So ive got the opportunity to play at a lounge nearby to my place.
I was wondering if i should take the opportunity as the place has no dance floor.
Since i would be playing NON DANCE slow tracks relatively under 120 BPM, do i really need to mix the tracks as no one really would care even if i didn’t. And if i wasn’t mixing tracks, whats the point of me being there in the first place as a large Playlist put on auto-play can always do the trick.
My style is Electro/Prog house, so i’m a lil confused as to what needs to be done here.
Well no one has a gun to your head. It’s really something you have to ask yourself. Is it a paid gig? Personally I can get being playing some stuff I don’t normally do to get paid. If you already have a collection and already know a little bit of what you are going to play, I don’t see the problem. I mainly mix Melbourne bounce, house and tech. But I’ve collected some uplifting 120 over the (few) years. I’d take the gig. If you don’t like it, don’t do it again
DJs aren’t just there to line tracks, they’re there to be a selector as well. Remember that being a DJ just ins’t about the functional, technical aspect of it, but also the substance of it. Not mixing tracks doesn’t mean you’re still not in control of that evening’s mood.
Remember, a playlist on auto-play can’t read a room and make adjustments to the tunes based on the atmosphere.
Also best advice you can get is don’t take a gig you don’t feel comfortable with. If you don’t feel it will showcase you best talents, pass it off to someone who is more comfortable/equipped to handle the gig.
I have a question. If you find that a set of songs work for a certain crowd at the lounge, is it ok to play these same songs the next time you dj at that venue. Like next week and every week after. Or does the song selection need to be diffeeent every time.
who complaining? the fans? or the sh!t DJ that can’t be arsed to source fresh material? (please don’t come back with "well they make alot of money blah blah blah)
im talking about the tours that are more than just a DJ set but full production. Excision, Porter Robinson, Zedd. They all have been on tours with large video walls and pre programmed lights. preprogramming led walls and lights gives the DJ very little room to play freely as the video content and lighting effects match nearly every song. say what you want about these types of shows but when all of these elements come together to make a perfect in sync show, its a pretty incredible experience
I am going to dance. Not watch a show. I don’t need fire coming out of the walls to enjoy a good DJ set. It’s about the music. This is problem I have with the current state of dance music. They are selling you a bill of goods. Fake DJs. Prepgrammed sets. Buying likes and plays. Ghost producers. Overpriced and overhyped DJs that aren’t worth a damn. FM radio crap sold to you by iheartradio.
i agree with you to an extent. these are artist tours showcasing most of their own original tracks. its their show, they make a tour mix. this doesnt mean that they’re fake dj or struggling to find new tunes. believe me, im all about seeing the better dj play. i go to a ton of underground raves and small events where most of the djs can hardly mix. theres a few locals that are amazing but they are slim picks. no one NEEDS lights and video wall but if all the house lights are on, its gonna be hard for everyone to vibe. what do you expect from large capacity venues?
that still makes no sense. hes still a dj djing. you’ve never mixed the same set twice? i consider a live act someone who might use midi pads and ableton live. a live act is someone who goes beyond the cdjs
if I pay to see you in two different places in a short period of time and I hear the same mix twice I am going to be disappointed and angry that I waisted my money. I come from an older school of thought I guess. I’ve seen heavy hitters multiple times in a month and I can say that I rarely heard a track repeated.
Never. I run out of time before I run out of tracks.
I understand if a DJ is touring and he has effects and visuals attached to his set that the set is pretty much the same for every concert. I’ve read that sometimes its so high risk that even the sets are prerecorded so that the visuals and music sync up, and the DJ isn’t doing much on stage. But these are concerts where you go to see the DJ perform.
But I was wondering about DJ’s that have residencies at clubs/lounges, do they mix it up with fresh tracks every week or just play similar songs each week. I can understand there are patron requests to play whats popular, and maybe the DJ has favorites they like to play, but does it have to be completely different every time, or does it slowly evolve with each set.
And you call me an old frustrated DJ when I tell those Youngsters that collecting, searching and finding novelties was more difficult in pre-Internet Age???
Joke Beside I totally agree with you…Just Mastah Kyler just makes me wonder talking about Porter Robinson that way, I saw him @Marquee Las Vegas 2 years ago and I was surprised of his Show which was looking everything but pre-programmed.
I feel like this got slightly derailed…but for a residency in a club/lounge setting it’s definitely important to mix up the tracks. It’s okay to have a similar sound each week, because you want people to have an understanding of what to expect. If you’re playing mellowed out house one week and people want that only to come next week to hear grimy dubstep, you’ll lose any sort of sense of continuity.
If you want people to come out every week then your night should build an identity for itself. That way people can quickly tell others about it, can easily define and digest the idea of it.
It’s probably okay to have a two-four tracks you play frequently. Some club nights/scenes were made with a few signature tunes. But you can’t really force something like that. That needs to be organic.
Probably my fault for the derailment. It frustrates me when people defend preprogrammed sets because “lights”. A good light guy goes a long way and can change and adapt to the music as it comes. The light guy at twilo was so legendary that Sasha and Digweed hired him for their Delta Heavy tour in the early 2000s. They also hauled around their own lights and sound all over north america.
This all started when the those three mooks got caught fake DJing and then went into damage control about how it was all about the synced up lights and pyrotechnics. gtfo.
im just kidding friend. our views are different and thats okay. i work as a lighting designer and ive always wanted to design lights for a touring show of that caliber and personally i just think that the lighting effects are a thousand times smoother when pre arranged.
@Stephen Nawlins if you saw his ‘Worlds’ tour then most of that had a lot of pre planned elements. im not saying they hit one button for 1 song but they arent just freestyling either
and now to the topic lol theres a lot more things to take into consideration too. like i know that my local scene is infested of dub/trap heads. even though that chart said more people are playing house than any other genre, there are hardly any local house djs getting consistent bookings. also attend this club on other days of the week to see what other djs play. see what other people like or think is missing that you can add
I’d say do it.
Clearly it will be a challenge to change your style and way of thinking about DJing for this type of crowd and venue, and the only way you can get better as a DJ is if you challenge yourself.
Also, you never know who will be in the venue. I’ve played gigs in bars and had another bar owner who just happened to be there ask if I could play at his venue.
