You bring up a lot of good points. I've often wondered if I should spin what I want and the peeps that like my style come to hear it or if I should conform to the crowd once in a while. As far as harmonic mixing is concerned, I think you hit it right on with the less melodic tracks being transition points in case you do read the crowd and feel you need to change it up a bit in order to keep them interested.

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first off isnt a particular dj known for their own 'unique' sound?

usually yup

if so then why go somewhere looking to play what they like?

it's not "playing what the crowd wants to hear" it's "reading the crowd" and adjusting your style within itself to please them based on your choice of rekkids, music, style, mixing.
EG: i play trance(goa/psy/prog/hard/epic/etc),tekno, and some house and tribal. If i'm spinning trance and i drop a huge epic monster like ummm.. Rank 1 Airwave or something and i see less people dancing or people making "wtf" faces, i'll remember that and not drop the epic bomb, i'll maybe try a harder track, maybe some BXR or something and if they like it, i'll ease into some progressive or tekno, and drop a hardstyle on them, see how it goes, if it starts to go sour, i'll clean the slate with a progressive track, and try something else.

"your style" is defined by what you pick for tunes and how you mix, your stage presence (too many DJs are stage zombies, they don't do ANYTHING, what a waste..), etc, so in theory, ANY record you have in your box will reflect part of your style or unique taste in your kind of music.

also, for every1 that mixes harmonically, how do you do this and be able to alter you set from its original path? i mean do you have that many records to have that many options to be able to altar the mix in such a way to 'read' the crowd and still keep to harmonic mixing?

basically it comes down to knowing your tracks, AND your B-sides. Some DJs bring 3 or more crates of rekkids for an hour set, i don't see what the point is, but many do. I prefer to bring 1 crate per hour i play. ..anyways.. just about any rekkid can be mixed, you just gotta know the track well enough to know where that sweet spot is. If you are in an emergency mix-now-or-die situation, you can pull a cheeze mix like spin the rekkid backwards and drop the other one, or mix ambient parts of the rekkid (parts with no bass).

and if so, then are therte just transitions on your set that are solely percusion in where you go around the harmonic part to get a better path?

some tracks mix wicked in the noisiest parts, other tracks you can ONLY mix on the backside of a buildup, comes with experience and knowing the vinyl you have.

maybe i just need more records... but isnt that always the answer?

yes, you can never have too many rekkids and when you think you may have too many, go back to the beginning and play your B-sides for fun, you'll find stuff you never knew you had

wow, that's one long ass post

-=:EPoC:=-

Epoc is pretty spot on with his long ass post!

As Epoc correctly said, it's not the tracks you are specifically playing but the mood that you are giving. The energy levels that you give off and so on.
There are many things to take into consideration like how full is the dance floor? Was the warm up guy any good and what state did he leave the dancefloor in etc.

If the dancefloor is looking a little empty then bring it down a touch and start rebuilding and so on.

A good DJ can also dictate the dancefloor but only as far as the crowd will let them. I always see it as a game where I want to get the clubbers into a state where I can play what I want but until I feel I have that with them, I have to respect them and their behaviour.

Being a harmonic mixer actually makes it easier not harder as you don't have to worry about throwing two melodies on top of eachother and getting a bad clash. People often make the mistake of thinking that harmonic mixing is almost an inconvenience but it's actually an amazing tool that can create a good flow. A flow that will make the records you play make more sense and keep the people dancing.

And yes... ther are too many DJs who give nothing of themselves when they are mixing. I hear this conversation all too often amongst DJs. A friend who had never seen me DJ was telling me of when he played at a club and the DJ after him came on and was dancing around and (in my friends opinion) making an arse of himself. Subsequently my friend was dropped from that night for being too boring and just doing his own thing. I know the promoter and she is real fussy on DJ behaviour even if it's just the warm up.
When the break down comes and people put their hands in the air, do the same. Point at the people dancing on the speakers, smile at people and make them feel as if you noticed them, interact and have a good time. People respond to this and they notice if you are having a good time.

Whilst he is an amazing DJ this is the major problem I find with PvD (appart from his boring music but that's a personal taste issue ), he just isn't active enough. Watch Tiesto or Picotto or people like that and you will get a completely different vibe. I realise the PvD is big in the US at the moment but I think people will pick up on this sooner or later.

Another day another ramble...

Cheers
Nem

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quote:

Originally posted by Nemesis44 Whilst he is an amazing DJ this is the major problem I find with PvD (appart from his boring music but that's a personal taste issue ), he just isn't active enough. Watch Tiesto or Picotto or people like that and you will get a completely different vibe. I realise the PvD is big in the US at the moment but I think people will pick up on this sooner or later.

see, i like that about PVD. He spends less time waving his hands around, and more time actually mixing. Tiesto does the opposite. I like the fact that Tiesto is just in the zone while he is spinning. And he does play to the crowd a decent amount actually. he's getting better at it.

quote:

Originally posted by zizack see, i like that about PVD. He spends less time waving his hands around, and more time actually mixing. Tiesto does the opposite. I like the fact that Tiesto is just in the zone while he is spinning. And he does play to the crowd a decent amount actually. he's getting better at it.

I hear ya Z,
I guess perhaps Tiesto wasn't the best example as to be honest I don't always think he looks as if he is enjoying himself when he does move plus the fact that he can't dance he he. I also find that Tiesto leaves a lot to be desired on a technical level but he does have an awesome track selection which more than makes up for his sloppy mixes.

On a personal level I always enjoy my own DJing experience if I interact with the crowd more though.

Cheers
Nem

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This is aside from the topic but I find that pvd's lack of jumping around and dancing etc contributes to his personality as ... PVD. He has this 'its-all-about-the-music' vibe and his attitude shows just that too. Just wouldnt be pvd if he did anything more than punch his fists in the air occasionaly.

As for the topic.. to those of you with experience, .. well have you ever experienced crowds which show a good reaction to WHATEVER you play? In other words, a crowd which doesnt know their music and just dance and cheer to every song no matter how shitty it is.

I think that though you will be getting tremendous support from them the whole night, it still is more satisfying to have a crowd look mellow when you play one track and then send them to high heavens with the next track. Like seeing the change of expressions that YOU brought about. Hope you get what i mean

quote:

Originally posted by Nemesis44 I hear ya Z, I guess perhaps Tiesto wasn't the best example as to be honest I don't always think he looks as if he is enjoying himself when he does move plus the fact that he can't dance he he. I also find that Tiesto leaves a lot to be desired on a technical level but he does have an awesome track selection which more than makes up for his sloppy mixes. On a personal level I always enjoy my own DJing experience if I interact with the crowd more though. Cheers Nem

IMHO, Tiesto has all the personality I can just about handle with a DJ. Besides spinning great music, he connects with his audience on so many levels. In fact, when I saw him about a year back here in the US he spun his remix of Southern Sun, then just about threw himself upon the audience while the track was coming to a close. He generally puts his hands on his audience when his set is coming to a close, which is more interaction than I have encountered with many DJs. I have also experienced some DJs that could use a heafty dose of ritalin before their sets and I have seen some DJs that could use a couple cups of coffee before they spin. But, it all depends on your preference of a DJs persona, but personally I believe Tiesto generally has great crowd interaction and never leaves his audience feeling unfulfilled.. which is the main objective of a great DJ, am i right?

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quote:

Originally posted by Nemesis44 And yes... ther are too many DJs who give nothingof themselves when they are mixing. I hear this conversation all too often amongst DJs. A friend who had never seen me DJ was telling me of when he played at a club and the DJ after him came on and was dancing around and (in my friends opinion) making an arse of himself. Subsequently my friend was dropped from that night for being too boring and just doing his own thing. I know the promoter and she is real fussy on DJ behaviour even if it's just the warm up. When the break down comes and people put their hands in the air, do the same. Point at the people dancing on the speakers, smile at people and make them feel as if you noticed them, interact and have a good time. People respond to this and they notice if you are having a good time. Whilst he is an amazing DJ this is the major problem I find with PvD (appart from his boring music but that's a personal taste issue ), he just isn't active enough. Watch Tiesto or Picotto or people like that and you will get a completely different vibe. I realise the PvD is big in the US at the moment but I think people will pick up on this sooner or later.

i agree with you 100%. i've seen pvd spin three times and he just stands there and does his thing. he doesnt even look like he is having any fun. i love it when the dj is dancing around and enjoying themselves. whenever i see a dj that looks bored i'm like "wtf.... you look miserable, but you expect a bunch of energy out of me?" atleast bob your head while your mixing or something.

my favorite dj to watch spin is Armin. last time he was at avalon boston he was amazing. he was so into it. you could tell this guy loves his job. he does a great job connecting with the crowd.

quote:

Originally posted by EPoC yes, you can never have too many rekkids and when you think you may have too many, go back to the beginning and play your B-sides for fun, you'll find stuff you never knew you had

this is true, i love spinning the b-sides or the mixes i usually dont. it can add a great twist in a set if all of the A-sides are very similar. hehe or just a fun way to procrastinate from working on a sunday evening (as i have been doing all day )

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the worst DJ for this is Sasha. He's a zombie, he doesn't even look up from the decks.

Then again, every mix is perfect, so it's OK.

about this reading the crowd stuff, i think it is one of the hardest parts of DJing. beatmatching, phrasematching, EQ and level matching, and even harmonic mixing can all be taught out of a textbook.

but reading a crowd only comes with experience. You have to take a lot of different factors into account, such as venue, dj before, dj after, the crowd and what they are into (music, as well as drug of choice), the time of night, the ambiance of the room etc.

My approach is usually to play tribal progressive stuff with not to many big build ups for the first bit. then tease in some trance, and if people dig that, then keep getting trancier, eventually moving up to the harder stuff, and the epic hands in the air breakdowns.

another thing is, you need to know when to give them a break! sometimes, even though you are pounding out the awesome songs they love, if there are no quiet spots, they will simply get tired and have to leave the floor.

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what does "harmonic mixing" mean?