Kinda OT: Modesty vs. Boasting. Where do you stand?
So me and my best friend are both DJs (he does fair bit of production too) and ive come to realize that when talking about our music, we’re very different about the way we do it, and it kinda annoys/concerns me.
When i release a mix or mashup, i just fill in people on the basic details, upcoming works, asking to take a look/DL, etc. I have a lot of friends on FB who are not very big into electronica so i dont try to push it on them to listen, i let them come to me. But then my friend over here, he makes the biggest deal about every single thing he releases. it “rapes”. it “destroys”. it “will melt your face”. now ima give him credit, considering his skill and what he has to work with, he’s pretty good.
but still, after the last mix he put out and i see him post “i have never heard/created a mix so good” it got me wondering…is that the way to help promote yourself? i see that it gets himself an alright amount of attention by putting yourself out there like that, but at the same time i dont feel like if i took that attitude to a club manager or promoter and handed him a mix with that kinda enthusiasm that id be well recieved
I mix for myself… extra attention is a bonus. Of course I publish my sets in FB and sometimes in the DJTT forum, but it’s not much of a big deal, music should speak for itself.
even though I have a healthy ego, I’m never quite satisfied with myself. the good part about this is that I’ll probably never lose the motivation to improve… the bad part is that most of the stuff floating around my hard drives is not available online because I think it’s not good enough, even though people keep telling me it’s awesome.
but I have stuff in the works and this will change soon.
Fans will come, you don’t need to over boast your stuff. Its ok to say things like “I think this is one of my best mixes/productions to date”… but to say “it is the best”, or “it will met your face” (one of the dumbestt ones i’ve heard)… well this guy sounds like a bit of a douche.
There are times to talk yourself up, like when talking t club promoters etc, but I think your friend’s way of doing it will keep him just where he is right now. He isn’t going to grow outside of his own little box with such an attitude. Confidence is good, arrogance is not.
Well, I’m from Belgium and the whole DJ scene is pretty big here. Literally 1 out of 3 kids call themselves DJs here these days. When I started playing music, it was just for fun and the love for vinyl. Promoting yourself wasn’t really necessary if you were just a solid DJ playing the music you loved. Over the years I saw a lot of kids promoting the shit of out themselves just to make a quick buck at some local party. Some of them are still doing pretty good, but most of them dissappeared as quickly as they arrived.
I don’t play out as much as before, also because techno is pretty much dead nowadays and I simply don’t make mixtapes as often anymore. So promoting myself, I don’t know…
I still believe that if the music and mixing techniques are good, it’ll promote yourself eventually.
Who wants to be an arrogant/cocky DJ anyways…
Saying shit like that might fool some kids into thinking are actually that good, but to me if you need to advertise yourself in that manner your obviously compensating for something.
Excessive self hype is a sure fire way to loose the respect of both seasoned promoters and other artists.
you gotta have a certain confidence in yourself in this game. When i go out to gig… I go on knowing that i am gonna kick ass. I trust my ability. But you gotta be cool about your talents. I like to keep people intriuged by not saying much about myself. I let the performance speak for itself. I go in to do what i enjoy… And i do enjoy. People tend to always want to know about me when i mingle at parties…but i try to steer the convo to them. But i am not shy to tell em what i am up to and planning and next gigs etc. Everyone gets a bit of a swollen head when they start attracting attention… But if you go with that…your mixing will suffer.
if you’re looking for people to say you’re buddy goes about things like a douche - he kind of does, but i’d say going behind your friend’s back on an internet forum just to reaffirm what you already know about his personality isn’t exactly the epitome of class either.
When that happened to me in a past life where I set myself high creative standards that I couldn’t reach, I’d internally dismiss these people as not knowing any better. Too bad that last part never got mentioned to my shrink
be confident with your ability. but dont be an ass. seriously, i know alot of djs that got the gig and started playing more and more simply because they went to the promoter, was honest with their skills and and was humble about it. there are so many stuck up dudes in this industry, humility actually sets you apart.
only time i don’t exercise modesty is on here or when talking with other djs i know. otherwise i down play it a lot, well 99% of the time, that i’m sober…
