A quest for tracks - How do you go about acquiring new music?
Thanks to nifty software and good tutorials the technical aspect of DJing is no longer an issue to me.
Now I’ve come to discover that finding likeable as well as compatible tunes is a far greater challenge.
An example: Floating Points - Myrtle Avenue, my current favorite.
Now how to find compatible music? Other tracks by the artist are quite different in style / tempo. Youtube’s suggestions are pretty much useless and good playlists are very rare. Checking sites like lastfm and Groove magazine for Tracklists and suggestions based on similarity has been my best bet so far.
After hours of searching the few aquired tunes often do no match well, as the key maybe disharmonius or the intro / outro are too packed to mix well. Back to square one.
In short, how do you go about finding new tracks / artists to match existing ones?
“Get” as in purchase? At the local store and online.
It’s only after selecting and purchasing tracks, that I realize they do not mix well with existing ones. My still very small music library is probably part of the problem ~ 60 tracks. How do you go about buying a new track, already knowing it’ll blend well with some title you already own?
Right answer. If you had said something like youtube/rapidshare I would have known what your problem is
After checking tracks by the same artist, you can go on checking tracks on the label the track was released on. This should lead you to other artists that will lead you to other labels that will lead you to other arti… - you get it..
It definetely isn’t an easy job, and you will have to browse through tons of music in order to find just a few gems. Try simply checking out the “new tracks” section of your favourite genre(s) on sites like beatport to find stuff you can’t find by the method explained above. This helps a lot in discovering new stuff and keeping your style diverse and interesting.
As to finding tracks that mix well together: at the end of the day this comes down to experience, there isn’t any real shortcut. Once you’ve been mixing for a while and simply trying out what works and what not you’ll eventually develop a feeling for this and will be able to identify tracks that should mix with the ones you already own.
On the other hand you can always try and find ways to make things work together you initially thought wouldn’t.
If the store shows the key of the tracks, you can use this as an orientation for which tracks would match harmonically, but I actually wouldn’t recommend this, as I really think you should learn this vital part of the art of DJing instead of relying on some computer algorithms to sort things out for you
There’s nothing wrong with looking for music in compatible keys. People keyed their tunes way before mixed in key etc were around, it just makes sense. Read up on mixing in key and if you look on beatport it’ll tell you what key a track is in. Then, using either the circle of fifths or the Camelot wheel (same thing, different labels) you can get an idea whether they’ll mix we’ll together. It’s not a guarantee, but if a track is a similar style, tempo and key to another it’s a good indication that they’ll go well together.
The best way to search music is by checking beatport by the genre you like. When you found a track you like, just youtube it for the full version and decide is the track is suited for your style. After, you can buy it directly from beatport or search it on iTunes or other sites.
If you’ve found a favorite artist, you can browse his beatport-chard. This will be mostly music you will also like. So you can get in touch with other artists from the same genre who correspond with your original prefered artist.
I use beatport pro and I listen to the previews of as many songs as I can in my favourite genres. I add the ones I like to my cart, then wait for a beatport discount code to come around. Normally doesn’t take long.
Every monday I load up all the drum and bass new releases for the week on beatport and listen to all of them. Then I check through the DJ Charts to see if anyone I know I like has put one out, usually there’s at least one every week. I regularly check drumnbass.net for freebies, and constantly watch my soundcloud groups for anything new and interesting. I also listen as much as possible to the other DJs on my radio station and ask for track ids when I here something I like but don’t know.
Honestly, I put a shit load of time into looking for tracks, and this is nothing compared to how it used to be when I would go crate digging at the local store. There’s not really any quick way around it I don’t think.
There’s no quick fix in the search for new music. I easily spend a good 30-40 hours of my week searching for new tunes with most of it coming from foraging through Soundcloud and music blogs (XLR8R, Fact, etc). Forums are also a fantastic place to find new music. See if there are any decent forums that compliment your tastes, sign up, get involved. There’s a few genre-specific threads on DJTT also and seeing as you posted Floating Points up there you might be interested in the Deep House/Bass Music thread. Also be sure to check out the thread of free music as there’s some great stuff in there.
As long as i’m awake im more than likely browsing new music. I usually check beatport’s new releases first, then I check the new releases from all the labels I enjoy, then just do artists similar to however I feel that day. Listen, rinse, repeat
Knowing what people label/Genre a track as is a great help, and what events/clubs these styles get played at. Then its checking the DJ’s that play at these events out on soundcloud etc and looking through their own tracks and mixes for tunes, and spiralling down the Rabbit hole from there as i find tracks that i want to buy.
Many hours/pocket money lost doing that!!! hahaha!
i usually skim other tracks by the same artist. then i check out associated artist (people who collaborated on a track, people who did a good remix for the artist) and from there i go to the labels of said artists. i usually end up with something good. beatport’s “new releases” doesn’t really cut it for me since beatport’s genre tagging sucks pretty bad and therefore is full of crap so that it takes ages to find tracks that even remotely come close to what i play.
What style do you play? Playing DnB, I’ve had the same complaint about drumstep tracks, which were sometimes in Dubstep and sometimes in Drum & Bass. I have to say though, I’ve noticed a marked improvement within the last couple months where they are much more consistent about it.
Thank you very much for your advice! This may put a grin on many faces, but beatport was a revelation to me. Wish the had more than the top 100 - but it makes browsing fast and a lot easier.
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There’s a few genre-specific threads on DJTT also and seeing as you posted Floating Points up there you might be interested in the Deep House/Bass Music thread. Also be sure to check out the thread of free music as there’s some great stuff in there. [/QUOTE]
Many thanks for posting those links!
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Then, using either the circle of fifths or the Camelot wheel (same thing, different labels) you can get an idea whether they’ll mix we’ll together.[/QUOTE]
Thank you for the tip, its a handy tool indeed.
I’ve given SoundCloud a look, but still need more time to figure it out. Seems that time is the main aspect of good playlists anyhow. Good to know, harder to accomplish for a hobby. Still: thanks for setting me straight
I think I get most of my tracks from liking labels and artists on facebook and watching what they release. If it sounds good I head over to beatport grab it and do the whole beatport surfing thing (artist,other releases,label,artist etc) Juno download has tones of good stuff as well especially if you dig stuff like Floating Points.
Like others have said as well listening to live mixes and getting track id’s is another good way to find new artists and tracks.
Actually, the “my beatport” feature is about the only reason I still shop on beatport. It’s a great way to stay up to date on my “bread and butter” stuff, i.e. releases by artists and labels I like and don’t want to miss.
Anyway, you shouldn’t rely solely on this as it can make your sets boring because always buying stuff by the same artists and labels will give you a quite narrow view on what’s going on…
Spotify is also an amazing tool to discover new artists/songs. It references similar artists, gives you short bios including hyperlinks to producers, artists or labels. You can also make search by labels.
Looking for Floating Points in Spotify, it makes reference to Luke Vibert, Flying Lotus, Gilles Peterson and tons of other artists.
Subscriptions to labels newsletters is also a good practice to discover new songs.
