Originally Posted by
ctrld
laying down parts of tracks separately it not DJing anymore, it's technically a live performance... pulling off a long set like this with 4 people is much easier than doing it alone, but there's also a potential disadvantage to it - because the preparation is much, much harder.
when you work alone, you coordinate everything yourself. you always know what to do, how to do it and when to do it. in a team, you need to really focus on communication, otherwise you'll fail miserably. not only do you need to make sure that everyone really knows their shit, they also need to know what everyone else is doing because no one can read minds. after a LOT of practice, you'll be able to go beyond a scripted performance and actually improvise, but focus on getting a solid groundwork first. stuff needs to happen automatically, as if the four of you were a hive-mind.
it's really cool when one guy mashes up the drums, another one controls the general arrangement and the mix, a third guy does fx and the fourth guy adds some turntablism to it. but like I said, it's really much harder to pull it off in a team than alone. a lot more preparation is involved and you have to do all your stuff together like a band so that everyone is always up to date. can't have anyone racing ahead or lagging behind. you need a schedule, and all of you need to stick to it. not easy when everyone has other stuff to do (studies, work, maybe a g/f to spend time with etc.), but manageable if you don't do it half-hearted. question is: can you make the time?
