what do you look for in a filler track?

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-- what do you look for in a filler track?

Posted by mndeg on Oct-01-2004 00:50:

what do you look for in a filler track?

not all songs can be the best you know

Posted by Luke Terry on Oct-01-2004 00:56:

i hate the term filler track, especially used in this sense...

why play songs you don't like?

you should play a song because you like it, determines your style etc. i could go on but i really can't be arsed. nice pointless thread imo

Posted by on Oct-01-2004 01:09:

Yea.. I ain't really a fan of the term either... when its time to pull another record from the box.. I usually sit ther for about 15 secs, just listening to the melody of the first breakdown, and VERY QUICKLY start going through my collection of records in my head and pick whatever comes to mind that would sound good or go smooth with the tracks thats playing.. if that happening to be another popular/anthemy track... so be it... if not then I don't really care... I don't look for anything for the NEXT track other than if its gonna sound good, OR sometimes I have a track that I know exactly what to drop after cuz I just love mixing the 2 together 90% of the time...

Posted by KiNeTiC ENeRgY on Oct-01-2004 04:01:

Re: what do you look for in a filler track?

quote:
Originally posted by mndeg
not all songs can be the best you know

remember its killer not filler, in your set

Posted by Cheetah86 on Oct-01-2004 04:41:

quote:
Originally posted by Luke Terry

why play songs you don't like?

I think he means what do you look for in a track that you like, but you acknowledge that it isn't anything amazing. Basically what I'd look for is, similar to what J:\Digital said, a song in your record box that helps the set flow and move along but might not necessarily define your set or style.

Posted by ionized on Oct-01-2004 06:24:

I guess it can come down to contrast. If you've just played 3 or 4 mad anthems/uplifting numbers, then something a bit more sedated can be good to wind things down again. Is this what you mean?

Signum - First Strike comes to mind as a track that I dont really like all that much, but works really well when I drop it at the right time.

It meanders around for ages with all these trippy sounds and then winds back up so something decent near the end.

Posted by Trance Nutter on Oct-01-2004 06:41:

Something simple - but not too simple to lose interest

Someting energetic - but not too energetic (just to keep it at the current level or a bit below)

Something euphoric - but not too anthemic or uplifting

Something you can easily mix out of after three minutes in case its dropping the mood too far.

Posted by DJ_Ikronix on Oct-01-2004 06:57:

I use techno/prog house for "filler." (I hate the name too, because I DO like all the songs I play.)

If...say...I'm coming out of "Punk," I have these great BANGING techno records. There's this one great tribal track...

Really kickass groove, makes people want to shake their ass. I'm out of the song in 2 minutes, though, because it's very repetitive (Carl Cox style ). And from a "non-musical" song like that, you can go ANYWHERE. Layer the bassline of the next song for a while, and you can really pull off some good stuff.

If my track is a bit more chill/progressive, I have some melodic progressive house that sounds good to quickly move in and out from. Layering is a bit more tricky there, but that just takes practice.

"Filler" songs are really good to judge the mood of a crowd with.

Posted by tu_face on Oct-01-2004 08:48:

i just play a set, no filler tracks. but i guess its very much different with techno, there isn't many anthems

the closest i suppose i'd get to a filler track, is when i flip the set ovewr some times and go in a bit of a tangent for a while, then i'll play the dirtiest filthy techno around, possibly be arrested for it before banging some more stompers out.

my favorite track for this is hertz - dean martin (tom track mix)

i like making mud come out my speakers

Posted by Nemesis44 on Oct-01-2004 11:24:

The way I see it, not too keen on the word filler track either.

I don't really play them. What I tend to do is perhaps have tracks that enable me to get to where I'm going and you might be able to say they are fillers. But I never conciously go out and say "I must get some filler tracks". It depends so much on what slots you are playing and the policy of the club.
I let the energy, pace and mental state of the crowd decide if they need to ease off a little but I would always try and choose a good track to do so with. I would never play anything that I felt was sub standard 'in my opinion'.

Tracks work differently with other tracks. If you put a track in a proggy set it could be a total killer but stick it in another set and it may seem less energetic or less whatever than the other stuff and may come across as a filler.
When I play the main slot I would never say to myself that I'm going to play a filler. Just play what's right for the time and read the crowd.

Cheers
Nem

Posted by tu_face on Oct-01-2004 11:35:

had a wee think about this..

as far as techno dj's go, i think a comparison to a 'filler' track would be perhaps a track that wouldn't be played on its own.

i have lots of vinyl that i wouldn't ever play on its own, or if i did it would only be for a minute while i fuck about and get another track in. these tracks tend to be the reason some people think techno is boring, i look for not so much change in these tracks. what i look for is killer hooks, sweet beat sequencing, and maybe something special in the middle for its (possible) solo time. basically, if you just played these tracks one into another, full length with nothing over the top, they would be boring.

prime examples of these would be:

john conner - raw deed
mould impression (adam beyer) - 6 hours

Posted by Luke Terry on Oct-01-2004 11:37:

quote:
Originally posted by Cheetah86
I think he means what do you look for in a track that you like, but you acknowledge that it isn't anything amazing. Basically what I'd look for is, similar to what J:\Digital said, a song in your record box that helps the set flow and move along but might not necessarily define your set or style.

that is not what mndeg was implying tho

Posted by progressivepey on Oct-03-2004 07:24:

quote:
Originally posted by J:\Digital
Yea.. I ain't really a fan of the term either... when its time to pull another record from the box.. I usually sit ther for about 15 secs, just listening to the melody of the first breakdown, and VERY QUICKLY start going through my collection of records in my head and pick whatever comes to mind that would sound good or go smooth with the tracks thats playing.. if that happening to be another popular/anthemy track... so be it... if not then I don't really care... I don't look for anything for the NEXT track other than if its gonna sound good, OR sometimes I have a track that I know exactly what to drop after cuz I just love mixing the 2 together 90% of the time...

word

Posted by Vlad on Oct-03-2004 07:53:

Ehh, filler is such a bad term... Id rather call it a transition track. Because I use them to get from point A to B without loosing tempo or energy. And I usually dont use tracks I dont like.

Posted by FirstBorn on Oct-03-2004 09:31:

quote:
Originally posted by Vlad
Ehh, filler is such a bad term... Id rather call it a transition track. Because I use them to get from point A to B without loosing tempo or energy. And I usually dont use tracks I dont like.

What he said.

'Transition track' is a better term. 'Filler' implies that the track's just being used to pad out a set and good DJ's don't do that. Every record you play as a DJ should mean something and serve some sort of purpose in a set. Including a track to try and fill space or use up some time in a set is not enough.

I use transition tracks to gradually build energy without being too over the top. My style is to play a lot of very bouncy, pumping trance and for this tupe of music, I tend to use transition tracks which have a strong upward energy curve and which make people dance and groove even though there's no big melodies or breakdowns.

Posted by Max Thomson on Oct-03-2004 14:17:

Yeah, filler is a really shitty term for a song. In my sets, I don't have any fillers. I think cuz this is tranceaddict.com, most people think that anything more chill than trance is just not as banging. Thats totally not true, and you should plan your set to ease off and pick up the pace. Most importantly, keep it varied and moving in a constant direction.

Posted by dJohn on Oct-03-2004 20:09:

Maybe he meant something different. Using the term filler not as just a random track to be played to wind things down or bridge and intro to the rest of the set, but rather a track that can be placed at your own will, yet nobody's heard of...a track that defines your style, yet is minimal enough to not be played alone.
Basically, an ID that is your style.

Posted by Perfect_Cheezit on Oct-03-2004 21:00:

Anytime I play a filler track, I make an effort to make sure that the record can still hold attention, but the set's flow isn't drastically altered by its inclusion. I try to make it so that the set doesn't evolve much by adding that track in, but rather the track can not bore the people and help make a better transition to a tune that can progress the set alot more.