> Outside of the radio station I also do quite a lot of
> dance/party/rave/chillout deejay work and I have played in Europe, South
> Africa and also, obviously, here as well. The mixing I do involves CD's as
> opposed to vinyl which some regard as being sacrilegious but I must say that
> it works well for me.
as a vinyl dj, it only matters to me if it is *painfully* obvious someone's
mixing on cd (e.g., playing the minute and a half of string intro *every time*
on trip-hop/ambient tunes).
> The techniques for CD mixing are different to vinyl
> and I have developed my own style and tricks. The best way to learn how to
> do this is to get out there and just do it, there really is no better way of
> learning.
this is true of vinyl too.
> One of the things I have learned is that the techniques really come
> second to the selections you make and your ability as a deejay to keep the
> crowd happy and listening and dancing. There is no way to learn that from
> anyone, it is something you develop a feel for, being a good DJ really
> involves "feel" as much as being a musician does and there are NO techniques
> for that, you either do have it (feel, that is!) or you do not.
i would modify this somewhat to say that one can be coached on djing, although a
coach can only nurture talent or aptitude that's already present.
> The connection you make to the dancers is a vital one and even playing the
> latest and hippest groovy sounds will not matter one iota if you cannot
> connect to the dancers.
let the congregation say amen!!
> In fact, if you have the 'feel' then technique does
> not matter a whole lot unless you want to be very involved with
> beat-matching, cutting, sampling and doing the other tricks of the dj trade.
> Quite frankly, my techniques are relatively primitive since I do not really
> beat-match and my mixing is pretty straight forward, my strength lies in the
> selections I make and playing them in a tight fashion and relating to the
> dancers well since I love to dance myself!
one of the icons of the acid-jazz world, gilles peterson, didn't beat mix until
*very* recently and had no problems rocking dancefloors, however, his
transitions were usually quite fluid--this is still important!!
> I rank myself as a selector of sounds rather than giving myself the rank of DJ
> since what I do is very
> direct and without much of the wizardry that most DJ's use or try to use.
i look at it this way, selectors & beat-matchers are both djs. selectors can
still learn about transitions from beat-matchers, and beat-matchers should never
abandon the selectors strength--set progression!!
> I would get out and listen and watch other DJ's if I were you. Go down to LA
> and find the spinners you like and take it all in, or as much as you can
> absorb. Knowing the music you play is obviously essential, I still use some
> music that is relatively old because it works and it is good! Obviously that
> is a personal call but I stand right behind it, having the very lates and
> hippest tunes counts for nothing if you have no idea of building and then
> releasing the tension and sensuality of the dancefloor. As someone who loves
> acid-jazz and other downtempo sounds, I really like to play a wide variety
> of sounds. First of all I want people to have a complete experience
> dancewise and to use their entire bodies getting there and second of all I
> want to dance to a wide variety of beats and sounds.
eclecticism is one of the liberating things about being an "acid-jazz" dj. you
can play whatever you think is dope, be it reggae, funk, drum & bass/jungle,
hiphop, house or 2-step/UK garage!! the important thing is to make it flow and
connect w/the crowd--dancing or chilling.
> Just being another jock
> mixing the regular 4 on the floor stuff one hears in most clubs these days
> does not interest me that much since I find that music largely boring after
> a couple of hours. Many DJ's active on the club circuit are locked into the
> 130 BPM syndrome and they are neither good enough nor daring enough to dare
> to play music that is slower and more sensual and deep.
or *faster*!!
leslie has hit on the most important points about djing--connecting w/your
audience, playing good tunes, and finding your own sound. techniques can be
taught (e.g. beat-matching, scratching), but no-one can teach you how to be
good, only how you could be better.
i'm in l.a., so if you come down contact me and i'll hip you to some good
djs/shows happening here so you can learn more by watching and listening.
dj t-bird
310.236.0141
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Mon Jan 29 2001 - 13:42:00 CET