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Track selection: why can so few DJs do this right? (pg. 2)
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| torontotrance |
| which was my point....they spend more time getting to the top and more effort then trying to stay there. |
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| Al Cordero |
| You want good track selection? Try Sasha or Marco V. |
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| mike_stefan69 |
| quote: | Originally posted by d!abolic
I listen to all these livesets.. and listen, and listen. And when i hear about 98% of the DJs, all i can think about is that these guys couldn't get a decent track selection together if their life depended on it! Seriously, why is it that seemingly, only the big names like Armin and Tiesto can do this right? It's not that difficult, really. Sometimes i feel like getting into mixing just because so few people can do it right! |
i dont agree with what you're saying at all
i find that all the big dj's have a style of their own: at the moment PvD plays quite hard, Ferry Corsten plays a lot of electro -style trance, Armin is doing loads of uplifting stuff and alas, Tiesto seems to be as random as ever. And so what if a couple of tunes get played twice on the same night? it happened at the gatecrasher NEC (connective was played twice, as was sunday afternoon) but that didnt detract me from having an amazing night regardless. i see every DJ about 4 times a year so i dont mind it if they play some of the same tunes, if anything its great because chances are i'll love that tune (eg connective/sunday afternoon/search for freedom/NBY etc) and if it DOES get played i really enjoy it |
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| zapper |
| So Tiesto does it right? I don't think his track selection has been good at all lately. |
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| mike_stefan69 |
| quote: | Originally posted by zapper
So Tiesto does it right? I don't think his track selection has been good at all lately. |
dont know if that was referring to my post, but as i stated earlier i find tiesto very random at the best of times |
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| paranoik0 |
IMO the only trance dj that has been consistently really good in track selection is John 00 Fleming - miles better than the so-called top class ones. i've also liked a couple of sets i've heard from M.I.K.E., apart from a couple electro-trance/80's remixes tracks i don't like much, he played only great underrated trance. just his mixing skils suck :\
tiesto is kinda ok, he mixes different genres which is good but picks a bit of cheese of each one :\ and plays in almost absolutely random order
armin manages to be very good ocasionally in his radio sets, especially parts 2 of asot with some prog and obscure trance, but the 'live' sets it's just anthem after anthem, boring.
pvd i don't like. oakenfold, haven't heard much. ferry, never really been any close to the top.
but hey, it's always a matter of opinion. |
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| d!abolic |
Woah.
I think we have just accidently stumbled upon the deciding factor in any DJ's career. It is the one thing that sets the most popular DJs like Armin, Tiesto and Corsten apart from everyone else. In total, there are three of these factors, two of them widely known, but the third and biggest one, somehow managed to escape most.
3) Musical talent is important, but it's the least important of the three. Countless talented DJs have failed in the past, and more will fail in the years to come. As sad as this is, the other two factors play a bigger role in a DJ's success than this one. And this isn't limited to the electronic music scene. We can all name musicians who are less talented than most, and yet top the charts.
2) The ability to network, build relationships and business
connections, in order to get your music out there is the second most important factor in my opinion. No matter how good a DJ is, he will never get anywhere unless he masters this factor. Just as any other businessman, he must grab onto every single opportunity, no matter how futile, and milk it for all it's worth. And continue trying no matter how many times he fails.
1) And finally, the big one. This is something that hit me after reading the posts in this thread. In my opinion, the most important deciding factor in a DJ's career is HIS UNDERSTANDING OF THE AVERAGE CLUBBER'S PERCEPTION OF GOOD TRACK SELECTION. Someone above said it well: our perception of what this means is quite different from that of the average person in the club. Most people here, just like most lesser-known DJs, place more emphasis on the way the combination of tracks sounds together to give the set a unique feel, than on the impact of each individual track. And it is the LATTER that the clubber prefers! All the big names simply pump out one anthem after another and the people love them because no one in the club really gives a damn about one track building up for the next one and so forth. They just wanna hear someting that will blow their mind, period! I believe that the understanding of this concept, or the lack of it, is what makes some succeed and others fail. |
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| ASOT100 |
| quote: | Originally posted by teknofile
to you, the person who does sit in front of the computer downloading livesets and looking up tracklistings, it may seem like dj so-and-so is playing the same for months on end. but to the average person attending whatever night in whatever city, it's their one chance to hear this song in a club environment. they'll be lucky if this dj comes out with a mixed cd and includes this song so they can hear it again.
if you don't believe me, maybe you should try going on a 30-city tour playing 4 nights a week, carrying two record bags at most. let's see what you come up with. |
yea i agree, how bout ppl stop complaining about the sets they constantly download and get to listen to FOR FREE
and obviously the feel is different when you're actually there live, do you think DJs are catering for the ppl who are sitting at home everyday listening to live sets that they downloaded? |
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| Vigilante |
| quote: | Originally posted by teknofile
when dj's get bigger, they tend to play for larger crowds, 95% of whom aren't the types that sit in front of the computer and download every liveset that's floating around. these people are probably come into the event hoping to hear that one song that this dj is known to play, something that's like a signature track which usually sets a crowd aflame. that's how these tracks end up as anthems, because when dj's tour, they find one song that seems to work for most crowds and they play it at every gig they're at.
to you, the person who does sit in front of the computer downloading livesets and looking up tracklistings, it may seem like dj so-and-so is playing the same for months on end. but to the average person attending whatever night in whatever city, it's their one chance to hear this song in a club environment. they'll be lucky if this dj comes out with a mixed cd and includes this song so they can hear it again.
if you don't believe me, maybe you should try going on a 30-city tour playing 4 nights a week, carrying two record bags at most. let's see what you come up with. |
Word!!!! |
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| Zombie0729 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Angelus
imo not even the big DJs can do it right. doesnt take a rocket scientist to throw anthem after anthem down :wtf: |
that would never work, becuse you bascially dance for 2 min... breakdown for 2 min... dance for 2min... breakdown for 2 min... tiesto & pvd are the only ones who do it right. |
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| Max13UT |
| damn. i read a new one of these every week. all i gotta say is ing stop complaining, there's a load of DJ's out there and i'm sure one of them will play what you like, and how you like it. stop crying. As far as I go, I never listen to livesets on the computer it's too damn boring, that's why if I go to a party I will never complain about the set. |
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| tor8024 |
| quote: | Originally posted by torontotrance
As if you have a clue
Topic is valid because it is a lost art these days. Deejays playing weak vocal tracks (used to better vocals but they head for weak vocals). Yes, all the top deejays are playing the same tunes and it seems like they have no originality. Look at Paul Van Dyk, he has been playing the same friggin tracks (in diff order) for months and compared to a time where he played amazing tracks and was unpredictable. Tiesto used to play better tracks and some of the tracks he played were unique to his sets but now that is no longer the case. All the A List deejays seem to do is play the same weak tracks in different order and the average fan is left dumbfounded to why they are playing the same old crap and nothing new and nothing decent. Big names are big names because they were good at some point and most just live off their big names to bring in the crowds (a la Paul Oakenfold). What made Oakenfold great was he played tunes that no one else played and he was unpredictable in 1999, hence why he was King. |
you're forgetting that it is much harder these days for dj's to play tracks no-one else plays or has heard of. with the mp3 scene, people get access to new tracks much faster, so that many tracks get old quite fast.
you're saying pvd has been playing the same tracks for months. i'm pretty sure he has always done the exact same thing, it's just that with the increasing availability of livesets and tracks on the internet people start to notice that more and more.
5 years ago, you would go see him say once a month and you'd never have given it any thought. nowadays, you still see him once a month, but in the meantime you download 2 sets of his every week. and then you realise "wow, he plays the same tracks over and over again". |
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