DJing Tips from Ancient Greece
Can old puddles really improve our mixing?
Hello again Frequency Fiddlers
I’ve always liked old stuff. Nothing gets me going like a crumbling Roman column or week old hummus.
Aside from building tourist attractions we can get gouged to look at, the ancient Greeks had some pretty good stories that still hold relevant today. Turns out humans don’t change that much.
DJing is usually a solo profession or hobby. There is a very real risk of focussing on your own ego and preferences and developing a self-centred approach to DJing. Sometimes without even realising it. I’ve certainly been guilty of this in the past.
Fortunately, there are some lessons we can learn from a well known Greek tale to avoid falling foul of sins that can implode your DJ career.
Narcissus - The OG douche
The story of Narcissus is a cautionary tale from Greek mythology about a good looking bloke who falls in love with his own reflection, eventually leading to his tragic demise.
Many fell in love with this hotty, but he showed them disdain and contempt. One day, while he was by a pool of water, he caught sight of his reflection and fell deeply in love with it. Unable to tear himself away from his own image, he eventually withered away and died, turning into the flower that bears his name. Now he spends the rest of eternity being sold in service stations being given as last minute birthday gifts.
1. Ignoring the Crowd: The Narcissus Effect
😈 Sin: Focusing too much on your own music preferences and not paying attention to the audience's reactions
We are in this game because we love music. It’s easy to forget that not everyone likes the same bangers. Over the years I have seen many DJs play for themselves, when they should have been playing for their audience.
You’ve probably been to weddings where they have a DJ. And you probably didn’t like every single track they played. You can also bet that the DJ themselves didn’t like every track they played.
Weddings are the extreme example where the audience is massively diverse in it’s tastes, age ranges (and thus musical references) and how much they like the people they’ve been sat next to. The DJ has to have parts of their set that appeal to each of these segments.
This takes skills of observation, testing new things and expanding your musical repetoir and knowledge.
If you aren’t a wedding DJ, you may not have quite as many variables - with at least a loose genre connection tying things together. But even within a single genre there is huge scope for experimentation and exploration.
Try and find tracks across a wide range of energy levels, sub-genres and containing different elements. At home, play around with how tracks you wouldn’t normally play personally fit together.
If you still want to play things just because you like them - the perfect way to scratch the itch is to create mixes to upload to Soundcloud or Mixcloud. That way you can explore your own personal preferences and find audiences that align with them.
😇 Fix: Read the crowd, observe their reactions, and adjust your set accordingly to keep them engaged and entertained. Expand your crate digging to cast a wider net. Make it your goal to get every single person to enjoy at least some of your set.
2. Copying Other DJs: Echo's Plight
😈 Sin: Copying another DJ's style or techniques without adding your own unique twist
Echo, a nymph in the Narcissus story, could only repeat the sounds others made. She was trying to hit on Narcissus but couldn’t express herself and died (probably of embarrassment).
Studying other DJs - how they mix, choose tracks and engage the crowd is actually one of the top DJ habits I think you should start incorporating to improve FAST.
But there is a difference between learning and copying. To create something truly unique, you need to learn, but also to create. Experiment and combine some of the things you observe from other DJs and start to develop your own vibe.
😇 Fix: Learn from other DJs, but develop your own style and techniques to stand out.
3. Trapped in Self-Obsession: Narcissism's Barrier
😈 Sin: Being inflexible and unwilling to adjust your set based on the event or audience, much like Narcissus who was unable to break free from his self-absorption
There’s a fine balance between preparing, and over-preparing.
I used to mentor designers who had taken 6 week design boot camps. They paid thousands, and learnt a rigid ‘ideal’ process to follow.
The problem was, this didn’t work as soon as they got a job in the real world. Stakeholders blocked them. There was no budget, or time. They didn’t have the skills to adapt this process to their environment.
In the same way, many DJs spend hours creating rigid playlists that they find hard to deviate from. I used to do this when I first started live streaming and it really didn’t work very well. It took ages and my sets didn’t vibe with the viewers.
Over time, I adapted my track preparation to focus more on the ‘content’ of my tunes - energy, elements and vibe for example using tags.
This allowed me to have a rough plan, but remain flexible and dynamic in how my sets ebbed and flowed depending on how the audience reacted.
If you want to learn more about tagging in Rekordbox - take a look at this video:
Find The Right Track EVERY Time With Rekordbox Tags
😇 Fix: Don’t over-prepare and be open to change and adapt your set as needed. Invest time in creating a flexible music library.
I HATED Using CDJs Until I Learnt This Hack
It’s time to stop being scared of CDJs!
I asked our YouTube community what they were most unsure of about using CDJs. 58% were not sure how they differed from a controller.
There are some differences of course - but the good news is you can actually automatically set up the CDJ to work much more like your home setup, just by plugging in your USB stick!
Take a look at this video where I tell you everything you need to know to get comfortable fast on CDJs.
Other news
Drum & Bass continues to get bigger and bigger with massive representation at Glastonbury. Many other genres have had their turn in the spotlight over the last few decades. As a Junglist, I think it’s great it’s finally getting the recognition it deserves. But part of it’s charm was it was never mainstream. It’s going to be really interesting to see how the scene changes over the next few years.
The heat in the UK is finally subsiding a little. My tomatoes are looking pleased 🍅
Once per week. I call it #LibraryManagementMondays... @beatbox2u_SYD on #Tiktok
Replying to *Other News*
I'm not sure about drum and bass / Jungle anymore.
I'm from the original old skool.. I grew up listening to the sounds of the underground during the early 90s and I still do.. I've seen the whole scene evolve into what it is now and, I feel the direction drum and bass has gone is way off track from what it's meant to be. I've gone from being a die hard DNB fan of 20 years.. to listening/mixing House and techno because the vibe and people are much friendlier. I feel there is too much attitude within the DNB scene now and i don't feel safe at the events.
I think the DNB scene has reached it's peak.. If you speak to Djs who play around the world they will tell you that they can already see a decline in the USA. So it really is still just a UK stronghold.. For now.