Same tunes time and time again

[David Timothy]

its also there to quote ur message ok now get back to the post of this thread!

[Phil B]

i can see your point tom but alot of new djs are mixing for their own enjoyment therefore buying the tunes that do it for them.

 

im quite lucky in that i have a good supply of new tunes both on promo and from some lesser known labels. this gives me a few wks to cain the new tunes before other people start to play them.

 

there are very few tunes in my box that are over 12months old, as i believe in playing as upfront as i can all the time.

 

the cds i do each month are a collection of tunes that ive bought through the month, some of the tunes ive bought just to have, ie crowd pleasers, but once theyve gone on a cd many never get played much again ( glazby - hostile being one of them )

 

i have found this year at the tune shop i go to there isnt the same amount of hard tunes as there used to be but i believe you sometimes have to change your sound to accomodate the lack of tunes in what you used to play.

[Blink]

I had the opportunity to be a "Rock DJ" (glorified jukebox) in 1993, and I didn't go with it, cos the crowd weren't interested in being challenged. You could play the latest Chilli Peppers/Nirvana single, and fill the dance floor, then follow it with a different tune from the same album, and clear the dancefloor. It wasn't any fun, but then other DJ's would play the same old [censored], fill the dancefloor, and make people happy.

 

A DJ has to find the balance between pleasing the crowd and educating the crowd. There is nothing wrong with doing a "Now that's what I call Hard House 96" mix, but there are 1000s of bedroom DJ's capable of doing that, what makes your mix different? The way you drop out the 4th and 8th beat? That funky little "spinback" trick? Nope, been there done that, taught my dog how to do it.

 

This is not having a go at any DJ's on here

 

I will say the same to anyone try to achieve anything, there are 1000's of people out there who are "good" at whatever it is they do, what makes yours unique? [i admit that my biggest fear for my band is that when we put out are stuff, people will just say "Been done"] Or are you happy with just being "good"? After all, not everyone can be amazing.

[LiquidEyes]

Totally agree Blink. This is why I try to find clubs which are aimed at people like me, i.e. fellow clubbers who don't just want to hear "anthems".

 

Despite the snobbery (or is it inverted snobbery?) of the underground/rave scene in London, which mostly seems to revolve around hard house and psy trance [and students on drugs] at the moment, full of people who slag off what they perceive to be "commercial" music and clubs, it is ironic that they seem the most contented to listen to the most mediocre DJs who just bang out samey tracks and anthems.

 

Although not exclusively, I like a lot of bigger name DJs, and residents at reputable (albeit more commercial) nights like Slinky, because often they try a hell of a lot harder to play across the board.

 

The signal to noise ratio with "up-and-coming" DJs is, not surprisingly, pretty high. "Glorified jukebox" is the keyword for anyone who just plays anthems!

 

what makes your mix different? The way you drop out the 4th and 8th beat? That funky little "spinback" trick?

And then there are the irritating DJs who insist on dropping a single kick from the upcoming tune to "spice up" a dull breakdown!

[Ian Cashman]

TomD said:

am i completely alone in thinking that when a dj does a mix cd it should be at least just a little bit inventive and original?

 

i do try...

[Blink]

 

liquideyes said:

And then there are the irritating DJs who insist on dropping a single kick from the upcoming tune to "spice up" a dull breakdown!

 

My pet hate is when they do the drop out for only 1 or 2 bars. [i just naturally count, whenever I am listening to music] So you get a drop out, then again....and then it vanishes. Hello DJ's, hard house is 4 to the floor, notice the number 4. Can you all count to 4? Remember it, treasure it, it will treat you well.

[Chris Hutchinson]

imo, there is NO POINT WHATSOEVER trying to emulate the DJs you look upto..... you will never be respected if you simply copy everyone else!

 

Its why I always try to make my sets/demos as different as possible - a lot of people (even DJs!!!!) that I send cds to comment on how they enjoyed a break from hearing the same tunes, but in a different order, from a demo mix... I would much rather try and be innovative then simply be a dj-sheep.....

 

My record box probably consists of:

 

15% current stuff

10% unfront cdr stuff

75% pre-2001 stuff

 

Reason being - most current tracks are complete [censored]... I have stuff thats nearly a decade old that sounds 'fresher' then stuff thats only just being released for fucks sakes!!!! Too many producers are releasing half-hearted attempts at tracks and its forcing DJs to look into the past in order to keep the future from being stale....

 

Its a [censored] scenario because DJs that have only just started are gonna struggle to be different, purely because every dj and their dog can go out and buy the current stuff - nobody bothers to dig deep

[LiquidEyes]

I wouldn't say that there is less good music now.

 

However there is more crap to filter through, thanks to the growth of the scene and the inevitable commercialisation (by which I don't mean chart music; I mean poor, derivative dance music).

[DJ Elemental]

leedzlad22 said:

TomD said:

looking through folks' offers of hard house cds and online mixes to download, i keep seeing the same tracks time and time again -- "Beyond Motion", "Floorburn", "Beautiful", "Hostile", anything by TDV, Signum, those Sharkboy bootlegs...

 

does nobody actually get bored of hearing the same hh tunes on mixes time and time again, even though they're months (or possibly years) old? or am i completely alone in thinking that when a dj does a mix cd it should be at least just a little bit inventive and original?

 

looking from tracklistings, many of the hard house djs (note: not all) on this board who've offered mixes just seem to rely on the same old tunes as crowd-pleasers, or just play the same as everyone else. there was me thinking that dance music had some ounce of individuality about it, but i imagine seeing sets by some of the djs on here would be like going to a school disco.

 

this isn't a total slating of hard house or anyone's technical ability, i just don't understand why hard djs can't be a bit more creative and seek out new tunes, or is it that there literally aren't enough new hard tunes being made?

 

this problem doesn't seem to exist in the house, techno, prog, drum&bass, breaks scenes... so why just hard?

 

are u talking about my mix by any chance?

if u are then iv only put them tunes on there as they are what ppl like

 

If i was to produce what people liked then i would be producing commerical [censored] like everyone else.

 

Wat i mean is, just cause something is different to what their used to, dont mean they wont like it

[DJ Elemental]

TomD said:

 

this problem doesn't seem to exist in the house, techno, prog, drum&bass, breaks scenes... so why just hard?

 

Theres only so much variation you can do with 'Hard House' if you go beyond it, it turns into something else.

 

And as i have said before, i find hard house extreamly easy to produce, i slapped together a track which took me no more that 2 hours and people loved it, and i have to say it was the most shittest and minimalist tune i have ever made in my life, repetitive melody, bangin' beat with abit of vox effects. If its this easy to please hard house fans, then no wonder theres so many HH DJ's nowadays as theres almost a 100% garentee that everyone will like their set!

 

Just speakin from a producers point of view thou

[LiquidEyes]

DJ_Elemental said:

If i was to produce what people liked then i would be producing commerical [censored] like everyone else.

I'm not so hung up on "commercial" versus "underground". Good commercial music is better than poor underground music. What's wrong with making something that everyone likes?

 

If I ever produce a tune that I am proud of, and it goes top 40, I will be well chuffed!

 

However we're talking about DJs rather than producers. Anyone can learn to beatmatch and bang out a load of anthems. This may even please the crowd in certain music scenes... Not anyone can produce a good tune though (commercial or underground).

[LiquidEyes]

Trust me Mr Elemental - when you're a little older and the reality of having to work all your life sinks in, you will abandon your principles about "commercial" music!!

 

I'll happily sell out any day! Show me the money...

 

Besides, once I'm minted, I can spend the rest of my life doing music that I really believe in, which would be a dream come true.

[DJ Elemental]

liquideyes said:

DJ_Elemental said:

If i was to produce what people liked then i would be producing commerical [censored] like everyone else.

I'm not so hung up on "commercial" versus "underground". Good commercial music is better than poor underground music. What's wrong with making something that everyone likes?

 

If I ever produce a tune that I am proud of, and it goes top 40, I will be well chuffed!

 

However we're talking about DJs rather than producers. Anyone can learn to beatmatch and bang out a load of anthems. This may even please the crowd in certain music scenes... Not anyone can produce a good tune though (commercial or underground).

 

but if you talk about DJ's arn't you indirectly talking about producers also? someones gotta produce the tracks.

 

i mean ya i like commerical stuff, i;ve even produced some of it, but i mean dont be afraid to pump out something new cause u think the crowd wont like it, cause hey, ya never know until you try. i mean one of my commerical style tracks is soon to be released on vinyl over in the states, thou i'd much sooner it one of my choons which is abit different and make people go as appose to the which u can do to any choon really

 

I wouldn;t say that my music is underground, but in alot of my choons theres just something different which has been picked up on by alot of ppl. This is probally cause i dont listen to much dance music, only when i go to a club or get sent a demo cd, so all the ideas i have are mine, and not from anyone elses choons.

[Jimmy]

yeah it does get boring after a while but thats why u listen to more than one genre of music

[Blink]

Elemental, if Hard House is so easy to produce, why don't you make yourself some money by churning out a few tunes, after all, you could obviously do half-a-dozen in a day, that would pocket you a few grand, for 1/2 a days work