The great DJ debate that haunts many a music forum (almost as bad as the PC vs Mac debacle) and seems to cause much confusion. It takes even a weirder shape when it enters the industrial (etc.) scene.
I’ve spent a fair amount of time with DJs in the tech-no scene, and use to somewhat regularly frequent d’n’b/hardcore related events. This was long before laptops, ableton, and CD-Jing were considered standard practices. Anyone that brought CDs to a gig was generally received with scorn. I remember feeling cheated when I saw Delta9/Tron spinning CDs.
But it seemed at the time, the main thing that made a good DJ is someone that had a large record collection, familiarity with the tracks, and seamless beat-matching ability. This placed finite restrictions of money, shelf space, and practice time. Most DJs actually had a fairly limited track selection, regardless of how deep their pockets. Anytime I saw someone spin a few times, their playlists would be suspiciously similar. This didn’t really matter much, as your average tech-no DJ had a gig once every two months at best.
Seemingly, the litmus test upon which a DJ was judged was his/her ability to demonstrate his/her own authenticity. As the DJ appears on the music scene as a simulacrum, mirroring the “producers” (I hate that term) that are played in their mix. I would argue that any question of authenticity is absurd simply on the basis upon which the question is asked (authentic as to what?).
Now enter the strange space of the industrial (etc.) DJs. For one, while it’s a dance friendly genre, the composition of many tracks is not very mix-friendly. Long intros, strange cut outs, radical difference in dynamic range, wide range of BPMs, and presence of vocals make the genre very unfriendly for creating a seamless mix. I have seen several DJs do it (most notably DJ RAM), but I’ve found their sets incredibly boring. I’m sure there are exceptions — but relatively speaking — if I’m provided with 133-BPM-sausage-link, I’ll get bored. It’s also a problem as most industrial (etc.) DJs have regular gigs, and if they’re playing the same tracks every week, they’ll be dismally irritating.
Providing weekly seamless mixes would arguably eliminate one of the main points of having DJs in the industrial (etc.) scene, which is to continuously push and advertise various new releases on the unsuspecting masses. In my opinion, what makes a good DJ is their ability to have varied and interesting playlist. I don’t care if they did it with two Ipods, Ableton live, or one of those fancy Native Instruments Scratch set-ups. I don’t really care if they have seamless beat-matching, and if they’re playing new stuff every week it’s almost impossible. But like I said, I find any posturing of authenticity kind of silly.
To parody (and possibly piss on the grave of) John Cage – everyone is a DJ.
August 27th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Great post.
August 27th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Thumbs up!
I’ve been an avid dancer (club, that is– not professional or “exotic”, heh) for about a decade now, and I still barely notice (and don’t care either way) whether transitions are beat-matched or not.
Granted, I’m weird in that I make an effort to dance *differently* to each song, as opposed to repeating the same move ad nauseum.
My only criteria of import when “judging” a DJ is what tracks they spin. I want to hear songs I like, but NOT just songs I know.
August 27th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
I think you have a very nice post, but I disagree with your position on mixing. I have a problem when a DJ doesn’t mix, now they don’t have to mix every song all night. and I will say that I’ve always said 80 – 90 % of what makes a good DJ is what they play. That said not mixing to me just seems lazy.
Industrial type music might not be the easiest to mix, but that make it all the more challenging. Taking a set from the lower 80′s BPM’s all the way up and finishing in the upper 140′s or higher mixing most of the way is the sign of a good DJ to me.
Some songs should be dropped into, some can be smoothly transitioned from one to another and some should be mixed. (especially now that computers can do the mixing for you if you don’t know how)
August 27th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
One of the main problems I see as a DJ in the “dark” scene is trying to find the right mix of playing new songs and keeping a dance floor. The darksiders are notorious for not dancing to things they haven’t heard 100 times before.
IMO that is the hardest thing about being a Goth/Industrial/Dark DJ
August 28th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Too many dj crowdpleasers and not enough djs pushing the new stuff. Listening to stale songs is a downer, for real. Play something new,fresh, and maybe unfamiliar and we got a deal.
August 28th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
@Craig
The one good reason that I find acceptable for any industrial (etc.) DJ to fuck around with getting a smooth set — it’s a heck of a lot of fun. The problem is often times the songs get butchered. Some song sound terrible if the pitch shifter is slid over just a little bit.
But you’re right on the fact that it’s difficult to keep a dancefloor. But the problem with trying to attempt to keep a dance floor: it’s like a game of whack-a-mole — for everyone you hit, you’re going to miss 3.
August 28th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
score 1 for working in a wack-a-mole reference.
August 28th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
@P_machine I agree that things can get butchered. If the DJ doesn’t know how to mix then they shouldn’t try. I was referring to DJ’s who can mix they just don’t. Or to DJ’s that use softwear that can mix for them.
I see your point about the whack a mole, and I hear polter asking for new stuff. I like to push new stuff, trust me I would rather be pushing the crowd all night, but the reality is you just can’t do that all night.
If you clear a dancefloor with a new song, that is fine. I do it and I totally except it. But you can’t leave that dancefloor empty for to long. Like I said earlier it’s a really fine line.
August 29th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
It’s possible to make smooth transitions without beat matching. I’ve heard some very impressive djs who spend half of their sets beat matching songs and half doing transitions at breaks or intro/outro points.
There’s a lot to be said about beat matching, and there’s a lot to be said about music selection and pushing boundaries. Neither one on their own make for a good dj, though. I’ve heard some folks spin who play wonderful music, but absolutely lose their crowds when the tail ends of their songs ram up against each other.