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DJ's - Picking a Music Style/Genre

So for all you DJ's who are residents/play out quite often, how did you pick the genre of music that you mainly focus on?

I mean I like deep house, groovy house, minimal, techno, tech-house, tribal, etcetc. and my library contains all of the above but I don't have one set genre that I listen to and like to spin, all of my sets that I record are different.

How did you guys make that decision to stick to one genre, or do you spin multiple genres as well?

whatever gets the place going?

Nothing wrong with being different every time. Obviously it's best to pick fitting genre based on the venue. Can't go full on at a lounge, etc. Don't limit yourself by trying to stick to a single genre. Some genres are really blurred right now, anyway. You'll develop your style eventually, or, perhaps, your style will be 'no style.'

quote:

Originally posted by leph555 whatever gets the place going?

+1

one residency i play electronic (house, trance and electro), the other it's top 40 and retro with a dash of commercial house

the key to playing out is being versatile and able to adapt to any situation and crowd

also you can change it up, play a few different genres in a night, you don't have to stay in one area, as long as you can mix it and it flows, there's no limits to what you can do

it really depends on the night but you should show your musical personality in each set - don't play stuff you don't like just because it seems to suit the event

your set time should influence what you choose to bring to the gig a little bit - in general, it's better to play a bit slower to begin & maybe avoid any super weird stuff that could drive people away. the dancefloor is a very fragile thing early in the night

trying to write a response I realize that it's quite particular to the night. it's really helpful to know where you are playing and what to expect from the crowd. beyond genre, there are many different moods and what works in one place can seem very wrong in another - also, some nights are more about continuous grooves rather & others work better with multi-genre sets

so it depends! do your research

I usually read the bible. The most bible portion of the bible. With my dick out. And wait for balaeria to semenate out my come hither orifice. Whatever color it happens to mold into I then match to the spin of my color wheel and then match that to the synaesthesia I get from any particular genre.

After that, I am generally tired so I wipe the precum off, sleep on it, and plur my life away after I promptly forget all of this.

Listen to my new set, you girly bastard.

You made another one?! Oh, well your sig did change colors again, haha. Christ on a bike. Gimme a minute.

I started DJing in the mid-1980s, so my current influences stretch waaay back, but around the mid-90s, I was dabbling with several different genres of dance music. Old mixtapes of mine had Techno, House, Acid Techno, Breaks, Psy-trance and whatever else I thought was cool at the time.

Then I went to a rave with Marco Carola (back when he played good music), Traxx and Neil Landstrumm (live fucking PA) headlining. Was given some ridiculously clean gear by a friend, and got sat on my ass like an audio sponge for 5 hours while being pummeled by some of the most twisted beats I'd ever heard. Having absorbed all I could of the assault for the night, I walked out at 6 in the a.m. in a daze/floating on a cloud and haven't looked back since.

Now I just play whatever moves me, but it's gotta be deep and funky. On any given night I'll throw down anything from the late-70s on, including old Electro, Freestyle, Industrial, Italo-Disco, Acid House, and whatever else floats my boat.

Imho, first and foremost, the DJ's gotta be the first person dancing - if you don't move, how can you possibly expect anyone else to?

Just like PivotTechno, I have been doing this for a long time too. This year I celebrate 25 years of DJing.

In answer to the original question, I haven't chosen any genre in particular. Whilst I favour trance and I am fortunate enough to still work venues that play it, I will always throw in other elements that work well. Tech Trance, Breaks, Prog and Techno etc.

You don't have to play any one genre, and in fact I would say that you would actually benefit from not doing that.

I never really categorize my music by genre, rather but what I feel it does and how it feels.

Cheers
Nem

Re: DJ's - Picking a Music Style/Genre

quote:

Originally posted by WithoutAngles how did you pick the genre of music that you mainly focus on?

Decisions, decision... dj'ing can be difficult if you dont make any decisions.

quote:

Originally posted by WithoutAngles I mean I like deep house, groovy house, minimal, techno, tech-house, tribal, etcetc. and my library contains all of the above but I don't have one set genre that I listen to and like to spin, all of my sets that I record are different.

Thats the reason why i dj.

quote:

Originally posted by WithoutAngles How did you guys make that decision to stick to one genre, or do you spin multiple genres as well?

Well.. Its easy to spin deep/tech now, coz trance is pointless (imo). I have made also trance mixes, but i got fed up really fast. Those other genres contain (imo) more interesting elements, but of course there is also lots of shit. Choose what sounds good FOR YOU. That way its easier to "stick in one genre".

This is the problem I have. I'm a House music guy. Being a Chicago native, it's what I grew up on and what I prefer to mix. But whenever I go out, submit my demo's, promote myself, and all that good stuff. All I ever hear is that's not what we do here. You have to do it this way. So than I start asking myself, which direction should I go? Now I'm just doing it all. I dunno, I guess I'm meeting the wrong people, or now that I think about it, maybe I shouldn't of taken a thirteen year hiatus.

I feel what the problem is, and maybe some of you will agree, today's music scene is so oversaturated with crap, and most don't know what good music is. Way too many artists trying to crossover into different genres.

Yeah I get what you guys are saying, and I love to dabble in different genres as well if they sound well together.

But what really frustrates me is that some of the genres I love to spin are at opposite ends of the spectrum and it's just hard to incorporate them all. I mean it's not really a question of me spinning them all in one set because that would probably just sound hella weird, but I kind of would like to be known/recognized for a particular sound which I guess I just can't find yet. Maybe with time..

Why do you want to be known for a particular sound?

Lol I guess I worded it improperly, but I guess I just kind of want to have a signature sound.

Or I'm just a confused child, either way, there's too much good music out there for my ears.

quote:

Originally posted by PivotTechno first and foremost, the DJ's gotta be the first person dancing - if you don't move, how can you possibly expect anyone else to?

THIS IS THE QUOTE OF THE YEAR SO FAR!

How many times, especially early on in the night, do you look up & see the dj mixing his tracks like a statue, paying maximum attention to getting all the levels right.
Boring!
Sure, the mixing might be top shelf, but how many ppl are there to rate the dj instead of rocking out like a dumb shit!?

Get your groove on, ****, or at least bob a little.

quote:

Originally posted by recoil THIS IS THE QUOTE OF THE YEAR SO FAR! How many times, especially early on in the night, do you look up & see the dj mixing his tracks like a statue, paying maximum attention to getting all the levels right. Boring! Sure, the mixing might be top shelf, but how many ppl are there to rate the dj instead of rocking out like a dumb shit!? Get your groove on, ****, or at least bob a little.

Hip Hop guys stand like statues. You can't be dancing while watching Serato all night.

Imagine what would happen if the computer locked up.

all those white boys 'spinnin' hip hop, they just HAVE to move so that you get distracted & notice that theyre not black but playing black ppl's music...

quote:

Originally posted by recoil all those white boys 'spinnin' hip hop, they just HAVE to move so that you get distracted & notice that theyre not black but playing black ppl's music...

You have to come out and see my DJ partner spin (hip hop). I swear, one day he's gonna go Serato blind. You could have a smokin' hot naked chick standing right next to him, and he still won't move his fat face from that laptop screen.

quote:

Originally posted by djkatmaus You have to come out and see my DJ partner spin (hip hop). I swear, one day he's gonna go Serato blind. You could have a smokin' hot naked chick standing right next to him, and he still won't move his fat face from that laptop screen.

Maybe he has crashed and needs to be rebooted?

Nem

I have made it a point to get away from this whole idea of subgenres and trying to define what it is I play. It is a pointless venture to try and define yourself by tagging your music down to some weird niche genre that nobody has ever heard of. The genre lines are so blurred these days anyway (I see this as a good thing) and it's so subjective that you will probably mislead whomever you are talking to anyway.

Defining any 4-to-the-floor stuff that I play as anything other than "house and techno" is fairly useless. This philosophy carries over into my promoter side as well. I promote it as a "techno and house" night and use a simple tagline... "Support Electronic Music in Dayton!"

The heads will show up anyway, and the curious people won't be intimidated by the thought of hearing deep ghetto-tech post-emo nazi polka-core.

quote:

Originally posted by david.michael deep ghetto-tech post-emo nazi polka-core.

ill pay good money to hear this!

In my opinion, a DJ should define his/her sound by simply playing tracks that call out to them. When your searching for music to play, the songs that you hear and envision yourself playing is "your sound".

Because im on Okinawa I spin at the base clubs here. Usually the management of the club says "we want this style in this room and this style in that room" we pretty much follow along (usually after a few weeks when the management gets to know you they allow you quite a bit of leeway).

Playing off-base here isnt an option due to no Air Force allowed to be employed by a drinking establishment and they are also cutthroat. Theyll let you spin and get everyone going and when its finally peaking they rip you from the booth to put in a japanese DJ who then proceeds to make the dancefloor evacuate as quickly as possible.

Not to mention because im AF on the "Rock" we can only be in a club until midnight.... Sometimes I really wonder why im military.....

Past that in the states its more what are they after. Are you the filler between a rock band playing? What area are you in? A lot of factors will influence your playlist but most of all its what did the people coming out that night come to hear (genre wise).

quote:

Originally posted by manny cabrera In my opinion, a DJ should define his/her sound by simply playing tracks that call out to them. When your searching for music to play, the songs that you hear and envision yourself playing is "your sound".

Spot on!

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