Finding your voice as a DJ

Tips and techniques of the trade

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Haydn
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#61 Post by Haydn » Fri Sep 29, 2006 3:02 pm

julius wrote:I'm sure many jazz musicians don't care what happens to their music after it gets recorded and they get paid. I know some do, and since I can't quiz all jazz musicians on the subject, I personally would rather not edit anybody's to be on the safe side.
From my experience of playing in rock bands, I know that a lot of musicians would be extremely upset if their solo was missed out of a performance. (I've also frequently heard of actors and writers being upset at being cut from films). But should we please the performers or the dancers?

julius
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#62 Post by julius » Sat Sep 30, 2006 10:52 am

DJs play for dancers. But Allen said it best:
Allen Hall wrote:However, I really get annoyed when they chop out horn solos, because, in their opinion, they are too lengthy and boring, and, perhaps, make the recording too long for dancing. My advice to them is to play another shorter recording.
I think dancers like genres, but rarely know the specifics of the music. You can generally replace one song in a setlist with another song of a similar feel and tempo -- obviously there are memorable exceptions, as when at a Lindy in the Park in San Francisco someone played that "sunshiney day" song just as the sun came out from behind the clouds. If the edited song fit your setlist perfectly, like I said, go on with your bad selves. I just don't see a need for edits when there is so much other music.

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shaugran
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Finding my voice as a dj

#63 Post by shaugran » Tue Oct 24, 2006 3:43 am

I heard some talk about having a voice as a dj when I first started learning to do it. Discussions with other deejays in my town touched on the voice consisting of the styles of music one played, tempos those songs reached, the amount of songs with vocals played, themes and moods in the music and lyrics, ect.,

So does a functional definition of the deejay voice-how a deejay sounds--include the factors I mentioned above? If there are more, what are they?

I've been deejaying for almost two years and only thought marginally about my voice. My greatest concern is to put and keep dancers on the floor while playing interesting music. In the beginning, I had no qualms about playing the standards: popular Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Basie, big band, Rat Pack stuff, jazz and blues divas. Those songs are familiar to the crowd and they liked dancing to them. Occasionally, I've messed around with themes for groups of songs, and once for a whole set. One formula I've tried to keep during most of of my earlier gigs has been to divide my set into thirds. I tried to ensure variety by playing one third male vocals, one third female vocals, and one third instrumentals. I wasn't as conscious of the variety of styles I played but I'd keep tabs on what I've spun so as not to completely neglect a type of swing tune. The only type of swing tune I consistently avoided playing is neo swing-but that too also depended on the crowd I was spinning for.

More recently, I've adjusted the tunes I'm playing to focus on time periods and bands I've neglected, as well as deeper cuts from the albums of popular artists. The more I've gotten to know my music, the more I've begun to explore newer material.

As I'm writing this and thinking about my sound, I realize that my voice is changing/still developing as I gain more knowledge about the music I'm playing and the music other deejays are spinning. There have been times recently (WCLX8 late night) when I've played experimental songs (for me) that have been complimented by very experienced dancers. I might have never danced to those songs, but always have thought they might be interesting to dance to so I'd give it a shot and see how the dancers react. But, there's always that little concern in the back of my mind for playing the experimental song that would clear the floor. I talked to Karen Maria about it and she said something to me that made me feel better about experimenting/pushing dancers out of their comfort zone. She said that it was okay to push the envelope of interestingness, but make sure you mix it in with the familiar favorites so that if it bombs, you can bring them back quickly on the floor. Also if you've played several hits in a row, dancers may be more likely to stay and give the experimental track a chance in anticipation of where you'd be taking them. She said Tina called it a "Fck you" song-which I interpretted as a "shut-up and dance,"/"I want to see what you guys do with this,"/challenge song.

Do any of you pick "interesting/unusual" songs to challenge the dancers you play for? If so, what do you challenge them with? Would you consider the songs you play to challenge them/the frequency in which you play them, a character of your voice?

Roy
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#64 Post by Roy » Tue Oct 24, 2006 10:26 pm

I no longer have any specific DJ personality, I now have mulitple personalties. I just like to play good music mix in some common stuff with stuff that people have not heard. Every time I DJ my personality molds to the crowd. Even playing at the same venue the crowd might like faster stuff on any given night. In SF each venue has a personality and I try to meet each one half way with what I like to play, with what they are used too. At Cat's Corner the person who runs it wanted all classic swing so I played all classic swing, in the same week I DJ'ed at 9:20 which is a crowd that does not like classic swing that much and I dropped my classic swing mix to around 15%. On 11/1 I am DJing a gig in which the promoter wants me to mix in allot of slow blues with regular Lindy Hop music, I usually don't play slow blues unless it is a late night venue or a blues venue like Friday night blues.

In Chicago this would be equivelant to DJing at Fizz where the crowd wants slower groovier music to Jave Jive where they wants medium tempo stuff and allot of the slower stuff doesn't work, to DJing in the burbs in which the crowd prefers jump blues and lounge. Instead of sticking with the same personality it would be better to adjust to the crowd.

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