...who looks back upon his vast collection of music, some purchased as recently as several weeks ago, and thinks "why the hell did I buy this?"

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't say that these are bad tracks, or that I necessarily have bad tastes. But my tastes and interests of a particular niche sound seem to fluctuate wildly from week to week. Records I was crazy for a few weeks ago I feel disinterested in now, and when I search through my back catalogue looking for forgotten tracks that match my immediate interests, I feel almost disheartened at my own hand picked collection as a whole, because it seems so greatly spread out in style that there's nothing really tying it together to make it uniquely my own sound.

I guess it's a good thing that I have wide tastes--the best DJs are usually the ones who play all sorts of music. And when I'm playing gigs, my own personal genre inhibitions usually evaporate. But still, I never feel satisfied with the tracks I have. I'm always pursuing the sound of some new influence, and it makes my giant, eclectic collection seem old and useless.

I've thought about ceasing to listen to other DJs sets altogether, so that I can focus on just buying what I find and like, rather than focusing on outside influences (and no, I don't just buy tracks of a certain sound just because some big name DJ is doing it, but I find myself constantly influenced by different sounds).

Perhaps this quirky trait is what truly makes a great DJ, and I ought to quit complaining. It just feels frustrating sometimes.

Oh, and I think this might also be the one great disadvantage to the CD format, at least in the way I use it. I purchase tracks until I have a dozen or two that are close enough in style, date them, then burn 6-10 per CD together. I play from my entire collection. But as it gets bigger and bigger, it gets harder and harder to keep track of it all during the middle of a set. If I were using vinyl records, or something with a browser like Serato, I could just spend some quality time before the set to pick a specific group of tracks from my entire collection to play. Then I wouldn't have to look very far in the middle of a set. I've thought about burning 1-3 tracks per CD that are very close in sound/style, so it's organized more like a vinyl collection, but I figure that would go through a shitload of CDRs in a hurry.

Perhaps it's just time for a massive overhaul/reorganizing/reburning of the way I organize my collection. I need a faster burner.

Eh, I've kind of rambled on here... but I'm sure I'm not the only one with these frustrations. Let 'em out.

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NEW MIX [Feb/March 2008]

just get serato you idiot!!!!! jk (or am i...)

Hey man I agree. Good Dj's love music. Most people who Love music listen to alot of genres. I can understand you not wanting to sound like someone else and trying to find your own sound. Every self-respecting Dj i know wants to do just that. Ferry Corsten in an interview I saw was complaining about how alot of Dj's listen to each other all the time and everyone sounds the same (production wise). He's very right. I love what he's doing with Electronica. Hopefully you find your own sound and move forward with it. Don't listen to other people, be yourself.

And yeah u should probably think about Serato, Im a new generation Dj and although I've bought a couple of Vinyls (I think Turntables need to make a comeback). My laptop is my best friend. I mean I'd love to have all those vinyls...but the macbook pro is much much lighter.

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Ape D. Clutch, I will be The Dj King! I will
posess One Piece!

Yeah, I'm really starting to consider Serato, if only for organizational purposes (plus, I often yearn to mix on Technics again).

I just need to get over my qualms of bringing my shiny white MacBook to a smokey club where it can be ambushed by toppled drinks.

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NEW MIX [Feb/March 2008]

quote:

Originally posted by Ape D. Clutch alot of Dj's listen to each other all the time and everyone sounds the same (production wise). He's very right. I love what he's doing with Electronica. Hopefully you find your own sound and move forward with it. Don't listen to other people, be yourself.

please could you learn the difference between DJ and Producer?

Some people are both but it ISNT interchange-able

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quote:

Originally posted by Ape D. Clutch Don't listen to other people, be yourself.

Well, it's not that I'm ever letting anyone's opinion sway my influence. Every track I own, no matter how varied, is a track that *I* genuinely love (or loved at the time). Some of my favorite DJs play tracks I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.

But just as my record collection is varied, so is my taste in DJs. Up until this week, I was on a huge deep house kick. Then the other day, while looking for something to listen to in my pile of DJ mix CDs in my car, I randomly grabbed a Lee Burridge set and tossed it in. Suddenly I remembered how much I love the techy/techno sort of house sound. Can you guess what sorts of records I bought in the last couple of days?

It's *my* own damn influences that are pushing and pulling at each other, that's why it's so irritating. It's not simply a matter of "okay, I'm gonna stop letting other people guide my tastes and do my own thing."

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NEW MIX [Feb/March 2008]

I have a very very diverse catalog which ranges from minimal (like really fucking minimal) techno, house, prog, tribal, some poppy stuff, some weird shit even some bordeline trancey stuff... it's all about connecting all those kickass dots and spinning a fun, interesting set of music which keeps people interested and makes them dance, or just enjoy the music wherever they are (like a promo mix or something).



Why stop with one style? Why listen to anyone or anybody about what to spin? Do what feels right, what makes the crowd feel right and play good music where it needs to be played. Find those right times and play the right list of songs.

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Fortuna Favet Fortibus.

quote:

Originally posted by BOOsTER please could you learn the difference between DJ and Producer? Some people are both but it ISNT interchange-able

wow hey man I'm not trying to start off on the wrong foot here I know I'm a n00b, but you don't have to jump all over my back like that. I come in peace!

Anyways, yes I do know the difference between a DJ and a producer. and I probably shouldn't have said that bit about Ferry in the way I did. If I could've done it differently it would have been to split it into Two different paragraphs.

Alot of Dj's play the same thing, play tunes everyone loves. A Top 40 of Dance music if you will. However I find that alot and i do mean alot of good songs get overlooked or aren't noticed which is a shame.

Allied Nations: I tend to agree with your way of thinking. Doing different styles is very good for building (I find) and really helps create a "story"/journey when ur making a set.

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Ape D. Clutch, I will be The Dj King! I will
posess One Piece!

quote:

Originally posted by nrjizer Well, it's not that I'm ever letting anyone's opinion sway my influence. Every track I own, no matter how varied, is a track that *I* genuinely love (or loved at the time). Some of my favorite DJs play tracks I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. But just as my record collection is varied, so is my taste in DJs. Up until this week, I was on a huge deep house kick. Then the other day, while looking for something to listen to in my pile of DJ mix CDs in my car, I randomly grabbed a Lee Burridge set and tossed it in. Suddenly I remembered how much I love the techy/techno sort of house sound. Can you guess what sorts of records I bought in the last couple of days? It's *my* own damn influences that are pushing and pulling at each other, that's why it's so irritating. It's not simply a matter of "okay, I'm gonna stop letting other people guide my tastes and do my own thing."

oh I c, lol stop listening to yourself!

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Ape D. Clutch, I will be The Dj King! I will
posess One Piece!

i definitely have my share of music that i liked for a week

that's one advantage of vinyl. you can resell it

quote:

Originally posted by Allied Nations I have a very very diverse catalog which ranges from minimal (like really fucking minimal) techno, house, prog, tribal, some poppy stuff, some weird shit even some bordeline trancey stuff... it's all about connecting all those kickass dots and spinning a fun, interesting set of music which keeps people interested and makes them dance, or just enjoy the music wherever they are (like a promo mix or something). Why stop with one style? Why listen to anyone or anybody about what to spin? Do what feels right, what makes the crowd feel right and play good music where it needs to be played. Find those right times and play the right list of songs.

Pretty much hit the nail. I've felt the same way as you alot of times nrjizer, sometimes I wonder how much money I've wasted on tracks that that aren't really that great, that would only work in a specific moment or setting. But thats what it's all about. You can be a shitty DJ and play all the same style, and have a very cohesive sound because of that, or you can be someone who goes the extra step further and amasses a huge collection of diverse stuff and figures out how to put it all together.

I've been doing alot of going back into my older tracks while I play newer stuff. I flip through alot more pages of my cd book now, especially after about 2 years of steadily buying large amounts of music and going through back catalogues and older labels, while keeping an eye on most new releases. When you start playing based on feeling and remembering older tracks (by staying in touch with them) you can have alot more fun and make your sets alot more diverse, since you won't be playing just the first 3 pages worth of new tracks in your bag.

Fuck with those older tracks! Bring them out and mess with them in different settings. A good DJ makes ok records sound great, and you know that if you trust your own taste, you probably bought those records for a reason, because they tickled you at a certain time Once you can start connecting those odd dots scattered throughout your collection, you'll be that much closer to Danny Howells, because he is the master of that imo.

my 2 cents, but you touched on a topic that I've been thinking about a lot lately.

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quote:

Originally posted by ******** Seplling don't demonstrate intelligence and educatoin - knowing does.

I have the same problem on a bigger scale. My tastes fluctuate to the point where at times I hate all EDM, and regret every penny I spent on it, and at times I'm really getting into it and I wouldn't be listening to anything else. Sometimes it varies for weeks, sometimes for half a day. It only started recently and it's been getting worse. I think it's a consequence of listening to and understanding a wide variety of different styles that have nothing to do with eachother, and maybe the thought that you can't really identify to one specific sound (like an emo kid would just listen to crappy pop punk and nothing else).

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When bread becomes toast, it can never go back to being bread again.