I don’t really know much about the process of remixing a song but I can imagine it is a process that is like editing a video – layering tracks, adding beats, etc. They are clearly not doing that kind of editing live so they are basically playing something that’s already had some amount of that already done.
So what are they doing live besides maybe mixing between songs?
I just don’t understand what all the knob fiddling is about.
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It’s all bollocks. In the seventies the music was so good there was no need to fiddle with it. We had live bands too. In the pub. They could play because they rehearsed and practiced. The DJ just selected top tunes to keep people on the floor.
Seems to me these superstar DJs rely far too heavily on the entire audience being loved up on E.
The art is in knowing how to read the room, they have to determine if the crowd is mostly on K, X or Coke, or all of the above, then they press play and flail
Old school Tech 12 Vinal DJ 2001 here.
Old school turn tables you needed to spend about 30 seconds getting the next track the same speed as the current one. then you wait… for the right push off time… then you get 45 seconds of the dj actually being impirtant and exciting cutting bass, trebs, mids, adding sound effects then the next song comes in … then he can go away for a few min till he needs to time uo his next track.
Seen quite a few good explanations here. Definitely important to note the genre of music being played as well as the vibe of the venue.
Someone previously stated something similar but genres like trance and house tend to be long mixes where the dj’s job is basically to find an ebb and flow throughout the night so people enjoy themselves without burning out, primarily making the mixes sound smooth so there isn’t any silence at all the whole set.
A really good example of a more technical DJ is someone like DJ EZ, who’s pretty popular in ‘bassline’ music circles in the UK (but also pretty popular in general as he’s been in the industry for a pretty long time now). I can’t really explain fully what he’s doing in the clip, (I’d watch from about 1:30 onwards: https://youtu.be/yZW_U2yCB90 ) but the mix between the two songs is way more in this instance than just mixing the bass, volume etc. He’s doing stuff like live looping, messing around with the EQ, messing around with the speed of the next track and playing it like a sampler before he drops it in. Obviously this is just one example, sort of his trademark and it’s definitely something he’d practice by himself, but I wouldn’t see that as any different from practising songs as part of a band.
Also, regardless of genre, DJs will always have a few songs they know go well together so will tend to get those pre-prepared way ahead of time because they’ll know it’ll get the crowd enjoying themselves, but most of the time a good DJ playing in a smaller venue where their performance isn’t tied to the lighting or screens or whatever will mix on the fly according to the vibe.
Often sets can be pre-recorded so that pyro, or other things thats part of the show, will have correct timing. And as mentioned, a good DJ is a good DJ bcuz of their song selection.
I think a lot , LOT, of the club/show djs have it all prerecorded and are just up the putting on a show…which isn’t a bad thing, its how they share their final product, its still their work.
(not all them)
Its like lip syncing but not in a way that anyone would care…or call out.
they are mostly doing nothing. Any high end DJ has a show that is pre-prepared and synched with the lights, displays, and other effects. literally just hit play and hype people up
their work mostly comes from actually making the songs they play and then creating a setlist that flows well and setting up the effects
random DJs at a club are prob actually mixing tracks then and there ,. So they basically fade one track into the other so theres no obvious cutoff where the music just stops or beat changes drastically. knobs and sliders affect the tempo and volume of the tracks so they can match them
Depends on the DJ – there are some that are mixing and creating the beats live. More common is the DJ that has a set list that is synched with lights, and they only make small adjustments and can possibly layer additional sounds on top of the existing beats as they see fit, but the core beat is relatively fixed.
And I’ve been to shows where the DJ will bust out an electric guitar to play along with the beats (so will walk away from the decks to play an instrument). And others where the DJ has an electronic percussive set that goes along with the tracks and so “plays” their own percussive set along with the tracks.
Depending on the lighting setup, some DJs also do their mixes live (and sometimes still with vinyl), with a general prepared set list but a record crate that lets them go ‘off script’ if they feel like it.
DJs usually just mix between songs. The goal is basically to make the transitions between songs smooth and almost unnoticeable. They do this by fading the audio as well as using the EQ to bring in certain elements (bassline, vocals, etc.) at different times to make the transition seamless.
Some DJs are a lot better than others though. A lot of the mainstream ones don’t actually do much and just [jump around a bunch while letting a song play](https://youtu.be/Nh9C7nQHmII), while others will have [3-4 songs going at once](https://youtu.be/HRAIgLE1JYQ) (different elements from each) while queuing up a 4th, basically creating a remix live.
Not much tbh as most of them already planned
I’m huge fan of Armin and Above&Beyond, most of their sets already set (duh). Sometimes they adjust the sound here and there to match the crowd, if they want more of that particular part you don’t simply press repeat right?
And the actual thing they do is smoothen the switching between tracks (as they has different bpm so it doesn’t sound abrupt). If you ever watch their live sets, you can hardly notice the switching between them. It’s so smooth and doesn’t break the dancing mood
Some DJs do things energetically just to live up the mood, you can’t simply dance to DJs that only sits there and push the play button
But the most important thing is that they produce those tracks, and making a good music with their own style is a talent of its own. Many people ridicule this kind of thing and refuse to acknowledge music if it’s not actual band playing on stage or metal
I’m not a musician or anyone with experience, and I believe they got much more in stage than what I tried to explain
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