Regarding REAL mixing

[Der geile Ami]

lets get real about beat matching and mixing. I think a lot of the music coming out is good enough that a lot of djs are simply mixing into and out of tracks and songs themselves carry the audience. I am not a dj, but I do lights next to the djs during our parties and it is rare that I notice someone looping a section on vinyl or cd. Maybe they hold a decent length mix and some magic happens with the blended songs, but there is not anything particular standout with most djs, even if considered good and written about on here. I may even enjoy their sets, but I htink this is resultant on track selection more than anything ele. There are some djs that really do work the decks, but for hte most part it is working the eq or filter or effect. Those peavey grabber/c-loops sampler things have been quite helpful in doing something different and improvised and exciting, but there are much more praised djs that do not use it.

[theclockstrucktwelve]

lets get real about beat matching and mixing. I think a lot of the music coming out is good enough that a lot of djs are simply mixing into and out of tracks and songs themselves carry the audience. I am not a dj, but I do lights next to the djs during our parties and it is rare that I notice someone looping a section on vinyl or cd. Maybe they hold a decent length mix and some magic happens with the blended songs, but there is not anything particular standout with most djs, even if considered good and written about on here. I may even enjoy their sets, but I htink this is resultant on track selection more than anything ele. There are some djs that really do work the decks, but for hte most part it is working the eq or filter or effect. Those peavey grabber/c-loops sampler things have been quite helpful in doing something different and improvised and exciting, but there are much more praised djs that do not use it.

I mostly agree... there's really only a handful of DJs who are actually doing a lot of good creative work. And another handful that are really tight and solid at what they do even if they don't go the extra mile to do something truly original.

[Red Kite]

I think it's not only about originality. It is nothing new that you can do much more with turntables than blending the beginning of one record smoothly into the end of another one, then wait 6mins, then repeat the same thing and so one... You can do so much more using simply 2 decks, and even a lot more by adding a third deck. There's so few DJs who really try to discover the potential of a 3-deck mix. That's also the point where beat matching really becomes a skill, something that is more than trivial. Watch Jeff Milligan's sets - his sets add a great amount of performance to the mix, and it becomes more than just DJing music, cause the demontration of skill is a part of his performance.

Now that the vinyl age is coming to an end it is really a shame that so few "traditional" DJs ever tried to figure out what you can do with playing records. At least in the techno community - it's something different with hip hop, but that's a different topic.

[clubfoot]

i agree that a DJ mixing live in front of the crowd is an exciting thing. for me its about making the best possible presentation of the music you wish for other people to hear. surely everyone here has experienced the energy when a great track is segued into another. its a bit the same as loving a rock album for instance, but then seeing or hearing the band play those songs live and its maybe even more exciting or with more energy.

and of course, when one is djing, it is all hanging in the balance - its a very responsible job to take on.

i think Jeff Mills - Live at Liquid Rooms Tokyo mix can probably finish most of the arguments on this thread. basically its got it all - could be a bit hard for some of you here though. check it out.