doppelkorn Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 For me it's song selection. I think you can be a very talented technical DJ but if you play boring songs or shit songs or songs nobody knows then it's just not enjoyable. DJs are meant to play songs and if the songs aren't good then you're not a good DJ. This is what I think is lacking at the DMCs. For me, you could be playing tunes off an iPod, within reason. If those tunes are good then it'll be enjoyable. Crucially, as well, it's the juxtaposition of tunes that's crucial. Neil Armstrong sez: there's no such thing as a bad tune, just a tune played at the wrong moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djfoly Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Me too mate. In particular I love playing a tune and having 10 people come over and say 'What is this tune', This is my job as a DJ to break good music to people who have never been exposed. The timing of that needs to be perfect it will be different records for each place you go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest petesasqwax Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 I don't DJ at all these days - after 15 yrs I just kind of had enough of playing everyone else's tunes so these days I play sets entirely composed on Ableton. When people actually comprehend what it is that I'm doing, I fucking love it. It's rare - most people just assume you're playing tunes - but I do entire sets built using 4 bar loops, split over up to 8 channels on Ableton. So for example channel 1 might be drums; 2 percussion, 3 bass, 4 mids, 5 atmos, 6 vocal drops/spoken word shit, 7 accapellas etc. I just throw shit in and out, always progressing through the different sounds so that it constantly evolves. I don't think anyone other than a fellow DJ has ever grasped what it is I'm doing though but fuck it, I enjoy it a lot more than spinning tunes. That said, though, what I did love about spinning vinyl is being able to do an entire set full of shit that pretty much nobody there knows, or 90% of which they don't know, but having them love it all the same. I disagree with the view that people want to hear what they know - people want to the ill shit, full-stop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest petesasqwax Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 I disagree with Neil Armstrong - there's a fucking LOAD of bad songs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 If you're talking about playing gigs (which it appears you are), then for me it's all about playing music that you love to people who also love it. I could play a set of top 40 rap tracks and drop songs that get great reactions, but without me liking the music a big part of the enjoyment is missing. And while song selection is the most important thing, if you combine that with great technical skills then you have the best all round DJ IMO, which is why I don't subscribe to the "you could be playing tunes off an iPod" mentality. You can get away with that, but why would you want to really? One of the best gigs I've been to was DJ Woody at the Med Bar in Birmingham, cos he did a set that pleased the people who wouldn't have cared if he was playing tracks off iPods and that pleased those that got hyped when he did something technical, both at the same time. But obviously, I would much rather hear a DJ that doesn't even mix playing tunes that I think are great than some technical genius playing tunes that I think suck. I used to go to a funk night at the place where I used to have a residency and the DJ played old funk/breaks tracks off some CD players without even attempting any mixing, but I loved going because of the music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 i just love searching/listening to new music. I quite enjoy sharing it aswell, or making people aware of things i've found. Also getting sent great white labels is really fucking good, i love that. having said all of that, just the activity of having a good mix or scratch or finding something that really works, even if i keep quiet about it i enjoy that alot to. basically i generally love djing to myself, and since getting bit deeper into it in the last 18months or so, ie keys and i check out structure alot, its brilliant playing and getting involved with that. the things i dont like about djing are gigs and crowds. but i solved that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 For me it's discovering new songs I really love and then playing them on a big soundsystem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericuk Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 groupies. not that I've ever had any. I just imagine it would be kool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest loop skywalker Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 DJing bores me to death...its like i dont think its right that a record should be allowed to rotate more than 2 or 3 times before i have to put my hands on it...playing songs is boring....possibly due to the shit gigs ive played with about 3 people there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Symatic Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 For me it's discovering new songs I really love and then playing them on a big soundsystem. and having people buzzing off the music Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 jon is blates lying, for him the best part about djing is the lifetime supply of free condoms he gets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djdiggla Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Scratching and drop-mixing. Song selection is huge for me too tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djdiggla Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 For me it's song selection. I think you can be a very talented technical DJ but if you play boring songs or shit songs or songs nobody knows then it's just not enjoyable. DJs are meant to play songs and if the songs aren't good then you're not a good DJ. This is what I think is lacking at the DMCs. For me, you could be playing tunes off an iPod, within reason. If those tunes are good then it'll be enjoyable. Crucially, as well, it's the juxtaposition of tunes that's crucial. Neil Armstrong sez: there's no such thing as a bad tune, just a tune played at the wrong moment. So true. I used to be so judgmental about skill but now I just want someone to rock it. So many amazingly talented DJs have shit selection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blak Randy Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Putting my records away and getting paid at the end of the night. Ficking hate djing 99% of the time. Actually the free booze is ok too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jopa. Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 the aspect i enjoy most about djing is scratching. i like that i dont need anyone or anything else around to enjoy it, it provides me a release from daily monotonous shit, and that most djs dont bother with it and so i dont feel obligated to befriend someone or converse with someone just because they "dj." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHouse Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Definitely skratching, but also mixing, trick mixing, juggling, and otherwise just dj'ing. The more hands on, the more I enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kut_class Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I haven't gigged for years, but the most enjoyable ones where when I got to play with Mc's or breakers, looping breaks n their reaction to that and us both moving a crowd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snuff Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 getting sucked off under the decks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 I haven't gigged for years, but the most enjoyable ones where when I got to play with Mc's or breakers, looping breaks n their reaction to that and us both moving a crowd. Bboys are the worst! They clear the entire dance floor, spend half an hour warming up, and then get picky about what they'll dance to. Bleh! Playing with emcees is always fun though... As long as it's not open mic anyway. Last thing you need is some pissed up hipster deciding they can rock the party. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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