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So what really IS a DJ's job?
In many different threads there seems to be a conflicting answer. Some people view a dj as being at the mercy of the crowd. A dj's job in this case would be to simply play what the crowd wants to hear and mix it well. Their job begins and ends with pleasing a crowd. This would mean not necessarily playing tracks you like, but playing what they like, taking requests and things of that nature.
Then there's people who think a dj should play only what they think is good, exposing the crowd to new songs they haven't heard before, and not really taking requests.
I guess there can be a mixture of the two, but I'm willing to lean more to the second description. Though I'm privy to taking requests sometimes.
What are your opinions?
of course the dj's job is to play what they want. if they played what the crowd wanted we'd here a bunch of crap...
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| Originally posted by Floorfiller of course the dj's job is to play what they want. if they played what the crowd wanted we'd here a bunch of crap... |
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| Originally posted by Demoted Eh, if someone were to hire a dj for a wedding expecting pop songs and the guy suddenly *felt* like playing hardstyle that day, then I would smell a party foul. Or if you were to go to a techno show expecting techno and someone showed up who normally plays as such and *felt* like playing trance that night, same applies. |
I think the DJ should take every opportunity to find new music he enjoys and expose it to a crowd. If they aren't feeling it, take the feedback as criticism for THAT NIGHT and give them JOC-Exactly or just walk off (hell yeah, oakie so badass!). Next night, try another newfound track for a different crowd, see their reaction.
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| Originally posted by Floorfiller as for the second part...dj's play the tracks they like because they enjoy them. that's how they develop their personal style and styles can evolve... but the whole reason they are up there in the first place is because they are supposed to be better at putting it all together... and you're going to see certain dj's because you trust their taste in music... |
There's the clubgoers who just don't care, they're there to be seen, then there's the newer clubbers who sort of know about the music and want to hear what they like, thusly requesting a track every five minutes. The problem with this is, they all fund the scene equally, and can therefore alter the "job" of the dj.
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| Originally posted by Demoted That applies to those who are engrossed in the scene There's the clubgoers who just don't care, they're there to be seen, then there's the newer clubbers who sort of know about the music and want to hear what they like, thusly requesting a track every five minutes. The problem with this is, they all fund the scene equally, and can therefore alter the "job" of the dj. |
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| Originally posted by Floorfiller well they can go to armin hahaha |
You have to distinguish between different types of deejays - it's not fair to ask the question as if there's only one.
Radio DJ
Bedroom DJ
Wedding/Bar Mitzvah/Kiddie Party DJ
Bar DJ
Resident Club DJ
Mobile Club DJ
radio djs take requests from charts and random people on the phone
bedroom djs take requests from charts and tracklists of their idol djs
wedding djs take requests from my grandmother
bar djs take requests from bar owners and drunk sorority girls
resident club djs take requests from club owners and regulars
mobile club djs take requests from labels
technically deejaying is all of these, and whether or not you're doing your job is determined by whoever it is you are responsbile to.
I DJ often at small bars and nightclubs and the owners are usually very very picky about what they want played when, and I would have to play top 40, Cascada, Bob Sinclair and Ian van Dahl (in 2007???) if I was a 'resident' ie bar employee. instead what I do is approach the owner with my own idea for the night and then promote it myself, since I have a relatively solid base of appreciative, open minded people. This has many advantages - you can play what you want (though that still means you have to watch the crowd and work with it), if someone makes a request, it can be refreshingly good, like Andrea Oliva - Sombatiki, and instead of making lunch money and having to do last call and all of that shit, I charge separate cover and make money based on entry. Obviously it's easier to do this in a smaller city like Ithaca, NY, where there is a very diverse and international population of students.
I see the role of the DJ almost as a sort of priest, who opens up a meaningful connection between a scattered collection of unknown and known music and another human being. Depending on a gig, this could mean completely mind-fucking people, rocking a party, making snobby people feel snobbier, making people buy alcohol, making people buy something else, or just making a musical or artistic statement. When I DJ I feel that my personal emotional state is completely readable through both my tracklist and the way I mix it and that it is transmitted to a crowd. I do feel some sort of responsibility to expose people to new music. This is sort of an education thing, since I am working with a crowd which is largely unfamiliar with dance music beyond what's available in Border's, but more than that, I have strong feelings about playing new music (not necessarily current, just music that people have never heard or imagined) because I feel like that's one of the best ways to get people to lose themselves and to remove the negative a popular 'song' or a known melody can have on bringing people deeper and deeper into a set. Given, sometimes you need to hook people with something they know, but you can't sustain a 3+ hour set playing favorites unless you have thousands of groupies. A DJ's job is to create a coherent collage/journey/symphony/suite of music which engages the crowd at all times and brings them through the whole range of human experience until every sense is numb
So many mobile DJs these days just focus on one brandable style which they pump out at every nightclub they play, caning the same tracks to different audiences, plastering the walls with their projected logo, satisfying their own label pressure and other business relationships, etc.
I personally feel that a DJ no matter what caliber or status needs to play a set that is relevant to the venue, crowd, previous acts, and following acts at all times. Even though I love playing deep house, if I am asked to play a rave I don't go there and bust out Kerri Chandler. Some DJs, because of their status as a brand, feel that this is the only way to go, because it strengthens their brand and makes them more marketable..
fair play. Nice response. 
They're there to rock the party. How they rock the party depends entirely on the type of crowd though.
Most crowds are willing to put their faith in the DJ, but they go to certain parties with certain expectations of what they'll hear. It's the DJs job to deliver on at least those expectations, lest they be out of a gig.
DJ For Hire
I love to DJ wherever and whenever. Give me a message if you'd like to have me scorch a house party near you. I've really had enough of patronising DJs in clubs, that continually play the same crap every week. I play what's inspired by my head and heart and not what's guiding my wallet. I'd rather let you experience something new, that means if you like it, you've learned something new about yourself and one night out doesn't fade into another.
I play whatever I feel would suit the audience, I play music from as far back as the 30's to stuff released last week. I'm not going to stick a tech house set down clubbers neck when all they're interested in is Rock/Pop remixes and i'm not going to play a rock/pop remix set to a bunch of clubbers that would dig a tech house set. I honestly believe that DJing should be a selfless job. You should be tuned into the needs of the clubbers or party-goers. You should have a balance of injecting your own personality into a set and also keeping the dancefloor going.
I remember being out one night and it was primarily a funky house set and then all of a sudden, the music stopped and the DJ played "Could you be loved?" by the late great Bob Marley and it completely cleansed the dancefloor, half the people went to the bar while all the people on the sidelines came up and starting jigging. It's tough to keep a rappor with every clubgoer but you should be remembered by the real hardcore fans and music lovers.
Because not everyone who goes to bars/clubs/parties has so many hours to devote to digging through catalogues and finding obscure music no one knows about, hence an expert is needed who's time is devoted to just that. He needs to have high standards and a good sense of what tracks work in which situations in order to always fit into the atmoshpere. The way I see it, a good DJ's workplace is in the record stores and (nowadays especially) in front of a computer monitor. Once a DJ steps on the decks, his work is already done, he's just showcasing it.
At the same time, I don't think it's nessessary to be at the mercy of the crowd. I'm sure there must be exceptions to this rule, but I think a DJ who specializes in one specific kind of music (house for example) will be far more proficient at playing house than a DJ who devotes his time to a more eclectic selection (rock, pop, hip hop, house, etc). It's up to the organisers of the event to be aware of this and book a DJ accordingly. Besides, there's no sense in spinning music you don't believe in.
so true
i spend hours before important gigs trying stuff out not to mention how much time is spent collecting
i always tell people they are paying me mostly for my music taste
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| Originally posted by nefardec so true i spend hours before important gigs trying stuff out not to mention how much time is spent collecting i always tell people they are paying me mostly for my music taste |
Good replies in this thread so far. I'd just like to point out that its all a question of context. If you're playing somewhere where EDM is the norm and expected, I'd say, you have pretty much a clean slate to play whatever you feel is best at the time/venue/atmosphere etc. When I go see Danny Howells I doubt hes sitting there trying to figure out what the people on the floor want, hes taking them on his own ride and judging their reactions to make minor adjustments accordingly.
To contrast, I played at a small bar/lounge where, though house is usually expected, you can get hip-hop, top 40 etc request, and usually you're expected to fill them out. I could just play whatever in these situations and ignore requests but I wouldnt be doing the owner who is paying me a favor...but a few times it has worked very well where I'll get a group of people who want house to start dancing, and I'll play the more up-beat borderline cheesy stuff like Raul Rincon vocal mixes and Hoxton Whores, which they go nuts for. Its not the music I like, but it works in the situation, and once you get people going then you can ease in more interesting tracks and go some different places with it. I ended up playing Felix Da Housecat - Watching Cars Go By (Sasha Mix) in some little lounge, and everyone loved it, and later I even played 1983 (Prydz + Edit), which went over great aswell.
So, it really depends who you're playing for. Theres no sense in forcing your music on someone who doesnt want to hear it though, so you have to be careful.
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| Originally posted by SuspicionVandit or just walk off (hell yeah, oakie so badass!). |
IMO A nightclub dj's job is to infuse their own taste with what is still going to keep the dancefloor stimulated throughout the night. Danny Howells is the best dj in the world because he can play the right music at the right time and knows how to pace things ie. bringing the energy up and down to keep everyones attention. There is something for everyone in his sets...trancey, funky, techy, deep, harder, softer, breaks etc. etc. The key is to not pander a crowd by playing cheeseballs or playing bomb after bomb. Any idiot can learn how to beatmatch and play records. The mental game of programming a set over the course of a long night or short set is what separates the best of the best with everyone else. Sometimes djs can get too into their own world and lose a dancefloor. I've heard sasha even do this...getting too spacey or too hard. Everyone has their off nights. Noone is perfect but the key is balance and being well rounded imo.
In the end every djs is there for the crowd.
However it all depend on which kind of dj it is, music style, venue, size, soundsystem, crowd and the night itself whether the dj is playing what the crowd wants or more his own tastes.
Espacially at smaller veneus the crowd allows the DJ to experiment more, compared to big festivals and playing all the hits.
I think the best (or the most versitile) djs are the ones which can do the 6hours crazy small venues set but also the 20.000 mainstage blasting out all the hits. However there aren't many that can pull that off.
There is a hypothetical middle ground between what the crowd wants to hear and what you want to show them. It's where you play entirely from your record bag with the records you love, but you notice how the crowd reacts to certain styles and so forth, and you customise your unique DJing sound to please the crowd while simultaneously retaining your identity.
Of course, in reality that middle ground doesn't automatically result in the most fun for everyone concerned, because applying pretentious rules and aims to what is essentially playing records breaks down in the complex chaotic swirl of real life.
It should be noted that if you're playing to a crowd of people on E or other party drugs, ALWAYS play what you want. They'll thank you later.
Re: So what really IS a DJ's job?
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Demoted In many different threads there seems to be a conflicting answer. Some people view a dj as being at the mercy of the crowd. A dj's job in this case would be to simply play what the crowd wants to hear and mix it well. Their job begins and ends with pleasing a crowd. This would mean not necessarily playing tracks you like, but playing what they like, taking requests and things of that nature. Then there's people who think a dj should play only what they think is good, exposing the crowd to new songs they haven't heard before, and not really taking requests. I guess there can be a mixture of the two, but I'm willing to lean more to the second description. Though I'm privy to taking requests sometimes. What are your opinions? |
A DJ's job is to make the crowd eat out of the palm of his/her hand, by pleasing their aural palette with new and interesting sounds to go with familiar favorites, much like a chef is judged in part by how he/she assembles new and interesting dishes rather than simply by how they rehash standard favorites like pizza and burritos.
A DJ, like a chef or a painter, is an artist, and should push the envelope of what is popular/aesthetically pleasing.
true,
but if you're a chef at bob evans you're going to be expected to make old man mcflanders' hash browns exactly the same every sunday morning or you're going to hear about it!
some people have no 'taste'. they just want some fucking meat and potatoes
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