variety-does it work??

[Numeric]

I think it's very important to keep things at least a little varied when playin out. As long as the set keeps flowin...

[([-_-]) Chewitt]

I like to keep things a little varied, eg. the last set I played was a 2 hour techno set, but I threw in an LSG trance rekkid into the mix & also a hardstyle track near the end cos I think they're sweet tunes that helped to break up the other techno records. I dunno if anyone else shared my opinion tho but I hope so! Of course all my mates said "wicked set man" but they would regardless, wouldn't they! LOL!

I suppose what I'm saying is, if it feels right to you, do it. It's your style.

[ncw]

so even though i love hearing pure techno sets for hours and hours in clubs perhaps you've got a very good point. the club scene is NOT the place to experiment. the only way you can do this is at home.

Bullshit.

That goes against the grain of what techno was and is all about. Experiments are key, otherwise everything would sound the same.
Pure linear techno sets are boring, throw in whatever fits, and even stuff that doesn't!

A crowd of pilled up techno cretins may respond to hard beats all night long, but that doesn't mean they won't respond if you push the boundaries a bit.

[MARKEG]

i know!

i don't know if you get what i was trying to say there.

i'll elaborate. so long as you have clubs that play a 'style' ie techno, house, dance or whatever, the safest option for the floor is to stay within the boundaries of the style that the night or club is.

and i'm trying to say that in your home, you just dont have to think like that. it doesnt even cross your mind that you have to stay within a limit.

so in a way, clubs are defeating the objective of new music and pushing limits.

there's nothing wrong whatsoever with dropping a experimental classic jazz number in a techno club, in fact RESPECT if you have the balls to do it. but most ppl/dj's dont. there's a reason for that - the floor clears. ppl don't appreciate what you're trying to do. the club environment can very often be too blinkered. especially in 4/4 banging beat places.

people often say to me - mark you could play heavy metal in a club and ppl would still go off to it. well i very much doubt it. in fact alot of the time when i go out of the mold that ppl expect 'mark eg' to play, i get ppl coming up going 'play like you usually do', 'play faster' or something like that. it's a nightmare, especially if you're feeling very passionate about trying to do something different. i do experiment and try to push something different myself alot in my dj sets but just not as much as i can at home or in the car eh. that's what the point i'm trying to make about clubs not being the place to experiment.

[ncw]

Someone mentioned earlier that a DJ should start out playing with variety, so that they would be accepted on their own terms. I think it is probably harder for a DJ trying to make a transition from a rave style DJ to a more varied eye opening DJ because the crowd they draw expects them to be a certain way and have a certain effect, and get blinkered by that. Maybe thats why people say those things to you MarkEG. Just keep playing what you feel innit.

Aside: Carl Craig kept the dancefloor rocking at Plastic People with about 1/2 an hour of Jazz and ambient rhythmic techno, no kicks or hi hats. There is some serious energy to be harnessed without the usual sub bass piercing hi hat frequency range.

[ncw]

I've been censored! I want my avatar!

[dan the acid man]

it's like henry said in another thread, sometime's it would be nice to play something different but then you will probably have to deal with a very angry promoter

[MARKEG]

an extreme example of this is aphex twin @ the orbit when he played sandpaper on the decks.

i mean the orbit had a reputation as being one of the most respected techno clubs in the uk, yet when someone came along and played something new the crowd all freaked! they hated it!

a bit extreme i know but it's apoint. another time i remember is when someonme played drum and bass in there and the dj almost got linched. oh yeah and when westbam started to play disco in there once he nearly got thrown out.

where you have a crowd of ppl all paying money to listen to one genre (most specialist clubs these days) it's ridiculously hard to step out of the mold. you try it and then see if you're invited back!!!

[Jimfish]

an extreme example of this is aphex twin @ the orbit when he played sandpaper on the decks.

thats an example of when experimentation should stay at home.. u dont have to conduct experiments like that infront of people who have paid good money too see you

[Si the Sigh]

an extreme example of this is aphex twin @ the orbit when he played sandpaper on the decks.

thats an example of when experimentation should stay at home.. u dont have to conduct experiments like that infront of people who have paid good money too see you

I do hope your talking about a track called sandpaper, not the stuff you sand things down with...

Explain!

[Jimfish]

i know its not particluraly varied but i wish more djs would check out all the 4/4 sounds that run at a simaler tempo such as progressive house, tech house, breakbeat etc.. there are plenty of good tunes from those scenes that could easily fit in with good techno, but i only ever hear them in sets of that kind of music..

[Jimfish]

nope... sandpaper

[ncw]

No, actual sandpaper discs.

[gunjack]

anyway i hate djs who play reeko and exium for four hours a night. i like alot of the work of those artists but, yeah there is alot of cool music out there. here in spain its easy to get overloaded on breakbeat with strings trying to be all dark and shit.....

[ncw]

One track in a style makes much more impact than an entire set of the same style.

[Si the Sigh]

Real sandpaper disc's? Your taking the piss...right?

[ncw]

Nope, it is true.

[Si the Sigh]

Jesus! That must have sounded PROPER fu*ked up!! :lol:

[MARKEG]

i really like this thread. really made me think.

ok so think about this too. as a dj you work for years on your style and sound. sure you make musical mistakes along the way - you're growing up for god sakes. but in the end you manage to never have to get a proper job. you work your arse off but thanks christ you're not part of the rat race - great! your music taste goes from one thing to another, back again and then some. the goal posts change. you taste matures too.

you soon realise you can't loose the floor or you can't pay the rent.

you've somehow got to drag them with you each and every step of the way without alienating yourself.

i think if many of you imagine yourself in this type of senario (many of you probably ARE in this type of senario). unless you're known from the very outset as playing experimental sets or being highly experimental, you would find it VERY hard to experiment without having consequences to deal with. you will, somewhere along the line have been roped into a specific genre and you will become labelled with that genre. you then try and step out of that label without loosing your following and risking everything. good luck to you!

and if you think of it like that, you can see why many dj's find it hard to experiement. and producers too actually, cause the same will apply. that's why it's easy for someone on the floor to turn around and say 'blah blah i would be much more varied if i was up there' - but then you put yourself in that position and it's a different ball game entirely.

i think the only real key here and something that should stick with all DJ's is to follow your heart but you must be sensible about it all - access the risks and put things in place that mean you can deal with those risks should your heart tell you otherwise.

all this genre crap and labelling really is a total hinderance in this industry. but no matter how much you wish it wasnt there, it will always be there and you will always be labelled and it will always limit what you can achieve musically in a club.

my thoughts anyway ;)

[Si the Sigh]

Still trying to get my head round what sort of sound a sandpaper disc would make on a turntable!

I suppose it would sound like the Deathchant box set tin on a turntable...

PROPER NOISE!!



Aargh!!