How do I do a warm up set when I only play my own productions?
I’ve been asked to potentially open for some random DJ (that I’ve never heard of). I understand the etiquette of not playing out high energy bangers as the warm up DJ, but I’ve never opened for another DJ before (I’ve only done small parties using my own music). Is it ok to play my own high energy productions that I’ve produced on my own?
What time is your slot? and how long are you playing? What type of music is the headliner playing?
I do not know the details of my time slot yet. The DJ I’m opening for plays mainly techno.
what kind of techno? what kind of music do you play?
I would check out the guy your warming up for and listen to some of his recent sets or get in touch and find out the style of techno he plays. Maybe hook up for a jam together before hand and then you can see for yourself, ask the promoter who hired you what sort of mood he wants for the night. Failing all that I would pack some varying music - cover all your bases and get 200 tracks together of 4 different styles of warm up techno, you might have 50 melodic techno tracks, 50 dark techno tracks, 50 dub techno tracks etc that way you can adapt to an uncertain situation with some level of confidence
EDIT - Regarding playing your own productions do you have enough time to do some less energetic stripped back edits of you material so its more suited to a warm up?
If you can’t play a warm-up set either work hard to learn / prepare it or don’t accept the gig. There is nothing wrong with turning a gig down that doesn’t suit your style but there is a lot wrong with playing said gig and ruining your reputation, the gig of the main act, etc.
Regarding learning… it’s not that hard. Listen to live sets, watch videos of the main act. Or simply contact him and ask him about what he is going to play. You will probably have to soften your “own songs only” policy but this can also be a nice trigger to learn something new.
You ONLY play your own productions? You mean for a full set you’ll only play stuff that you’ve made?
While I understand the want to demonstrate yourself as a producer, honestly the crowd probably doesn’t care who made the songs as long as they fit the mood.
yes I play only my own productions.
my productions are mainly techno and the sound matches the DJ i’m warming up to (at least the vibe of it matches). my only concern is that my music is too energetic and is not “warm-up” material. i haven’t committed yet, should i turn it down?
I’ve been Googling around, at it seems that there have been other situations in the past where the warm up dj plays his own hard bangers that they made them selves before the headliner (Skrillex used to open up for deadmau5 using his own material). I’m guessing it’s ok?
I understand that you’re a producer who’s also a DJ. I’m assuming you want to only play your own tracks cause:
It’s a question of balance. If you think you can pull it off by playing only your material and not piss off the promoter/headliner by banging the shit out of your warm up set, then go for it. At most, you may have to make some ‘softer edits’ of your track or turn down the bpm etc, if you’re hell bent on just playing your stuff.
Unless I’m playing a live set, I wouldn’t be hell bent on just playing my tracks. Rather I’ll use the best ones and use other tracks as fillers, so that if there’s a highlight moment - people/artists will remember that track.
That said, if a producer is hell bent on just playing his tracks even though it doesn’t fit the mood/environment, then you’re doing a disservice as a DJ.
How did the promoter find out about you? Does he knows your style? If so, just go ahead to do play your stuff.
Sometimes I work with promotors that book DJs or artist without knowing how they play. They just book them because they are famous. I always tell the DJs and artist just do their stuff anyway. It teaches the promotor to listen before booking 
This is my opinion but almost every DJ I know thinks the same. A warm up should entertain the people and keep the audience on the dancefloor while every body gets to the club but leting the main DJ a lot of “space” to play around with the intensity of the night to his will, if you play only intense music you are limiting his options, and also you have to keep in mind that a dancefloor cant be to a 100% intensity level all night long because it just get boring and tiring, a warm up should be made to let the main set shine. And last but not least, you are getting paid to do a job, not to show your music, the promoter and the audience doesn’t care if you are playing your music or not, during the warm up the only thing they care is listening to a good warm up, what you use to get that job done is up to you.
It’s a very thin line because you must not play boring music but you have to keep the intensity to a healthy level, in my opinion, a proper warm up is way more difficult to do than a main set. If you are not wiling to play someone else’s music and you don’t have warm up music of your own I would turn down the offer.
a friend knows the promoter and got me the gig. but ok, judging by the replies on this thread, I have turned down the offer to warm up. thanks everyone.
This is a good point.
what was your biggest reason for turning down the gig?
It’s easy to destroy your reputation before you get one. (in all walks of life)
I’m not sure I’d have turned down any work playing out before being huge tbh. How hard can it be to find 15 techno tracks that’s don’t blow the roof off but are still great?
if it was me i’d have mixed some of my own tracks with other tracks. i don’t see the point in only playing my own stuff.
edit: unless theyre only there to here you and youre playing live ofc
the way i setup my ableton project is almost a live show. the tracks i produced are split into many clips with separate “b-side”/“c-side” clips so I can take some of the songs in a different direction if needed. lots of effects are wired up to specific songs as well.
i wasn’t sure what to do if i shelved that project and mixed 12 techno songs together in ableton live instead. i know that most people probably wouldn’t care, but i’m not that type of performer that waits in between songs. i always have to be doing/triggering something.
Bruv. When you are booked to play your original material, play however you feel comfortable. Rock the fuck out of it and have a good time.
you couldn’t do a hybrid set? Warm up slots are usually an hour and a half to two hours. Sometimes three. Could you have played your own stuff for that long?
A warm up slot is just that. You are expected to keep people engaged without over shadowing the headliner.