Serious question. I personally have not seen a lot of the DJs on that list, but ive listened to a lot of their sets online when available and found the majority of them lackluster as far as DJing goes and what i perceive to be a great live dj set filled with energy, creativity, and great track selection in addition to taking you on a journey. My favorite DJ live currently is John '00' Fleming. That is who I would vote number 1. Obviously a trance DJ isnt exactly someone who will place in a RA poll. But I would really like to know what the posters on here who regularly read RA (system, woony, adam420 etc) and the posters complaining about the list the most, mark anthony, would vote for in a poll like this. One i generally would like to know what your opinions are, and two i would like to expand my list of djs who i would go out and see in 13.

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X-MIX 1 The MFS Trip

This guy needs to come back

I don't think System J reads RA lol.

I've pretty much seen a lot of techno DJs and they all kind of play the same here so I don't really know

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June 2018 mix

quote:

Originally posted by Woony I don't think System J reads RA lol. I've pretty much seen a lot of techno DJs and they all kind of play the same here so I don't really know

which just brings me back to my point, which is all bitching aside i would have a hard time coming up with a list that wasnt just based on the 6-10 guys i like listening to their live sets or old time djs, sasha, digweed, carl cox, pvd, etc, who i go and see just because i saw them in their prime more than 10 years ago and just associate with a glorious time.

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X-MIX 1 The MFS Trip

This guy needs to come back

J00F. Definitely J00F.

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quote:

Originally posted by OrangestO This isn't about physics, this is about waves.

quote:

Originally posted by paulversuspaul Serious question. I personally have not seen a lot of the DJs on that list, but ive listened to a lot of their sets online when available and found the majority of them lackluster as far as DJing goes and what i perceive to be a great live dj set filled with energy, creativity, and great track selection in addition to taking you on a journey. My favorite DJ live currently is John '00' Fleming. That is who I would vote number 1. Obviously a trance DJ isnt exactly someone who will place in a RA poll. But I would really like to know what the posters on here who regularly read RA (system, woony, adam420 etc) and the posters complaining about the list the most, mark anthony, would vote for in a poll like this. One i generally would like to know what your opinions are, and two i would like to expand my list of djs who i would go out and see in 13.

Not really gonna bother other than saying that Deetron would probably be at the top of the list for me. I don't think anyone can touch him DJ wise (at least as far as house/techno is concerned). Although I haven't seen him live, from what I know, Ben UFO would also be deserving of a very high place on the list. I cannot think of many more DJs that are both really skilled technically, and are also responsible for breaking in so many new artists. He is a taste maker.

It's just so difficult and pointless to rank DJs, which is why I ultimately didn't vote this year (or any year, for that matter).

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Originally posted by SYSTEM-J Levels is...decent...damn better than a lot of the shite dominating the charts at the moment. It sounds absolutely nothing like...a billion and one similar tracks in this big-room style. I always had a soft spot.

I'd top my list with Maceo Plex because I'd say that was the best set I heard out this year, but I also didn't vote.

I'm catching #1 tonight, hopefully he's not ketted out of his mind.

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Originally posted by srussell0018 J00F. Definitely J00F.

Ben UFO + Jackmaster

End of list.

quote:

Originally posted by paulversuspaul But I would really like to know what the posters on here who regularly read RA (system, woony, adam420 etc) and the posters complaining about the list the most, mark anthony, would vote for in a poll like this. One i generally would like to know what your opinions are, and two i would like to expand my list of djs who i would go out and see in 13.

I don't read RA that often, but generally I wouldn't vote in a poll like this because I would never say I've seen enough DJs to make an informed comment. Unless you go out every weekend you probably only see 50-60 DJs a year maximum who are big enough names to crop up on any kind of list like this, and there are hundreds of dance music DJs across the various genres. It's not like albums or singles where you can hear hundreds or even thousands across a year and make something close to an informed choice. Besides, we all know these lists are popularity contests in the first place, so making an informed vote is a waste of time anyway.

If you were to ask me which DJs I heard deliver the best sets in 2012, (and this list is no attempt to comment on This Year In DJing), in roughly descending order I'd say:

Dave Seaman
Broken Eye
Blu Mar Ten
John 00 Fleming
Death On The Balcony
LTJ Bukem
Horse Meat Disco
CJ Bolland
Oliver Prime
Freaked Frequency

What a weird fucking list that is!

EDIT: It's so hard to decide how to judge a DJ in the first place, because when you see them in a club there are so many external factors that contribute to an amazing time or a disappointment: crowd, soundsystem, venue, friends, drugs etc. With J00F for example, I think I saw him four times in 2012, and he played two incredible sets, one where he just boshed out big room stuff (playing at the tail end of a shit trance super-event I got into for free) and one set that was a big disappointment, even though it contained many of the same tracks as the two previous amazing performances. If someone saw J00F for the first and only time in 2012 at the latter event, they'd have a much lower opinion of him than if they'd seen him kill it.

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Mixes:
> Maximum Elevation [Progressive House]
> DI.FM 26th Anniversary Guest Mix [Progressive House]
> Live @ Dance:Love:Hub London, 11.10.2025
> Higher Peaks [Progressive House]
> Dance:Love:Hub Afterparty (The Return) 23.11.24

Like these sets? Come see me play live at Kibosh in Manchester: https://www.instagram.com/kibosh.mcr/

Last edited by SYSTEM-J on Dec-08-2012 at 04:24

quote:

Originally posted by SYSTEM-J I don't read RA that often, but generally I wouldn't vote in a poll like this because I would never say I've seen enough DJs to make an informed comment. Unless you go out every weekend you probably only see 50-60 DJs a year maximum who are big enough names to crop up on any kind of list like this, and there are hundreds of dance music DJs across the various genres. It's not like albums or singles where you can hear hundreds or even thousands across a year and make something close to an informed choice. Besides, we all know these lists are popularity contests in the first place, so making an informed vote is a waste of time anyway. If you were to ask me which DJs I heard deliver the best sets in 2012, (and this list is no attempt to comment on This Year In DJing), in roughly descending order I'd say: Dave Seaman Broken Eye Blu Mar Ten John 00 Fleming Death On The Balcony LTJ Bukem Horse Meat Disco CJ Bolland Oliver Prime Freaked Frequency What a weird fucking list that is! EDIT: It's so hard to decide how to judge a DJ in the first place, because when you see them in a club there are so many external factors that contribute to an amazing time or a disappointment: crowd, soundsystem, venue, friends, drugs etc. With J00F for example, I think I saw him four times in 2012, and he played two incredible sets, one where he just boshed out big room stuff (playing at the tail end of a shit trance super-event I got into for free) and one set that was a big disappointment, even though it contained many of the same tracks as the two previous amazing performances. If someone saw J00F for the first and only time in 2012 at the latter event, they'd have a much lower opinion of him than if they'd seen him kill it.

Yeah I definitely agree. I once saw Diggers in his prime absolutely blow chunks during a set and if that was what you were judging him by only you wouldn't get all the hype. Why these lists just turn into a producer list basically. Even during my heyday of going out in socal during the 90s to early 00s which was a great EDM city back then, you would have a hard time trying to see more than 60-70 international djs during the year.

Now that being said, people recommending DJs on this thread serves a purpose, as you know in general what a posters taste are and their recommendations can make you go and see someone whose productions are not necessarily something that would drive you to see them live. Based on peoples recs i will probably go and see Ben UFO for sure and I am very surprised that Dave Seaman still brings it. Saw him a couple of times back in the day and he was lethal behind the decks but I had assumed that age had caught up with him similar to Sasha, whose sets will still flawlessly mixed are about as energetic as watching paint dry. Still go and see him just to shake the mans hands.

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X-MIX 1 The MFS Trip

This guy needs to come back

Well, I put Dave Seaman top of the list chiefly because of an unreal classics set he played at Cream, which had us literally jumping around. A lot of people would say a classics set is an easy gig because you're playing sure-fire hits, but this was a particularly brilliant example: loads of classics, but more forgotten classics and tracks you wouldn't expect him to play, so there was a constant element of surprise and glee, particularly with the way they were mixed. I also saw him play a fantastic up-front set at the Red Room at Passion, where he rocked a trance crowd playing modern house and tech. I think he deliberately played with more energy than usual in that set, because he would never normally play to that kind of crowd.

So he delivered two of the best sets I heard in 2012 as part of two of the best nights I had, and I have to put him top of the list for that. Again, I certainly don't think that means Dave Seaman should crop up at the top of RA's list, but he was way, way more fun than any of the guys on that list I have seen in 2012, and he managed that playing new material and then again playing old material.

___________________
Mixes:
> Maximum Elevation [Progressive House]
> DI.FM 26th Anniversary Guest Mix [Progressive House]
> Live @ Dance:Love:Hub London, 11.10.2025
> Higher Peaks [Progressive House]
> Dance:Love:Hub Afterparty (The Return) 23.11.24

Like these sets? Come see me play live at Kibosh in Manchester: https://www.instagram.com/kibosh.mcr/

quote:

Originally posted by Guest I didnt even know some of the acts on there were dj's. I thought were just producers. But back to my point, Richie Hawtin as number 2? On what grounds? Because M_nus is surging in popularity with its mnml sound? Because the M_Nus crew is bringing new sounds and technology to the forefront? I respect him a ton but the only way he's in the 2 spot in 2012 is because people saw a name they recognized and picked it. And what has Villalobos done lately that got anyone excited?

When was the last time you saw Hawtin or Villalobos dj?