mixtapes - promo mixes

[Rochey]

Had this conversation a lot with my friends.

Do you pre-plan your mixes or just play what comes to you?

I don't. I might know what the first 3 tracks are gonna be, but I wouldn't plan the whole thing.

Discuss

[patrick bateman]

I don't, and then maybe a bit in my head...
I think I always have an idea of what tracks I'm into at the moment, but if I get ideas during the mix I'll try it out for sure.
But I've been thinking lately that I wanted to prepare certain tracks for a mix, but I don't think I would plan the complete mix.
(this is for doing a mix(tape) at home)

[John Clees]

I have always received more compliments on mixes that were 100% completely random.. - not even the first record..

I find it extremely difficult to present something with passion that is preplanned...in some ways (to me) the dj is the gate keeper: and if something is already preplanned their is no excitement. - if you (as a dj) are not excited about it or caught in a moment then how would you expect or hope your listeners might be..

- just my take..

[Michael^Heaven]

I might know what the first 3 tracks are gonna be, but I wouldn't plan the whole thing.

That's my basic plan when I play out. I'll have about three or four tracks pre-selected to establish my set & the crowd. The rest depends on what I'm feeling from the dancefloor & what's in my head.

Now, at home, I'll select an opener & maybe one more track at the most, beforehand. It's all up-in-the-air from there!

[miroslav]

I wouldn't knock pre-planned mixing... They are two very different forms of DJing...both are fun, to me, and both have their legitimate place in the DJing domain. Pre-planned mixing puts the challenge for me into months of exploration in the minutia of how tracks mesh together to create the tightest, most "perfect" musical statement - like a classical symphony. Spontaneous/live mixing obviously puts the challenge into the improvisational creativity that feeds off of the emotions from the people and the environment - like a jazz performance. Each kind of mixing emphasizes different kinds of skills and therefore must be practiced separately. And the result tends to sound a bit different as well. More often than not, the live mixes I hear aren't quite as transitionally "tight" as the pre-planned mixes - not to say that this is "bad"...I wouldn't judge the live mix on quite the exact same basis as the pre-planned mix, anyways. While live mixing is obviously paramount if you're ever going to perform publicly, to me he good DJ can excel at both forms.

[G3rard]

I enjoy pre-planning mixes when Im using unusual music and trying to make a creative mix, seeing what tracks will fit together.

Otherwise I think a demo mix should be a reflection of how you would actually DJ live. If you cant pull it off live dont put it into your mix. Its always good to hear a mix with a few off the wall tracks aswell, makes you standout from the crowd.

[Ciaran_]

If I pre-plan a mix it usually doesnt come off as well when I do it more than once/twice. I'll get bored of mixing the track in the same place, and to me it doesnt sound as good as the first time I discovered the nice transition...

Saying that whenever Ive played a party and remember a pair of tracks that work well together it always goes down well (I like to think!)

[Measax]

Sometime I have an idea in mind, like a vibe I want to create mostly for myself, like a fucked up road trip from Brazil to Detroit, and i might try to do that with music that comes to mind, like try and create that journey with music but not a set list or anything - so the only planning is how I am feeling - no set planning as far as picking tracks before hand though.

and when i play out I usually try to do something based on the emotion of the people... play off of that... like sometimes I'll pick one individual out in the crowd - maybe someone who looks fucked up and i'll try to make them feel even more fucked up....