

You’re getting the idea with your instinct thought:

Go forth and do. Next time you go shopping, buy half of what you think is popular, and then buy songs you think compliment your sets well, but aren’t necessarily known. Anyone can sound like some popular DJ, and anyone can make a career out of “playing the hits”, but the guys who become superstars are the ones who do their own thing.

The rest become wannabes and jukeboxes.

Superbly Well Written Post my Friend :cool:;
I think in the Music Business Bands have been having a ‘Similar’ challenge for Many Years (when On Tour);
As All the Audience have come to Hear The Classics within their Repertoire; but of course the Band have to Take Risks when they play New Tracks they have Written; and as the Crowd may Never have heard these Tracks; there is a Difficulty in Guaging (Vile but Correct Spelling) the Public’s Response;
As DJ’s ‘Our Reputation’ is ‘On The Line’ each time we ‘Expose Ourselves’; and it is Paramount that we Keep Our Following (or so it ‘Seems’ to us); but as Time Moves On; So Do People (as Most Are Fickle); it is Important we are ‘Open To Change’ (within Ourselves and Public Acceptability); but to get to the Place where ‘We Can Do Our Own Thing’ Must be Every DJ’s Dream (who looks toward Stardom);
I did a 2 Hour Set recently; using just Hard House Tracks with 85% of these Tracks being Quite Obscure;
I have to be Honest and say that it although it was Appreciated by the Radio Station; in the sense that my Whole 2 Hours were Broadcast; when Mike Koglin (AKA DJ Cosmos) who has Sold Over 20 Million Records (as an Artist and Remixer); was only given 40 Minutes Airtime;
Soundcloud didn’t Appreciate my Set at all as it got Very Few Views (it was at 150BPM and Hard);
However; once I had listened to it through I thought to myself ‘This ‘Sounds’ like Dave Clarke/Dave Angel’; but it was just the Power and Expression within the Set that ‘Felt’ Similar; but Dave Clarke/Dave Angel Do Not Hold Copyright to ‘Energy and Power Of Expression’ within a Performance; I was ‘Doing My Thing’ on that Particular Night;

But; Back to you Mike (not that I have Left Your Initial post for a Moment); I Always Understood the Object of a Club DJ (for instance); was not just to keep the Audience Entertained (Most of them were entertained just by Being There ‘In The Moment’); but to Introduce them to New Sounds (through the Art of the White Label); and if the DJ didn’t even know Who the Track was made by then this was Even Better/Cooler;
Our Object (unless we are Booked to play a Playlist) as DJ’s (I Feel) is to Search Out These White Labels (that Contain Music We Love); and Share This Passion With Others;
SoundCloud (Unsigned Artists) is my White Label Shop 🙂
Everyone can go to iTunes; Beatport or wherever; but Few will spend 5 Hours on Soundcloud to find Unique Tracks;

What is your Mixcloud address D Jam? Ill definitely get on that!

Edit: Gotchya.. let the stalkage commence…

http://www.mixcloud.com/D_Jam/

U31, post: 4038 wrote: I see you are from Manchester, Haroon? If you & your mates fancy a taste of that, and and are free and able to get too and from Liverpool on the last August bank holiday, i can give you a link to the next available night (this weekends do is a sell out already), Marshal Jefferson is headlining and all proceeds go to charity..

I’d love to and thank you for the invite, but unfortunately I already have plans that weekend. BTW you one of the old tangled heads?