Have you been pigeonholed?
Results 1 to 6 of 6
  1. #1
    Tech Mentor rvltion909's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Orange County, CA
    Posts
    439

    Default Have you been pigeonholed?

    I know most of us here have very broad diverse taste in music and many of us even spin several genres. For those of us who are bedroom DJs, unsigned artists or those of us who don’t hold major residencies I think there is a certain freedom that big name DJ/artists probably don’t have.

    I spin a lot of what the UK would call “Big Room Trance” (Above & Beyond) sort of style. However, I also spin lots of other stuff from minimal, banging techno, acid, prog house, deep house, funky house, breaks, tech house, techno, deep trance, tech trance, etc.

    Depending on what I feel like spinning, sometimes I can create a set that fits together with all of it…sometimes I want to play a set that is much more geared towards on direction rather than the other.

    I don’t think the big name DJs/artists have that same freedom unfortunately. Imagine going to see Richie Hawtin and ended up playing a 2 hour set of fluffy trance. Better yet, you go to see DJ Rush and he played a complete chillout/downtempo set. You’d probably be pretty confused, disappointed, pissed off…maybe you’d like it or maybe you wouldn’t. I think the fact is though that in the state of EDM today...the usual suspects wouldn’t dare do this type of thing which kinda sucks for many reasons.

    Im sure most of them have very diverse tastes too but feel they have to stick to the same ol same ol…or at least the same genre that everybody is expecting.

    So what brought this up? I was actually thinking about the bad rep. that DJ Tiesto has had for some time now. I was also remembering how he used to be actually very GOOD (IMO) but now is simply hype and plays mostly shit music. I wonder how much of this is his choice and how much of it he has to play to support crap he has to promote. How much of the stuff he plays is actually stuff he wants to play and how much he plays because he feels he is expected to. I wonder if he ever gets tired of playing the same kind of music.

    Some big name DJs/artists are lucky enough to have stayed true from the start and built a career
    on playing sort of unpredictable sets but now many. I think its much harder especially for up-and-comers to spin with this freedom if they are trying to establish a name for themselves.

    How do you deal with this. Those of you who are lucky enough to have “made it big” or those who play out quite often? Do you feel you’ve been pigeonholed (are you often booked as “the House DJ” or “the DnB DJ)? Do you care? Are you comfortable playing completely different sets one day to the next. Do you feel you have this freedom? What advice do you have for up-and-comers in regards to sticking to one genre or developing their signature sound?
    http://soundcloud.com/rvltion909

    ...chasing beats through ghetto streets...

  2. #2
    Banned
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Milwaukee, WI
    Posts
    1,794

    Default

    I think that Pigeon hole issue falls more onto DJ's who started out as producers and were making a certain sound when they got big.

    Also have to remember where these big name DJs are in the line up, usually the main slot so it would be hard to get away with a downtempo/ambient kind of affair. Another thing to remember is the venue, some DJ's switch it up depending on where they are at be it a huge stadium, a small club, a terrace set and so.

    But even when you do play stuff from other genres, those tracks usually have the same mood/feeling as the rest of your tracks, if that makes sense, so you might be using different sounds about you are still creating the same mood/feeling as if you were playing something else.

    I myself when I play out am influenced more by the venue/weather than anything else, but that's me.

  3. #3

    Default

    All I have to say is the day I'm Pigeonhold as the world greatest strip club DJ is the day I quit ! Then Agian might wait a year or 2 and cash in then quit .

  4. #4
    Tech Convert
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    miami
    Posts
    11

    Default

    IMO getting pirgon holed is choice that dj makes. PvD for example plays diferent types of music. I saw him play some dark ass house at Space Miami in like november then at ultra he was playing that cheesy shit everyone loves. Deadmau5 has some pretty are to diverse music. like i said its how committed that dj is to becoming exposed and how committed they are to staying to their roots. i guess you can call it selling out (everyone else does). I saw Tiesto rip it up at Ultra and he didnt really play that cheesy stuff. he was working and working hard. he had 3 or 4 tracks going at onepoint. but since hes the kenny g of electronic music he can get away with that!(playing different sets and still having chicks and some dudes cream over him)

  5. #5
    Dr. Bento BentoSan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    6,383

    Default

    Playing all in the same genre is alot easier to make good flowing mixes than changing inbetween genres - its also alot safer as far as the dj is concerned which is one (of many) reasons why this whole pigeon holed dj act has occured.

    However we are starting to see a trend away from this sort of one genre mentality which is nice to see Lets just hope the movement keeps up, especially with these digital tools that we have that make this sort of genre mashing more practicle.

    Theres also the complexity though that we are playing to a crowd and we have to give the crowd what they came to see - if people came for a night of electro house you cant then decide your going to play rnb mixed with cheeze-pop for the evening. Promotion plays a big part too, a dj needs to work with both the promoter and whoever it is running the event make sure that everyone is on the same page as to whats being played. If your promotion shows that your mixing genres your crowd knows what to expect and by talking it out with whoever is running the event you know that your not going to piss off the person who is paying fo you to play.

  6. #6
    Retired DJTT Moderator DvlsAdvct's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    New Jersey/NYC
    Posts
    4,854

    Default

    The big difference, also, is what the DJ gets booked for. If he is getting paid a couple of hundred/thousand dollars to show up and play trance, you bet your ass he's going to play trance.

    If these DJs really wanted to mix it up then they could look for bookings in other places, and advertise it as such. "Hey, I'm going to be at <insert lounge here> playing a very special, very amazing chillout set."

    But, well, that's just not how it goes. But what Bento said it also right. If you work well with your promotion team then it is easier to get the word out as to what the crowd will hear. Hell, I can go to a club and spin trance, industrial, trip hop, house, electro, metal and punk. If I can do it, then the bigs can DEFINITELY do it, and do it a lot better
    It's the FAQ. Read it.

    My Mixes, Mashups and Rants

    Divided we stand
    United we fall

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •