Okay, this was not bad, but it wasn't good either. You have several things to work on:

1. Track selection. I have heard Japanese Heights and Absolute Translucent before, so those were nice to hear. The Astrix track was okay. But the tracks featuring Michelle Adamson (which were completely horrendous) and the rest of the tracks did nothing for the set. They weren't really unique, nor did they have any good ideas. This is my problem with most full-on these days, it sucks.

2. Flow. Since you had no truly good tracks to work with, your flow suffered. For instance, the opener was some weird electro-ish track, followed by some cookie-cutter full-on, then back to an absolutely terrible track, this Daska nonsense. It not only made no sense in that place, but it made no sense in the set at all. The flow was up and down all the way to the end, where I found myself not enjoying the ending either. The last track was poorly chosen IMO.

3. Mixing. For the most part, you don't really trainwreck until the end, but the mixing needs improvement. Lower the volume to where the kicks aren't so abnormally thick during some of the transitions.

I'm sorry if I've been a little harsh in the review, I'm only trying to give constructive criticism, as I used to make some shitty full-on sets also. You need to dig deeper, and explore your range of sounds, because what you have isn't quite cutting it for me

Good luck on your next sets, don't give up.

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Thanks for taking the time to listen to my mix and post your comments. I'm always happy to listen to criticism - it's the only way to improve after all.

1. Track selection is mostly down to personal opinion I think. I liked all the tracks I chose. Afterall the point of DJing is to choose tunes you like. I was trying to try something different by including techno tunes like Daksa and the electro one at the start.

2. Flow is definately something that I will be looking into working on my next mix. But perhaps it is also due to personal taste, as I tend to prefer listening to mixes that vary alot over the course of them rather than the more smooth progessive kind.

3. Yup, I've been alot more careful with the use of the bass in my more recent mixes. So it's something I'm working on. This was actually the first mix I recorded with my present DJing setup. The last track actually messed up due to a problem with the actual track - didn't seem to want to get in time, something I always make sure to watch for in my own productions now. Always the way that the last tune in a mix messes up haha.

I shall have a listen to some of your mixes, see what I can learn.

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Originally posted by Mykha 1. Track selection is mostly down to personal opinion I think. I liked all the tracks I chose. Afterall the point of DJing is to choose tunes you like. I was trying to try something different by including techno tunes like Daksa and the electro one at the start.

I understand where you're coming from, but a lot of times, DJ's need to play tracks that not only they like, but that their listeners like also. This is what separates good DJ's from bad DJ's. I also understand your reasoning for choosing the Daksa track, but it was too different of a style and sound to work at all, and this is unable to be avoided.

quote:

2. Flow is definately something that I will be looking into working on my next mix. But perhaps it is also due to personal taste, as I tend to prefer listening to mixes that vary alot over the course of them rather than the more smooth progessive kind.

I said the same thing. No, really!

This is undeniably incorrect. Flow cannot be ignored in a set, and when you jerk around the energy all over the place like this set did, it really turns the listener off. Sets are meant to be constructed in a manner that builds the energy in a progressive manner, or alternatively, starting strong and keeping the energy high the entire time without becoming too repetitive or playing less energetic tracks. This is one of the most difficult parts of building a set.

quote:

3. Yup, I've been alot more careful with the use of the bass in my more recent mixes. So it's something I'm working on. This was actually the first mix I recorded with my present DJing setup. The last track actually messed up due to a problem with the actual track - didn't seem to want to get in time, something I always make sure to watch for in my own productions now. Always the way that the last tune in a mix messes up haha.

It happens, I've had some terrible transitions in past sets. Practice makes not-quite-perfect

quote:

I shall have a listen to some of your mixes, see what I can learn.

If you want to listen to a full-on set of mine, I recommend Power Trip and Yang's Reserve. I hope you leave me some feedback also, I'm interested in hearing your viewpoint.

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quote:

Originally posted by ziptnf I understand where you're coming from, but a lot of times, DJ's need to play tracks that not only they like, but that their listeners like also. This is what separates good DJ's from bad DJ's. I also understand your reasoning for choosing the Daksa track, but it was too different of a style and sound to work at all, and this is unable to be avoided.

I think I'm going to have to disagree. Some of my favourite DJs are the ones who challenge conventional wisdom as to what genres they should play. Mixing up virtually every kind of genre. A case in point, recently saw Aphex Twin and he literally played every genre under the sun from electronica to gabber to drum & bass and the crowd loved it.

Perhaps the fact that I rarely actually get to play trance has altered my opinions though. My friends are all into house, dubstep and dnb so that's what I most often play. Trance is more for myself.

quote:

I said the same thing. No, really! This is undeniably incorrect. Flow cannot be ignored in a set, and when you jerk around the energy all over the place like this set did, it really turns the listener off. Sets are meant to be constructed in a manner that builds the energy in a progressive manner, or alternatively, starting strong and keeping the energy high the entire time without becoming too repetitive or playing less energetic tracks. This is one of the most difficult parts of building a set. It happens, I've had some terrible transitions in past sets. Practice makes not-quite-perfect

Yeah, you have some good points. I'm gonna experiment with flow whilst keeping the variety up in my next mix.

quote:

If you want to listen to a full-on set of mine, I recommend Power Trip and Yang's Reserve. I hope you leave me some feedback also, I'm interested in hearing your viewpoint.

Cheers, I had a listen to Power Trip. Some nice tunes in there. I see what you mean about keeping the energy up, good choice of last tune too with that Ananda Shake one. As for criticism I would say on the first tune at least the bassline clashes a bit due to not being the same key - always a problem with psy-trance I find due to the lack of percussion based intro compared to normal trance and house.

Also some of the tunes seemed to be a little samey too, but its a fine balance to strike between flow and repitition isn't it?

But of course that's one of the great things about being a DJ - complete control over what we play

Will have a listen to your other mix tomorrow.

quote:

Originally posted by Mykha I think I'm going to have to disagree. Some of my favourite DJs are the ones who challenge conventional wisdom as to what genres they should play. Mixing up virtually every kind of genre. A case in point, recently saw Aphex Twin and he literally played every genre under the sun from electronica to gabber to drum & bass and the crowd loved it.

That wasn't my point, I never said you can't play other genres in sets. I meant you should avoid playing other genres that totally don't work at all with the rest of the set. I felt the Daksa track just didn't fit, I didn't mean that you can't mix it up.

quote:

Cheers, I had a listen to Power Trip. Some nice tunes in there. I see what you mean about keeping the energy up, good choice of last tune too with that Ananda Shake one. As for criticism I would say on the first tune at least the bassline clashes a bit due to not being the same key - always a problem with psy-trance I find due to the lack of percussion based intro compared to normal trance and house.

If you read the thread, I pointed out my bass heavy transition on the mix from Out of Sight to Stage Davin. Mistakes happen

quote:

Also some of the tunes seemed to be a little samey too, but its a fine balance to strike between flow and repitition isn't it?

This shocks me. I don't really think any of the tracks sound similar at all. The only thing I would consider similar are the melodies in Emoison Key and Techno Park, but other than that, pretty much all of the tracks are very different from each other. Out of curiosity, which ones did you have an issue with?

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the music chooses the tracks, not the dj. if you don't mind my saying.

damn, wish i got a review like this each time haha.

also IMO a dj chooses the tracks, playing what the crowd wants is pretty commercial, playing your own taste is what gets you noticed/makes you unique so the crowd will be wanting you to play your tracks, that would be the reason they are their to see you in the first place.

quote:

Originally posted by Ramone also IMO a dj chooses the tracks, playing what the crowd wants is pretty commercial, playing your own taste is what gets you noticed/makes you unique so the crowd will be wanting you to play your tracks, that would be the reason they are their to see you in the first place.

I never said that DJ's should just play what the crowd wants. I was saying that it needs to be a harmonious combination of both. If I stepped up to a club and played an hour of darkpsy, just because I like it doesn't mean I will be a successful DJ for that particular gig.

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Set Archive | TA DJ Challenge

quote:

Originally posted by ziptnf I never said that DJ's should just play what the crowd wants. I was saying that it needs to be a harmonious combination of both. If I stepped up to a club and played an hour of darkpsy, just because I like it doesn't mean I will be a successful DJ for that particular gig.

Dude, just shut the fuck up. You act like you're some giant authority on psy-trance by posting empty opinions in every thread remotely related to the subject (i.e. this) How long have you been into psychedelic stuff, anyway? Two or three years? It's existed as an electronic genre since nearly the time of your birth.

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quote:

Originally posted by Domesticated Dude, just shut the fuck up. You act like you're some giant authority on psy-trance by posting empty opinions in every thread remotely related to the subject (i.e. this) How long have you been into psychedelic stuff, anyway? Two or three years? It's existed as an electronic genre since nearly the time of your birth.

Oh come on, you have acted the exact same way in all my threads too. My progressive psy threads have garnered long reviews from you filled with pointers. I never claimed to be an authority, the whole "professor" tag is a joke, but I think I've made enough sets to sorta know what I'm talking about. Also, tell me if what I wrote was incorrect, because I'd love to know your opinion on playing techno during a psytrance set (that means you might actually have to listen to his mix).

Edit: In listening again to the track I'm referring to, it has the right idea, but I felt like it didn't fit with the rest of the tracks. I wasn't trying to start some war over the idea of playing different genres in a set. But my opinion is "empty" anyways, so take this with a grain of salt.

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Last edited by ziptnf on Nov-27-2010 at 16:04