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-- too much classics

too much classics

hi,

Just a question here:

Can you have too many classic songs in a set?

My friend is a halfway decent bedroom dj, but he mostly buys records that we know and like.

this had resulted in a collection of over 80 classics (mostly epic, some prog, some hard trance.)

this results in tracklists like this:
(mind you, they do sound phenomenal in my opinon, i'll try to upload something soon)


veracocha - carte blanche (ronald van gelderen remix)
yahel - voyage
insigma - open our eyes (liquid life remix)
3 drives on a vinyl - greece 2000
dj tiesto - sparkless (original)
gouryella - walhalla
binary finary - 1999 (gouryella mix)
gouryella - gouryella

he's due to spin in public soon, can he get away with this?

If he is spinning to n00bz, probably. Veteran listeners, not so much.

If it's something he wants to take seriously and advance himself with, then no. A classic or 2 in a set is never a bad thing. But when it becomes just about every track, then yes. Always good to keep up with the times as best as you can and constantly have a revolving track selection otherwise you will just bore people to death with the same tracks over and over again.

But this is all my opinion, of course.

No, "your friend" needs to buy some new records.


j/k

He's just starting out so I say give him a break. 80 records is a very small collection so I'm sure once it fills out he'll start getting into some of the new stuff. If not well nag him.

he should start seeing what more popular djs are spinning (i.e. the guys that get the most upfront stuff)... then he should see if that is something he wants to incorporate into his sets... he can always go digital to get stuff pretty easily... audiojelly, beatport, etc.

if he just throws in classic after classic he'll be done after 2 gigs probably...

I agree with other posters. Every time I see a DJ perform live, I expect him to mostly play tracks that I haven't heard before. I love hearing some popular choons here and there, but a full set of those would be boring

I don't mind 'old' songs; my problem with those songs is not their AGE its that they're all MASSIVE. its not building up to anything, when you start off with CARTE BLANCHE where is there to go?

Diversity is key. Playing a set of nothing but popular classics would simply be boring.

Likewise, you can't just whore every A list DJ's most recent tracklists, either. Dig deep, find those unique and untouched gems. Age has nothing to do with it. The problem with all the tracks listed by the poster is not their age, it's their popularity.

Still, sometimes I can't help myself. I've recently bought tracks like Harry Peat - Affrodizziac and Prawler - Frisco (both from Desyn's OS1), and Rai - Thinking of Suzanne (from the SOS EM), just becuase they were stuck in my head and wouldn't get out (ironically, listening to Danny Howells is what got them stuck in my head again).

Diversity is a good thing.

Like others have said, you want to keep a bit of familiar tunes that you don't totally lose your crowd, but also want to play tunes that others haven't heard before, or good tunes that rarely get played but aren't considered classics.

Also depends on how 'educated' your crowd is, but just classics is just tacky.

quote:

Originally posted by n0nsensical I don't mind 'old' songs; my problem with those songs is not their AGE its that they're all MASSIVE. its not building up to anything, when you start off with CARTE BLANCHE where is there to go?

yes, that is also a good point.

Lucily the crowd he going to be playing won't consist of TA regulars :-)

I thank you all for replying, maybe i can convince him to invest a bit in newer\less popular tracks.

althought he's pretty bent on sticking to just vinyl, so it won't be as simple as just downloading new material.

grtz

Did I miss anyone else asking where and who he's playing to? (apart from the first reply)

If it's a crowd who will respond to classic stuff, he'll be fine, if it's a crowd that want to hear the latest stuff, then he won't.

Just as important is the night he's playing at. If it's a night in a bar/club (rather than a private thing he's running) - there will probably be some kind of pre-thought put into the music policy anyway. The very first place I played was called 'A Decade of Anthems' - which sounds as though it would suit this guy to a T! I could play anything within a Ten year period - and meant I could have an entire night of classics or of current tunes (the only tunes that asked I didn't play were ones noone knew - hey, it was a bar - not enough time to 'educate' them in new music :-) )

So it's down to the place, and the people. I'm sure he might get away for hald of the set - or even the entire set - playing classics, but eventually, people will tire of it, and want to hear recent, and 'the next big thing' tunes.

Just my twopence worth on this...

quote:

Originally posted by DJRecess Did I miss anyone else asking where and who he's playing to? (apart from the first reply) If it's a crowd who will respond to classic stuff, he'll be fine, if it's a crowd that want to hear the latest stuff, then he won't. Just as important is the night he's playing at. If it's a night in a bar/club (rather than a private thing he's running) - there will probably be some kind of pre-thought put into the music policy anyway. The very first place I played was called 'A Decade of Anthems' - which sounds as though it would suit this guy to a T! I could play anything within a Ten year period - and meant I could have an entire night of classics or of current tunes (the only tunes that asked I didn't play were ones noone knew - hey, it was a bar - not enough time to 'educate' them in new music :-) ) So it's down to the place, and the people. I'm sure he might get away for hald of the set - or even the entire set - playing classics, but eventually, people will tire of it, and want to hear recent, and 'the next big thing' tunes. Just my twopence worth on this...

your twopence is welcome :-) this is very useful info.

it'll be at a B-day party for 100 people , mostly friends that like classics.

since he'll be dealing with the added stress of playing for more than
20 people for the first time, he should stick to what he knows best himself i guess. and move up unchartered waters in later gigs.

Re: too much classics

quote:

Originally posted by bwanie veracocha - carte blanche (ronald van gelderen remix)

Thats not a classic - the original is, but that one sucks ass.

If he's gonna go classic - he might as well do it properly....

Nearly all remixes of 'classic' tracks are not worth it - like that mix of Insigma - Open Our Eyes.

Jarv

quote:

Originally posted by bwanie mostly friends that like classics.

This info would have been handy in your first post, why did you not think it relevant?!

Jarv

quote:

Originally posted by Jarvmeister This info would have been handy in your first post, why did you not think it relevant?! Jarv

because it changes nothing in terms of his collection. There will be more gigs on the way if this goes well. And as many others pointed out, you can get away with once at least.

So the question would still be valid for the next time he's gonna spin somewhere.


and with regards to the van gelderen mix of veracocha, I don't care for it myself either, I think he got it while looking for the original actually

and i like this remix of open our eyes, it's not as good a the chiller twist mix(i think it's that one), but still pretty ok.

I think that anthems, be they classic anthems or newer anthems, should be used sparingly. Your friend is going to want to build up his audience with some slower/lower energy songs, and then drop that special track at the right time to make the crowd go nuts. Tell your friend to start off slow (don't start off with a classic), and watch the crowd.

The crowd is VERY important when pacing a set. If only a few people are dancing, then you (as the DJ) should ask yourself "why aren't these people dancing?", and adjust your mix accordingly. Sometimes these cues will be obvious (the people may come up to you and ask for a song), but normally you'll want to gauge who's dancing (more guys than girls, vice versa?), and work on those who aren't dancing (maybe if there are no girls dancing, play a song with a strong vocal to get them moving) If the crowd wants go-go-go Anthem Time from the start, then give it to them, but always read your crowd and check with them to see where you should be going. There are too many Djs out there who never look at their dancers and just bang out their biggest tunes like they do in the bedroom, and the result ends up being a lack of energy on that dance floor...

what about songs that are from 2002 - 2004? theyre old but you havnt heard them before, theyre ok because many might not have heard them before? e.g. jay welsh - four horesmen or deflect - show no fear?

Personally I would go nuts if any dj played The Visions of Shiva, Vernon - Wonderer, Jens - Loops n Tings or any old PVD stuff.

Diversity is the key, for me I really love to start the set slowly and build it up to techno and then come back to the classics. BPM wise, its about 130 to 150 in a 3+ hours sets.

Danny Tenaglia knows what's up. He likes to play a whole night... start things slow, build it up, and then in the last hour bring out the classics and suprises. He calls it the Appetizer, the Entree, and the Dessert.

Obviously one of the greatest DJs ever.

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