Home 2023 Forums The DJ Booth I'm having a DJ identity crisis

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  • #42278
    Jahit Halil
    Participant

    well firstly there is nothing wrong with having more than one identity…so consider different names for different sets/VENUES if you wish to seperate genres and sets. However if you ONLY play on the radio and you have freedom to play whatever you want i cant see why you have an identity crisis…? it sounds like a dream gig to me.

    #42279
    Jahit Halil
    Participant

    İ forgot to answer your question about what kind of dj you want to be….radio dj is one and it seems that you already are…if you want to play out then then it all depends on where you play and to whom….first work that out and then maybe your a step closer to your answer.

    I used to be a genre specific dj..mainly house and disco…i widened my tastes drastically because of the changing crowds i was djing to so alt depends on your target audience. You also said that you can mix on many types of gear which suggests to me you NEED to get out and DJ!! Find a bar or any venue where you can play across many genres.

    #42286
    Terry_42
    Keymaster

    Just do what you love to do. I started out in one genre myself, got quite big. Now I play many genres in different settings.
    I you love what you do, it will work out. Just do not overthink it and play it.
    Same with what kind you want to do. If you love your radio work and it satisfies you, stick with it. If not, go out and get some gigs. Plenty of articles how to do it on this site 😉

    #42307
    Stazbumpa
    Participant

    I used to be a hardcore DJ back in ’94. Then I was a trance DJ. In the end I settled on being just a DJ. Confining yourself to one or two genres of music does a grave disservice to both yourself and music. Besides, music is a hell of a lot cheaper than it used to be. There should be no identity crisis either, after all isn’t it you at the heart of it all?

    Listen, learn, grow.

    #42310
    Michael Lawrence
    Participant

    Why can’t your style be a DJ that plays multiple genres? and maybe you shouldnt be so concerned with labelling yourself. Just do you and what feels natural to you. You dont have to switch genres each track, you can play a couple from each genre or remixes that everyone is familar with. I also wouldnt look at the music in terms of just genre. There is so much commonality between different types of music, you dont want to limit your self in that sense.

    I know what you mean with getting bored sometimes when I track is playing but also keep in mind its because you’ve probably heard that track 305980358905 times already. I actually got the f1 and has helped me out alot with the remix decks in traktor. I always find myself dropping in loops and samples from other tracks to keep me entertained and to add something different to a set.

    #42313
    Rob Francis
    Member

    Thanks for the tips guys, really appreciate it!

    I think like what Michael says I need to do more to keep my interest in it up. I moved from CD to Traktor so that I had the potential to do more, but I just haven’t made the leap beyond A-B mixing (with some effects) yet.

    #42316
    Michael Lawrence
    Participant

    Yeah i wouldnt rush anything. Took me a while to get comfortable using more samples/loops. Realistically each column in the remix deck is kind of like another deck, then when you have so much going on and thinking about whats going on next its a lot to take in at once.

    Sometimes I jsut practice with the loops and one shots separety. When I make my own remix sets from other tracks I always make sure their in key so its easier to loop over playing tracks

    #42321
    ElMuppet
    Participant

    But all of you must admit that music society push pros into one genre which imho is ridiculously stupid

    #42335
    D-Jam
    Participant

    Who says you have to have one style? Many here have seen me post trance sets or speak of trance.

    HOWEVER, some didn’t even know I also play deep soulful house or bumpin “jackin” house…a very polar opposite of the trance.

    I also play upbeat tech house. I used to intertwine electro house with breaks.

    Do what you like, but build styles that work nicely. Going all over the place isn’t going to do well, but having a fluid set that even crosses several genres will take you places.

    NOW…if the chosen genres are in so much conflict that you’ll never be taken seriously as a guy who plays both, then make up a second alias and put one of the styles on that. For Curtis Jones, Cajmere is his name for funky house, but Green Velvet is his name for techno.

    #42338
    ElMuppet
    Participant

    I believe that I’ve heard this last statement about Green Velvet in one of your very nice guides or something, is that right D-Jam ;)?

    #42348
    Terry_42
    Keymaster

    Yeah mixing Elgar with Industrial and Bluegrass might be stretching it a bit 😉 but as long as it somehow can tell a story you like, then by all means play it.
    I mean the new Daft Punk is Disco for all I care and I mix it into my Belearic set all the time now.

    #42354
    DJ Vintage
    Moderator

    While resident at the Essen (Germany) Sheraton hotel’s Club Papageno, I have played (in addition to the “regular” stuff) reggae, ska, rock & roll and at one point even “Hooked On Classics – Waltzes”. One night I was asked to play something to get the crowd to return to their seats and the bar (5 people not dancing in the entire place, nobody drinking anything for 30 minutes :)). Pretty much the manager said “play some shit and clear the floor”.

    So I played Golden Earring’s Radar Love, a rock song … which is quite a jump from the 125 bpm disco I was playing at that moment. The running track had a nice long fade out outro, so I just waited for it to start running and fading out, then hit play. Radar Love starts with a few single guitar chords, dang dang daaaang, dang dang daaaang … so it builds up.

    Guess what happened? The last 5 people sitting got up and started dancing too. The manager looked at me and I just shrugged my shoulders. Some nights you just can’t win (or lose, depending on what way you look at it).

    But yeah, when timed right and fitting to the venue and crowd, you can play an enormous variety of music. Remember, there are no rules, just what the people like and don’t like.

    Greetinx,
    C.

    #42355
    Terry_42
    Keymaster

    OMG when people dance to Radar Love, then you really cannot win haha.

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