How Do You Put Richness And Depth Into Your Demos? How Do You Disguise Them?

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
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How Do You Put Richness And Depth Into Your Demos? How Do You Disguise Them?

Hey guys,

House DJ here. Using Serato DJ. SL3 interface.

Decided college isn’t my thing, so I’ve dropped out and am committing to music full time. I’d say I’m still in the beginner/semi-intermediate stage and it’s been about 2/2.5 years since I’ve DJ’ed/played out. So I’m rebuilding from the ground up.. I know my next step is to make a few demos to start getting gigs but I want them to be special and really hard for someone to Shazam and find what I’m mixing.

My first mixes made (and only ones I’ve made) are just seamlessly blending songs one after the other - you would be able to Shazam every song I’ve used. But the DJs I love and follow, it’s super hard for me to find what they’ve put together.

So my question is, what are some techniques that you use to put richness and depth into your demos? How do you disguise them? What makes a demo different from a mix you’ve just thrown together; what is the difference between the two, if any?

Thanks for reading

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What do you mean by disguise them?

For sound quality, keep breathing room. Pay attention to your master levels. Ensure you arent over boosting your levels during the mix while blending between songs. Leave at least 6DB of headroom for whomever is doing your mastering.

But most importantly, have fun.

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Yes, fun. Thank you.

What I mean by disguising them is, when I listen to mixes of DJs I’m into - for example Marcelo Mendez - it’s hard for me to find each song they’re using to create the thick groove they’re mixing. I’ll only find maybe 2 or 3 songs. I’m assuming its bcs they’re doing multi track mixing or just creating an entirely new song utilizing 3 or 4 channels doing loops, acapellas, etc. Whatever I make for my demos, I’d like to be able to do live.. I don’t want to over produce it where it sounds like a flawless multitrack studio made mix and then flail like a fish out of water when it comes time to perform.

I guess I’m also just paranoid of someone using or stealing the mixes I put out, knowing everything I use; but is that just a chance everyone takes when they release their mixes?

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In this digital age, don’t stress about people knowing which tunes you are playing or sampling. Just be creative and be yourself.

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^^^ This. If your mixes are good enough that people want to trainspot every song, you’re doing something right.

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Thank you both

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Also, most big name DJs get tracks before they’re officially released and make their own edits of those songs, so Shazam wouldn’t be able to tell you what they are because they haven’t really been released yet.

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The easy way out: make edits
The fun/professional way out: it’s all about using every feature you can squeeze out of your gear. Loops, cue point juggling, inserting your own samples/DJ drops. Watch Shiftee, Yamato, and James Hype DJ videos on YouTube.

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At the end of the day just have fun and be creative. Don’t stress about people identifying the songs you are playing or what gear you are using. In the grand scheme of things that doesn’t matter. Focus on making yourself stand out by your track selection, set programming and creative mixing. If you do post mixes just make sure they are your best effort instead of something you quickly put together.