D-Jam

I usually ignore this, and I might write a rant on my blog as to why people need to stop making a big deal out of this list.

Every year it’s the same thing, the list comes out and the same 10 names are somewhere in the top 15. Then we see a bevy of people griping and complaining to death about how that chart never highlights the newest and brightest talent. Blah blah blah. Then Resident Advisor comes up with their own list of DJs most people (except that clique) haven’t ever heard of. Usual story.

Hey…guess what? Most of the people voting in these polls are not DJs. They’re not even people who are deep into the music like we are. They’re clubbers who really only go out for booths/bottles/attention or for some massive name DJ…the very guys who normally are in the top 15.

Maybe instead of people griping why their favorite guy didn’t make the top 10, they should praise that he/she got into the list with the bazillion other DJs out there…and if the guy didn’t even get into the list. WHO CARES?

I don’t think people who supported said DJ will stop supporting him/her just because he/she didn’t get into the list.

Ok, there’s the gist of the blog I will write now. Thoughts collected…carry on.

UPDATE: Posted.

It’s a good idea, but then they should include the means for the track to be used in any program. Like having a .tqd file for Torq and the same things for Ableton, Traktor, VDJ, and Serato.

I dunno. I never seem to have issue with it. One scan and 99% of the time the track is perfect in Torq.

EDM to me can be liked the way someone would like a rock tune, rap rune, or pop tune. The reason we don’t see it across the board is the same reason why a lot of music doesn’t get there. EDM can be arranged “traditionally” with vocals, choruses, bridges, etc…or it can get totally abstract.

So whenever you hear EDM in normal airplay on the radio, you notice how much it’s kept in that more “traditional” sense. Even tunes that rocked the clubs can and will be changed up to be more friendly to the non-clubbers. A great example I usually recall is Anthem by Filo and Peri:

[media=youtube]BMaT_CBCnps[/media]

If you check out that video, and have heard the versions being sold for DJs, they are different. The DJ versions are more abstract and longer, as they’re done in the more traditional sense. The added verses and sounds though for that clip more or less format the tune into a palatable version the radio listeners can get into. I’ll admit even I have this as an MP3 on my iPod.

I ignore the people who complain when no one supports the music, then complain again when their music blows up into the mainstream. Watering-down and dumbing-down the music is nothing new. You look at any recent tunes from David Guetta, Ke$ha, Katy Perry, or Black-Eyed Peas and you’ll see how much it’s watered-down compared to electro-house people were playing for years.

That’s life. I remember when European artists watered down the new wave sound into the Hi-NRG sound of the early 90s, and then watered down rave techno into the euro sound of the mid-90s, then in 2001-2003 they took trance and watered it down so average Joes will get into it.

Can it be liked normally? Maybe…but I think the DJ element is part of what makes people like EDM. Many listen to the dance shows on satellite radio, Radio 1 gets a lot of worldwide listenership, and people listen to mixes off the internet all the time. Even I personally prefer to listen to EDM as a DJ set. It’s one of the main things that drives me to make new mixes. I have a bunch of new tunes, so I make a mix to enjoy them in.

That’s a good thing though…it shows how dependent the music is on the DJ and likewise. It makes it unique.

Emma Partnow, post: 4915 wrote: I Agree;
Obviously there Are some Genres that are so Radically Different a Label is ‘Helpful’l
But; from what we knew as just ‘House’; to Minimal House; Progressive House; Deep House; Hard House; Tech House; Ad Infinitum; things have started to get a little Ridiculous

Derrick May would so agree with you.

I remember seeing DJ Armando show up to Medusa’s and play with two turntables and a reel-to-reel.

I used to edit some tracks on older wav editing software, then play them into my set when I used a 4-track recorder to make mixes. I carefully manipulated the pitch control on the recorder to somehow mix it in.

I’ve said before how many DJs in the 90s used ProTools to make mixes, using sequencers, editing, and warping.

This is a redundant point. DJing isn’t just about rotating platters, but about making sets or even music with other pieces of music.

I got into this topic in an article I posted on my blog.

The thing is I agree with Kid Capri. When you work yourself into a headliner position, you’re brought out to play music the masses know you for. People come out to see what you’re playing and what you’re into…not to tell you what they want to hear.

I stand by what I said in the blog entry. There is a time and place, and that was NOT the time and place. Capri may have been a bit dramatic, but I imagine he probably gets one or two of those per night and thus is tired of it. I can’t blame him.

People who go clubbing really need to stop thinking it’s all and only about them and they’re instead being a part of something bigger. It’s the same when you go to a rock concert. Would someone climb up on the stage at a Dave Matthews Band concert and ask Dave to play Freebird? Or sing Happy Birthday to their gal pal?

I’m of the mind that when you see it’s a bigger name playing that night, accept that you can’t make requests. Don’t like it? Go find another spot with a local guy playing who has to take requests.

Emma Partnow, post: 4754 wrote: Old : Carl Cox Live @ The Second Summer Of Love 1988

I would love to hear that.

In the beginning I just used to make personalized cassettes for friends. Total trainwrecking on the blends though since I had no clue what I was doing.

First time I ever made one cassette and handed out multiple copies I called it “Club Underground”. I drew an image or an open manhole cover and the idea of a party underground. I think this was 1993.