colione25@yahoo.com
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colione25@yahoo.com
ParticipantThe main job of a nightclub dj is to LEAD. How does a dj lead? By breaking new music and interpreting the feeling and vision behind the producer behind the piece of music to create atmosphere. We have leaders all over the place like radio djs, producer djs, club djs, youtube djs, but yet, just like society, most people can’t lead and most of all, djs today are even less than leaders.
The disconnect is that on one hand, guys like Jam will say the djs need to take back the scene. That is a true statement. But on the other hand, the rest of the djs say similar to what Phil W says “What I would do is play what you have to for the crowd and at home throw down your mixes get them up on the internet and start plugging away”. So when is the conversion? When do we stop spinning our wheels “for the crowd”? Phil, the crowd is not the dj. Stop giving such advice- no offense. Think about that disconnect for moment. 1- we should take back the scene but 2, play what the crowd wants to hear what they want. But at the same time, djs must produce in order to get gigs, play the radio, play the nightclubs, and have a platform to express ourselves but then play what the crowd wants? True leaders do go back to their bedrooms to play their own music. They do it right then and now and the crowd follows… We are men! Act like it…
It has nothing to do with being older or being nostalgic. The music that the OP likes is still being made So why shouldn’t he be able to play it out? After all- we all say we must support our producers right? How else would he be able to make a mix tape but not play for the crowd using the same current music- does that even make sense? Think about that and we will get back to you.
Here is what many don’t understand. The music is there. The in between music like tribal and vocal house is here more than before. The problem is that there is this extreme divide between commercial and underground now. Guys hop on the EDM wagon and the other half hop on the underground wagon with no clue what underground is or understand it as a way of life. It’s not simply playing deep house or techno. Therefore, underground ruin the scene by hosting dark after hour sets in there “we are undergrouind” t-shirts at posh top40 lounges with only a few showing up. This then causes the venue to lose money and there goes dance music. Rather, there should be the in-between music that crosses over to progressive, deep, tech, etc. That way, people don’t go from EDM to deep house. The brain doesn’t work like that unless you are part of that scene.
The system is broken and djs need to stop being little girls and start taking over and playing cross over stuff that allows the extremes of EDM and underground to co-exist. If not, then two extremes will blow cause its too much.
Even set troxler said at the Ibiza IMS 2014 that the tech house/techno scene is saturated. There is too much of it in one scene at any giving time. 50 techno parties on a Saturday in NY. That is too much.There is a coolness factor in all of this but likewise, there is a terrible disconnect. For some reason, people seem to associate EDM with the uneducated bandwagon kids. But many fail to realize that it is not the genre itself, it is people in general. People give underground a pass. There is as much boring loopy music in underground as there is boring formulaic electro hard dance. Problem is, because it is underground, it gets a pass. Anything non-commercial automatically gets a pass. Remember, top 10 beatport underground is to what the top 10 beatport EDM is… haaaa, many people won’t accept that cause its underground and gets a pass. Not so fast bucko. If one strictly has only top 50 of anything on rotation, you are too a fanny.
ParticipantI totally see where you are coming from and I know the feeling. You have your inner artist screaming. I feel you. I just moved here to DC from miami and after living in 7 different countries.I have actually been doing some research on how the craft is gone. Mediocrity has taken course and we are just settling. Yet, I want to know why people listen or gravitate to a sound. Why is there question about why music is so bland nowadays? I wrote this article a few months ago;
Who are we? What’s the story behind our taste in music? Why do you like the type of dance you like?
I would really love to do a poll and see what type of music people listen to and see if there are any correlations. For example, are those that like heavy metal, live bands, rock, etc, more inclined to liking electro, dark beats, hard-dance or even trance? Or those that enjoy R&B, do they prefer soulful house? I really don’t know and this has really interested me and prompted me to write this post. However, I wholeheartedly consider my taste to be underground- including some commercial sounding or ear candy as I would say, but (non-radio play).
For a while now I have really been confused. Confused as to why people have a certain taste for music- in particular dance music. I must confess that as of recently, I have been undermining some of the latest music and its followers. I couldn’t seem to bring myself to understand why people gravitate towards to or could listen to for hours on end music such as; commercial dance pop, hard electro, dark house, dirty beats, underground tech house, techno or even hard non-vocal trance. The looping groovy tech-house that many “heads” enjoy with no vocals is a sound that I dislike with a passion. Even hard electro pop-, which I call interrogation music, drives me insane. I immediately cave in to those sounds. Anything highly commercial or dark, dry and loopy makes me leave the club even after paying $20 cover. Im a 15-85 on the “musical” spectrum of dance- rating from 1-100 (not too gutter, not too creamy)
So I really must first apologize to any of those that I have undermined, offended, or even came across as someone who had “better taste” in music. Before I could ever to begin to understand other’s choice of sound, I had to acknowledge my history.
And so I begin….
Growing up in a half Haitian-half Jamaican family hood in Queens, NY, I was exposed early on in the 80s at the age of 7, while in an all black grade school, to the likes of Haitian Compas/Jazz, Jamaican Soca, Ray Barreto, Tito Puente, Julio Iglesias, Salsa, Air Supply, rock ballads, Lionel Richie, Cindy Lauper, Laura Branigan. My first cassette tapes were “Faith” by George Michael, LL Cool J, and “Purple Rain” by Prince that I had on repeat all day.
I went to school with DJ Envy and lived on the same block as the original mixtape “king” DJ Clue of NY’s Power 105.1. Run DMC lived around the block from my school in Hollis, Queens.
Moving to the suburbs of Alpine NJ and attending an all white junior high school, I rebelled and was defiant to any type of rock or what I called at the time “white music”. I was exposed to some Metallica, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and Aerosmith but it didn’t appeal to me. I made friends with the only Puerto Rican brothers in town that were closer to my light-skinned color and kept in line with my traditional party hip-hop from Hot 97 like Third Base, Slick Rick, Naughty By Nature, EPMD, Onyx, old school reggae like Super Cat, Buju Banton, and Freeystyle.
Entering a predominantly white/asian (korean) high school, I started getting into underground hip-hop but not gutter rap. I started djing in 1993 with vinyl records such as Gangstar, Fat Joe, Nas, Group Home, Big L, Jeru Da Damaja. I also started getting into house- but the Latin house from Strictly Rhythm and the ever so popular “follow me”, “Hot” by Soho, Night Crawlers- “Push the feeling on” and “Fired Up” by Murk (Oscar G/Falcon). I even started liking tribal latin house with vocals as I was around a lot of Dominicans and Puerto Ricans.
I would be the first to have all the latest tracks and freestyles from Jay-Z, Nas, Capone N Noriega, Wu-Tang, AZ, Beatnuts. I recorded the NYC underground station WNY 891.1 with Sunset & Mayhem and 89.9 WKCR with Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito in 1993-95. I always was the first to have the exclusives out of my entire school. I still have Nas’s and Wu-tang’s freestyle cassette tapes. I use to drive all the way to the Bronx from NJ or to Jamaica Ave in Queens to pick up my Air Force Ones sneakers and latest dj mixtapes (cassettes) by Dirty Harry, Doggtime, Dj Camilo, Dj Clue, and Dj Envy. I knew all the drop dates and had all the exclusives. I was into dance R&B and hip-hop from Mary J Blige, Jermaine Dupree, 112, Method Man, Biggie, Diddy, and dancehall Reggae- Red Rat, Ninja Man, and early Sean Paul.
I entered the Marine Corps at 19 and moved to Japan in 1998-2001 and started to dj dirty south hip-hop by cash money, Bow Wow, and reggae, for the local Japanese crowds but I didn’t really like dirty south rap. Fast forward to 2002, I moved to Latvia, a former Soviet Republic of Russia, to provide internal security for US Embassies as a Sergeant of US Marines and was then exposed to an all white European culture and dance radio stations 24/7. I was introduced to and by the help of my local DJ friends, gave me breaks at clubs where I played sounds such as disco, funky/deep house, Defected Records, Junior Jack & Kid Creme. “That Feeling” by DJ Chus of (Stereo-Productions) was my first deep house record. Latvia is also where I got a taste of Roger Sanchez’s “You Can’t Change Me”, Kings of Tomorrow, Dirty Vegas, and Shakedown “At Night”.
Ironically, in 2004, while providing internal security for US Embassy Burma- off the coast of Thailand, and not liking the way hip hop was going, I did the full transition to house. Even though being from NY, the KTU anthem music from Deborah Cox, Thunder Puss remixes didn’t move me. I really enjoyed mostly Hed Kandi/Ministry of Sound UK lounge, progressive, Dan Maciano, Dj Gregory, deep house like the early stuff by Axwell, Moloko, David Penn, Copyright, Chus & Ceballos (Echoes From Duruma). Jerry Ropero & Denis The Menace. I was more into that sexy latin percussive groove and uplifting funky groovy house that went well in thailand and where I was able to play at the Bed Side Supper Club in Bangkok, off of Sukhumvit road.
2005- I moved to Miami and met with Johnny Ramirez who had a similar sound to me and Patrick M, who worked at Chopin Hagen (my video interview with Patrick M coming soon). Together we did all the early Space days with Roland, Roger Sanchez, Eric Morillo, – Sundays with Biz Martinez at Amica. Johnny and Patrick gave me my first break in Miami to open guest dj at Nikki Beach.
2007 -I landed my first and only weekly residency at Segafredo Lincoln Rd in South Beach being a cop by day and dj by night- and still there til today. There, I have been exposed to many cultures so I now include vocal house from various countries such as Romania, Russia, Brazil, Italy, Bulgarian-melodic deep progressive house in my sets. Having lived in 7 different countries allowed me to make deeper connections with people.
I no longer listen to hip-hop here in Miami but rather to 80s, 90s hip-hop, and AM radio. I only listen to hip-hop when I visit family in NY/NJ. Most of the time I am listening to my latest house tunes on my mp3 players programming my sets for my radio show. My taste for house is all (non-radio play) sexy progressive, Latin, melodic tech, euro dance, thumping Afro-Tribal, disco, nu-disco, and Uplifting Funky. I have never liked slow R&B so maybe that is why I don’t really like preachy soulful house.
Perhaps of my loyalty to my sound is why my past favorite djs like Eric Morillo and Roger Sanchez that took me on musical journeys hitting almost every subgenre of house- have lately and GREATLY disappointed me while playing in the United States. Roger to me is all noise in the US and I can’t listen to back-to-back anthems by Morillo. Danny Tenaglia has never interested me at all- but why? I’m in search of the answer.
Again, do those that like heavy metal, live bands, rock, etc, have a tasty ear for electro, dutch dirty house, dark beats, hard-dance or even trance? I really don’t know if we will ever know the answer to that unless a giant poll is conducted. But all in all I do find it interesting and do apologize for being a bit closed minded in the past.
Having really taken the time to sit and put it all on paper, I now see why I like the music I do.
ParticipantD-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.. 🙂
March 13, 2013 at 11:41 pm in reply to: Annual winter conference miami email from Club Space Miami owner Louis Puig #37921Participant“FUTURE OF EDM.
I am hoping that the future of Electronic Dance Music will be the complete opposite of the commercial Mash Up sound you hear at VIP clubs today. This sound is monotonous, tiring and not even the DJs that play it like it. In fact, they actually hate it but they sold out to it and are now stuck playing it. The sound reminds me of the Walt Disney Electric Parade.
Some people call it Swedish House Music but I call it VIP Confetti Music but no matter what you call it, it is complete rubbish and what is worse is that it generates the complete opposite energy and effect of what dance music was designed to do, which is for people to dance. Believe it or not, the plan was never for you to show up, stand on a dance floor ignoring your date our friends and look at some clown jumping up and down waving his finger in the air while playing prerecorded laptop sets. Fortunately EDM fans are very intelligent and educated and they are finally catching on to these theatrics. These DJ finger waving performing clowns have numbered days. Techno, Tech, Deep House and other underground EDM genres will prevail. In case you do not understand what I mean by VIP Confetti Music, just visit the top 100 in the “progressive” category on my fav music dance music website and Robert Sillerman’s latest acquisition, Beatport.com. I remember when the Beatport progressive dance music chart was actually progressive.
Robert Sillerman / SFX. If you have not heard by now Robert Sillerman AKA SFX is spending a billion dollars to buy and control the EDM Industry. Some people are labeling Sillerman “Big Brother” and think he will be the end of EDM as we know and love it. I have been around long enough to know better. I lived the end of Disco, Rap, Hip Hop, Mash Up and hopefully soon Confetti Music. EDM is not going anywhere.
I respect and admire Sillerman but sometimes he gets himself into businesses that he has no business being in such as the real estate deal he did in Anguilla. I have no idea who is advising him on EDM but they are completely steering him the wrong way. You don’t buy the milk, then the cow, and then the ranch, you buy the ranch with the cows first. He should have spent his money in buying the biggest DJ agency first and not the trendy clubs and festivals that DJs play at. Or at least started his own DJ booking and management agency by stealing the top agents from the existent agencies. They would have brought their DJ clients with them and signed them on to multiyear contracts. This would have been a fraction of the cost and a lot more manageable. As is, he is the owner of a bunch of clubs and festivals that are going or will be going out of style before his EDM Company goes public. What is worse is that he has no one to control or oversee all the club and festival owners and operators he left in charge. Think of it as being the owner of a fleet of pirate ships and thinking that all your ship pirate captains will stay honest and true. How many club or festival owners or operators would you trust with the keys to your house and the combination to your safe? Robert, do yourself a favor and find someone who understands EDM and what is at stake, clubs and festivals are not radio or TV stations. As they say, “hire the best to watch the rest.”
But, the biggest thing that Sillerman seems to be missing is the spirit of EDM and House music. Sure, it’s easy to look at the scene now and see it as being ripe for commercial takeover but the truth is that this scene has always resisted and rejected that path and will again unless they see it as authentic. I know that, once EDM fans get a whiff of the corporate control, they will rebel and run back to the sounds, artists and venues that they see as authentic. Unfortunately, the SFX pirate captain brigade doesn’t get this. They’ll learn, as many before them have, that this is a different scene and that our fans are not so easily fooled.
SALE OF SPACE. It is true; I sold Club Space and this will be my last Space MMC. I’m very proud of what we created in Downtown Miami and have been privileged to work with some amazing and talented people. 13 years is a very long time for any club to be around and I couldn’t have done it without all the people who supported Space in so many ways. Its 130 years if you want to compare it to human years. It was time for me to move on and let someone else carry the Space torch.
Space was ahead of its time; it was the antiestablishment to the South Beach commercial VIP clubs with the French velvet-rope attitude that unfortunately still prevails today. Space was underground and so separated from the norm that few gave it or me a chance of success. The only person who actually saw my vision and believed in me was Ricardo, the owner of Pacha Ibiza. We were at a dinner party in Ibiza back in 1999 and I pulled out a set of Space blue prints and showed them to Roberto. He looked at the plans and looked into my eyes and said, “esto va tio.” If I had to pick a club mentor, he would be the one. The rest is club history. Now it is time for history to repeat itself. It is time for a new space which will set the bar for the next decade.
Space was a vision I carried with me for almost 20 years since my first visit to Ibiza in 1981. The concept that I am working on now is a product of a vision I have been formulating in my head since Space opened with Danny Tenaglia in 2000. This new space will hopefully have the same effect on our industry as the first Space. It will be bigger and better since I now possess a more thorough and extensive knowledge of the qualities and details that make a club a legend. In other words, I know now what I wish I had known then and plan to use that knowledge to create something truly unique. This space will be the antiestablishment of this new era and once again the antithesis of the South Beach / Las Vegas commercial VIP confetti clubs.
HIERBAS IBICENCAS. Aaah Hierbas! Why can’t all alcoholic beverages and spirits taste like this? I fell in love with this heavenly nectar the first time I went to Ibiza back in 1981. It is the favorite drink of Ibiza and my DJ friends and it is finally available in the States. In fact, it will be making its debut at this year’s Music Conference so ask for “Hierbas” at your favorite club, restaurant or pool party. Shots or “chupitos” as they call them in Spain or on the rocks, Hierbas is delicious any way you drink it. Go towww.hierbasusa.comfor the complete Hierbas story and enjoy the sights and sounds of Miami Music Conference with Hierbas Ibicencas by Mari Mayans. It is 100% Ibiza.
Enjoy the conference, drink responsively and don’t forget to tip,
LP”
ParticipantChuck van Eekelen, post: 37965, member: 2756 wrote: I mean really, guys ??? Nobody?
Here you go buddy- the only tool right now that I can think of that works in the capacity you describe is Itunes. All you have to do is load your tunes to the music section. Listen to each track and delete what you don’t. When you click delete, it asks you to check the box if you don’t want to be asked again. The problem with that is there are always accidents.
Personally, I would spend a weekend and sit in front of the TV and organize your tunes. It is pain staking but there is no “easy” way about it. We can’t get so comfy just cause technology has evolved. There must be work put into place…. Not calling you lazy but don’t get to complacent. With the ease of technology comes risks for deleting and never recovering your music again… I almost lost the same amount of files due to a faulty hard drive… Took me two days to recover the files.
PM if you need assistance organizing your tunes by folder/genre/subgenre. I have it down.
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