Skills and Price [Archive] - Mobile Disco Directory Forum

paul1404

11-09-2012, 06:30 AM

Recently I just got married ( 3 weeks ago)
It was in a Hotel and we had to use the in house DJ
I was told by my partner not to get too involved with DJ
and send him a playlist - Which I did - As you all know from previous
thread I like Dance music.
I sent him a small list of dance music dance / rnb orientated party hits
( I thought of my guest - no underground stuff like dreamer / robin s / usher etc etc)
This DJ charged us £300 for 4 hrs
He could not mix - ( not even beatmatch two tunes)
All night he held a 10 sec cross fade from left to righf of the falling down the stairs beat

I come from the club / bedroom mixing background -
and unless Im playing a style of music that is impossible to mix
All my mixes are tight and in sync - Is this the norm ?
Does everyone on here mix ?
Am I wrong in presuming a £80 per hr pro Dj should be able to beat match ?
Or am I being blind coming form a club/ mixing background ?

Vectis

11-09-2012, 08:12 AM

Question - did you pay the DJ £300 or did you pay the hotel £300 for the DJ? (big difference - if the latter then £60 went on VAT and the DJ probably saw half of the balance which could explain a lot)

I'm retired now but managed 25 years as a party and wedding DJ and never beatmatched two songs in my entire career unless by accident. And when I hung up the headphones I was working for double to treble the local average rate.

STEVE HANLEY

11-09-2012, 08:27 AM

Unless you go to clubs regularly and get used to seeing djs mixing every track. You might expect your wedding dj to mix the tracks, but I reckon at least 75% of wedding djs don't or even can't mix tracks together.

It's not expected of wedding djs to be able to mix like Sasha;);)

Javlingames

11-09-2012, 08:34 AM

I have nothing against DJ's who cant mix, I do have a problem with dj's that cant mix but insist on trying. A simple stop and start to me is much better than someone having a go at mixing but creating that horrible sound of 2 songs that arent in sync together, even people that know nothing about mixing all look at each other with a confused look when that happens.

funkymook

11-09-2012, 08:35 AM

Being a mix DJ you were bound to be tuned in to what the DJ was doing and notice anything not 100% spot on, that's only natural.

Was it so bad that non-DJ guests noticed and commented? (unprompted!)

But in answer to your question, I'm not from a club/dance background and I'd never say I could mix - but if I'm given a few dance tunes in a playlist (usually Indie dance in my case) I'll have a play around and at least sync and beat match them for a few bars - its not that hard at such a basic level.

Excalibur

11-09-2012, 08:52 AM

Skills and Price. There's no correlation between the two, no cause and effect, no lnk at all. Neither is there a definition of Required skills for this job. I once had a lad cover a gig for me where I couldn't arrive on time due to finishing another one first. When I got there, he was mixing up a storm, working his little socks off. I was in awe of his performance, the crowd were underwhelmed. In a big way, bums glued to seats. I paid him his fee, and told him he'd got an early finish, cos I could take over. Play the Usual Suspects, top and tail 'em, dance floor full, job done. Simples.

At another gig, the birthday girl asked if a college friend could do a set with his decks, so we lashed his kit in, and away he went. Fifteen minutes in, the audience stormed the stage, and put me back on in a hostile takeover! I thought the lad was doing a bang up job, Auntie Gladys and and Grandma Ethel didn't. Play to the crowd you've got. Adapt your performance to suit, be a chameleon.

To balance up this tale, I recently had a young lad do a set in similar circumstances, and he went down an absolute storm, very well received. Horses for courses.

If I've got a young crowd, less chat, more continuous upbeat and current music. Older or mixed crowd, it's likely that I'll chat more, and wander widely through the decades, picking out the tried and tested tunes I know and love

There's no right or wrong, no rules, except the golden one: Customer satisfaction. The Holy Grail. If that's not achieved, it's a fail. Vectis touched on this in his post, and some hotels are renowned for feeling the width, rather than the quality. I've seen some performances in top quality hotels where if I'd paid for them, never mind my money back, I'd have wanted compensation!! :mad::mad:

Mark Wild

11-09-2012, 09:02 AM

I got married in February and I honestly couldn't tell you whether my DJ mixed anything all night or not, I was having too much of a good time ;)

funkymook

11-09-2012, 09:17 AM

I got married in February and I honestly couldn't tell you whether my DJ mixed anything all night or not, I was having too much of a good time ;)

You DJ'd your own wedding????

ppentertainments

11-09-2012, 09:19 AM

I don't mix
I don't beatmatch
I don't use a sync button
I use a crossfader
I charge more than £300 and have a healthy diary

Mark Wild

11-09-2012, 09:34 AM

You DJ'd your own wedding????

Don't be daft lol

Apologies if I worded that insinuating I did, can't see it myself :p

paul1404

11-09-2012, 09:49 AM

This has got to be one of the best to the point posts I have ever seen on here

Skills and Price. There's no correlation between the two, no cause and effect, no lnk at all. Neither is there a definition of Required skills for this job. I once had a lad cover a gig for me where I couldn't arrive on time due to finishing another one first. When I got there, he was mixing up a storm, working his little socks off. I was in awe of his performance, the crowd were underwhelmed. In a big way, bums glued to seats. I paid him his fee, and told him he'd got an early finish, cos I could take over. Play the Usual Suspects, top and tail 'em, dance floor full, job done. Simples.

At another gig, the birthday girl asked if a college friend could do a set with his decks, so we lashed his kit in, and away he went. Fifteen minutes in, the audience stormed the stage, and put me back on in a hostile takeover! I thought the lad was doing a bang up job, Auntie Gladys and and Grandma Ethel didn't. Play to the crowd you've got. Adapt your performance to suit, be a chameleon.

To balance up this tale, I recently had a young lad do a set in similar circumstances, and he went down an absolute storm, very well received. Horses for courses.

If I've got a young crowd, less chat, more continuous upbeat and current music. Older or mixed crowd, it's likely that I'll chat more, and wander widely through the decades, picking out the tried and tested tunes I know and love

There's no right or wrong, no rules, except the golden one: Customer satisfaction. The Holy Grail. If that's not achieved, it's a fail. Vectis touched on this in his post, and some hotels are renowned for feeling the width, rather than the quality. I've seen some performances in top quality hotels where if I'd paid for them, never mind my money back, I'd have wanted compensation!! :mad::mad:

Shaun

11-09-2012, 10:19 AM

It's not expected of wedding djs to be able to mix like Sasha;);)

In some cases it is.

I had a gig on Saturday there where the last 2 hours of the night was non-stop old Skool tracks beatmixed at the grooms request. The client used to attend the nightclub I worked in decades ago and booked me based on that (see thread here.. http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/showthread.php?37642.

I beatmix at EVERY wedding to some degree. It's my style of DJing, I love the creative aspect of my job.

Do any people even realise that they're hearing beat mixing? Probably not. But I've lost count of the times people have commented how well the tunes flowed together - they may not realise what I'm doing but the energy a good mix can create is undeniable. I also completely believe it can help people stay on the floor for much longer periods of time when you keep the beats synced together. I love seeing people cheer when they hear another classic being blended in to the track they're currently dancing to and the just continue on dancing. Many of those getting married today are the clubbing generation and I think many of them do expect more from their DJ.

Anyway, that's just my personal opinion based on my experiences and client base.

Is beatmixing and creative mixing a must at weddings? For me definitely! But it's maybe not for everyone.

Corabar Entertainment

11-09-2012, 10:45 AM

...But I've lost count of the times people have commented how well the tunes flowed together - Whilst I agree that mixing can certainly help with that, I know that Steve has, on numerous occasions have people comment about how he's taken the crowd from x genre to y genre and they're not sure how he did it... and he doesn't mix - well, not deliberately / consciously (he doesn't use the cross-fader either, but brings one up / one down).

I totally agree that mixing is a good skill to have in the tool box, but I don't think it's essential at all gigs (obviously it does depend on the gig and what's required... but doesn't everything?), whereas having an 'ear' and knowing your music is... and I'd also suggest that having an 'ear' for it is a natural talent you've either got or you haven't. Yes, it's something that you can develop if you've got that natural talent, but if you haven't got it, I don't think it can be learned.

DiscoPromotions

11-09-2012, 11:18 AM

I like to have fun when I am DJing... So, being creative in my mixes is fun; can't do it all the time due to either song or timing of when song to be played..... I'm No Tiesto, but the feedback I get from clients is along of the lines of 'not just putting two songs together, but moving from 1 genre to another to entertain everyone, even the old ones'

funkymook

11-09-2012, 11:23 AM

I think a lot of self confessed non-mixing DJ's actually do mix instinctively, no gaps, tunes flow easily into each other, no jarring bpm or key jumps, slow cross fades, cuts, inspired tune selection etc etc. Perhaps they're not looping, sampling, using the eq and effects like really creative mixers do but outside of dance genres I haven't seen that level of mixing from any general party DJ, apart from maybe one or two little tricks with particular songs (and for the average party it'd probably get on the nerves of the guests who want to hear the song in the way they know it - not a GrandMaster Flash style set).

As I've said, I don't consider what I do as mixing, but what I do is fairly seamless and makes musical sense (if that makes sense!) - my definition of mixing involves a lot more than a bit of beat matching or blending, it has to use all the advanced creative tricks to be worthy of the name, live remixing is probably the best way to describe it, anything less is what the majority of us do without thinking or analysing it.

yourdj

11-09-2012, 01:20 PM

Firstly, since when has robin S, dreamer or usher been underground - thats wedding cheese in my book ;)

All you have mention dis that the DJ could not mix. you have not mentioned:

- professional approach
- appearance
- ability to read the floor whilst also catering for your requirements
- set up and equipment condition
- communication between him, you and him and the guests
- corrdination of the formalities (like first dance) and the flow of music/volume at the right times.

The list goes on.

The Ability to mix is on that list but is not the most important at a normal wedding.
Its more important to read the floor and make the music flow in relation to the guests IMO.

If it was important to me I would have got an external supplier who could mix. I doubt he was getting £300 after commission and VAT too.
So what was he like as a mobile DJ and did you meet him before hand or know of him as i sure as hell would want too.

PS I mix at most gigs pretty wel but let the whole song play so its more like blending/beatmatching.
Nothing worse than getting up for a track for it then to be changed after 30 seconds.

I always get bedroom/club DJ's sneering at My Vestax controller, my skills or whatnot,
but I would love them to control a wedding from start to finish at the ability i could - even (heaven forbid) without mixing the music. :)

Excalibur

11-09-2012, 05:59 PM

I think a lot of self confessed non-mixing DJ's actually do mix instinctively, no gaps, tunes flow easily into each other, no jarring bpm or key jumps, slow cross fades, cuts, inspired tune selection etc etc. Perhaps they're not looping, sampling, using the eq and effects like really creative mixers do but outside of dance genres I haven't seen that level of mixing from any general party DJ, apart from maybe one or two little tricks with particular songs (and for the average party it'd probably get on the nerves of the guests who want to hear the song in the way they know it - not a GrandMaster Flash style set).

And that is how so many of us work. Martin's absolutely right. Absolutely. Angela's description of Steve's way of working seems to also fit this description fairly closely, I feel. Experience helps this, knowing which tunes work/fit together, and knowing when to press start, and move the faders.

Dynamic Entertainment

11-09-2012, 11:51 PM

but outside of dance genres I haven't seen that level of mixing from any general party DJ, apart from maybe one or two little tricks with particular songs (and for the average party it'd probably get on the nerves of the guests who want to hear the song in the way they know it - not a GrandMaster Flash style set).

I disagree. I personally know 4 other party djs who have that level of mixing, and know that most of the jocks who frequent the "cheesy" room in Luminar clubs who consistently preform to that standard you don't see ;)

I personally do mix through the entire night....give or take the odd fade....but I'm equally at home picking up a mic if the type of function doesn't lend itself to that style of djing.

funkymook

12-09-2012, 07:41 AM

I disagree. I personally know 4 other party djs who have that level of mixing, and know that most of the jocks who frequent the "cheesy" room in Luminar clubs who consistently preform to that standard you don't see ;)

I personally do mix through the entire night....give or take the odd fade....but I'm equally at home picking up a mic if the type of function doesn't lend itself to that style of djing.

Not sure what you're disagreeing with, I didn't say they didn't exist, I said I hadn't seen them! (I'll give you I should get out more though!).

Just so I understand better could you give some detail about what they do to the standard party playlist tunes to elevate them above the basic mix ( as in what songs and what techniques) - or a YouTube link to anyone doing similar would be great.

Mark Wild

12-09-2012, 07:48 AM

Just so I understand better could you give some detail about what they do to the standard party playlist tunes to elevate them above the basic mix ( as in what songs and what techniques) - or a YouTube link to anyone doing similar would be great.

Indeed, I'd be interested to see this too, doing a 5 hour wedding beat matching the entire night must be tough man, especially 'on the fly' as surely you can't pre-plan the whole gig?

Dynamic Entertainment

12-09-2012, 11:54 AM

Indeed, I'd be interested to see this too, doing a 5 hour wedding beat matching the entire night must be tough man, especially 'on the fly' as surely you can't pre-plan the whole gig?

I didnt say necessarily just beat matched... ;) and yes, there are the odd time where mixing isnt appropriate, but if your playing through the same genre or style then some form of mixing is usually possible.

Theres the the basic beat match stuff that most DJs with a little bit of knowledge of the skill should be able to get their head round using 4/8/16 beat loops.

The start of "Blame it on the Boogie" and you can mix it with pretty much anything in the 110 to 120 bpm range, that in itself mixes well with the likes of "Play That Funky Music", then into Superstition (again, relooping the bassline when it kicks in).

You can easily beatmix The Contours Do You Love me into Chris Montez's Lets Dance, then reloop the start of Lets Twist Again and, whilst the beats dont match on paper, in reality they blend perfectly.

You can go from Olly murs Dance with me, into footloose, into Take on me, into maniac, into Rush Hour, into red light spells danger, into Paradise by the dashboard lights, then onto mr brightside then Chelsea dagger all with a basic 4. 8 or 16 beat reloop.

Another popular one, Jump around, Boom shake the room, Slam dunk da funk, the macarena, wannabe.... :o

You have to have a understanding of harmonic mixing for it not to sound like a train wreck.

Shaun

12-09-2012, 12:26 PM

I didnt say necessarily just beat matched... ;) and yes, there are the odd time where mixing isnt appropriate, but if your playing through the same genre or style then some form of mixing is usually possible.

Theres the the basic beat match stuff that most DJs with a little bit of knowledge of the skill should be able to get their head round using 4/8/16 beat loops.

The start of "Blame it on the Boogie" and you can mix it with pretty much anything in the 110 to 120 bpm range, that in itself mixes well with the likes of "Play That Funky Music", then into Superstition (again, relooping the bassline when it kicks in).

You can easily beatmix The Contours Do You Love me into Chris Montez's Lets Dance, then reloop the start of Lets Twist Again and, whilst the beats dont match on paper, in reality they blend perfectly.

You can go from Olly murs Dance with me, into footloose, into Take on me, into maniac, into Rush Hour, into red light spells danger, into Paradise by the dashboard lights, then onto mr brightside then Chelsea dagger all with a basic 4. 8 or 16 beat reloop.

Another popular one, Jump around, Boom shake the room, Slam dunk da funk, the macarena, wannabe.... :o

You have to have a understanding of harmonic mixing for it not to sound like a train wreck.

Great post!

I too have found that beatmixing is excellent as a transitition to cross from genre to genre and keeping the momentum on the floor. I'll try remember later to start a thread in the music section, where all the mixers can post a list of songs they find mix well together - it might be helpful sharing ideas and what works for each other. As above, I often use 'footloose' and 'take on me' together, and also 'jump around' into 'boom shake the room'. Slam dunk da funk is a new one though. *makes mental note to try that - cheers* :)

Dynamic Entertainment

12-09-2012, 12:57 PM

Great post!

I too have found that beatmixing is excellent as a transitition to cross from genre to genre and keeping the momentum on the floor. I'll try remember later to start a thread in the music section, where all the mixers can post a list of songs they find mix well together - it might be helpful sharing ideas and what works for each other. As above, I often use 'footloose' and 'take on me' together, and also 'jump around' into 'boom shake the room'. Slam dunk da funk is a new one though. *makes mental note to try that - cheers* :)

Miss the rap at the start fo 5ive. 8 or 16 bar reloop from the initial beat. Drop the mid eq slightly due to the slight vocal overlay and bobs your uncle

funkymook

12-09-2012, 01:25 PM

Dynamic Entertainment

12-09-2012, 01:34 PM

The basic beat matching I don't difficult at all - but would love a bit more guidance on the looping.

Is this on the fly with requests or tried and tested (and practiced) mini-sets?

As an example could you go through how you do a simple loop into another tune - do you adjust eq's, are both volumes the same etc.

And taking an example of what I'd play around with at home but don't try live
- how would you mix/mash up Salt'n'Peppa's Push It with Iggy & The Stooges I Wanna Be Your Dog?
I obviously know where I want to drop in S&P's vocals over the riff etc - but I've no idea if I should be using the eq's, hot starts etc.

All pretty basic stuff, but if you don't know you have to ask!

Top of my head...don't know. Let me play around and ill get back to you. It's not always possible, and those tracks don't automatically spring to mind as blending well without a lot of filter effects.

It's a bit of both with regards to minisets... just knowing what may go together, and trying new things on the fly. If it doesn't work...There's always the trusted talkover ability ;)

sweetie

12-09-2012, 03:00 PM

this is something i'm learning more and more due to trying different things at gigs and have some mini sets like above.
eg rhythm is a dancer into sing hallelujah, pencil full of lead into valerie and I find it makes the gig go by quicker and
immensely more enjoyable. I can usually create a seamless loop too but as martin says above sometimes it can be difficult to
gauge the best way of merging with the previous song. Sometimes they dont quite work but if you dont try...

Shakermaker Promotions

12-09-2012, 03:32 PM

Firstly, Toby...I think what the OP was saying when he mentioned Robin S etc..was that they were the ones that he said were more party favourites in the dance genre and not underground. I don't think anyone would class those floorfillers as underground tracks....would they?
Secondly, I agree with Martin's post and also Angela's too.
Lastly, I will mix when I think there's a couple of tracks that can mix together well enough but it's not my top priority. I can mix well enough to get by but in my opinion it's all about creating the right atmosphere and being aware of when things may not be working that well. For example: A couple of weeks ago I did a wedding where the bar was in a different location to where the Disco was. This is always a ball ache to be honest and it doesn't matter what anyone says, it's never easy. There were 150 guests in attendance and I'd say I knew around 50 of them. I expected it to be a really good night but there were around 50 people in a massive room for the majority of the night. I was playing to a busy dance floor which was cool but the room was vast and looked empty. What was important was that the Bride & Groom enjoyed themselves and isn't that the point at the end of the day? I was quite happy fading the songs in and out and bringing bits of others in and when I was asked for the likes of Underworld, it was then that I decided to do a bit of mixing (Prodigy - Firestarter is always a good one to do with it).
As I said, there are some tracks that I know work together well so I'll always try and mix them in - Scissor Sisters - I Don't Feel Like Dancing into Amy Whinehouse - Valerie (the last piano part of the SS with the drums and bass of AW hardly needs adjusting)...LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem into LMFAO - Sexy & I Know it (same again, hardly needs adjusting).

Also, as Martin said... I also specialise in the same kind of stuff as Martin and it's not always easy to beat match stuff. However, you can be creative and what I like to do is bring in other tracks so it gives the guests an idea of what's coming. Sometimes I might overlap something and make them think that they know what the next track is but then I don't use it.
Some good ones are Blur - There's No Other Way (the main guitar riff) with Stone Roses - Fools Gold or Kasabian - LSF. The beginning of Loaded by Primal Scream is always a good thing to use too and I sometimes use that over a Prodigy or Chemical Brothers track.

The main question to the OP is - Did you enjoy yourself?

Dynamic Entertainment

12-09-2012, 03:57 PM

The basic beat matching I don't difficult at all - but would love a bit more guidance on the looping.

Is this on the fly with requests or tried and tested (and practiced) mini-sets?

As an example could you go through how you do a simple loop into another tune - do you adjust eq's, are both volumes the same etc.

And taking an example of what I'd play around with at home but don't try live
- how would you mix/mash up Salt'n'Peppa's Push It with Iggy & The Stooges I Wanna Be Your Dog?
I obviously know where I want to drop in S&P's vocals over the riff etc - but I've no idea if I should be using the eq's, hot starts etc.

All pretty basic stuff, but if you don't know you have to ask!

Done and doable....uploading the video as i type...hopefully. Not the best tracks due to harmonics...but beats make it doable.

I found the initial loop point for Iggy straight away...fairly easy to pick out. Just needed to enable key lock, up the tempo by 7 bpm and pick a loop point for salt & peppa.

Before anyone says about the controller, its all i had in the flat...shows the reloop in green for visual ease and sync was not enabled...i rarely use that feature. If i had to do that live, i would have cut push it out sooner, just wanted to keep it in longer to show it worked.

Dynamic Entertainment

12-09-2012, 04:24 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-gz-VR-a9I&feature=youtu.be

Skip in 35 seconds...first bit the audios jumpy as Im skipping through track.

Like I say...not brilliant...but gives you an idea.

funkymook

12-09-2012, 05:30 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-gz-VR-a9I&feature=youtu.be

Skip in 35 seconds...first bit the audios jumpy as Im skipping through track.

Like I say...not brilliant...but gives you an idea.

Thanks for that, pretty much what I can do already.

I do it a bit differently and start with Iggy and drop in the 'Baby baby' and 'Ahh Push it' vocal stabs throughout the track, mainly over the riff and in the gaps between vocals - basically a very simple copy of 2Many DJ's No Fun/Push It....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BswdLh9_TBE

which is what I'd call creative mixing.

So if anyone can dissect that and tell me how they do it I'd be very interested.

Dynamic Entertainment

12-09-2012, 05:52 PM

Thanks for that, pretty much what I can do already.

I do it a bit differently and start with Iggy and drop in the 'Baby baby' and 'Ahh Push it' vocal stabs throughout the track, mainly over the riff and in the gaps between vocals - basically a very simple copy of 2Many DJ's No Fun/Push It....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BswdLh9_TBE

which is what I'd call creative mixing.

So if anyone can dissect that and tell me how they do it I'd be very interested.

I read an article a couple of years ago about 2 many djs....they dont actually work with tracks how a standard dj does. They use live production software to diesect the tracks and layer them that way. Check out the likes of The Bridge.....a partnership between Serato and Ableton that brings a live production ability to traditional djing. That is taking the creativity to the next level.

funkymook

12-09-2012, 06:11 PM

I read an article a couple of years ago about 2 many djs....they dont actually work with tracks how a standard dj does. They use live production software to diesect the tracks and layer them that way. Check out the likes of The Bridge.....a partnership between Serato and Ableton that brings a live production ability to traditional djing. That is taking the creativity to the next level.

So stepping back a bit from that level (though I'm sure with the current advances something close can be achieved in Traktor - I've seen complex mixes using samples on Youtube) - if I were to play my Push/Dog mix/mash live what should I take into consideration in regards volume and eq levels on each track - or should I just drop the vocal stab in without worrying about all that? What gives you the best idea of whats working when practising (short of setting up the PA and playing at gig levels while standing in front of it -headphones, monitors?

And I'm still waiting for any DJ to demonstrate a good Ska mix (using advanced techniques) - a few have said they can mix any genre but no one has risen to that challenge yet.

Dynamic Entertainment

12-09-2012, 06:35 PM

I guess it's just experience and knowing yo you music Lol. I've never gave it a thought. I use my headphones for monitoring, always conscious of the channel levels and always have a lowpass filter on standby in case it goes Pete Tong.

ukpartydj

12-09-2012, 09:54 PM

I am from a club DJ background hosting trance nights at local nightclubs and creating mashups. I've had to teach myself that the right track comes first!

I Use mixed in key all the time however if I want to change from chart dance music to 60s I can drop the 60s in thjslow break. I can slowly fadethe 60s track in and it can work brilliantly.
Avicii - levels is a brilliant example of this. Brand new track with 60s singer? Etta Jones?
It's not an essential skill however I always get comments on how well I mix and surely that makes the guests think more of me over someone who doesn't.

I'm always hearing about providing better service from the wedding DJs and this is another way of doing that.

funkymook

12-09-2012, 10:18 PM

I always get comments on how well I mix and surely that makes the guests think more of me over someone who doesn't.

Out of interest what do you think the non-mixing DJ's on this forum do to get from track to track?

Shaun

12-09-2012, 10:30 PM

Dynamic Entertainment

12-09-2012, 11:21 PM

I know some excellent DJs locally that couldn't beatmix if their life depended on it. They still rock the dancefloor week in week out. Which proves it isn't essential.

That said I truly believe that beatmixing is an essential (for me anyway) 'tool' to have in your bag of tricks. and that it really can aid performance when used at the right times.

Pretty much bang on.

Its a tool...not the rule.

Im happily at home mixing Summer of 69 with a bit of relooping...or letting the last track completely fade out and fetch it in right at the start. Depends on the crowd as to how i do it.

I know some non-mixing jocks who have dancefloors bouncing every weekend....i i know some beatmixers whos ability is superb...but havnt a cue how to fill a commercial dancefloor.

funkymook

12-09-2012, 11:32 PM

Pretty much bang on.

Its a tool...not the rule.

Im happily at home mixing Summer of 69 with a bit of relooping...or letting the last track completely fade out and fetch it in right at the start. Depends on the crowd as to how i do it.

I know some non-mixing jocks who have dancefloors bouncing every weekend....i i know some beatmixers whos ability is superb...but havnt a cue how to fill a commercial dancefloor.

Can you talk me through the relooping you do on Summer Of 69 please. I'm sure once I get the hang of doing one or two songs I'll be more confident to try it live.

And if there's anyone local to me who fancies spending a day showing me the basics and how use them with the sort of tunes I play I'd jump at the chance.

Dynamic Entertainment

12-09-2012, 11:56 PM

Can you talk me through the relooping you do on Summer Of 69 please. I'm sure once I get the hang of doing one or two songs I'll be more confident to try it live.

And if there's anyone local to me who fancies spending a day showing me the basics and how use them with the sort of tunes I play I'd jump at the chance.

Got the video uploading now...mixed with Born Slippy no less!

funkymook

13-09-2012, 12:05 AM

Got the video uploading now...mixed with Born Slippy no less!

Much appreciated - I've got a lot of indie dance tunes to play this weekend so I'm going to have a go at a few loops (well only if it sounds ok over the next two days).

Dynamic Entertainment

13-09-2012, 12:48 AM

Excalibur

13-09-2012, 06:29 AM

Out of interest what do you think the non-mixing DJ's on this forum do to get from track to track?

Speak on the microphone? :whistle::sofa:

yourdj

13-09-2012, 07:13 AM

Not one of my best videos but do you all think that this suffices for mixing?
I would not class it as mixing but more beatmatching using loops myself?
(even though I have put it on the video as mixing LOL).

Been doing this for years and it works a treat. Onthis occasion it got them all back in the room as the bar is at the other end of the hotel. ;)

Watch from 1.20 mins and remember i also have a camera in my hand LOL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PeMIMqC_aM

ps: are we getting an automatic Youtube plug in at some point?

Solitaire Events Ltd

13-09-2012, 10:10 AM

ps: are we getting an automatic Youtube plug in at some point?

Not if it means you're going to post more videos...:D

Ryu

13-09-2012, 11:15 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwEcvpphOC8&feature=youtu.be

Apologies, timing does drift in and out a tad...the problem with trying to hold a phone at the same time. As you can imagine, you have to deal with slight pitch shift issues when not mixing electronic music.

Ignore the mix out at the end...i would use the same type of loop "chop down" only on a part of Born Slippy without any vocals.

:approve: Tidy enough work there...now to find that gig where I can use that mix...:D

Have toyed with similar things myself, but only away from a gig, beatmatch fairly well (favourite mix at the mo is Please Don't Stop the Music/Wanna Be Starting Something mixup that I've done at the last few gigs) but the looping thing requires a bit more bravery on my part I think.

ukpartydj

13-09-2012, 01:16 PM

Not one of my best videos but do you all think that this suffices for mixing?

In my opinion that is mixing, pretty much what I do at most of my weddings... any more effort and they aren't interested.
I have made quite a few popular mashups and if I play them at parties I run the risk of getting the "can you play the original please", some people just don't have that level of interest in music and I think this is why most people don't care about mixing.

If you want to see a bit of "Mixing however" I have a couple of youtube videos to show you -

Mashup with Jessie J, Britney Spears and Will.I.Am (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIX8PTdCKnw&list=UUz6cLN_YmkFpcba_CLZ0pLA&index=3&feature=plcp)

and a proud moment for myself when I got 4 x CDJ 1000's and guess what I did -

FOUR TURNTABLE MIX (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFmdltuwMZU&list=UUz6cLN_YmkFpcba_CLZ0pLA&index=66&feature=plcp)
at 5.56 4 tracks are playing ... not my best mix however it was a novelty thing more than anything.

yourdj

13-09-2012, 01:39 PM

funkymook

13-09-2012, 02:57 PM

In my opinion that is mixing, pretty much what I do at most of my weddings... any more effort and they aren't interested.
I have made quite a few popular mashups and if I play them at parties I run the risk of getting the "can you play the original please", some people just don't have that level of interest in music and I think this is why most people don't care about mixing.

If you want to see a bit of "Mixing however" I have a couple of youtube videos to show you -

Mashup with Jessie J, Britney Spears and Will.I.Am (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIX8PTdCKnw&list=UUz6cLN_YmkFpcba_CLZ0pLA&index=3&feature=plcp)

and a proud moment for myself when I got 4 x CDJ 1000's and guess what I did -

FOUR TURNTABLE MIX (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFmdltuwMZU&list=UUz6cLN_YmkFpcba_CLZ0pLA&index=66&feature=plcp)
at 5.56 4 tracks are playing ... not my best mix however it was a novelty thing more than anything.

Thanks Dave - perfect videos that illustrate what I thought people were doing when they say they mix at weddings etc. But it seems they aren't doing it to that level, just really basic stuff which personally i don't consider mixing at all (mainly because I can do it myself!) - for me mixing has to be a lot more technical to be worthy of the name - anything else is just getting from one track to another smoothly (obviously that's just my own perception and opinion - I welcome any other gig videos that prove me wrong, and remember I'm talking about non-dance genres, chart stuff is just about included though - it's got to be popular mainstream music).

Still going to practice my 2ManyDJ's inspired stuff though, as I think a lot of indie/rock/alternative fans are quiet open to a bit of a mash-up and don't mind hearing a guitar riff in the wrong song!

And another question - would you do those sorts of mixes live, on the fly, or would you do them in the studio, or half and half? Again my belief was it was all done on the fly so no two mixes would ever be the same.

ukpartydj

13-09-2012, 03:44 PM

Have you ever met a guy called Sunny Pyburn? SPDJ
You may be able to teach him a thing or two.

Also are you purposefully tying to look like James Zabiela?

I've never heard of either of these people! And no however for ages people used to think I looked like Charlie Simpson (Busted / Fightstar) I went to one of his gigs recently and even after cutting my hair I still got comments from people in the que!

And another question - would you do those sorts of mixes live, on the fly, or would you do them in the studio, or half and half? Again my belief was it was all done on the fly so no two mixes would ever be the same.

I would never risk trying either of these mixes on the fly, one crams 11 tracks into 10minutes and the other has about 5 in 3 minutes.
I like doing previews as mentioned before where you mix the intro in a bit halfway or make your own beat by hitting the cue button on the quiet parts of tracks. I can't speak for all of the massive DJ's obviously however observing their styles I have noticed they don't always think of new mixes on the spot.
I know that some DJ's I have seen have saved many cue points and know that it mixes brilliantly with another track so they will play this mix like a band will play their own song.
They still made the mix, just now they are repeating it.

I've seen 2manyDJ's a couple of times and they are really interesting ... Although it's far beyond my live mixing skills!

funkymook

13-09-2012, 04:22 PM

I would never risk trying either of these mixes on the fly, one crams 11 tracks into 10minutes and the other has about 5 in 3 minutes.
I like doing previews as mentioned before where you mix the intro in a bit halfway or make your own beat by hitting the cue button on the quiet parts of tracks. I can't speak for all of the massive DJ's obviously however observing their styles I have noticed they don't always think of new mixes on the spot.
I know that some DJ's I have seen have saved many cue points and know that it mixes brilliantly with another track so they will play this mix like a band will play their own song.
They still made the mix, just now they are repeating it.

I've seen 2manyDJ's a couple of times and they are really interesting ... Although it's far beyond my live mixing skills!

Many thanks Dave - that's really clarified things for me, I think I've been over complicating the whole thing and thinking I should be doing much more than I already do.

Well it appears that I can mix a bit - I really don't know how those that don't can possibly keep the party going, it's an essential skill in my opinion! :D

Dynamic Entertainment

13-09-2012, 04:36 PM

Many thanks Dave - that's really clarified things for me, I think I've been over complicating the whole thing and thinking I should be doing much more than I already do.

Well it appears that I can mix a bit - I really don't know how those that don't can possibly keep the party going, it's an essential skill in my opinion! :D

I think youve been confusing mixing with mashing...two very different things and mashing (mashups) have became easier because of the technological advancements. Think back to the days of turntables...if you wanted to do it, you had to have instrumental versions and accapellas. Now theres software that can strip vocals out of tracks whilst your working with them. And likewise...with turntables reloop was impossible. You had the djs who used 2 and "blended/mixed"...and you had those DJs who used 3 or 4 decks, and took the skill to the next level.

Alot of the stuff i do in the club would be a complete no no at a mobile gig...so its almost diluting the skill set to suit the function.

Corabar Steve

13-09-2012, 05:04 PM

I haven't got the foggiest idea what you're all going on about.

Daryll

13-09-2012, 05:08 PM

I never got to grips with mixing , but it seems that the word mixing covers a very broad spectrum of skills.
I cant "mix" to save my life , but I will try to beat match in a set , so I might have a few songs around the 130BPM mark that I will try to sync together , I use the waveform visuals in ultramixer , seems to be accurate ( so far) , I have even used loops on occasions .

Daryll

Excalibur

13-09-2012, 05:19 PM

I haven't got the foggiest idea what you're all going on about.
You know all those buttons on your Denons that aren't on my Cortex? I think it involves pressing some of them. And possibly turning those wheels on the front as well. I did it once, but I think I got away with it. ;);)

funkymook

13-09-2012, 05:23 PM

I think youve been confusing mixing with mashing...two very different things and mashing (mashups) have became easier because of the technological advancements. Think back to the days of turntables...if you wanted to do it, you had to have instrumental versions and accapellas. Now theres software that can strip vocals out of tracks whilst your working with them. And likewise...with turntables reloop was impossible. You had the djs who used 2 and "blended/mixed"...and you had those DJs who used 3 or 4 decks, and took the skill to the next level.

Alot of the stuff i do in the club would be a complete no no at a mobile gig...so its almost diluting the skill set to suit the function.

I think you're right, I've been listening to stuff that really impresses me (no point listening to stuff that doesn't!) and thinking that's what people who say they mix at their functions are doing with all the tunes they play throughout the night, like one giant mash-up!

Most of my retro and 60's stuff I just segue (Small Faces, The Who, Motown, Ska, Garage rock etc), there's no gaps but I'm not adjusting BPM or pitch (might add a bit of reverb or delay to the Ska towards the end of the track - and sometimes a bit of phasing on the the more psychedelic 60's guitar solos).

On the odd occasion I play chart tunes I'll happily match BPM's and get them overlapping or use the synth stabs to introduce it in (most seem made to do that with very little effort) and really obvious things like Billie Jean into Like A Virgin(or vice versa) and using the scratch before the riff in Walk This Way to cut into the song. And on indie dance stuff (like Yeah Yeah Yeah's Heads Will Roll, Chemical Brothers etc) I find that pretty easy to beat-match and blend them all together (teasing in the little riff from Prodigy's Out Of Space in quieter sections for instance).

So am I actually mixing?

(remember I'm not from a club DJ background, and never went to those sort of clubs as a punter either - so haven't really got anything to compare it to).

Corabar Steve

13-09-2012, 05:43 PM

(remember I'm not from a club DJ background.....
I am

Just not that sort of club. :sj:

- - - Updated - - -

You know all those buttons on your Denons that aren't on my Cortex? I think it involves pressing some of them. And possibly turning those wheels on the front as well. I did it once, but I think I got away with it. ;);)Oh.

ukpartydj

13-09-2012, 06:14 PM

So am I actually mixing?

I think of Mixing as either beat matching and/or blending so yes you are.
Technically speaking though if the track hasn't finished and you start another you are mixing crossfade or beatmatching - you are still mixing 2 tracks together!

If you can't beatmatch and don't have a good idea of what keys will clash though you are going to make your mix sound bad. There is a DJ at a rock club I used to go to and he would occasionally get a couple of tracks he could mix ... well he tried... don't think I ever heard him do a "good mix" haha.
Everyone used to say how crap this guy is at being a DJ however everyone including me would get up and dance all the time.

So in a way he's not upset and customers and he's not lost any customers we'd always still come back. If he could mix people's perception of him would be improved ... but in a useless kind of way!

Think that pretty much says it all ... mixing doesn't help business - just makes people think that you are a good DJ?? Maybe.

Shaun

13-09-2012, 06:49 PM

mixing doesn't help business

It can. I've been booked on several occasions specifically because I can mix.

Plus...

I've lost count of the times people have commented how well the tunes flowed together - they may not realise what I'm doing but the energy a good mix can create is undeniable. I also completely believe it can help people stay on the floor for much longer periods of time when you keep the beats synced together.

So that, plus every other aspect of the service we provide all add to happy punters and more bookings. So yes, mixing definitely does play a part in helping business (albeit a small part alongside every other aspect of the overall service). :)

ukpartydj

13-09-2012, 07:03 PM

Dynamic Entertainment

13-09-2012, 07:10 PM

Fair point. I've never been asked if I can mix before (other than by some bedroom DJ's who think that mobile DJ's just press play).

How much would you pay extra for a DJ who could mix though? Hmmm...

Ive said it before...quite a few times...mixing may become more important over the next few years.

The folk that went clubbing late 90s early 2000s and listened trance, house, etc etc, are now getting married.

I too have gained work over others due to my ability to mix said genres and preform a "nostalgia set". Only a fortnight ago i played 2 hours of trance classics at a wedding, and they were the biggest floorfillers all night. Even grandma was knocking shapes out to Sandstorm (I kid you not).

ukpartydj

13-09-2012, 07:17 PM

Ive said it before...quite a few times...mixing may become more important over the next few years.

The folk that went clubbing late 90s early 2000s and listened trance, house, etc etc, are now getting married.

I too have gained work over others due to my ability to mix said genres and preform a "nostalgia set". Only a fortnight ago i played 2 hours of trance classics at a wedding, and they were the biggest floorfillers all night. Even grandma was knocking shapes out to Sandstorm (I kid you not).

That is a very good point, and quite true I have noticed a trickle of trance/house requests which I'm always very keen on!
Well ...:beer1: to the future!

ppentertainments

13-09-2012, 08:17 PM

That is a very good point, and quite true I have noticed a trickle of trance/house requests which I'm always very keen on!
Well ...:beer1: to the future!
Yes trance is becoming very big. Quite often have quite a but of trance, par cans strobing etc and young and old alike appreciating the music, although often get comments from elderly guests about how it is great but 'definetly unexpected' at a wedding.

This has been my bugbear with a lot of the column speaker systems being used now - they look fantastic, great for the first dance, but what about when it comes to party time ???

DazzyD

13-09-2012, 08:38 PM

.... Only a fortnight ago i played 2 hours of trance classics at a wedding, and they were the biggest floorfillers all night. Even grandma was knocking shapes out to Sandstorm (I kid you not).

I once did a wedding where an old biddy was up on her chair dancing to Children Of The Night!! :eek:

As for mixing, I can beatmatch as I learned the skills in the early days but now VDJ makes it really easy to do especially visually (in fact, it's quite difficult to do by ear as there is a slight delay between what you hear in the headphones and what comes out of the speakers). It's tricky to do well using just the software as, as I've pointed out before, you can only press one button on the laptop at a time. Therefore, a controller is pretty much an essential piece of kit and I just use the DJ2Go which does the job well. I'm not by any stretch of the imagination a good "club" DJ, and never profess to be, but I can string a few tracks together in to a seamless mix and keeping the energy going in the music and on the dancefloor. Then again, there are times when just a well-timed crossfade is all takes. It all depends on the music, the occasion and the crowd - the three factors which, to me, dictate when to use which track to track transition.

paul1404

14-09-2012, 09:56 AM

That is a very good point, and quite true I have noticed a trickle of trance/house requests which I'm always very keen on!
Well ...:beer1: to the future!

Ive been stating this for a while now - The generation coming through getting married/ having 40ths/30ths at mo are around my age
Majority of people I knew grewing up where into clubbing / ibiza /House / garage ( I said a percentage of people - before the boo boys jump on this - I know all music tatse are different)
Generally people of htis age went clubbing and want the tunes they danced to with their freinds
If you are going to be playing this type of music then beatmatching does help
( good luck with garage as this is two step and still throws me at time - thoose that mix will know what I mean
espicially when your used to a 4x4 beat)

Solitaire Events Ltd

14-09-2012, 10:03 AM

I disagree about people growing up clubbing. Whilst there were a lot of people who went clubbing, the vast majority did not. Think about it. How many people are there in this country?

paul1404

14-09-2012, 10:11 AM

Fair point. I've never been asked if I can mix before (other than by some bedroom DJ's who think that mobile DJ's just press play).

How much would you pay extra for a DJ who could mix though? Hmmm...

I dont think you should pay any extra for a Dj that can mix - I think the boderline between the more mic focus/non mixing dj and the mixing dj that may not use the mic as much is coming together now.
realistically if you are going to be mixing then your will need a non human generated beat which was 1st seen in the late 70s ( donna summer I feel love ) - then became bigger in the rare groove/ 80s electro - we all mustve down the( dj saved my life in to billie jean into night to remember mix) - the exploded in the house/ electronic scene - SO the option for mixing has been around for 30 years plus now.
Generally mixing is quite an easy skill - even easy now with the software. I think its down to the DJ if they wanns learn they can if not and they feel that they do fine without it then its fine - I would though state if you hold residency at a hotel like my Thread started then do learn the skill as you will need to use the skill if you state you will play any type of music on request

paul1404

14-09-2012, 11:00 AM

I disagree about people growing up clubbing. Whilst there were a lot of people who went clubbing, the vast majority did not. Think about it. How many people are there in this country?

??????????? - Ok lets just go back to where IM trying to come from
Im generally talking about weddings / 40 ths /30ths
majority of people now between 30-40 were in there late teens twentys in the 90s
Most people of this age when they went out to bars / clubs listened to Dance /rnb / garage electronic orientated music when in these venues

Yes some people didnt but gerenally was the norm in the 90s - I was there I witnessed in my town - I used to travel all over the country to clubs etc and the same thing was going on in cities all over the country - I know there were bars playing other types of music but majority were playing the above :)

-

Corabar Entertainment

14-09-2012, 11:12 AM

Yes, those clubs existed all over the country, but I'd disagree that most people were going to them. That's what you were into, so that's where you went. There were other places available!

:lol:

Solitaire Events Ltd

14-09-2012, 11:30 AM

Yes, those clubs existed all over the country, but I'd disagree that most people were going to them. That's what you were into, so that's where you went. There were other places available!

:lol:

Indeed.

And out of the millions of people in this country, there were a lot who didn't go clubbing or even to other places either. They stayed in, did sport, watched TV, did crocheting....whatever!

So, yes, there will be people getting married who went clubbing, but the majority did not, so that doesn't mean all people of a certain age will want certain music and that music mixed...

Solitaire Events Ltd

14-09-2012, 11:31 AM

Most people of this age when they went out to bars / clubs listened to Dance /rnb / garage electronic orientated music when in these venues

Rubbish!

funkymook

14-09-2012, 11:39 AM

and not forgetting live music as well, most gigs were packed out. ......from my perspective everyone was into the various 'alternative' scenes - again packed clubs and pubs of likeminded people.

I go onto forums that specialise in Northern Soul, Mod etc. They're full of young people into that lifestyle, and they also get married, have birthdays etc.

There's plenty of music tastes around to keep us all busy - and there always has been if you looked for it.

Mixing - from what I gather from this thread the people who say they mix at weddings and other mainstream (as in playing different genres to suit a mixed crowd) functions aren't doing much more than the people who say they don't, who I think actually do more than they give themselves credit for, they just don't call it 'mixing'.

I think there's major misconceptions on both sides in regards to this.

But I'm happy to be proved wrong if anyone wants to post their mix of party classics (not just smooth transitions, all the really clever stuff as well).

Corabar Entertainment

14-09-2012, 11:44 AM

Ryu

14-09-2012, 11:44 AM

Rubbish!

Whilst I agree that, no, most people weren't going to Nightclubs, listening to Garage etc, that particular generation WILL be more familiar with the concept of beatmatching and mixing in general and club culture. Dance CDs, Ministry of Sound brand, the idea of "superstar" DJs and dance music in the charts has certainly been more prevalent in the last 20 years, so there is likely to be more demand....or rather, more expectation, that a DJ beatmatches/mixes as standard.

paul1404

14-09-2012, 11:54 AM

So what your saying is the majority of Youth did not go to bars and clubs and did not listen to electronic music in the 90s
The whole Super club/ rave /dance music explosion was only ejoyed by a small percentage of people
Generally people didnt go out to a club or bar and generally they wasnt listening to music which ruled the chart most of the decade ???

paul1404

14-09-2012, 11:56 AM

middle-of-the-road chart stuff.

WHich was dance music in 1 form or another in the 90S !

Corabar Entertainment

14-09-2012, 11:56 AM

Crikey.... I wouldn't recognise the decade from your description!

:lol:

What I'm saying, is that YOUR experience of the times is not EVERYONE's experience of the times!

Corabar Entertainment

14-09-2012, 11:59 AM

WHich was dance music in 1 form or another in the 90S !

OK... I randomly popped in to google 'Chart October 1995' - here's the result: http://chartarchive.org/c/singles/1995-10-28

Singles Chart - 28/10/1995
21/10/1995
04/11/1995
NE 01. Gangsta's Paradise Gangsta's Paradise
By Coolio
NE 02. I'd Lie For You (And That's The Truth) I'd Lie For You (And That's The Truth)
By Meat Loaf
-2 03. Fairground Fairground
By Simply Red
-2 04. When Love And Hate Collide When Love And Hate Collide
By Def Leppard
-2 05. Living Next Door To Alice (Who The :Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored: Is Alice) ft Roy 'Chubby' Brown Living Next Door To Alice (Who The :Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored: Is Alice) ft Roy 'Chubby' Brown
By Smokie
-1 06. Power Of A Woman Power Of A Woman
By Eternal
-3 07. Boombastic Boombastic
By Shaggy
NE 08. Missing {1995} Missing {1995}
By Everything But The Girl
-2 09. You Are Not Alone You Are Not Alone
By Michael Jackson
-2 10. Higher State Of Consciousness Higher State Of Consciousness
By Josh Wink
NE 11. Walking In Memphis Walking In Memphis
By Cher
-3 12. Fantasy Fantasy
By Mariah Carey
NE 13. Ain't Nobody Ain't Nobody
By Diana King
-8 14. Mis-shapes/Sorted For E's And Wizz Mis-shapes/Sorted For E's And Wizz
By Pulp
5 15. Lucky You {1995} Lucky You {1995}
By The Lightning Seeds
NE 16. Don't You Want Me {1995} Don't You Want Me {1995}
By The Human League
-6 17. Renegade Master Renegade Master
By Wildchild
NE 18. Big River Big River
By Jimmy Nail
-9 19. Light Of My Life Light Of My Life
By Louise
NE 20. Bullet With Butterfly Wings Bullet With Butterfly Wings
By The Smashing Pumpkins
-6 21. Camden Town Camden Town
By Suggs
-10 22. I'll Be There For You I'll Be There For You
By The Rembrandts
-10 23. Stayin' Alive ft Ricardo Da Force Stayin' Alive ft Ricardo Da Force
By N-Trance
NE 24. Brown Sugar Brown Sugar
By D'Angelo
-2 25. The Move Your Ass EP The Move Your Ass EP
By Scooter
NE 26. Hand In My Pocket Hand In My Pocket
By Alanis Morissette
NE 27. Got To Give Me Love Got To Give Me Love
By Dana Dawson
-11 28. I Care I Care
By Soul II Soul
-13 29. Do What's Good For Me Do What's Good For Me
By 2 Unlimited
-12 30. Somewhere Somehow Somewhere Somehow
By Wet Wet Wet
NE 31. Union City Blue {1995} Union City Blue {1995}
By Blondie
NE 32. Tell Her This Tell Her This
By Del Amitri
-11 33. Something For The Pain Something For The Pain
By Bon Jovi
NE 34. Send His Love To Me Send His Love To Me
By PJ Harvey
-14 35. Where The Wild Roses Grow Where The Wild Roses Grow
By Nick Cave And Kylie Minogue
-12 36. U Krazy Kats U Krazy Kats
By PJ And Duncan
-23 37. Angel Interceptor Angel Interceptor
By Ash
-12 38. The Sunshine After The Rain The Sunshine After The Rain
By Berri
-20 39. Misunderstood Man Misunderstood Man
By Cliff Richard
-13 40. Short Short Man ft Gillette Short Short Man ft Gillette
By 20 Fingers

paul1404

14-09-2012, 12:04 PM

What I'm saying, is that YOUR experience of the times is not EVERYONE's experience of the times!

I love a good debate on here xx

main thing here is you got x amount of Djs with sooo much passion for what we do
and together each weekend we spread this to the masses
I still pinch myslef sometimes and think when Im DJing - IM GETTING PAID FOR THIS ?

Shakermaker Promotions

14-09-2012, 12:06 PM

From one of your earlier posts Paul, I take it that I, along with a few others are classed as what you call the 'Boo Boys' because we play other stuff too?
I agree with SOME of what you are saying in that a lot of the weddings I am doing at the moment are for late 20's, early 30's. A number of requests that they have on their lists aren't from their clubbing days but tracks that they grew up with that were popular at the time. There may be the odd dance track in there but it's very rare. It's the likes of Chaka Demus & Pliers, Five etc..
I would say that 9 times out of 10 for me, when I get bookings for 40th's, the customer mentions a number of 80's tracks and also Alternative tracks too. If I did get a booking that wanted a night full of dance music mixed up etc...could I handle it? Well, probably to be honest and unless there were people there that were experts, I reckon I could swing it.

I personally think (and no offence intended) that different genres of dance music are pretty easy to mix. If you start getting creative and use looping etc then that's all well and good. When I used to do regular Indie / Alternative / Rock nights, I'd say pretty confidently that people didn't expect me to mix the tracks and the majority of the time I wouldn't but when I did it was good to see people's faces.

paul1404

14-09-2012, 12:07 PM

50 % dance/rnb/ electronic

paul1404

14-09-2012, 12:13 PM

From one of your earlier posts Paul, I take it that I, along with a few others are classed as what you call the 'Boo Boys' because we play other stuff too?
.

Guys - No offence ever taken on here as I know wer all steering the same ship ( me in the opposite direction)

Yeah I kinda mean the Boo Boys - that would shy away from playing a particular song
just because its garage etc ( this is another debate - as I know this is peoples jobs and if a customer ask for middle of the road chart all night
then you are risking your lively hood by playing a not so well known track)

- I do defend the dance music corner and I think that this music gets people up dancing than any other this is why Im so passionate about
I still predict dance music will be seen a lot more on playlist now - and Mixing will be a vital skill to ahve

funkymook

14-09-2012, 12:34 PM

Guys - No offence ever taken on here as I know wer all steering the same ship ( me in the opposite direction)

Yeah I kinda mean the Boo Boys - that would shy away from playing a particular song
just because its garage etc ( this is another debate - as I know this is peoples jobs and if a customer ask for middle of the road chart all night
then you are risking your lively hood by playing a not so well known track)

- I do defend the dance music corner and I think that this music gets people up dancing than any other this is why Im so passionate about
I still predict dance music will be seen a lot more on playlist now - and Mixing will be a vital skill to ahve

Most of my gigs I don't play any chart or 'dance' music at all (and it's not requested) - and I'm booked most weekends for weddings with the usual wide age range.

And if you want to see full dance floors right from the start of the party then go to a Northern Soul gig - did a wedding a while ago for a couple in their 20's and had a packed floor from 6pm until midnight (and the blokes were first up). And you don't mix NS!

Of course dance music is big - that's stating the obvious, but don't underestimate the popularity of other genres or believe there's not lots of people who hate dance music and do not want it at their wedding or party.

I think it's great if you can get a gig where you can unleash the full range of your mixing skills - bit like me getting a gig where they welcome obscure tunes.

If the market is there create a separate specialist website that will appeal to those who want a mix DJ and get the bookings.

Javlingames

14-09-2012, 01:05 PM

Most of my gigs I don't play any chart or 'dance' music at all (and it's not requested) - and I'm booked most weekends for weddings with the usual wide age range.

And if you want to see full dance floors right from the start of the party then go to a Northern Soul gig - did a wedding a while ago for a couple in their 20's and had a packed floor from 6pm until midnight (and the blokes were first up). And you don't mix NS!

Of course dance music is big - that's stating the obvious, but don't underestimate the popularity of other genres or believe there's not lots of people who hate dance music and do not want it at their wedding or party.

I think it's great if you can get a gig where you can unleash the full range of your mixing skills - bit like me getting a gig where they welcome obscure tunes.

If the market is there create a separate specialist website that will appeal to those who want a mix DJ and get the bookings.

Just out of interest, in the northern soul scene why is it not acceptable to mix Northern Soul? I understand it would be bloody hard to mix anyway but atleast drop the next tune in on time with the last tune so the beats are continuous? Similar to what hip hop dj's do. They snatch mix rather than beatmix.

Or do Northern soul people like to hear the tune from the very beginning to the very end?

Excalibur

14-09-2012, 01:52 PM

did crocheting....whatever!

Crocheting, that's me. ;) Oops, Specsavers time. :o I thought it said crotchety. :D:D:D

funkymook

14-09-2012, 02:27 PM

Just out of interest, in the northern soul scene why is it not acceptable to mix Northern Soul? I understand it would be bloody hard to mix anyway but atleast drop the next tune in on time with the last tune so the beats are continuous? Similar to what hip hop dj's do. They snatch mix rather than beatmix.

Or do Northern soul people like to hear the tune from the very beginning to the very end?

When I say they're not mixed I mean I don't use loops, effects, change pitch, BPM's - that doesn't mean I don't cross fade them as smoothly as I can for 5 - 6 seconds, like most people would do with their Motown tunes.

Obviously I'm a mobile DJ and I play that sort of music at weddings and parties where I can use MP3's - the real NS scene is strictly original 7" vinyl, owning the tunes on the original format (and original label) is a major part of the attraction - they don't mess around with their music.

For a lot of people mixing doesn't mean a thing - and in some styles it's perfectly acceptable to have gaps between songs as well.

Corabar Steve

14-09-2012, 04:15 PM

Looking at that chart there seems to be more guitar based music than anything else. TBH I would expect to be playing more "Britpop" etc for that agegroup going by what was being bought at the time.

Oh, & Number 35. What an absooooooolutely brilliant song!

Excalibur

14-09-2012, 06:35 PM

Oh, & Number 35. What an absooooooolutely brilliant song!

How I resisted the temptation to surreptitiously change that 5 for a 6 I'll never know! :D :D :D

DazzyD

15-09-2012, 05:34 PM

...
Most people of this age when they went out to bars / clubs listened to Dance /rnb / garage electronic orientated music when in these venues
...
-

Rubbish!

Technically, I agree with Daz on this one. "Most" people did were not in to these genres. Some were but not most.

When I left school, there were over 250 in my year group. When I turned 18, there was only one dance/night club in my town and, on a weekend, that was not very popular. In fact, I took over the DJing for a while and started a rock night which was more popular. My experience of the 90s was mostly rock, indie and britpop as well as major live stadium and arena gigs which I used to attend a lot - with tens of thousands of others. The local clubs that played this music were always busy. And I always felt safe in these places. On the reverse side of the coin, I remember one particular rave club in Sunderland was actually closed down due the drug problems they had. People had died in the club after taking ecstasy. Definitely not a safe place to be. However, I wouldn't go as far as saying most ravers/dance fans were out of their heads on drugs all the time in much the same way I wouldn't say most of the people of the era were devotees of the dance club scene. Does this anology make sense? I'm not sure. It's been a long day! :daft:

Looking at that chart there seems to be more guitar based music than anything else. TBH I would expect to be playing more "Britpop" etc for that agegroup going by what was being bought at the time.
...

That was my recollection of the 90s. Oasis, Blur, Pulp, Spice Girls, James, The Farm, Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, Atomic Kitten. All Britpop and Indie. From this list it seems like the 90s was the decade of the band!