D-Jam

I listened to it and I dunno man. His track selection sounded on point and melded. If he had gone from this suddenly into some big room David Guetta sound, then I’d agree.

I just think you’re overanalyzing. If anything, find a means to do better and win some gigs. 😉

And it’s “D-Jam” 😛

Made In Machines, post: 38695, member: 2335 wrote: The only option I can see is making a name producing if you manage to get signed and then hopefully you’ll be in demand from the nights you love and respect and also where your style of music will be appreciated. Of course I love producing and am always working on it but haven’t managed to get signed as of yet. I want to play out the music I love more than anything in the world really but I just can’t seem to catch a break.

Any thoughts or Ideas?

You have hit the problem I’ve hit in my past. I tried producing a few times, but found I didn’t have a passion for it. I sat there with Ableton Live in front of me and only seemed to think in terms of “I need to do this so I can get the kinds of DJ gigs I want”.

Not good…and it’s why I stopped. I didn’t want to bastardize the music I love because I wanted DJ gigs. For me, I pulled back into a hobbyist/blogger mode. However I was in my mid-to-late 30s, so it was ideal. I can’t fathom a younger guy in his late teens or early 20s doing this.

First off…are you aged 21 and up? If not, then you’ll be limited. Many places won’t allow underage DJs to come in.

Second…have you tried the underground promoters? Or are you simply giving up and assuming it’ll be impossible? Are your sets mainly the “big night” stuff that the underground headliners play? Or can you slow it down/quiet it down into opening sets? Most underground promoters want local guys to be openers…not headliners.

Third…have you looked into joining them as a promoter? When I promoted, I had loads of guys handing me demo CDs, wanting to play, but they didn’t want to pass out flyers, share email lists, or do anything more than show up and play. Why would any promoter care then unless this guy is guaranteed to bring in a packed house?

You should see if those underground promoters need people to help advertise, run nights, do the logistics. You should also look to the rave scene and not just the clubs. Many neophytes got their start in the rave scene.

Fourth…are you looking only in “get in the booth and play”? What about podcasting, blogging, and other ways to grow in the industry? If you’re only out to get in the booth and have people scream for you, then you’ll never go anywhere…not unless you’re promoting events or producing music.

You can see why I backed off. At my age I didn’t want to work a second full-time job just to get that hour or two in the booth. When I was younger, it was easier.

I read the Maschine does not control the Remix Decks. It is Midi and not HID.

However, I wouldn’t be surprised if the next Maschine will be HID.

NietzSKY, post: 38501, member: 4553 wrote: So was talking to a DJ friend, and he was telling me how he’s got a show coming up where controllers are banned because of the sync button.

I could hook up timecode on relative positioning and use sync without someone knowing unless they’re looking at my laptop.

So they might go ban laptops then and require only analog music. I say “good luck” then if the popular acts are all using sync and the “keep it real” guys are not drawing crowds.

The reality of life is that this is a business, and if the masses of people in front of the DJ booth could care less, then the anti-sync guys have lost this war. If their events struggle to get a crowd while other events do not, then they either need to adapt or die.

Those guys who ban controllers, ban laptops, require vinyl-only DJs, etc. They’re making a cardinal mistake in event promoting. They’re throwing the event for themselves, not the mass market.

Sync is a tool. Plain and simple. Musicians have had sequencers for decades, and if a DJ thinks beatmatching is the primary ideology of DJing, then he/she has really missed what this is all about. The winners in this world are the ones who wow the crowd with great music selection, imagination, creativity, connection, and charisma. A guy who plays amazing tunes, does some brilliant live remixing, and makes the crowd hang on his every beat…despite he’s using sync…will go further than the guy who still buys analog vinyl and seemingly won’t take things further than A-to-B mixing. Worse if he seems to value his musical taste over the crowd in front of him…thus he clears floors.

I mentioned in the 2013 Resolutions for DJs that it’s time to bury the hatchet between the analog-only guys and digital. It’s done and over. Conventions like NAMM have loads of new controllers and software, and I’m seeing less turntables and CDJs. More new DJs are going straight to digital. In my opinion there might be niche crowds of “analog only”, but the mass market isn’t ever going to one day massively reject digital.

This video right here was probably the earliest time I ever heard the term “Deep House” (mentioned when Joe is interviewed after singing):

[media=youtube]Y1WEW9GZJTo[/media]

That was around 1989 or 1990. Here we are 23-24 years later and the sound has only evolved.

My viewpoint is that the problem is Deep House is more or less on the bottom. It’s not in the spotlight. You can’t imagine deep house working well at the big festivals. Deep house has always been something that worked better in smaller more intimate venues. Lounges and such.

Nowadays, with “EDM” as the big flavor of the moment, you can’t expect people YET to go deeper. They’re too enthralled in bright lights, big names, and big events to go deeper down the rabbit’s hole. As I’ve said before, roughly 1/10 of those thousands who spent the weekend at Ultra will end up being tomorrow’s promoters and producers. They will go home and try to spread the gospel of the underground the way Oakenfold and Danny Rampling did after their Ibiza trip.

I don’t believe digital cheapened deep house in as much as EDM popularity merely made people desire “deeper” stuff less. I know for me it’s hard to go play deep house when trendy folk flock to a lounge and demand Guetta, Harris, Skrillex, etc. I’ve had many deep house gigs even before the big mainstream explosion go sour because the clientele didn’t understand it. They went to the smooth cozy lounge or intimate club and wanted big club anthems pounded. I know many Chicago deep house DJs who lament on how it seems they’re stuck playing mainstream or now get older people harassing them to play 90’s ghetto house and WBMX anthems.

I’m honestly growing tired of critics, bloggers, and journalists claiming the music is dying or dead, like it’s going to vanish and never return. I’ll go on Traxsource and find plenty of new deep house worth buying, and thus I more see this as people complaining and lamenting how the mainstream popularity of EDM has “ruined things”. Give me a break. I’ll never forget when I was going to play a lounge in 2001. I played deep soulful house there once and it went well…but this time the crowd kept badgering me for popular music (at the time) like Ian Van Dahl or even ABBA.

This is the unfortunate problem of dealing with the public who doesn’t “get it”. Thus I reiterate to the “build a scene” logic I keep bringing up. Plus there’s other outlets besides clubs. You could do chillout rooms at bigger events, or boutique shops, or online radio, podcasts, or even make soundtracks for lounges and cafes that don’t have DJs. My favorite cafe in Chicago constantly plays streams of deep house, garage, and 2-step.

It’s been over 20 years, and deep house IMHO is the backbone foundation of all the other house we have now…even the trendy stuff. It’s not going anywhere and people need to stop worrying. Just stick to your guns, evolve, and let the wannabes quit and move on.

I think if you’re playing a set or something, the club or promoter should provide you with gear.

If you’re moving, I’d seriously think about shipping your gear. It’s in flight cases, so they’ll be safe from damage. I shipped my CDJs with flight cases to a guy in Spain (he bought them off me on eBay) and they got there perfectly fine.

I wrote a little about it here: http://www.digitaldjtips.com/2011/05/how-to-succeed-at-djing-marketing/

I just finished reading a book on designing logos. What I found is you should think of your name and what words, thoughts, images, etc…come to mind. Jot down or sketch those words and visions. What’s your musical style? That will also dictate the look/feel you’re shooting for.

From there, either design it yourself or seek a designer and give him/her your input and findings.

My logo looks very simple, but I wanted it that way. I wanted it unassuming so I could play any genre I like and not be typecasted by my logo.