With the passing of Avicii, I have to ask: What is it exactly that DJs do?

[Rjay]

Mixing vinyl is not easy.. there's a learning curve. You have to match tempos, make sure audio levels match, monitor if the sounds mixed together aren't drowning each other out, and most importantly, making sure you line up your 2 records properly. If you're off by a beat, it ends up sounding like garbage. You have to find the right spot to drop the next record and keep it there until you're ready... All while you hope you don't lose grip of the vinyl or the needle jumps because some drunk bumped into your table.

I don't know squat about the technical aspects of it but smooth mixing is seamless and you barely notice the transition, but damn bad mixing is so jarring it sticks out like dog's balls. Ministry of Sound Trance Nation 2004 disk 1 first half by DJ Nano was so slick like that, one track just gorgeously folds into the next, it was a perfect flow. Can't be easy.

 

[HomerThompson]

Gives degenerates and excuse to do drugs and pretend they're better than you because they know of some guy that knows how to turn on a radio

*an

*.

 

[mixmastermo]

By DJ I assume you actually mean an EDM producer, because ultimately thats what most of these guys are. I've never made an EDM track in my life, but I do know it's fucking complex and extremely hard to get the right sound. You can look at them as song writers or composers that use electronic sounds as their instruments. I didn't realize appreciate how complicated it is until 3 separate friends of mine tried their hand at it, and their stuff was so bland, boring and flat it made me understand the complexity and richness of a proper production.

For the actually DJ'ing at a show, it varies. Some muppets just hit play and pretend to turn knobs. Others are the real deal, like when I saw Carl Cox back in the day mixing live with 4 decks which was awesome. I'd look at the DJ'ing part more from the perspective of performance, knowing how to whip up the crowd and create ebbs and flows throughout the show. ATB stands out for this for me, I had a great time as his show because he know how to work the crowd.

Free bonus example of what I think was as a kickass production

I like the pic a lot.

BTW most serious EDM producers use actual equipment and use DAW software to edit and compile their music. It's often much more effective to use an actual sequencer, synthesizer, and or keyboard. I'm currently using a physical Roland sequencer/drum machine for beats and basic rhythms, a physical Roland bass synthesizer for bass lines and leads, and at this point I'm only using the computer to record and add some accents to my recordings. I'm going to pickup a keyboard/MIDI controller soon so I can better use my DAW. A friend of mine who I'll be collaborating with designed his own sequencers using arduino boards and sound effects from children's toys...

We have some interesting stuff coming......

 

[Loiosh]

 

[mixmastermo]

I don't know squat about the technical aspects of it but smooth mixing is seamless and you barely notice the transition, but damn bad mixing is so jarring it sticks out like dog's balls. Ministry of Sound Trance Nation 2004 disk 1 first half by DJ Nano was so slick like that, one track just gorgeously folds into the next, it was a perfect flow. Can't be easy.

Gotta be honest with you.. those mix CDs are often edited after they are recorded to smooth out the edges.

THAT SAID it is possible to mix cleanly live.. it's definitely not easy to stay on point if you've been playing for like an hour and you've been drinking though (don't think you need to ask me how I know)

Bad Boy Bill got popular by putting out a series of mix CDs where he cleanly mixed 30-40 records over the course of an hour.. which was unheard of in the pure vinyl days.

I saw him play live a few times.. while it wasn't bad.. he definitely did not mix as quickly or as efficiently as his mix CDs would have you believe..

 

[Jimmy Jazz]

Yeah. My main touring partner in comedy makes decent money DJing on the side. I think most people here are referring to the live aspect of DJing but there's an art to it.

Most DJs worth their salt make their own beats, songs, samples so on so forth.

I don't like the remix but if yo want to see some of the technical stuff behind it this is interesting.


But everyone shitting on DJ's.


Come on. Daft Punk is an incredibly important musical act.

DP literally just wrote a Chic song once they got big. whats so important about that?

 

[mixmastermo]

Why are you surprised? Didn't you say in another post you had turntables?

 

[Loiosh]

Why are you surprised? Didn't you say in another post you had turntables?

Thirty years ago I bought a pair of SL1200s and did the music for parties and events. I wasn't terrible at matching beats.

What you described sounded like NASA was involved.

Fun fact: I bought the turntables for $750 each, and sold them fifteen years later for $700 each. Those magnetic drive turntables last forever.

 

[Loiosh]

Plus I just wanted to use the Matrix combo reply.

 

[mixmastermo]

YEA I've seen stuff like this at events

I was at a small club last year and I could tell the DJ in the booth was pulling this shit and I just kept staring at him.. I'm pretty sure I made him feel uncomfortable, because I knew what he was up to.

The dude was supposedly mixing records, he didn't even have headphones on.

HOW WAS HE QUEUING HIS RECORDS??

 

[dembones22]

Seriously.

I have no idea what goes into performing electronic music, especially live.

Can someone educate me?

Are DJs actual musicians?

Back in the day DJ's had real skill and mixed on vinyl. Now its playing music off a hard drive ant twisting filter and effect knobs.

Most EDM music is garbage, but I used to show up because women love shitty vapid music and drugs.


But I just love Women. And put up with that God awful music.

 

[mixmastermo]

Thirty years ago I bought a pair of SL1200s and did the music for parties and events. I wasn't terrible at matching beats.

What you described sounded like NASA was involved.

Fun fact: I bought the turntables for $750 each, and sold them fifteen years later for $700 each. Those magnetic drive turntables last forever.

I see

Yea, mixing EDM is a bit different than mixing mainstream music. The skilled DJ isn't just playing songs, moving from one song to the next, he's cutting out parts of the song, pasting it on top of others, adding effects, changing the tones, etc. At that point the DJ is creating a composition.

 

[Jesus X]

lol

 

[Jesus X]

The Worst is the that Dj Aoki guy or whatever. Jesus fucking christ stupid drugged out techno hipsters making that shmuck a millionare.

Also lol at stupid festivals of hipsters like Coachella. Fake fucks.

I don't think you know what a hipster is . aoki is very mainstream and almost pop music.

 

[Jesus X]

This thread has me on a Daft Punk binge. It's funny to read some shitty reviews of Discovery from back in the day considering how iconic it's become, especially when you realize that they're fucking geniuses.

I wish I could find the whole version of Kanye doing Stronger live, I still remember seeing it on tv when Daft Punk came out of the ground and the crowd losing their mind. I doubt they're going to tour for a few more years, they're incredibly secretive and really take their time with their albums. Random Access Memories was incredible though.

I can't imagine being lucky enough to see them live. I candyflipped back in the day when it dropped (LSD and MDMA) and listened to it straight through, bought one of those cool projectors that filled the whole room with red stars, and hooked up with a girl the entire album for the first listen.

Glorious.

love their music ,although I am still annoy ed at them for the electroma movie they made.

 

[aus101]

DJs beat match, mix two songs together by adjusting the time so that they are in sync. They can also scratch (like in hip hop).

If you are just playing random electronic music though you often won’t need to beat match/mix or scratch, so many just pre-record sets and press play, although most will pretend to at least be doing more (like applying flanger effects, echo/reverbs, cutting the bass etc).

 

[Jesus X]

Has this fad begun to fade yet??

as long as casinos keep throwing tens of millions of dollars at them like Aria/jewel night club throws at aoki EDM will not go away it resurfaces every decade in a new style like house,techno,jungle,synthwave,dubstep,electro.

the lines in las vegas for these dj's are extremely long.

tiesto also makes insane money in las vegas at hakkasan and XS.


Tiesto net worth: DJ Tiesto is a Dutch DJ who has a net worth of$150 million. DJ Tiesto is a widely successful DJ, producer, and musician who DJs for massive audiences around the world. He has released five studio albums to date.

 

[bubbleboyjones]

The problem with DJing as far as a 'respect' thing usually boils down to the fact that you do not need to be a musician to be a DJ. Disc Jockeys by definition play prerecorded music which means any idiot can do it. That said some DJs are musicians and this where it muddies the waters.

At the end of the day it's a problem when the general audience can't tell what you are doing. For example in this video there are people arguing exactly how much Paris Hilton is doing and what is prerecorded...etc. If Paris Hilton filled in to play drums for Guns N Roses there wouldn't be that much debate on what she's doing.

 

[Der Eisbär]

Seriously.

I have no idea what goes into performing electronic music, especially live.

Can someone educate me?

Are DJs actual musicians?

DJ =/= song writer

 

[Loiosh]

The problem with DJing as far as a 'respect' thing usually boils down to the fact that you do not need to be a musician to be a DJ. Disc Jockeys by definition play prerecorded music which means any idiot can do it. That said some DJs are musicians and this where it muddies the waters.

At the end of the day it's a problem when the general audience can't tell what you are doing. For example in this video there are people arguing exactly how much Paris Hilton is doing and what is prerecorded...etc. If Paris Hilton filled in to play drums for Guns N Roses there wouldn't be that much debate on what she's doing.

She looks incredibly awkward.