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The Paul Van Dyk Discussion

Topic # 1

I hear some PVD fans complain about his mixing sometimes.

My question to you is what importance does PVD's mixing have on with your apperception or enjoyment of a PVD set.

I personally don't mind mediocre transitions. What I do mind is the music selection. I always believe that mediocre transitions can be overcome with quality track selection.

Your thoughts?


Topic # 2

Has PVD had different musical �phases�? Was he more trancy some years or more techno in others. If so, which did you prefer. Why?



Please feel free to add other Topics to discuss relating to Paul Van Dyk.

I think that track selection is most important, but I want a dj to bring track selection and quality mixing. I can handle minor errors, everyone has them, but I don't want to hear trainwrecks all over the place. I will still enjoy a set of good tracks with many minor flaws, but I won't be overly impressed with the dj.

im just sick of seeing threads bout pvd and tiesto there r far better djs to be talking about

quote:

Originally posted by Nite-Mer I can handle minor errors

a guy like tiesto is a good example of a 'pro' jock with minor errors thruout his whole set.

quote:

Originally posted by dj tek a guy like tiesto is a good example of a 'pro' jock with minor errors thruout his whole set.

Yeah, but he also mixes way to rough and abrupt for my liking. Rough and abrupt with lots of beatmatch errors annoys me.

quote:

Originally posted by Nite-Mer Yeah, but he also mixes way to rough and abrupt for my liking. Rough and abrupt with lots of beatmatch errors annoys me.

yup.
Sander K, J00F, PvD, Carl Cox, Sasha, Diggers all top notch 'mixers'

im not sure u can put pvd in the same catergory as the other djs u mentioned

quote:

Originally posted by sleepydragon im not sure u can put pvd in the same catergory as the other djs u mentioned

PVD can be an amazing mixer, but he has become more and more sloppy lately. Carl Cox has yet to impress me. The set I heard of his, he is constantly correcting beatmatch mistakes. I think a dj needs to be able to correct, but they should be able to lock in most of their beatmatches or, at least, correct once and have that be it. He was riding back and forth too much for my liking.

quote:

Originally posted by sleepydragon im not sure u can put pvd in the same catergory as the other djs u mentioned

what are you talking about, pvd is a great mixer and proves it night after night, not only thru trance his mixing is top notch with whatever genre he plays in his sets, techno, trance, house, breaks, electro, hard house... mixing is little differnent for each genres and pvd def. knows what hes doing. plus his timing/placement of tracks is like no other. everyone knows for a fact that pvd is a great mixer. i myself rarely heard him fuck up since i first saw him during the twilo days 1999.

who cares

quote:

Originally posted by Nite-Mer Carl Cox has yet to impress me. The set I heard of his, he is constantly correcting beatmatch mistakes.

well, try having 2 records going at once locked, then bringing in another on the 3rd deck. Cox is a master of this and it works really well with Techno..

at the end of the day any professional dj gettin paid shitloads to do a show should be able to beatmatch/mix 100%.no question.

us bedroom djs have slaved over this skill for a long time perfecting it.most here can mix no problem eg james cosgrove.

i can tolerate one or two mistakes here or there in a set but if it is persistant he/she should take a look at themselves as djs.are they up to the job? i believe complacency is why it happens (tiesto) ie:they have got to the top and feel no need to take their skill/ability any further.i do not agree with this.

IMO most serious djs on this board can pick out a good tracklist and program it very well,but if they arent able to mix correctly,they will just seem as average as any other dj.

perfect mixing IS VERY important.
track listing is VERY important.
if one of these 2 areas is lacking,you are not up to the job.

I'd take Jeff Mills with his ego and his 3-4 deck craziness anyday.

Now to PvD, his productions used to be better imo, I think he has lost the heart that he used to put into tracks. His old works are nothing short of genius and I don't think you can write him off yet nor should you. Words, Avenue, Tell Me Why, We are Alive, For An Angel, Forbidden Fruit, Beautiful Place and others solidfy his place in EDM history. I have not been able to see PvD play live since 2001, he only plays 2 hrs at his Guvernment gigs and that does not do him justice. I did like time of our lives but I hated reflections because it seemed too weird. If you hate his deejaying, then go see someone else, easy as that.

quote:

Originally posted by Disco_Gibson at the end of the day any professional dj gettin paid shitloads to do a show should be able to beatmatch/mix 100%.no question. us bedroom djs have slaved over this skill for a long time perfecting it.most here can mix no problem eg james cosgrove. i can tolerate one or two mistakes here or there in a set but if it is persistant he/she should take a look at themselves as djs.are they up to the job? i believe complacency is why it happens (tiesto) ie:they have got to the top and feel no need to take their skill/ability any further.i do not agree with this. IMO most serious djs on this board can pick out a good tracklist and program it very well,but if they arent able to mix correctly,they will just seem as average as any other dj. perfect mixing IS VERY important. track listing is VERY important. if one of these 2 areas is lacking,you are not up to the job.

+1. I agree completely. People seem to think that you can't want both. I do.

PvD is a great mixer. Hes also incredibly lazy. You can always tell from pretty much word go which PvD has shown up to play, its either going to be a great night or an average night / poor night.

Hes always had the off days, just that now there seem to be more of them than usual.

As for his mixing. Anyone who knows what they are talking about knows that he CAN be up there with the best of them, there is no question he knows how to mix.

However when hes not up for it it all goes wrong in a big way.

quote:

Originally posted by Nite-Mer +1. I agree completely. People seem to think that you can't want both. I do.

it should always be that way. one compliments the other those are 2 of the most important element of the art of djing....

great track selection, mediocre mixing = mediocre dj
great mixing, mediocre track selection = mediocre dj

u MUST do both really well to be a great DJ. and thats just part of it dont forget about other elements as well...arrangement, placement/timing, volume control, crowd interaction, overall feel....

I am by no means a PVD whore.

What I will say is that when he quick mixes in and out of songs is where you see him screw up sometimes. Listen to a set where he has an hour and the number of wrecks increases. Listen to a 3 hour set and he's bound to wreck a couple of times, anyone is. Usually its when he quickmixes out of songs though.


2-
My issues with PVD lately (when I have seen hime live) is that he has become too techy for me. Even some of his sets I have downloaded. He starts off at around 141bpms and by the time he is done its like an automatic rifle firing beats at me.

His last set I liked was February 2003 at the Roxy. Since that, and especially this year for me, he's to hard/techy for me.

He used to drop some progressive house, epic trance, etc. I just dont like his sets lately.

My opinion i guess.

quote:

Originally posted by dj tek it should always be that way. one compliments the other those are 2 of the most important element of the art of djing.... great track selection, mediocre mixing = mediocre dj great mixing, mediocre track selection = mediocre dj u MUST do both really well to be a great DJ. and thats just part of it dont forget about other elements as well...arrangement, placement/timing, volume control, crowd interaction, overall feel....

And the truly great dj's play a good track selection, mix technically well, and program their tracks in the right succession. Programming is the true art, if you ask me.

quote:

Originally posted by CosmoKid 2- My issues with PVD lately (when I have seen hime live) is that he has become too techy for me. Even some of his sets I have downloaded. He starts off at around 141bpms and by the time he is done its like an automatic rifle firing beats at me. His last set I liked was February 2003 at the Roxy. Since that, and especially this year for me, he's to hard/techy for me. He used to drop some progressive house, epic trance, etc. I just dont like his sets lately. My opinion i guess.

I understand exactly what you mean.


I am trying to 'expand' my listening horizons but for the best of me I can't understand or appreciate some of the non-melodic techno he'll drop.

I guess I like melodic side of EDM. Be it prog. or trance or techno. It's got to have some kind of melodic element to it. Good example would be an Askew track. Its hard trance but its melodic at the same time.

To me, a great set is one in which i absolutely love the track selection. i dont pay close attention to the mixes, i just know what sticks out to me as a trainwreck. pvd almost always exceeds my expectations when it comes to track selection. he plays my favorite newest tunes, he always plays a ton of awesome tracks i've never heard, and he mixes in my favorite classics. to me -- that's a good set. when i listen to the recorded set later, then i pay more attention to the mixing, and still -- i think paul does an awesome job. everything usually flows so well.

as far as your second topic, i think he has definitely changed phases over the years. when i first started listening to pvd, his style was very similar to some of his cds... more trancey and chill.... then he started REALLY impressing me... a lot of melodic, "big trance" kinda sets, always emotional, "pretty". there was a time when every set i went to blew me away more than the last, for about 2 years, and i cant say that about any other dj. but i have noticed that in the past year, maybe longer, he just plays harder and harder and more techy every time i see him. i have mixed feelings about that. Sometimes i really enjoy it, but the last few times i heard him, i kinda wished for the way he used to play.

its funny, how when you like a particular dj so much you can actually pinpoint the different stages of your liking him by his sets... i dont think i explained that right, but for example... the period where i liked paul van dyk the MOST, where his sets were just totally blowing me away every time, was the whole period between when he played at Radiate, at the DC Armory, and up until the second to last time he played at Roxy. I think it wasnt too long after that he started playing AfterShock and all those really energetic banging tracks and i was loving it then.... but right after Summerstage is where i started losing some of that "OMG" feeling for him. His sets at the Hamptons, the opening of the new Glow... i dunno, kinda disappointed me.

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Piazza I understand exactly what you mean. I am trying to 'expand' my listening horizons but for the best of me I can't understand or appreciate some of the non-melodic techno he'll drop. I guess I like melodic side of EDM. Be it prog. or trance or techno. It's got to have some kind of melodic element to it. Good example would be an Askew track. Its hard trance but its melodic at the same time.

werd

even my buddy who a year ago would have licked cow dung off of PVDs sack if given the chance has been turned off by him lately. he was the biggest PVD whore i knew (PVD couldnt do anything wrong) and its not the case anymore.

i am sort of glad because at least it shows that my buddy liked him for the music and not just because he was PVD...like a lot of people on this board.

quote:

Originally posted by glittergirl its funny, how when you like a particular dj so much you can actually pinpoint the different stages of your liking him by his sets... i dont think i explained that right, but for example... the period where i liked paul van dyk the MOST, where his sets were just totally blowing me away every time, was the whole period between when he played at Radiate, at the DC Armory, and up until the second to last time he played at Roxy. I think it wasnt too long after that he started playing AfterShock and all those really energetic banging tracks and i was loving it then.... but right after Summerstage is where i started losing some of that "OMG" feeling for him. His sets at the Hamptons, the opening of the new Glow... i dunno, kinda disappointed me.

for me it was ...

Twilo '99 -----> Roxy, February '03 (even Summerstage '03 I liked)

From then on, blech!


I liked it better when I would get pissed he played the same track 3 times then some of the banging, relentless tech shit he's been playing for the past year.

pvd 2 yr anniversary at Twilo memories

quote:

Originally posted by CosmoKid werd even my buddy who a year ago would have licked cow dung off of PVDs sack if given the chance has been turned off by him lately. he was the biggest PVD whore i knew (PVD couldnt do anything wrong) and its not the case anymore. i am sort of glad because at least it shows that my buddy liked him for the music and not just because he was PVD...like a lot of people on this board.

Laushinameee, who is a PVD whore, told me once that PVD was always a hard techno/trance DJ. He told me that its apart of his German Techno roots. [He also disproved my theory that communists like Detroit Techno (inside joke ) ] Laushinameee went on to say people misunderstand PVD because he's more than just his 'trancy' production work [i.e. reflections, global, Politics of Dance, etc.)

That said I stared to do some research on PVD and noticed in the late 90's his tracklists (available on TA) were really trancy and not really hard. I also noticed the hard phase come into existence in 2003. My research could be wrong though I wait PVD whore Laushinameee to correct any inaccuracies in my statements.

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