How do you take over in a line-up?
How do you take over from another DJ who’s not the “warm up” DJ?
He’s most likely just finished with a really high energy/bpm song, and then you have to begin your set. You can’t keep going up from the last song, but you don’t want to kill the energy.
Anyone with experience willing to share their strategies?
Thaaaanks!
I just mix in whatever I feel is appropriate, as if I were the previous DJ playing the next track. I dunno, it’s not really a big deal or anything IMO, just don’t kill the vibe.
With us its good to let the audience know the previous dj has finished and that you are about to do your thing. For example going from a hardtrance set to electro. Don’t feel you have to compete with them just concentrate on your own performance. You will need to judge the vibe of the audience just before you start and may have to reshuffle some of your tracks, which will become second nature with a few gigs under the belt. Its also good to have a few “transition tracks” for a smoothish changeover if thats what you are aiming for. If the previous dj is cool you may be able to coordinate a strategy with them but if they are an asshole you’ll have to work out something yourself.
there’s i golden rule and the biggest mistake that you can do playing after the headliner dj (the mistake i did myself) - mix his last song. unless he tells you that you can mix in whenever you want. because pretty often headliners play their own superfamouscooltrack which everyone loves and he wants it to play up until the end…
and generally, if you’re playing totally different style, then just wait for the song to finish, clap for the previous dj and start your set.
I would also say .. sometimes the audience wants a short break from the hardcode stuff. Get a drink or take a leak. Also especially if your groove is totally different, you might end up screwing up your set, just because you started on the wrong foot, in case you feel obliged to stick with what the previous DJ played.
+1 for aout6.
i don’t like mixing in after the touring semi-famous dj has blown twelve or so loads all over the dance floor. i used to do this and found myself playing very poorly the rest of the night trying to keep up with him. i reckon that’s why he tours and i don’t.
give them their due respect, deserved or not (usually deserved), and acknowledge that the energy has peaked for the time being. briefly thank him/her/them on the mic, thank the crowd, let them woo and applaud for a moment, or get an mc to do it while you intro your set and start building up to another peak.
i say just take what theyve left you, and from there, adjust the mood to be representative of what you want to play
just as the previous guy spins off, bash him over the head with his own gear and yell “YA LIKE THAT HUH!? THEN CHECK THIS OUT!” and then start playing benny benassi - satisfaction 
This is just my opinion but if playing after (one of the) the main acts, always let the record play out, many people will have no idea that the person they paid the coin for has finished otherwise.
You obviously dont want to kill the energy, but this does not mean you should play at tune at the same level as what they finished on, you need to divert the energy.
I play d&b so say if the guy before finished on some heavy, wall of bass, neuro-funk tune I’d probably play a popular liquid tune that every body will know.
This keeps people on the floor, or makes them come back after going to grab another drink.
Once you have established the change in DJ to the audience, and re-grouped the crowd its all you!
+1 with MidiFidler, let the track play from the previous dj’s set, Ived seen this too often here in L.A. where once a djs time is done, the next dj rips the usb cable out of the serato box and plugs it into his dead air and the MC jumps on and introduces the next dj and kills the floor!
I think that is a very good point
there is a reason why the promoter has booked you stick to what you do best normally the top billed dj would go on last after warm up djs
This conversation is so bizarre to me. I guess cause there are no real “big name DJs” in the scene I spin in, and the DJs I work with seem to be much more collaborative, that we just mix in and out of each other’s songs so the dance floor doesn’t stop.
I would never mind if someone mixed out of my last song, as long as they don’t cut it off. But hey, if the crowd goes nuts then who am I to judge?
I just whip my c0cknballz out.
Just remember the 3 S’s -
Spinbacks
Shouting incoherently
being Sick on the decks.
4 S’s
Show your c0cknballs.
i make sure there is some room between the previous set and mine. People can applaud, cheer, boo, etc, and then i have room to build up some new energy and expectation.
Imho most dj-sets and club-nights these days are way to stale, no peaks, no build-ups, no lows, only one level of energy going on and on and on. This mostly doesn’t work for more than 2 hours, so it’s a good thing to have highs and lows in a set, but also in a night.
Big example: 2 many DJs in my hometown Utrecht a few months ago. Before them Riton was spinning, it was nice, but the energy was always the same high level. Then 2 many DJ’s came on, and they cut the sound and started with a long vocal intro of a chemical brothers track, and kept it going for minutes and minutes, and then, booooom, the beats came in and the entire house exploded like never before. Witness:
Olaf