does tempo matter?

[hairblz]

124bpm is my favorite tempo.

I'm also a big fan of 124.

I just wrote a massive spiel about my bpm preferences and then cringed and deleted it, lol.

[LouisVee]

I usually mix at 118bpm for warm up and 122 at peak time.... So I buy from 112 to 128 approx. I own a couple of 100-110bpm tracks but I rarely play them live, just for home listening/mixing...


I've notice that we lose bpm over the years... 15 years ago you could often hear 135bpm in a club, in 2005/2007 127-130 was the sh!t... mixing at 120 made no sense. Now the "normal" is 120-125 ... (of course, it depends of the style, I know)

[aut.t.n]

I think it's harder to play a concise set at different tempi but if a dj is able to do it - i really appreciate it. after all it's more a matter of energy imho - tempo is just one aspect of it. think of sven weisemann's deep house sets, often very slow but so energetic. last time i heard him he played the peak time set and i think a lot was below 120, but no escape, everybody was moving. it was one of the rare times when i was wondering after a set how the dj managed to bring together all that stuff in such a fluent way - so many different styles and rhythms but everything geared perfectly into each other.

also there's the possibility to make some prelude or interlude at a different tempo. it can be crappy, but if you're able to feel the right energy at the right time it can make your set the one to remember.

that was the theory - actually i know the little tempo devil in my ear very well. "sounds so good, but how will I mix it with my other stuff???" argh.

[Phase Ghost]

I don't buy anything based on tempo, but almost everything I buy ends up being something that I can pitch to 120. 120 is the perfect tempo for me. I can't explain why, it just grooves so nice at 120.

[.]

tempo doesnt matter to me.

if i like a track, i buy it.

Same! This way I started playing other styles. I could never change a track's tempo more than 4 bpm.

[Dal-Tech]

I haven't really read the responses in this thread but tempo doesn't really matter. A good DJ can mix down tempo with mid tempo and throw in some uptempo tracks. Variety is a sign of a good DJ not just someone who jumps on a style and has to play the same tempo.

[kristofason]

Ive just finished a remix, the parts sent were 94 bpm, Ive wacked it up to 98, any faster and it sounds too fast but its defo a track for dancing, I'm just afraid that being under 115 will seriously limit the amount of people interested in the tune...

[trak660]

I'm more concerned with being funky than genre or tempo. Depending on where and when I'm spinning, you could catch me playing tempos anywhere between 100 and 140.
If I have to play all night, I usually start with some deep stuff under 120 and gradually increase the tempo.
For 1-2 hour sets, I tend to keep the sound fairly homogeneous from start to finish.