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I have another extract from a guide that I am writing titled 'The Next Level' that might be useful to those that are wondering. It does go off topic a bit but might have something of value.
Take it a face value as it's based on my experiences and scenarios may vary slightly.
Not sure if I convery this or not and I might have to revisit some of the info but there is definately much more of an art to reading a crowd than some posters would imply.
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Dance Floor Dynamics you say?
Well whilst it sounds like an advanced from of Breakin’ it is actually the ability to read the crowd, something that is a bit of a dying art form but if you can learn this you are in a position to control everything that goes on. Respect the time slot you are playing for the love of god, clubbers and the DJ that’s booked to play after you.
“I just turn up and play my tracks the way I want… if the DJ that comes after me can’t handle it then it’s him that’s crap not me”. Yup I have actually seen people write this in forums and heard it in real life. The answer to that statement is that you have simply not got a clue what it is that you are talking about.
The clubbing experience has to be an ‘understanding’ between you and the clubbers and also other DJs for it to work and to be successful.
The actual art of having your own style can sometimes be tricky in an environment where you are constricted by the slots that you play and the guys you are playing with. But ideally you should at least have been booked to play on a night that corresponds to the type of music you actually play, if not then you or probably in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Assuming that you have been booked for the right place, then you will be in most cases given a time slot to play.
This is where DJ politics come in, and it can get seriously messy.
DJ politics – Do’s and Don’ts
1. Do make sure that you are polite and friendly with the DJs you are working with. Leave your ego behind as the chances are that there will be more than enough ego present in the booth as it is.
2. Don’t interrupt another DJ in the middle of a mix.
3. Don’t start bugging the DJ before you so that you can get on and play before you are due to come on the decks. There is nothing worse than having someone around you who wants to steal your DJ time and won’t shut up. You would think that people would learn but it never ceases to amaze me the amount of times you come across this. It is not cool.
4. Don’t DJ longer than your time slot unless you have a proper agreement with the DJ that follows. Remember he will also impact the guy after him. Often you will find that DJ’s who do this are also the same DJs who are mentioned in point 3.
5. Do let the last track of the DJ prior to you play out a little before you start mixing. It is an unwritten rule of DJing that if you start mixing straight away it means that you didn’t think much of his/her set. Even if you thought the set was a heap of crap don’t let on. If anything, give them a hand, boost their confidence and make them feel good about what they have done.
6. Don’t start offering tips, coaching or correcting pitch during another guys set.
7. Don’t walk up to the DJ and point at one of the decks and say, “That one’s a bit out, needs to be speeded up a little”. How the heck would you know which one is out? Sure you could check the mixer but in reality it is all relative to how the DJ perceives it. I have had people coming up to me saying that very phrase when I haven’t actually been mixing at the time and was just cueing the track.
8. Don’t take any notice of bedroom DJs in a club environment. None what so ever, the majority will always think that they can do it better if they only had the chance to play in a real club. To any aspiring bedroom DJ reading this all I an say is “Wait until you have to stand in front of 1500+ people, booming bass, a mixer with worn out EQs, then you will know if you can really DJ”. I’m not saying you can’t learn but just realise that it’s not the same as DJing for your cat.
9. It should go without saying but DON’T steal records from other DJs. The amount of times this happens as far beyond unreal.
10. Don’t be an asshole towards the clubbers, they do keep you in a job after all and without them you are NOTHING. Another thing is that you don’t know what clubber knows which promoter so why shoot yourself in the foot. Be polite.
There are dozens of points that could be included but these are just a few.
But let us discuss timeslots for a moment. So why should you respect this then?
Well the answer is simple; whilst you are in the holy position of potential crowd pleaser you have not achieved it yet.
For those of you who have been to club nights you will know that when you arrive at a club, your first reaction is not to go straight to the dance floor jump up and down like a maniac. You will find that often when people enter a club the mood is a little cautious and you might go to the bar, go to the cloakroom or the restroom. You might socialise with your friends etc.
In most cases clubbers like to be eased into the groove which is something that hammering out Anthems at 10pm is not going to achieve. You will often find that anyone that was dancing might find the pace too hectic and would leave the dance floor and ultimately it would be harder to get people to come back on. A good DJ has to keep an eye on the dance floor for the whole set. That’s not to say that you have to keep everyone glued there for the whole duration of your set, as you will often find that as long as you are playing good music that is relevant to the slot then there will be a gradual build towards a packed dance floor, but you will still see people leaving just as other’s come on. Remember that the dance floor is like a living organism and it is humans with needs that are on there, if nature calls they will have to go, they have to meet people, they get thirsty and might even think you are shit, it’s up to them.
Your job is to identify the key groups on the dance floor. See where your motors are as they are going to be the core contingent for your epic work out. Start identifying with them, make eye contact or acknowledge them. If you are any kind of entertainer you will have your DJisms. If they are getting into the music, join in and show them that you like it too.
One thing that I have been doing for years is the typical ‘here it comes’ mix. This is especially useful when performing a modulation mix.
I will start mixing and fading in the high parts of the track but leave the bass out until the last possible moment when I do the bass swap. This is a sharp swap not a blend as this provides maximum effect. Whilst I am getting ready to do the swap and I am confident that the tracks aren’t drifting I will look up and bob my head a little to show that I’m into it. Make eye contact with a group of clubbers who are really into the music and then at the right point I will swap the bass and increase the energy in my movement and expression. This tends to have a ripple effect all through the dance floor and the clubbers feel that they can connect with you because you understand the music and you understand them.
One of the best feelings in the world as a DJ is when you do this and you get the whole floor reacting with you and you even get a cheer and the whole floor just erupts in front of you. Try it some time.
It’s very hard to say what exactly you should be playing for each segment of the night as this can depend greatly on music policy and also the clubbers in that club. I will go by the average slots in a UK Club so here goes.
10:00pm – Funky House/ Electro House
11:00pm – Prog House or Tough Breaks
12:00pm – Pace starts to pick up a bit with more driving tunes Trance/Techno crossover style tracks.
01:00pm – Usually start getting more uplifting and a bit of hands in the air along with quite a lot of driving stuff.
02:00pm – You get rewarded with bliss and happiness as the breakdowns start becoming more frequent.
03:00pm – This can go either way, either Driving Tech Trance or can be fluffy as heck to ease the comedown that people start to get.
I based this on a club that closes its doors at 4am but it does vary greatly and so can clubs depending on the policy of the music.
I have actually seen one or two DJs booed because they didn’t respect this, often coupled with bad mixing skills but that’s beside the point. Clubbers can rebel and when they do it can be pretty ugly.
Rescuing a night after a DJ like that has been playing can be tough because you have to start at grass roots and get people back into it. In a case like that you have got a crowd with a negative mindset from word go and it can go either way. You can almost always claw it back though but you will perhaps not be able to take the night quite to the point you had imagined with your set. It’s not often that you get a DJ that sucks that bad though.
Point in hand however is respect your time slot, the other DJs and most of all the Clubbers.
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It's a tricky one, but reading the crowd is as much about recognising them as a valid part of your night as it is picking music that creates a buzz.
Freak stated in another thread about warm ups that you need to be able to create tension/anticipation. And depending on when you are playing on the night you would reward the dance floor for that tension accordingly.
It's just food for thought.
Cheers
Nem
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https://www.mixcloud.com/Calvin_Karass/
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