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-- Is it ok to still play oldies? ......

Is it ok to still play oldies? ......

So, I'm still pretty new a DJing, but that's not the point, lol. Actually, I'm just trying to find out if it's ok to play some old stuff, say from like early 2000's and on. The reason I ask is because I'm still picking up on new artists everyday, and it's kinda hard to figure out which songs are new, old, kinda old, played out, etc. So I was just wondering, if it matters at all, whether or not your setlist includes a majority of old tracks, or if the only thing that matters is that you keep the crowd jumpin regardless of how old the music you're playing is?

Quality of a track and track selection is infinitely more important than track age.

play an old track

mix into a new track

mix into an old track

repeat for set length

Play whatever you want and whatever makes you happy. If you are playing for a crowd and are trying to be serious at it then yeah, it might be best to keep up to date somewhat with the tunes that you are playing. But classics are always fun and never hurt anybody. Sounds like you are fairly new to it so I suggest having a lot of fun with it and practice the basics as much as you can before really worrying about your track selection.

There's a difference between oldies and overplayed tracks. Oldies in general are a good thing. Not only because music was far better in the 90s, but since you've got over 20 years of EDM history at your disposal, I don't see why you should only play tracks that have come out in the last six months. Tons of DJs do that, and they're usually the shitty ones who just play whatever AVB or above & beyond are playing at the moment (which is usually just the same 20 tracks in a different order).

EDM as a whole is such a timeless music. I think this is what makes it so great. You don't hear "alternative" radio stations play something like The Doors or Zep because (although being great music) it's dated. Alhough, the music was indeed "alternative" in it's day. You don't get that with electronic dance music.

I wouldn't play a whole set of old tracks unless specifically asked because there's alot of good current music out there. But I'm not above throwing in a classic in the mix to perk up the ears of the dancers. I find that depending on the track, classic or older tracks tend to get a nice reaction. I use them to bring a "familiarity" feel to my sets. I think this is why so many modern day artists remix classic tracks. It brings that familiarity factor as well as bringing a new feel.

quote:

Originally posted by TwistedDUO EDM as a whole is such a timeless music. I think this is what makes it so great. You don't hear "alternative" radio stations play something like The Doors or Zep because (although being great music) it's dated. Alhough, the music was indeed "alternative" in it's day. You don't get that with electronic dance music.

EDM timeless? Give me a break. Just about anything 15+ years old sounds really dated now, not to mention the disposable nature the whole EDM world has now - nobody's even trying to make timeless music anymore.

Doors & Zep still sound much fresher to me than any EDM track. And I hear them on the radio far more often as well.

quote:

Originally posted by Mr.Mystery EDM timeless? Give me a break. Just about anything 15+ years old sounds really dated now, not to mention the disposable nature the whole EDM world has now - nobody's even trying to make timeless music anymore. Doors & Zep still sound much fresher to me than any EDM track. And I hear them on the radio far more often as well.

I think the absence of lyrics and generalized structure allow for this. Not to discredit The Doors, Zep, or even Pink Floyd (all geniuses, might I add) but you when you hear it, you just know from what era it came from. I meet and work with alot of people who are far from EDM literate. These are people who are into things like punk, metal, even hip-hop. When I pop in an Underworld CD or Photek - Ni Ten Ichi Ryu the response is the same as it was when it first came out.

The same goes for when I perform. I drop something classic (Lost Tribes - Gamemaster, for example) in the EDM realm, the reaction is usually identical to the first day I dropped it in 1999. There are also tracks (especially with goa/psytrance) that I drop regularly that are a decade old. Yet people treat it as if it was fresh off the presses. In fact, it happens alot when I play artists like Astral Projection or Infected Mushroom. I'll play something from 1996 and almost always, some young trancer comes up and asks, "Is that the new *blah-blah* track?" I just smile.

I fully agree that producers are now pushing disposable goods. It's the nature of the beast. As EDM becomes more popular, it becomes more POP CULTURE. Producers that used to crank out classics (PvD - For an Angel) now crank out crap to fill the slot. When that track gets played out, they push out another fabrication.

theres nothing wrong with dropping classics in your set. People might look at you funny but most of the time they'll come up to you and ask you who the artist is or the title, not so often on new tracks does that happen. Atleast not with progressive trance.
Typically the people that you are playing out for are the ones you see dancing and glowsticking. The people sitting on their butt, smoking cigarettes and drinking martinis are mostly jaded assholes. They definitely don't want to hear classics, they want tech house @ 125BPM 8P
But when giving a demo out, try not to use too many older tracks, unless you're making some kind of tribute to the past compilation.
if you have to throw in just one classic, then just know there is a right time as well as a wrong time to drop it.
All the time djs drop some random track after projecting an hour of one specific genre... Don't make that mistake! Classics, are a genre of their own in my opinion. They stick out like a sore thumb in a set where you're projecting a fluent sound. Like don't try dropping some Man with no Name after Sean Tyas, that would be wack!
So drop one here, drop one there but don't over do it and mind your
P track selection.

quote:

Originally posted by justin Don't make that mistake! Classics, are a genre of their own in my opinion. They stick out like a sore thumb in a set where you're projecting a fluent sound. Like don't try dropping some Man with no Name after Sean Tyas, that would be wack! So drop one here, drop one there but don't over do it and mind your P track selection.

Old school trance maybe, because trance as it was is barely ever produced anymore. Sean tyas style trance is more like euro-pop than trance, so of course they sound like different genres - because they are. But that aside, you could easily mix some recent prog and tribal house with early-90s house and techno (the ones with slower BPMs) along with some mid-90s prog trance (a la LSG) and acid, and it would still flow well.

age shouldent be a question it should all be about quality

quote:

Originally posted by justin people that you are playing out for are the ones you see dancing and glowsticking. The people sitting on their butt, smoking cigarettes and drinking martinis are mostly jaded assholes. They definitely don't want to hear classics, they want tech house @ 125BPM 8P

LOL what a jerk.

Yeah, imo the age doesnt really matter. But maybe you should care attention, that you dont play the same tracks in every and every set again. And I guess its good to play some unknown tunes, too and those unknown tunes are mostly new. How ever, in the end you have to decide yourself, what you want to play. If _you_ wanna play some nice old classic, then do that!

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