Most DJs suck?

[Patch]

Cool thread. Most DJ's are not very creative - and tune selection/programming a set (creating an "atmosphere") is NOT difficult. It is the most natural thing in the world, and can (and will) ONLY come with experience.

I think as a whole, DJ's are NOT creative enough. Years ago, we were REALLY limited with what was possible due to the gear we had available. These limitations are GONE now, and, unfortunately, the vast number of DJ's out there STILL limit theirselves to what WAS possible - not what IS possible. Some DJ's think "Judge Jules is not creative, and he's successful - why should I try harder?"...

You know what will happen? A new wave of DJ's, that did not know about the previous generations (equipment) limitations will pick up software/controllers and (I HOPE!) turntables, and start to perform to the limits of the EQUIPMENT, not he limits they impose on themselves because of the 8hr marathon set they heard from 1992.

I've been excited for YEARS about what is posible now - but I don't see the scene progressing at the ame rate as the equipment.

[zimfella]

I've been excited for YEARS about what is posible now - but I don't see the scene progressing at the ame rate as the equipment.

+1

[Jack Bastard]

You know what will happen? A new wave of DJ's, that did not know about the previous generations (equipment) limitations will pick up software/controllers and (I HOPE!) turntables, and start to perform to the limits of the EQUIPMENT, not he limits they impose on themselves because of the 8hr marathon set they heard from 1992.

The problem there is that performing to the limits of the equipment sounds so fucking awful/boring on the most part, see undanceable fx-laden pseudo-turntablism or Sasha's megasnore Ableton sets.

[rdubs]

The simple answer here is: most of the "big names" you refer to are known for their original productions. The reason people go see them is to hear their tracks, not to hear them slice up other tracks and all kinds of stuff like that. Sure they play others tracks as well, but when you are known for producing your own music, you are expected to play your hits when you play out.

[IznremiX]

The problem there is that performing to the limits of the equipment sounds so fucking awful/boring on the most part, see undanceable fx-laden pseudo-turntablism or Sasha's megasnore Ableton sets.

i think what he meant to say is that people need to stop limiting themselves because technology now allows to do more than you ever could before. sure its gona sound messy and fx-laden at first, but its the same with any other instrument when you first start playing. my parents still have nightmares from when i first started playing the saxophone. maybe some guys use too many fx and maybe sasha has boring sets, but theres tonnes of other guys doing great stuff with controllers. hell i play with 3/4 decks myself when i play out. at first it sounded pretty awful, but as i learned more about layering properly and using samples, my sets have gained their own unique flare to them and i've built up alright following because of that.

The simple answer here is: most of the "big names" you refer to are known for their original productions. The reason people go see them is to hear their tracks, not to hear them slice up other tracks and all kinds of stuff like that. Sure they play others tracks as well, but when you are known for producing your own music, you are expected to play your hits when you play out.

but what about your regular club djs though? most of them don't produce and most of them don't go beyond what these big names are doing

[backtothefront]

The simple answer here is: most of the "big names" you refer to are known for their original productions. The reason people go see them is to hear their tracks, not to hear them slice up other tracks and all kinds of stuff like that. Sure they play others tracks as well, but when you are known for producing your own music, you are expected to play your hits when you play out.

mmm, that's a little bit of a sweeping statement I would say; certainly big names in the current 'EDM' craze they're producers first/DJ's second, but for me big name, global DJ's who started their careers a couple of decades ago, made their names from their skills of playing other people's music - Sasha, Digweed, Carl Cox, Danny Rampling, Pete Tong, Oakenfold, Tony Humphries etc etc, even more recent DJ's such as Zabiela followed this route. Even stalwarts such as Knuckles, Hawtin, Van Dyk et al were better known as DJ's first with their productions following closely behind. The lines between DJ and Producer have been converging more and more during the 00's, correlating with the technology to produce (and DJ) becoming more affordable and available to a wider audience.

EDIT: I'd be bored to tears if I went to see someone DJ, only for them to play a set of their own productions, I could put their mix album on for that.

[tokenasianguy]

Before you read this: by writing this I’m not saying that I’m some super crazy DJ, I still have a lot to learn myself. This is just something I’ve felt for a long time and I’d like to get some insight on how other people feel about this. Also, I’m talking mostly about club djing here.

edit: after some discussion, i realized the thread title was a little misleading. just because a dj isn't technical doesn't make them a bad dj, and thats not what I'm going for here

I got a chance to see dj spinbad and dj starting from scratch over the weekend (they played a set at a Russell Peters show). Their set was AMAZING and blew my mind. They were doing something truly artistic and were essentially making something new on stage. Slick cuts, juggling, acapellas, etc. It made me think, why isn’t the standard for djs a little bit higher? Why aren’t big touring djs and resident djs expected to put some skill into what they do?

Overall, I think its safe to say that the majority of djs don’t really engage in the technical aspects of djing; they don’t necessarily “make” something new, they often just beat match between two tunes and call it a day. Some people like to pat themselves on the back for beatmatching, phase matching, phrase matching, etc. but as A-trak said: no one ever complimented a dj on how artistically they beat match. Spending a week learning basic beat matching and having an interest in a specific genre of music (which is something virtually something everyone has) is basically enough to make a mix that would be considered “acceptable”. I find that a lot of djs just reach this acceptable level and then don't feel the need to learn beyond that.

Does anyone else see a problem with this? Everyone complains about aoki, guetta, etc. jut hitting play, but how many regular djs do anything more than that? Along with this, its almost become the standard for people to think of djs as “record player players”. I was reading the paper this morning and the review of the show stated “also appearing was DJ Sarting from Scratch and DJ Spinbad but neither brought much to the evening as canned music would have easily filled the same role”. After perhaps dj craze, these guys played the craziest set I’ve seen in my life. Tonnes of live mashes, cutting etc. between each other all by ear. They were incredibly technical and not messy in the slightest. Also they were about 20 feet away from eachother so they couldn’t communicate or screen peak. Because we’ve set the standard so low, DJs who are actually talented don’t get the props they deserve. Because the majority of DJs themselves are ok with being at the "acceptable" level (and don't strive to do anything necessarily creative), people don't seem to make a distinction between a quality dj and your average joe.

sorry for the novel, just something I wanted to discuss here opinions?

I totally agree and I've been saying the same thing for years.

People on here always go on and on about how much skill it takes to "program" and "mix" a set that'll take you on a journey...

[sobi]

The simple answer here is: most of the "big names" you refer to are known for their original productions. The reason people go see them is to hear their tracks, not to hear them slice up other tracks and all kinds of stuff like that. Sure they play others tracks as well, but when you are known for producing your own music, you are expected to play your hits when you play out.

...which is a huge problem...

[Jack Bastard]

If I want to go on a journey I'll take a bus.

[Timbo21]

The problem there is that performing to the limits of the equipment sounds so fucking awful/boring on the most part, see undanceable fx-laden pseudo-turntablism or Sasha's megasnore Ableton sets.

Yeah, self-indulgent comes to mind.



There used to be a lot of Dj's who were being payed a lot of money a while ago who were more or less talentless in the studio. They hooked up with good engineers. Eg, Paul Oakenfold with Steve Osborne. Sasha had an engineer he worked with Tom Fredrikse who did it all in the early 90's. Sasha was completely relying on him. He may be able to do stuff now, but he was taking the credit for someone else's work in the beginning. That's Dj's for you.

It's not what you know, it's who you know. This is never truer than in the Dj world.