Leslie (icehouse@redshift.com)
Tue, 1 Jun 1999 16:47:59 -0700
I cannot argue with you that there are a lot of crap mixes out there, just
as there are a whole lotta terrible albums and many more with just one or
two good tunes on them! It is true that mix cd's probably require a level of
calculatedness because there are licensing requirements, doing a mix cd is
not like doing a live mix where you play what's in your bag of tricks and
whack it out. From my personal viewpoint, I like the integrity of a piece of
music and I am less accepting of wholesale turntable trickery just for the
sake of itself. Chopping things up does not make want to hear a dj again,
but respect for the integrity of the tunes, smooth segues, well-timed
changes and an overall excitement is what does it for me and I have been on
the air for more than 17 years, so I must be doing something correctly for
my listeners. A live club mix that has people dancing is a wonderful thing,
a good mix cd that allows for some great chill is equally wonderful for me.
I like to think that whether I am on the air or in the dj booth that the
people hearing what I am doing are being taken on a trip to where THEY want
to go. Being a dj is, after all, about pleasing the listener, not matching
beats, scratching or any other element of the mix, they all add up to make
the experience! Another fact for me is that when mix albums stick to one
genre, like your house mix fr'instance, they get boring real quick. The
thought of an entire album of house, deep or not, is not particularly
pleasant.
My ability to segue well, to lay pieces over each other and to select well
were the initial things that helped me develope a style. I knew that when my
listeners started phoning in and wanting to know what I was playing and
where they could get the music I was playing, that I was doing somethings
right. Not every mix I do is a pearler but I have done some gems. I wish I
could do a spontaneously mixed cd for distribution but there is the large
question of licensing and other legal stuff and I think this is really what
makes these discs sometimes sound so calculated but, even so, the Coldcut
ones are gems and the K&D and Thievery DJ-Kicks are just great for me,
calculated or not. I do not have to matching beats for a set to be good,
just happy listeners and dancers with their asses right in the groove!
leslie/The Power Of Sound
-----Original Message-----
From: n.n <nnine@yahoo.com>
To: acid-jazz@ucsd.edu <acid-jazz@ucsd.edu>
Date: Tuesday, June 01, 1999 3:47 PM
Subject: time for a cheesy new thread
>This talk of mix cds is great. I love hearing what
>people consider essential to a good mix/flow. My 2
>cents on this generally, is that recorded sets have a
>very high potential for over-plannedness. I have a
>house tape full of great tunes that just sits there on
>the tape because it is so damn calculated you can
>almost hear how many times the dj practiced that
>articular mix. blech. On the other hand, a good live
>set just sneaks up on you and whacks you in the ass.
>It's a good spanking, though. :)
>
>so here's my question for you djs out there. What
>aspects of your style started to develop first, when
>you started spinning? Like, what elements started to
>emerge once your confidence was up and your skills
>were more solid?
>
>danke,
>s
>
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