I was just thinking about what tracks to play at a mates party next week (first time out of the bedroom :eek and remembered hearing Grand Master Flash saying a good DJ plays rock, hip hop, funk, house, old and new. I first got into music through hip hop but now have a good collection of varying genres of music and of varying ages, but having such a selection bring about a problem…
What to use?
I know it’s always useful to select a good amount of song that I might play, but what would you say is a good amount of old/new/perhaps unknown songs for party goers, for me to play?
Do you guys play a lot of old stuff, or do you try to keep spinning he newest stuff that is coming out all the time?
I remember Armin van Buren saying that a good DJ spins trance all night, and while we are at it I remember Extrawelt saying the best DJs are pure tech-house and techno.
also, something useful:
the club remixes to some songs are better for parties when they are really cracking already
I’m doing a mates engagement party next week, never done parties or catered for top40 either, but I’m about there with the majority of classic of most genres, check out radio station playlists, and just google stuff like best motown/soul/funk
Yeah got plenty of remixes, I guess being my mates I can mostly play what I would want to hear as we have similar-ish tastes, I’m just worried about playing too many songs they might not know, as they aren’t as open to things other than top 40 lol.
@lsmith: I might just go down that route and mess with some peoples brains going back in time! haha
What’s your timeslot? What’s the crowd going to be like? Try to guage if they want to get wasted, bang, dance, or all of the above, and choose your tracks according to the vibe in the room. Think of it like sex - don’t go too hard, too fast, or you’ll end up spending everything you’ve got; leaving everyone else unfulfilled. A steady pace with some change ups and variety go a long way. And once you have everyones attention, pull a couple tricks out, but don’t do too much cause this isn’t a battle Hope the sex analogy sticks; just came up with it
Thanks for the advice guys, Damien, I’m going to be spinning pretty much all night (well when i get there until i feel the need to have a few strong drinks) It’s not a serious gig, but I want to make sure everyone has a good night, both for me and my mate.
I’ll have to get a few top 40 EP’s then and scan through them for some bangers!
It’s a house party. The only rules are to make the crowd have fun. It’s not about rocking a dance floor, it’s about building an energy and letting the people enjoy themselves. They may dance, they may mosh, they may start getting in on right in front of you.
I think the main objective is just to make sure everyone has a blast, regardless of the genres.
i would try a few recent hip hop tunes, some dirty electro, some club cheese and then work from there and see what reaction you get to each then base the rest on whatever genre keeps people dancing.
oh and throw in an old classic now and again. something like the human league - dont you want me (derrick carter unreleased version), daft punk - around the world, tim deluxe - it wont do, underworld - born slippy, southside hustlers - right before my eyes, joe budden - pump it up, jay z - hard knock life, 50cent - in da club, robin s - show me love etc.
maybe even the odd abba tune if there are older people there (some young people like this too!!)
If you will be spinning all night it’s good to have 3 or 4 different major parts prepared. Spinning all night long imo are the hardest sessions because you can’t keep on playing the same style for 8 hours because people get bored…
It’s also good to make abrupt changes from time to time to get people’s attention. With so much time, and only one dj is very easy to fall into boredom. Abrupt changes, if well done, can wake up people.
In my case if it was a all night long what I’d do in broad terms:
first some deep house until people start dancing, or the room is half full
then some groovy house to get the crowd hot and smiling
then I’d get into progressive house/techno/minimal flowing the energy up and down depending on the crowd and maybe keep like this until the cops arrive, or the owner says he wants everyone out of his f***** house.
if there are still some hardcore dancers I could put some more deep minimalistic stuff because by that time people must be really affected by chemicals, and throwing some uplifting stuff from time to time.
Mashups, seriously. If its a house party for “regular” people mashups kill, mix the top 40 track into a mashup version of that track. Just dont overdo it.
relax. I know the jitters and they suck, just have fun.
Im a rave DJ so its primarily setting the mood, picking songs they are familiar is the least of my worries. Unless I spin HardStyle or Hardcore, thats a more known genre so some known bangers are key to a good set. When I spin Hard Techno or Minimal its about the mood Im trying to create. Most kids dont know who DAVE the Drummer is (what a shame!) so its not they would know a banging techno track. Depends on the crowd which has been said over and over again. Cater to the crowd, not yourself =)
play whatever you want… if people don’t like it ask them what they’d prefer, if they do like it then go with it. then you know for the next time you play that type of gig.
and remembered hearing Grand Master Flash saying a good DJ plays rock, hip hop, funk, house, old and new. I first got into music through hip hop but now have a good collection of varying genres of music and of varying ages, but having such a selection bring about a problem…
