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quote:

Originally posted by mzvirbulis i thought pvd was a mixing machine (+1) or is carl cox pretty good with the EQ'S?

It doesn't have much to do with the EQs. Cox is just hands down a much better DJ than PVD. I think he gives out a better vibe than the other DJs too. Its common to find him on the dancefloor getting down before he goes on for his set. Then, when he's playing his set he never stops moving and has this huge smile on his face the whole time. If thats now getting into and loving your music I don't know what is.

Interesting choice of DJs to name.
I also see an interesting thread developing.

I have to say that on the whole I agree with most of the peeps here in the fact Carl Cox is the most advanced and technically gifted of the three. Without doubt a big crowd pleaser and just knows how to make a dancefloor 'go off'.

I don't think you can really knock any of them to be fair. I personally don't rate Oakenfold much but more for the reason that he has lost his interest and mixes like he doesn't give a crap anymore. This is not the Oakie of old and it could be argued if anyone in the world has done more for the dance culture as we know it today than him. He was ahead of his time once, it's just time caught up with him. But you have to respect him as he was doing it while many of you wheren't even thinking about being a DJ.

Tiesto.
I think Tiesto takes a lot of heat on this forum and I have indeed myself dished the doo doo on him a few times.
What you have to remember is that Tiesto has a fecking amazing ear for music and knows how to pick an anthem. Let's face it, look at the Tiesto DVD and tell me if there isn't a whole heap of tracks that don't get played often in clubs even today. The guy just has an ear for amazing tunes and that's a big part of being a DJ. Let's face it, his productions aren't too shabby either and he has done a lot of work that by all accounts can be considered a dance classic.

PVD
This in my opinion is the weakest of the bunch but for some reason he is massively popular. Personally I find him incredibly dull and think that his music is equally dull. This however is purely my own prefference and based on no other science other than my own music choice.
'For an Angel' is probably actually more representative of a time rather than an amazing track in it's own right. The production is actually very basic although sometimes simplicity is the key.
PvD spins very precisely but lacks the emotion that 'I' like to see from a DJ.
My theory is that he actually may have not reached the status he did had he not conquered the US. I get the impression that the US is more into it's prog than actual trance (as a general impression, that's not to say some of the biggest fans in the planet can't be found in the US). PvD is not a big favourite in the UK in the same way that the US guys rave about him.

But to be fare to all of them, when you go and see them you will hear some epic tracks from their respective genres and for the most will not be disapointed.
We all however have bad days and the critics will always be there to shoot them down.

Someone who definately deserves to be ranked higher in the listings is Marco V.
Met him this past weekend in the club and what a top bloke he is. His whole attitude represents how a DJ should be in my opinion. Very nice bloke. He portrays a very positive enjoyable attitude with no arrogance and he just rocks. I actually learnt a thing or two from watching him. Did I mention he's a bloody nice bloke too...?

Cheers
Nem

PS,
Did I mention that Marco V is a bloody nice bloke.

i'm going to have to agree with pretty much everything nem said once again

the only thing i would like to add to the PvD part is a dj needs to "feed" off the crowd and react to how the crowd is reacting.
i don't know how the man can stand there mixing like a robot when you have literally thousands of people going nuts in front of you.
personally i'd be jumping around with an ear to ear grin on my face if i were him. sure he has said he recieves great pleasure from playing in front of a crowd like that but he's really shy and such so he doesn't go off.
but on that note, i'd say i'm personally one of the shyest people i know but stick me behind the turntables with or without a beer in hand and i become a totally different person.

and yes, i also agree marco v is a very nice guy

watching someone like carl cox makes u remember why you like dj's so much to begin with, everytime i see him he makes me remember the "ART" of djing.i guess what makes him so special is what makes michael jordan so special-there are not many other people that can do what he does, and do it so well.

Let me add my 2 cents to this debate:

I think a DJ needs to always be pushing forward and chanllengin the listeners.

One can't really understand that concept fully until you dedicate yourself to dance music.

( trust me, I thought I was dedicated to music a year ago; but I was fuckin wrong. its alot of time and effort)

What do I mean ?

You need to approach music like a science. You need to lisen to EVERY fuckin DJ. you need to listen to every fuckin GENRE. You actually need to understand how songs are made ( fuck around producing). UNDERSTAND THE MUSIC. FEEL THE MUSIC. YOU NEED TO BE A MUSIC NERD.

Trust me. If you get serious about the music you begin to hear music differently. You start to hear shit that sounds 'recycled' or you know what it means to 'advance' musically.



I myself realized that I was a shit DJ AFTER I BECAME A STUDENT OF DANCE MUSIC. In my own crituqie of myself I began to hear the 'cheese' and/or the 'recycled' nature of my sound.

I soon began to listen to other DJ's ( PVD, Tiestor, etc) with a different level of perception than.

BEFORE I became a student of music I thought PVD and Tiestor were awesome. I thought trance was uplifting.


AFTER I became a student of music I started to hear how certain trance tracks are 'cheese' ( not just trance but other shit too). Worse. I began to judge my favorite DJ's differently.


In all honesty, PVD and Tiestor BOTH play alot of cheese ball tracks. The only difference is that PVD will play a few really soilid tracks. Tiestor is just more cheesey.


The discussion we DJ's than should have is trying to understand the dynamcis of tracks and thus discriminate what elements making something 'shit'.

Thus discussions should be why a track is good or shit NOT just 'oh its good'

THE REALITY

DJ's , the ones that know there shit, are hesitant to open there mouths and explain to you why something is shit. Why? Because that understanding would than elimante their advantage they have on you when it comes to understanding music.

That's why they ( the ones that understand music) are getting gigs and your ass ( my ass too ) is @ home mixing bullshit tracks



My 2 Cents

I know what some of you are thinking:

' music is all about taste not a science'


Think about it like this:


Say I show you photos of nude girls. ( If you're gay replace the word girl w/ guy....you fuckin homo )

You need to pick the best looking girls.

Obviously you are not going to pick some fat ass or some skanky bitch.

~note~ similar to picking music; judging women when under the influence of drugs can make fat slobs look like super models.


There is a group of criteria we all can agree on; that is attractive on a physical level. Obviously,our personal tastes will pick different women BUT there are common features that prevent us from picking a fat slob.


Problem is that some of you are picking fat ass slobs to be the most beauitful women; and you don't even know it.

Just like telling a women she's fat ugly slob; you need to tell producers you make shit tracks. Tough shit.


< If this doesn't make sense to you fuck you; I'm high >

The way TIESTO has been mixing for the last few years...that mofo can take you on a subconscious thousand year journey.

Nyana Disc 2 took me to ENGLAND/SCOTLAND and to EGYPT. I saw Sir Wlliam Wallace and the three giant pyramids that stand together on the outskirts of CAIRO. Did you know, the stones used to be white and covered with moss? The pyramids were surrounded by a jungle.

How the years have changed as it is now but a desolate wasteland.

Its all about personal preferance.

quote:

Originally posted by Psiweaver Its all about personal preferance.

what is good? what is shit? all about personal opinion!

ooohh and use some common scence too if a track is good or shit.
for example production wise etc.

Tiesto puts together great tracklists. That's def. a plus.

These are great guys specially tiesto.He makes different music from other people.
For me my favourite djs are tiesto,ATB,PVD(not always),blank and jones,push,PPK

After they get big they don't care much about the scene. They just do it for the money when they're big. New dj's are always trying to do their best because they want to get famous too, so they're most probably not in the business for the money. When they get big, they tell themselves "ok, I obviously don't have to work my ass off anymore because everyone likes me now and whatever I do is going to get liked most probably."

I dunno,
Artin

I like seeing different opinions and things like this. It's always refreshing even if I don't agree with all of them.

Interesting enough I am in complete opposite understanding to Samuel.

quote:

In all honesty, PVD and Tiestor BOTH play alot of cheese ball tracks. The only difference is that PVD will play a few really soilid tracks. Tiestor is just more cheesey.

I have to say that my understanding of this is the complete opposite, in that PvD plays weak ass tracks the whole time with a few exceptions.
But taste is not something that we as DJs should be using to decide who is technically better than another. And sometimes it's not about skill.
Zabiella is in my opinion more skilled than Corsten, but I would still prefer to listen to Ferry play as I prefer his music style. That is a personal preference.

It is very easy to criticise others but to truly understand the likes of Tiesto etc you have to sit back and think that these guys actually do and how hard they actually work.

I used to be very critical towards Tiesto but took a long look at myself why this was. The truth be told Tiesto is a really nice guy who has worked his ass off to be where he is today. He didn't set out to achieve mass appeal. Mass appeal became him.

What anoys me two is this culture that we have of thinking that the average clubber is stupid and that they don't know the difference between a good or bad track just because it does not conform to a track list that we like. Remember, we are not DJs for DJings sake. We are DJs so that people can dance. It's the DJ who understands what makes people want to dance and have a good time that will succeed not the guy who can play the most obscure tracks.
I agree that the average clubber may not be too clued up on the technical skills of a DJ but they do know what makes them dance, and without them there would be no point being there.

Next time someone is thinking to themselves, why is so and so famous and I'm not... sure I'm as good as them, think about this.
What have you done today to change your life?
What have you done today that will give you the chance to DJ for people?
Have you given a demo to anyone?
Have I worked on my latest track?
Have I sent my demo to anyone of the big names?
Have I even made a demo?
What is my attitude like?
Have a tried to learn something new?

If you answer no to those questions the bottom line is that you don't want it enough and that you are just bitching because that's what you like doing.
The point is that you need to change your life if that's what you want. Going him and doing hands in the air to your cat is not going to get you far. No one is going to come along and give you anything, because you don't deserve it.
I agree there are some residents out there who happened to be in the right place at the right time and new the right people, no doubt. But to go the level beyond you need to have the magic ingredient that some of us may have but most of us don't. Bitterness and jealousy are not emotions that will help you with anything in this world. They are very destructive forces and you have to get out of that zone and find your own comfort zone and thrive upon it as your emotion is at the fore front of what you do especially as a DJ. I see bitter and twisted people all the time but it really shows when they are spinning. They don't smile once and it does have some impact on the crowd as you are in effect closing yourself off.

The way I see my own DJing is this, I'm just at a party the only thigk I happen to be doing is putting the music on for the others. Bounce around and look happy and get into it.

Cheers
Nem

PVd plays week as tracks? idk about that one. He seems to get harder everyt time. The last time I saw him in NYc he dropped a lot of hard hard trance, and the last hour of all his sets is pure insanity if you're into hard fast uplifting trance. My tastes in music have changed a lot over the years, but PVD is still my favorite DJ. People complain about him being boring in the booth, btu I read that just the opposite. He has a serious ass look on his face the entire night because he's in the zone. PVD is serious in the booth and mixes very well, Tiesto waves his hands and acts like a flamer and his mixes aren't as good. I'd prefer the serious DJ who spends more time beat matching and mixing than waving his arms around like I little birdie.

quote:

Originally posted by Nemesis44 Next time someone is thinking to themselves, why is so and so famous and I'm not... sure I'm as good as them, think about this. What have you done today to change your life? What have you done today that will give you the chance to DJ for people? Have you given a demo to anyone? Have I worked on my latest track? Have I sent my demo to anyone of the big names? Have I even made a demo? What is my attitude like? Have a tried to learn something new? If you answer no to those questions the bottom line is that you don't want it enough and that you are just bitching because that's what you like doing. Nem

that was awesome, i think a lot of DJs should read this over and over! however i disagree with you about the "average clubber" the average clubber is stupid, stupid beyond belief, never let us give them any credit I think one of the ways you know you're a good DJ is that you can get ur "average clubber" INTO your music, take them from their comfort zone into yours and have them love it. Maybe the "average clubber" is more into their EDM where u live Nem? either way still a good post.

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