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Preparing for a set?

Hey peeps,
I'm sittin here burnin all the tracks for my show tomorrow night.
I was just wondering what each of your processes are for preparing a set. I play my weekly radio show on thursdays, so on the Saturday after my show, i usualy hit dance-tunes.com, TA, and lisn to any live sets I may have downloaded and check their playlists, find all the shit i want. dl it. then put all of it into a playlist in iTunes. After i give it all a few hundred listens, I ommit the tracks that didnt make the cut, then, put them on my iPod. I lisn to them ALLLL week long, until Wedensday night, where I burn all the tracks onto one CD each (which takes like 2 hours), get them in my record case and go to uni the next mornin. While im at uni, i lisn to the tracks again, over and over until 6pm. I go on @ 7, so I take that time for myself.
After my show I take friday off, then on saturday do it again.

haha, thats my process, whats yours?

thats a great way man sounds like you will be prepared...to be honest a lot of people dont have the time between gigs or adding loads of new tracks to the sets so typically i just listen to as much new music as i can and just mix mix mix until some of the newer ones stick out in terms of phrasing and progression so as to be well prepared enough. in terms of preparing like before a particular set though my #1 advice is to take a shit

none.

i have no idea what i'll be playing on any given night. i just have fun with it and feed off the crowd. i'd get bored of djing if i knew what i was going to play.

one thing i do like to do is rest my ears before a show. it helps.

Sleep, shower, shit, bottle of water.
Music takes care of itself instinctively

I have a wekly 2 hour show on thursdays. I usuaully just hit the online stores thursday morning (right now) and grab about 10 - 15 tunes, listen once to get a feel for them. then mix em in later. Then I decide whether I want to play em again or not.

quote:

Originally posted by hooj1 none. i have no idea what i'll be playing on any given night. i just have fun with it and feed off the crowd. i'd get bored of djing if i knew what i was going to play. one thing i do like to do is rest my ears before a show. it helps.

Hell Yeah!!!! I'm with you 100%!!!!

All of my gigs are in the city so on the drive down I'll usually listen to classic rock or something different from EDM. When I get into the club I'm ready to go and excited to play dance music.

quote:

Originally posted by DjWoody Hell Yeah!!!! I'm with you 100%!!!!

me too...I also kinda try to calm down before the gigs...guess the best is whatever works for you, take a walk...hang out with people you like/love...fuck...whatever works...

I myself usually like to take a car and drive out of the city...just me and the car and total silence...(only the engine obviously)...2 hours or so are pretty much enough to calm me down...then I'm ready to bring a great night for all those who come.

I've never prepared my playlist...except for one kind of "exhibition" of DJs we had here...but except that (and I think you can excuse me in that case) I've never prepared playlists...you gotta read the crowd and not spend hours making up a playlist and then forcing them to like it...

they aren't there to hear how you prepared...they are there to have fun...and you're there to help them have fun...I know it's cruel when you're starting out. but once you get used to it, you'll be a better DJ and will be able to make the crowd do what you like.

i dont have a crowd. i have airwaves. you gotta know whats avaliable for you to play.

quote:

Originally posted by Freak Sleep, shower, shit, bottle of water. Music takes care of itself instinctively

+1

i'll usually grab a drink and hang out by myself in a corner or something about a half hour before i'm set to start

i'll get in the groove what the opening dj is laying down and get a feel for the crowd

the few gigs i've played its just a case of go to the club, have a few drinks with mates, chat to people, enjpoy the dj's sets, then jut play my own, none of this preparation stuff

I sometimes think what tunes i might like to play, that all the prep i do

hanging around in the console while the dj before you is blowing away the crowd makes me nervous as hell. i usually only go up to the console 5 mins before my timeslot.

As far as track selection is concerned. My show is usually based on the crowd. Since the crowd is almost always unpredictable, show should my sets. I don't go on any scheduled quests for music. If I hear something I like, I get it. For radio shows and sets where I have limited or no crowd response (like podcasts, monthly mixes, etc.), I often go with how I'm feeling. Sometimes I feel like dropping it light, sometimes dark. Maybe I want to focus on my own music. It all really depends on my mood and what I feel like playing. Since there isn't that "human interface" with recorded or playback sets, I try to put my best out there.

For pre-show preparation. There's no science to it. I usually have a few drinks of Merlot, and meditate right before the show.

I usually have a few tracks in the back of my mind that I really want to play.

That, and I have about 3-4 different starting tracks picked out so depending on how the opener ends off his set I know how to start mine. Other than that, just feel the groove of the night and see how the crowd reacts to the first few records and move from there.

Yeah I can't say I do any preparation bar pull out a few tunes that I'd like to play during my set and just go to it from there.

I might have a bit of a mix at home so I'm not rusty before hand but that's about it.

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