i hate the term filler track, especially used in this sense...

why play songs you don't like?

you should play a song because you like it, determines your style etc. i could go on but i really can't be arsed. nice pointless thread imo

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w: www.luketerry.com

Yea.. I ain't really a fan of the term either... when its time to pull another record from the box.. I usually sit ther for about 15 secs, just listening to the melody of the first breakdown, and VERY QUICKLY start going through my collection of records in my head and pick whatever comes to mind that would sound good or go smooth with the tracks thats playing.. if that happening to be another popular/anthemy track... so be it... if not then I don't really care... I don't look for anything for the NEXT track other than if its gonna sound good, OR sometimes I have a track that I know exactly what to drop after cuz I just love mixing the 2 together 90% of the time...

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Originally posted by mndeg not all songs can be the best you know

remember its killer not filler, in your set

quote:

Originally posted by Luke Terry why play songs you don't like?

I think he means what do you look for in a track that you like, but you acknowledge that it isn't anything amazing. Basically what I'd look for is, similar to what J:\Digital said, a song in your record box that helps the set flow and move along but might not necessarily define your set or style.

I guess it can come down to contrast. If you've just played 3 or 4 mad anthems/uplifting numbers, then something a bit more sedated can be good to wind things down again. Is this what you mean?

Signum - First Strike comes to mind as a track that I dont really like all that much, but works really well when I drop it at the right time.

It meanders around for ages with all these trippy sounds and then winds back up so something decent near the end.

Something simple - but not too simple to lose interest

Someting energetic - but not too energetic (just to keep it at the current level or a bit below)

Something euphoric - but not too anthemic or uplifting

Something you can easily mix out of after three minutes in case its dropping the mood too far.

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**Man I'm Pretty**

I use techno/prog house for "filler." (I hate the name too, because I DO like all the songs I play.)

If...say...I'm coming out of "Punk," I have these great BANGING techno records. There's this one great tribal track...

Really kickass groove, makes people want to shake their ass. I'm out of the song in 2 minutes, though, because it's very repetitive (Carl Cox style ). And from a "non-musical" song like that, you can go ANYWHERE. Layer the bassline of the next song for a while, and you can really pull off some good stuff.

If my track is a bit more chill/progressive, I have some melodic progressive house that sounds good to quickly move in and out from. Layering is a bit more tricky there, but that just takes practice.

"Filler" songs are really good to judge the mood of a crowd with.

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http://www.ikronix.com

i just play a set, no filler tracks. but i guess its very much different with techno, there isn't many anthems

the closest i suppose i'd get to a filler track, is when i flip the set ovewr some times and go in a bit of a tangent for a while, then i'll play the dirtiest filthy techno around, possibly be arrested for it before banging some more stompers out.

my favorite track for this is hertz - dean martin (tom track mix)

i like making mud come out my speakers

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MUGGETS

The way I see it, not too keen on the word filler track either.

I don't really play them. What I tend to do is perhaps have tracks that enable me to get to where I'm going and you might be able to say they are fillers. But I never conciously go out and say "I must get some filler tracks". It depends so much on what slots you are playing and the policy of the club.
I let the energy, pace and mental state of the crowd decide if they need to ease off a little but I would always try and choose a good track to do so with. I would never play anything that I felt was sub standard 'in my opinion'.

Tracks work differently with other tracks. If you put a track in a proggy set it could be a total killer but stick it in another set and it may seem less energetic or less whatever than the other stuff and may come across as a filler.
When I play the main slot I would never say to myself that I'm going to play a filler. Just play what's right for the time and read the crowd.

Cheers
Nem

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https://www.mixcloud.com/Calvin_Karass/

had a wee think about this..

as far as techno dj's go, i think a comparison to a 'filler' track would be perhaps a track that wouldn't be played on its own.

i have lots of vinyl that i wouldn't ever play on its own, or if i did it would only be for a minute while i fuck about and get another track in. these tracks tend to be the reason some people think techno is boring, i look for not so much change in these tracks. what i look for is killer hooks, sweet beat sequencing, and maybe something special in the middle for its (possible) solo time. basically, if you just played these tracks one into another, full length with nothing over the top, they would be boring.

prime examples of these would be:

john conner - raw deed
mould impression (adam beyer) - 6 hours

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MUGGETS

quote:

Originally posted by Cheetah86 I think he means what do you look for in a track that you like, but you acknowledge that it isn't anything amazing. Basically what I'd look for is, similar to what J:\Digital said, a song in your record box that helps the set flow and move along but might not necessarily define your set or style.

that is not what mndeg was implying tho

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w: www.luketerry.com