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Buying songs that aren't a part of your sound...yay?
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| -FSP- |
| How many of you buy songs that aren't a part of your sound or stylle? Is it a good idea? I just feel that sometimes the crowd won't be feeling you, and there are also gigs that are available that don't have to do with your sound. So what do you think? Good for emergencies and maybe branching out? |
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| PivotTechno |
Huh?
If you buy it, doesn't it become part of "your sound" by default?
Short answer: no. |
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| clay |
| are you talking about playing lady gaga? you shouldnt. |
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| orTofønChiLd |
| Everyone has different taste, check out the top prog summer hause thread you'll find tracks you might not like at first but then it'll grow on you and then you'll like it after. |
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| Stu Cox |
| quote: | Originally posted by -FSP-
How many of you buy songs that aren't a part of your sound or stylle? Is it a good idea? I just feel that sometimes the crowd won't be feeling you, and there are also gigs that are available that don't have to do with your sound. So what do you think? Good for emergencies and maybe branching out? |
Definitely a good idea to have a wide range of stuff. Gigs can easily turn out wildly differently from what you expect - your set time might change at the last minute, the venue might have a different feel from what you expected, other DJs might play differently, promoters often completely misunderstand their own crowd when booking DJs and of course as you say the crowd might not feel it so you may need to try something different.
A DJ who's too stubborn to adapt his/her sound is a DJ imo. Even the superstars have to adjust their sets a bit when expectations change.
If you only want to play very specific kinds of music, make sure you only get booked for those gigs. Although the chances of you accurately being able to predict that are slim, particularly if you're fairly new to it all.
In the past I've heard people suggesting things like you should be able to play any set at a night you'd want to headline at, which I think is quite good advice - so imagine a peak time set you'd play and make sure you've got the music (and the knowledge of that music) to play all of the sets which could come before and after that in a night. But tbh the more flexible you can be the better. |
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| orTofønChiLd |
| yeah +1 for Stu, i only do that when i got some upcoming gigs but for now i'll stick what i like or might like. |
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| Raphie |
| Just add a few mainstream DJ's Beatport top 10's to your collection and your set for at least an hour being able to crossover from top 40 type electro to ASOT type trance to deeper Toolroom minimal type stuff. always good to have some more accessible generic tracks available if you feel it's hard to transition to the stuff you really like. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to drive people into a silky smooth Ibiza type progressive groove, while their that pumped up, only wanting to bounce and shake their booties on Afrojack, Chuckie and the "Zumba greatest hits brigade" |
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| Nemesis44 |
Good advice from Stu.
In this digital age it's a lot simpler than back in the day when you had to be more selective as you had a limit i.e. it wasn't practical to take more than a couple of hundred tracks with you max.
Branching out also helps you progress your style and your collection and may lead to you creating YOUR style as opposed to the style that everyone else is playing. If you are buying it, you obviously like it, why not use it?
I like driving chuggy stuff, but you will always have to diversify and adapt. I will have a lot of tech inspired stuff, but if people are not dancing you have to flip the script and re-invent yourself.
A promoter can get it wrong big style, but it's also good if you can be the DJ that saved the night. I have seen that situation a fair bit, but it's always good if you can walk away from the night and you hear people say 'meh it was pretty bad but X was good'. It's nice being able to walk away and know that you were the high point of someone's night out.
You never have to sell your soul to do this, and it doesn't mean you become a top 40 hit machine either. It's about playing good music at the right time for people to enjoy. Unless you have a name, people are not comming to see you, they are coming to dance and have fun.
In my time in the business the one thing I have learned is that the vast majority of people don't care about your appreciation for obscure stuff that no one is playing because it is simply too fncking out there for most people to grasp, or the alternative, you just have a crap taste in music in the eyes of the masses.
Musical Boundries can be pushed during a night for sure but this is a gentle art not an act of force.
I also believe that when you push your own boundries that is when you evolve as a DJ. Buying new music helps that especially when you are placed out of your technical comfort zone.
Cheers
Nem |
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| Stu Cox |
| quote: | Originally posted by Raphie
Just add a few mainstream DJ's Beatport top 10's to your collection and your set for at least an hour being able to crossover from top 40 type electro to ASOT type trance to deeper Toolroom minimal type stuff. always good to have some more accessible generic tracks available if you feel it's hard to transition to the stuff you really like. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to drive people into a silky smooth Ibiza type progressive groove, while their that pumped up, only wanting to bounce and shake their booties on Afrojack, Chuckie and the "Zumba greatest hits brigade" |
All true, but I generally wouldn't encourage "transitioning to stuff you like" - to me that implies the only reason you're there is to play your favourite tracks and it's just a matter of making he crowd hate you as little as possible for it.
Some gigs (maybe even most gigs!) don't turn out how you expect. Example:
I played peak-time in a bar a couple of months ago. I'd seen photos of the place rocking and knew some big names had played there, so had plans to play a load of groovy house, tech and breaks, full of highs, lows and hooks.
It turned out the venue only brings its proper speaker rig out for certain events and this wasn't one of them, so I was left with the very quiet satellites around the (albeit very busy) bar: it's gone from a headline role to a background music role, which takes quite different music to do well.
Exactly the same goes for a house party full of girls who want to bouce to Afrojack... Anjunadeep they do not want. I'm not saying you need a bag full of that kind of e to play that kind of gig, but you need some sensible options in case the party isn't anything like you expected.
There's no point in trying to turn an event around to suit your style - 99% of the time you'll fail. And you can blame the promoter to some extent for booking the wrong DJ, but at the end of the day, once you're there it's your job to make it work. What you can do is compromise: make sure your collection covers at least something for every eventuality, maybe some records that stray a little way out of your usual zone but still have some connection. Then when you're behind the decks, embrace it rather than trying to work how you can turn it around to your ideal style.
Of course if you honestly think the crowd will like what you want to play, go for it! |
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