11–20 of 71 posts
* Love good music. If you don't love or don't have good music, blending songs together will never sound good. * Try out Xwax or Mixxx (based on xwax) for free. They are open-source. You don't really need all the other distractions of modern systems to play good music. All that comes later when you run out of things to do with good music. Any easy effects will sound canned to the slightest trained ear. * Harmonic mixi…
EDIT: would love to see a „How to get started with music production“. Just started using Logic Pro and with all its plugins it seems very overwhelming at first.
I'm going to seem like an elitist prick, but in my opinion DJing is absolutely useless if you don't produce/compose. Basic 2 decks DJing is fucking boring, learn how to play instruments and all the theory behind pop music, then figure out the software and hardware to play live sets. Obviously you're going to need to understand the basics of mixing to play live sets, but playing a regular DJ set in front of an audienc…
>I'm going to seem like an elitist prick, but in my opinion DJing is absolutely useless if you don't produce/compose. Basic 2 decks DJing is fucking boring Exhibit A for the defence: this utterly masterful set by garage legend DJ EZ. He deftly plays with the build and release of tension without relying on formulaic drops. There is still enormous creative mileage in traditional two-deck mixing. https://www.youtube.com…
This is the point I was trying to make. I'm very familiar with soundsystem culture, I've been making a living from it since I was 17. Obviously there's some good sounding stuff you can do while mixing on two decks, you just gave decent examples, but in my opinion it's never going to be as mind blowing as Birdy Nam Nam or Araabmuzik absolutely killing it on some freestyle stuff. It's never going to beat a great vinyl jungle set with an experienced scratcher, and it's certainly not going to beat some of the crazy live sets people in the downtempo psytrance scene play.
I went to a rave on halloween, and there was these two guys doing a live set. One guy was just doing regular 2 decks stuff for the rythmic section, while the other guy had an mpc, a controller and electronic drums plugged into his computer for the melodies. It was great seeing the drums used as melody, I've seen thousands of sets in my life and I was mind blown. There are no videos of him playing live, but here's his soundcloud.
Step 2: whatever. If you understand the music, the sound, the acoustics and the sensations it makes little difference what medium you choose.
Mixing and beatmatching are secondary to this. You should want to show people great music above all. The mix should just prime people to make them receptive to it.
Step 1: have an actual passion for good music, weird music, music outside of the mainstream. Dance with it, vibrate to it, understand how it makes you and others feel. Step 2: whatever. If you understand the music, the sound, the acoustics and the sensations it makes little difference what medium you choose. Mixing and beatmatching are secondary to this. You should want to show people great music above all. The mix s…
This is in contrast with, say, playing the violin. There's no debate over if somebody is actually playing the violin - one does or does not.
I think the point of this, beyond any snobbery, is that there is a craft to DJing that is of great value to the DJs and those who are familiar, but its impact on the typical listener happens to be negligible.
So if you're interested in DJing because you primarily care about others' responses to your DJing, this is a satisfactory route. If you're interested in learning the nuances of a craft involving highly technical and intricate mixing then that's an altogether different path.
Contrary to what the article says, Mixxx is cross-platform (GNU/Linux, Mac, Windows). I really recommend that amazing piece of Free Software. It is the only DJing software I use.
Step 1: have an actual passion for good music, weird music, music outside of the mainstream. Dance with it, vibrate to it, understand how it makes you and others feel. Step 2: whatever. If you understand the music, the sound, the acoustics and the sensations it makes little difference what medium you choose. Mixing and beatmatching are secondary to this. You should want to show people great music above all. The mix s…
DJing is interesting because, while people who listen to DJs would not notice any difference in this approach, people who are familiar with mixing or are DJs would say strictly that this is not DJing. This is in contrast with, say, playing the violin. There's no debate over if somebody is actually playing the violin - one does or does not. I think the point of this, beyond any snobbery, is that there is a craft to DJ…
Some DJs have played sets with incredible and weird tracks that blow your mind. Other DJs can play the very same track and it sounds like crap.
The difference lies wholly in the track selection and being able to read the audience and the situation.
DJ is in no way a "highly technical and intricate craft". You can teach a monkey to mix effectively in two weeks. It takes years to understand a musical genre, have a good catalogue of tracks and develop the good taste that makes the difference.
David Rodigan barely even mixes tracks in his sets, but they're amazing. Jah Shaka doesn't even use two turntables in his sets yet what he plays is about as close as you can get to a spiritual dub mix.
It's all about the selection and context, which are hugely social affairs and far more complex than the masturbatory turntablism of some DJs, which is about as important to the art as the guitar players who shred like madmen, yet it makes no difference to you emotionally.
Joe Satriani is a skilled guitar player, but I feel nothing. David Gilmour has never shown highly technical skills in his music but it reaches the depth of my feelings. In the same note, Skrillex is a good sound designer, but he's irrelevant in underground UK dubstep because he has no taste, no sense of subtlety, no capacity to hold back and make a trip.
I'm going to seem like an elitist prick, but in my opinion DJing is absolutely useless if you don't produce/compose. Basic 2 decks DJing is fucking boring, learn how to play instruments and all the theory behind pop music, then figure out the software and hardware to play live sets. Obviously you're going to need to understand the basics of mixing to play live sets, but playing a regular DJ set in front of an audienc…
I see where you are coming from, but masterful DJing takes much more than switching from desk A to desk B. Song selection is crucial, it's even more important than transitions, moreover you need to play the right music to the right audience. Those things you won't find in tutorials, and that's what makes a great DJ set great. On top of that you can combine producing with playing live by adding effects, creatively tra…
Shame the author promotes the use of Spotify so much, for two reasons: - the ridiculous amount of money going to artists (i.e. the ones who do want money for their music), although you could argue that you would generate revenue for every play the song gets, rather than a one-off amount when buying it (although, pretty sure it still doesn't compare); - having Spotify means everyone will ask you to play your favourite…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>I'm going to seem like an elitist prick, but in my opinion DJing is absolutely useless if you don't produce/compose. Basic 2 decks DJing is fucking boring Exhibit A for the defence: this utterly masterful set by garage legend DJ EZ. He deftly plays with the build and release of tension without relying on formulaic drops. There is still enormous creative mileage in traditional two-deck mixing. https://www.youtube.com…
>The problem as I see it is that technology has made DJing too accessible. Every two-bit hipster with a Macbook thinks that they're a DJ. This is the point I was trying to make. I'm very familiar with soundsystem culture, I've been making a living from it since I was 17. Obviously there's some good sounding stuff you can do while mixing on two decks, you just gave decent examples, but in my opinion it's never going t…