***Who really mixes anymore? DJ’ing is becoming a farce!!
I’m a bedroom DJ who loves to beat mix and I have some experience DJ’ing parties, weddings, car shows etc. I love to beat mix house and trance it’s been a hobby of mine for some time.
This past Friday night I went to a friend’s bday party at a fairly large sports bar north of Toronto. There was a DJ there using Serato and two turn tables. Watching him mix all kinds of genres was very impressing; he was going nuts with his mixer and turntables. Even though he didn’t hit the beats on time every time he was very skilled at what he was doing. He didn’t make that much because he loves doing it and doesn’t care much for the money. I have those same feelings.
Saying all that, I put some time aside from all of my home reno’s and decided to go see one of my favorite DJ’s who came to Toronto Saturday night. The night was going great till I stood in an area of the club where I can see the DJ spin with all his equipment. That’s when I felt I was getting ripped off. He wasn’t mixing at all. He had some software running (I think it was Albelton not sure cuz it was hard to see his screen well) and all he did was tweak the mixer a bit and dance. Whenever the transition came in he popped on his headphones for about 15 seconds max (I was counting LOL) then he’d popped them off and start playing with the mixer for 10 seconds then went back and raise his hands and dance till the next transition and the process repeated again.
To me his set was pre-recorded and he was acting like he was mixing. This happened also when I went to see Tiesto a while back. Again where I was standing I could see what he was doing and never saw him once change a CD for hours, but he kept flipping through his CD binder as if he was looking for one.
If I had a choice I’d rather spend my money to see a DJ who actually uses his skills and makes the odd mistake then to listen to one who prerecords his mix and is too lazy to actually mix live.
That’s like going to a concert and finding out the band is lip syncing. The reason I go to see live bands/DJ’s is to hear it live or I would just stay home and listen to them on a CD.
im a mixing nut, if I hear a dj not beat mix I ignore them and walk away except wedding djs. but if they do mix I will listen but if they start mixing a vocal track and then cut it in the middle of the breakdown or vocals in general I will turn away from that as well.
DJ fanboys are the worst. When I go out, I go out to party, have fun, get fcked, dance like a loon. I don’t give a fck how the DJ is making that happen(unless he has put in a mix cd).
You sound like a real lot of fun to go out with! If you’re in the London earea lets hook up and go party, first round is on me! You like Jager? I like Jager, lets bomb Jager!
who cares really? beatmatching is a skill, not the essence of DJing itself. It doesn’t require talent, just mere practice. given enough practice, you can beatmatch any two tracks in 10 seconds.
It’s not at all something that sets you apart from another dj.
There has never ever been a dj booked for his beatmatching skills alone.
It is however a nice skill to have as a dj.
edit: for the record, I assume you’re talking about beatmatching and not mixing in general. I do hate the turn off record 1, turn on record 2 “dj’s”. you are however refering to tiesto, and personal taste aside, he does know how to dj.
Ok im holding you up for it! no not from london but have friends there, ill look you up whenever i go visit. LOL.
I know digital djing is becoming the norm but for crying out loud do something at your sets don’t just tweak the eq’s all night. Add something to it, use some talent. If not beat mixing then do something besides pretending to do it. LOL
i know these big name dj’s can DJ but again would you really spend money to see your favorite band lip sync? I know I wouldn’t.
You should check out one of my good friends… Sean (Tricky) Moreira..
[ame=“http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/5577385”]THIS HOUSE | DJ TRICKY MOREIRA | FLOW 93.5 FM DJ Studio MixShows 03/19/10 10:25PM, FLOW 93.5 FM DJ Studio MixShows 03/19/10 10:25PM FLOW935 on USTREAM. Radio[/ame]
When I was living in Toronto, we used to spin together…he’s carved out quite a following since “the good 'ol days”
TBH I can understand both groovemixer and ponyboy’s opinions but from my point of view, going out to see a DJ is primarily about the musical experience, not what he’s using to do it. If he rocks the place with ableton so be it. I’ll get drunk and have a great time just as I would if he were mixing with Traktor, SSL, Mixvibes, Mixxx, CDJs, vinyl, a pair of quarter inch tape reels or minidisk players powered by an exercise bike attached to the back wheel of a mustang.
Only because I DJ and I’m a bit of a geek do I enjoy watching what’s going on in the DJ booth, how someone’s doing their thing, but it’s by no means a deal breaker on whether or not I have a good time. Just an outlet for my geekyness. And let’s be honest, how many people in the club (apart from the guy in the booth) are going to be DJs with any interest in how he’s working? 1 or 2?
The actual physical act of making 2 records play at the same speed as each other is the least important bit of deejaying - it’s so robotic you can even get a computer to do it automatically for you!
There’s a lot of work that goes into deejaying prior to the night itself of course, song discovery, song selection.
If you’ve got an idea of what you’re going to play, you know your tunes and the crowd are with you then you mightn’t have your headphones on very long to cue tracks.
At the end of the day, if the DJ has the crowd rocking then he is doing his job. If he hasn’t and you see that he isn’t doing very much, then he’s got no plan B and he isn’t reading the crowd, he isn’t doing his job.
It continually amazes me that the ‘trick’ of beatmixing is held up by so many as the essence of what deejaying is about. It is the opposite of this. It is the one element of deejaying that can be picked up by anyone with practice, the one robotic process that takes no inspiration and no artistry. It is the antithesis of creativity - the one element that can be delegated to a cold, soulless machine.
I go out to dance and have a good time, not analyze how somebody is DJing (well, can’t switch that off completely - at least not until being severely f*cked - but it surely is not the prime reason for me to go out). In the end it really isn’t important, song selection is (and always has been) the key skill for any DJ anyways, imho.
Thx JesC, been a while for me, been too busy doing reno’s on my house and condo, I really miss the scene!! Once I get more time Ill be hanging out and creating more mixes.
Sorry about the “beat mixing” what I mean is the DJ should put some effort into the night. Yes read the crowd and go from there but if your set is pre-mixed are you really reading the crowd?
I like watching Ian’s mixing, yes use whatever you want regarding software and hardware but DO something dont pretend to do it like Milli Vanilli!!!
These guys are getting paid big bucks and do nothing or hardly nothing. To me that’s just fake and it does put a damper on things cuz again why not play a cd and come down to the dance floor with the rest of the crowd instead of pretending to mix??
I don’t understand why that’s a letdown. It’s not like hearing an electronic musician in concert will be thatmuch different from the songs on his computer.
Did having him not mix live really ruin the experience of the concert?
Isn’t it about enjoying someone’s music with a ton of other people that love it just as much as you do?
“where I was standing I could see what he was doing and never saw him once change a CD for hours”
“I know digital djing is becoming the norm”
The same old argument (format vs format), but you can’t have it both ways. Since I’m still a fan of vinyl, I must pick you up on the point that using cd’s is still digital djing.
