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Time for another genre competition?

Hmm, I've noticed things have slowed down a bit on this board... and it's been a while since we had a genre competition. The last one (which happened after a long stretch of not having one) turned out great... Is there any interest this time around?

I'd be down.

Im game

Sure! I also had an idea for another type of competition that doesn't involve getting a random genre. I'll post it next year

Edit: actually now that I think about it, it kinda does. Just a different format

Blah I'd love to but I have no access to a mixer/decks

I won't be doing it this time.

quote:

Originally posted by Meat187 I won't be doing it this time.

I think it's time for us to ask our Moderator to step up and take the lead.

I don't have a lot of time to spend on TA at the moment, aside from general janitor duties, sorry guys :/ It might be better if one of you organises this, especially since it's you lot that will be mixing the sets.

Okay, so how about we do my idea now?

The challenge I had in mind was to send in 4-5 tracks/mp3's of any genre, depending on how evil you want to be you can make them all the same genre or all different genres. All the entries will be randomly arranged and assigned to each submitter, to where the the person who receives these tracks will build a set from 45-90 minutes that include them plus the interpretation of the DJ.

The genres can be whatever you choose.

For example:

Dave and Zip each submit 4 tracks of different or similar genres in a zip file. If anyone has any good hosting site suggestions let me know.

Zip gets 4 tracks from Dave and makes a mix that is some 10-15 tracks long that includes all of Dave's music along with his own. They would essentially be collab mixes where you might be challenged to switch up styles through the mixes duration.

Suppose Dave sends Zip tracks in the following genres:

Ambient, Breaks, British House, Hardstyle

I'd be fucked.

But it would be interesting to see what people send each other to build a set around.

Edit: Would anybody be interested in this or is it too complicated/stupid?

Maybe if we cut it down to 3 tracks, I'd be interested in something like that, Nick...

I'll be up for listening/feedback. Some of the mixes for past competitions were quite good.

quote:

Originally posted by Mr Game+Watch Maybe if we cut it down to 3 tracks, I'd be interested in something like that, Nick...

That sounds a lot more manageable. Would anyone else be interested in this idea if we cut it down to 3 tracks?

I don't have access to decks anymore, but I'm definitely down to submit tracks of various genres. I still have some obscure vinyl rips that I'd be willing to submit for sure.

I could expand this idea even further.

Suppose 10 people sign up and each person submits 3 tracks.

That's 30 tracks that I have that I could randomly assign to each submitter, so that it's not too easy. Instead of getting a bunny basket where it's like 3 generic trance tracks, you're likely guaranteed to have 3 different styles from 3 different people who all have different tastes.

What would you guys say to that tweak?

I think 3 tracks to submit per person is a good idea. And I assume there will be 2 groups of people: one group submitting tracks, the other mixing them in sets?

I would also encourage that people submit only tracks from their personal collection.

Nope, if you submit tracks, you will be participating.

However, I can't stop people just like in the regular competition from bailing. Although you are a loser and a douchebag if you choose to drop from the competition after you've been assigned your tracks

Well as I mentioned, I can only do the submitting, as I don't have any decks to make a mix with. Moreover, I haven't mixed a set in like 3-4 years. Am I discounted from the competition then?

Do you have any friends with decks, or any software you can use? Because it would really throw a wrench in the operation if you could only submit and not mix.

I've never used software, but perhaps I can try. It may be a disaster though. We'll see, maybe I'll just opt out, then. Wish I could submit some tracks though, but whatever you guys decide the competition should be like, I'll act accordingly if I join.

Instead of assigning tracks to people, how about we just go the whole hog: everyone submits 3-4 tracks and they go into a big master pool that is like the DJ's "crate" for the set. Then each person gets to use whatever they want from the crate to play a 60-80 minute set, but can only use tracks from the crate. It will test the old adage that you can give two DJs the same box of records and they'll each create something totally different. We could perhaps allow DJs to use one "wildcard" track that isn't from the crate to add an extra dimension.

The main obstacle here would be the chances of everyone submitting wildly different stuff and the crate being effectively useless. It would require careful thought from everyone when submitting tracks to pick things that will be useful to their fellow DJs - pick something way left of field and you won't find it crop up in anyone else's mix. I do think the majority of DJs here operate within broadly similar territory - house/techno/prog/breaks - so it could work, but I doubt it'd appeal to those who don't operate inside those boundaries.

I think the only thing that could be a downside of that is exactly what you pointed out - people won't like what's in the "crate", and will therefore be more likely to drop out. At least if you're assigned the tracks, you are required to use them or else your challenge fails. There's also the issue that suppose 5-6 tracks in the "crate" that are utter bombs, most people will choose those tracks over others.

So in all reality it comes down to two different challenges:

1) Submit 3 tracks of different genres, they get placed in the "crate", and 3 tracks are randomly assigned to the contestant without them receiving their own tracks they submitted.

2) Submit 3 tracks of similar genres, they get placed in the "crate" and everyone gets a free-for-all on creating a mix using only those tracks plus a wildcard.

Which one would you guys be more interested in? Should I create a poll?

I like 1).

quote:

Originally posted by ziptnf I think the only thing that could be a downside of that is exactly what you pointed out - people won't like what's in the "crate", and will therefore be more likely to drop out. At least if you're assigned the tracks, you are required to use them or else your challenge fails.

But that could merely lead to the same scenario - people get given three tracks they hate or couldn't fit in with anything... and drop out. I think an advantage of what I've proposed is everyone will already have all their tracks. I think a big reason why people drop out of genre challenges is because they're forced to spend a huge amount of time finding and acquiring tracks. Give someone a ready-made crate of shit and even if it's way outside the comfort zone, they can mix it together and have a go straight out of the box.

Granted, I just made up my idea on the spot so it's definitely not perfect and everyone can chip in with suggested tweaks. I think it would require a collaborative mindset where all the players are thoughtful in their selections, but it fits with my experience of meeting other TA DJs in real life, because we'll always end up playing each other tracks and going "What do you think?" or "How would you use this track?" If we ended up with 10 or so DJs who know each other's styles and are broadly compatible, I trust people to put interesting tracks into the equation. My biggest worry is not with people dropping out, but with it turning into something of a circle-jerk activity between chums.

Yeah I agree, there are definitely flaws with both ideas. But I do like your idea, and I think both can be challenging in different ways.

Let's try to roll with your idea for now and maybe next year we can try mine.

So let's say everyone submits 5 tracks to the "crate" and we have 10 people. That's 50 tracks, which is plenty to choose from.

Should we have a BPM range requirement? Because it would be tough if we had tracks submitted at 124 BPM and tracks at 140.

Let's see which idea people prefer. Maybe everyone would rather just stick with a straight-up genre challenge.

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