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4pts Intro Track
Here is my review of Khaos vs TommyD: Again, since one judge already judged it, I don't know how you want to handle it, but since the outcome was the same and it wouldn't matter if there was a third judge...
10pts Consistent Beatmatching
10pts Consistent Phrasematching
10pts Track Key Matching, Volume Matching and Gain Structure
10pts Track Selection
10pts Mixing Style/Originality
5pts Sound Quality
3pts Effects
5pts Track Order
3pts Exit Track
You start with 100% and I take off points for imperfections. This means that if your mix is considerably longer than your opponent's, you have more of a chance of getting points taken off! This means stick to the same time limit that you and your opponent agree on. It's not really far to judge two mixes that are incredibly different in time. I tend to nit-pick when I judge, so don't be offended when I do so. I critique the mixes so that you can hopefully learn from that critique and if I say everything was pretty good, then that doesn't help you learn how to become better. I listen to trance all day long almost everyday, so if I hear those same tracks over and over again in your mixes, down goes the points for Originality. I want to hear good tracks that I've never heard before and mixes of good tracks that aren¡¦t played all day long! BUT, this doesn¡¦t mean that I will dock points for mixes that have a lot of popular tracks, as long as the set flows very well and is arranged well also.
It is possible to get more points than are listed for each category if you are quite exceptional in any one of them. You have a better chance of getting points over 100% in the lower point cats like effects and intro/exit tracks rather than beatmatching etc. I try to judge the sets on how they would hold up in a club setting, because that is what I think most of us are striving for. This doesn¡¦t mean that a headlining set will always beat out a warm-up set either. I will try to remain unbiased between the two types of sets and also of sets of different genres, but my own personal tastes will always seep into my judging!
Mix 1
4/4pts Intro Track
Nice original intro leading into a short upbeat track.
10/10pts Consistent Beatmatching
No problems here!
8/10pts Consistent Phrasematching
I couldn¡¦t quite tell what was wrong with your first transition, but it sounded like the phrasing was off. On the transition from track 6 to 7 I thought that your choice of when to transition over was quite elongated and it was awkward when the bassline finally did switch over.
9/10pts Track Key Matching, Volume Matching and Gain Structure
The transition into track 4 was a bit too loud on the volume and as a result the bass beat was overpowering. Also because of this loudness, it made the transition to track 5 a bit off too because the bass in track 5 is much less powerful. It is more noticeable in headphones that it is on speakers, and it wasn¡¦t too bad of a mistake. Other than that all of your tracks seemed to be in the same key and your gain structure was good.
8/10pts Track Selection
I don¡¦t think that track 5 fit very well into your set. The middle portion of that track didn¡¦t stick with the more pure trance tracks that comprised the rest of your set; it was more hard house, IMO. Again, I feel the same way about track 8. I like that track also, but it doesn¡¦t quite fit in to the rest of your mix as well as another track may have.
6/10pts Mixing Style/Originality
I enjoyed your style of mixing quite a lot. I think that you tended to mix out of most of the tracks at a very good time. One, I think could have been mixed into sooner, and one later, but the other 6 were very good. You designed a nice intro and added a couple of effects for a little bit of flair. The problem is with originality. I¡¦ve heard all of those tracks a LOT, and mostly those particular mixes too. It doesn¡¦t show me that you have any tracks that you can call your own so you can differentiate yourself from other Djs.
5/5pts Sound Quality
There were a few loud pops here and there, but nothing too noticeable. The quality both of each track and overall was very good.
2/3pts Effects
I caught a well timed volume effect in track 5 and possibly a scratch.
4/5pts Track Order
Track 7 is surely a good track, though it has a quite long breakdown for the second to last track in your mix. I think that by having it here, it took away from the energy of your set and would have been better suited for much earlier in your mix.
1/3pts Exit Track
I think that you should have let the track wind down a little bit longer on its own before you cut the power to the table. You powered down right at a high energy part of the track and left me dissapointed as a dancer!
Total = 57/70 = 81%
Mix 2
3/4pts Intro Track
I love depeche mode, and this is a great track. It did, however take quite a while to get into it.
4/10pts Consistent Beatmatching
Beatmatching was off slightly during the 2nd, the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th.
9/10pts Consistent Phrasematching
During your transition from track 4 to 5 you were off by two beats. This transition is a little tricky because seven cities puts emphasis on beats 2 and 4 and not 1 and 3 like most tracks. Listen to the main instruments in the chorus¡Xthe high frequency instruments¡Xand you should be able to tell better.
8/10pts Track Key Matching, Volume Matching and Gain Structure
The volume on the second track is a little high, but not too noticeableļ. Transition 6 gets a bit loud on the highs.
10/10 + 2pts Track Selection
Kudos man, this was an incredible set track-wise. You earn bonus points! Way to mix an incredible selection of tunes, some which I have heard and love, others which I have just been introduced to.
Track 3 was a really good one!!
9/10pts Mixing Style/Originality
I think that it would have been better to bring the volume up quicker and start your mix a little earlier during the third transition. If you did this though, I think that the main part of seven cities would have overlapped the vocals of the last track too much. It¡¦s a tough call which one to do (start later or at the time before you did), but you didn¡¦t really choose either one, it was some of both. The overlap was a little bit too much, but it worked out decently. This was the only transition that I really want to grip over. There could be a few improvements like making your transitions a little quicker, but that is all in your own style too. I think that you really made this set your own.
3/5pts Sound Quality
Well, I tried my best to take into account that it was only 64kbps, and since the tracks were all high quality before you encoded it, that helped quite a bit. A little bit higher would have been nice. The main problem that I had, because it was 64kbps, the highs got very tinny and started to hurt my ears since you were increasing the volume as you progressed during the set.
2/3pts Effects
I didn¡¦t hear any effects, but I did hear a reverse-tease, if you will, at the end, very nice.
5/5 + 1pts Track Order
I think that the order was very good. This set was an awesome arrangement of tracks! Again, I will give you a bonus point.
3/3pts Exit Track
You kept the energy high right up until the very last few seconds, good!
Total = 59/70 = 84%
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When you dance, the DJ takes you on a journey, but he or she is usually not the focus of your experience at a club or festival or wherever you hear the music. Dancing is. Music is.
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