hard house/hard dance warm up ???

[Tony P]

whats peoples opinions on what should be plaey as a warm up set at a hard house/hard dance event.

It just appears to me that it's hard to find new material that can be used for this purpose. All the new records of this genre seem to be too hard for a warm up.

should you then addopt the attitude of playing hard (so not really a warm up), or play a different style (german trance, etc), or play old tunes that everyone knows to get them i the mood???

 

whats your opinions on this guys?

[Lizard]

I would say this depends on two things:

 

1 - How hard is 'hard'?

2 - How long would the warm up set be?

 

Personally I tend to start with some relatively pacey trance...into Marco V / Mauro Picotto kinda stuff...into hard trance...into hard house...and, as I said depending on how long you've got to play, the occasional classic chucked in for good measure

 

If you've only got an hour though i'd say start with the Marco V technoey stuff, go to hard trance, finish on a couple of classics...but that's just me

[LiamStyles]

Tony, the way I see it you should adopt a different sound. I think a techier sound is spot on for warm ups on hard house/dance nights. Some good techno labels are very geared towards hard dance (Hydraulix, cluster, groucho) and even some of the more "proper" techno labels also (MB Elektronics, Bitchshift, patterns)

 

You also have techier hard house labels such as Atomic that help bridge the gap into hard dance.

 

Just my thoughts

[Lisa]

I reckon some hardcore & Nu NRG myself

[Chris Hutchinson]

QUOTE (Lisa @ Apr 29 2004, 11:47)

I reckon some hardcore & Nu NRG myself

sounds about right to me

 

the slower/funkier style hardhouse, techno, or trance would probably be best bet - depends on the night tho.... Some nights seem to want 150bpm hoovers from start to finish...

[Lisa]

If I dj'd then id probably start it with uplifting, hard house with a boingy bounce to it, Ali Wilson banjo stylie

[Stu]

definitely play some bounce...

[Guest]

the only club i've been to that i thought the warm up sets were as good as (if not better) than the headlining DJs is at slinky bournemouth where they play funky techno.

 

it works so well as it has energy (being techno and all) plus its something cheerful to start the night with and get the crowd going. as well as this, its very versitile leaving the following DJs much more scope to take their set in their desired direction

[Jimmy]

older funky stuff or funky techno

[Guest]

QUOTE (Jimmy @ Apr 29 2004, 20:43)

older funky stuff or funky techno

whos da man

[Tony P]

here is what steve hill had to say on it, very helpful i think:

 

If it's any help here's a few tips...

1) Think of what you're playing from the punters point of view.

If you're on first, chances are there is a queue outside, people are paying in, checking in coats, going to the bar for a drink, chatting to mates - no need to play anthems - also no need to play fillers...

It can take an hour or so to fill a club so no need to go for the full dancefloor on your second tune!

Next time you go to a club - work out how long it takes to get in, pay, check in your coat, get a drink and when you're ready to dance - if you're in at 10pm on the dot I reckon by 10:30pm or so you'd be ready to start dancing...most people won't get in at that time so you're looking at 11pm onwards...

 

2) Judge it by how many people are in the club...

Some places are slow to fill - create a vibe rather than pumping it out at 148bpm and a having it dancefloor - there aren't many places you can go from 148bpm - except faster...

If it's slow filling up hold it back at around 140bpm or so - if it fills quick - go a bit faster - I reckon (depending on the club) you shouldn't be above 145 - 6 by midnight if the club opens at 10pm...

 

3) Try not to play the big tunes of the moment...

There's another 6 - 7 hours to go after you - you play em too early - they won't have the same effect as when the place is properly jumping - plus punters will be bored of hearing them for the third time at 5am - which is when you want to be ending the night on the biggest buzz.

 

4) One trick is to play your tracks at pitch or just a bit above - they don't have the same energy at that speed as they do when pitched right up so it's more palatable...also avoid tracks with really big breakdowns - they sound pony on a big rig with 3 people dancing to them - it looks like even playing the biggest tunes won't get a full dancefloor and doesn't make you look good - go for less having it / peak time / more groovy if you can...

 

Warm up sets is a tough one because it's harder for up and coming DJ's to get the main slots - so they get the earlier slots to prove themselves - then they play like it's the middle of the night - which is inappropriate - either because they haven't got the tunes or because they want to show what they really play...a promoters nightmare really because the flow of the night is lost...so you go hell for leather from the off you probably won't get asked back...

 

[Stu]

if you get that reply if you ask Steve Hill, why the fuck did you ask us?

 

print that off in big type and put it in front of the decks. or write it on the back of your hand.

[Lisa]

QUOTE (Stu @ Apr 30 2004, 14:59)

if you get that reply if you ask Steve Hill, why the fuck did you ask us? print that off in big type and put it in front of the decks. or write it on the back of your hand.

well Stu, he asked you muppets first

[Aaron]

I'll probably be shot for asking this but who is Steve Hill? Sounds like good advice though.

 

Whenever i do a Full night (4 Hours) i always start off with funky vocal house before start shifting into the trance arena after i filled up the floor to as much its gonna get

Edited April 30, 2004 by Aaron

[Lisa]

Steve Hill is a DJ from New Zealand who is resident at Frantic, was based in London but has gone over to Oz now & he is a wicked dj & knows how to warm a crowd