A harmonics-intensive megamix - the only way ?

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-- A harmonics-intensive megamix - the only way ?

Posted by rafale on Feb-28-2005 18:25:

A harmonics-intensive megamix - the only way ?

There's a competition coming up and each participant is to submit a 30-minute mix for the preliminary round.

This, as alot of you might gather, leaves very little space for trance mixing, as it's the full melody that normally counts. However any dance music genre is accepted (but the rules seem to bend a bit toward more "beats-intensive" music and not trance).

I could easily play 3 songs that last the whole 30 minutes and that ain't gonna get me anywhere past the heats.

I'd like to know your suggestions to, if faced with the same scenario, and, wanting to stick to your EDM-inclination i.e. trance, still produce a 30-minute demo worthy of catching the preliminary-stage judges' attention.

The only way I see this being done is by doing a megamix. This is due to my perception that the power of trance on a dancefloor lies in its harmonics and carefully selected key changes. What are your views on this situation of mine? Is a megamix the only way?

cheerSs.. =))

.-=All feedback will be appreciated. Flame if possible. Cremate if must.=-.

Posted by Inertia on Feb-28-2005 20:30:

if i were you, i'd try to experiment with it. get some trance, and some minimalistic breakbeats, play 2 tracks at the same time, ad acapellas, do techno style cuts, and also, play faster than you normally would (hopefully, this will give you some extra time).

if you like the idea of coupling trance with minimalistic breaks, as to play more than 1 track at once (this can showcase your mixing skills in short time) check out Lusine Icl. stuff

you may find some tracks that layer nicely.

but yes, megamix, experiment, mess around. try to cram as much as you can into those 30 mins. but don't overcharge it tho. forget about any long intros, closing tracks, just keep it sweet and to the point.

good luck man.

Posted by A83 on Feb-28-2005 20:48:

Check armins megamix. I know you can download it at some torrent sites. PM me if you need a link.

Posted by Zild on Feb-28-2005 21:22:

If you're going to megamix then make sure you do it harmonically.

Posted by rafale on Mar-01-2005 00:09:

yeah i've got armin's megamix over here.
and yup the mix is definitely gonna be harmonic.

but are there any alternatives to doing a megamix?

what would you guys do?

Posted by rafale on Mar-01-2005 00:13:

quote:
Originally posted by Inertia
if i were you, i'd try to experiment with it. get some trance, and some minimalistic breakbeats, play 2 tracks at the same time, ad acapellas, do techno style cuts, and also, play faster than you normally would (hopefully, this will give you some extra time).

if you like the idea of coupling trance with minimalistic breaks, as to play more than 1 track at once (this can showcase your mixing skills in short time) check out Lusine Icl. stuff

you may find some tracks that layer nicely.

but yes, megamix, experiment, mess around. try to cram as much as you can into those 30 mins. but don't overcharge it tho. forget about any long intros, closing tracks, just keep it sweet and to the point.

good luck man.

Oops didn't see inertia's post there!

thanks man thats some good advice.
what are some examples of minimalistic breaks tracks? and would they go better with upbeat trance or the more progressive/melodic kind? my guess would be the latter.

if i play it too proggy styled it won't gimme alot of room for more tracks, and megamixing might not sound so smooth.

Posted by djdk on Mar-01-2005 11:01:

If you've only got 30mins, theres not alot of time for building a mood etc so I'd say make it half an hour of energy. You want your demo to really stand out and grab the judges attention so try to do something different.

As was mentioned earlier accapellas are good, techno style cutting and possibly layering techno tracks over the trance a la John Askew, gives some extra punch and energy to your tracks. Also you might wanna try getting hold of some breaks stuff to layer up over the breakdowns.

Good luck dude!!!

Posted by rafale on Mar-01-2005 12:34:

what about my megamix option? u reckon it wont grab attention as good?

btw any tips or rules of thumb for doing megamixes? like mixing in the cued track after the first breakdown of a song etc..

i'm sure theres some differences btwn normal mixing n megamixing.. eq changes have to be more precise as the eqs of the outgoing track are not fading off.. they're still in full force kinda thing..

any tips will be appreciated!

Posted by eyeball_2003 on Mar-01-2005 12:39:

i had quite a good mixing session last night actually, just cut into the middle of songs with vocals from others and cut out some highs here and there, was quite a good mix just experiment and im sure you will find a set you can play

Posted by Rockabye on Mar-01-2005 14:48:

some suggestions:

- pitch the tracks +4 or so
- start the first track with the breakdown as intro, this saves time and throws in the melody and energy right from the start (there are several tracks that work great this way)
- always mix the next track in during the melody-party of the previous track, this way you save a lot of time (do it like pvd does his most transitions), and if the tracks has 2 melody-main-parts (e.g. super8-cre8, solid globe-sahara and so on) mix out on the first melody-party

this way you can easily have 6 or 7 tracks in 30 minutes.

Posted by Zild on Mar-01-2005 16:23:

Another tip is trying to cue your tracks in after their first breakdown instead of from the intro. The second breakdown usually has more energy and you get to skip the intro.

Posted by Inertia on Mar-02-2005 01:59:

Lusine Icl. - Chao EP, for instance.

breakbeats that are nice for layering with other tracks. kill the low end, and EQ it nicely in, and you can have great effects. listen through, some are techy, others melodic. dunno, that was just one idea. you can try some unmelodic minimal techno, and play it at the same time with melodic trance. that may be intesting. just get shit that can complement other tracks well.

if i only get to do a 30min hotmix, i'd just go nuts, def. have 2 tracks fully playing at once at some point or another.

Posted by Psiweaver on Mar-03-2005 21:28:

I might not go the megamix route just because everyother trance dj will be thinking that. instead i'd showcase my mixing talent and creativity. I'd go with maybe a few table tricks or EFX tricks and lots of layering and harmonic mixing. show off that you can make a track that would normally be okay into an amazing one by layering multiple tracks over each other etc. Do something different and you will most likely suceed.