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| lücid |
guys. what do you do when you don't know what to play?
i've been so frustrated the last couple of weeks with music/DJing in general. i haven't bought any tracks for a while because everytime i did my shopping i just got so frustrated with almost everything i was hearing, haven't really felt the desire to spin, haven't even been listening to or digging a lot of sets, etc etc etc and so on...
in fact the last sets i even got hooked on were an old Christopher Lawrence EM from 2004 and a Nick Warren set from 2002... so obviously i've been diggin the old trance and prog-trance/house sound. problem is, i'm a house junkie. it's all i've ever wanted to play and that just sort of seems to make sense to me. it was easy when my thought process was "i love the funky house, so i'm gonna play that"... but i know i shouldn't limit myself or try to force myself to play only one style of music.
so anyway, today i've finally done some serious Beatport browsing and i'm trying to figure out if i'm crazy for having such a diverse selection of tunes in my crate... and especially lots of older tunes from like 2002/2003. i mean i've got stuff ranging from old classic deep house tunes, to funky sorta electro piano house, to stuff that's bordering on prog-trance. i went from being frustrated about not finding enough music, to being frustrated about finding too much music!
well, i'm not sure if there was really a point to this thread. i just felt like expressing my frustration and to see if any of you have tips or advice for what you do when you feel like this, since i'm sure it happens to all of us.
i guess i just feel... unorganized.
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| UWM |
You should see my Beatport crate / tracks that I've downloaded.
:p
I try and go through every release every day (assuming I have time) so I don't miss out on any piece of music that might grab me. I've been really trying lately to accumulate a really wide variety of music, so that depending on my mood I will have music that will:
a) satisfy my personal taste at the time, and
b) allow me to spin a full set of that particular style
I guess I've kind of been trying to adopt a 'Danny Howells Style', where you've got music for every occasion, and can build and blend from ambient to deep house to techno to trance. It's quite time consuming but I'm beginning to see the fruits of my labor. :) |
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| lücid |
btw, the reason i'm posting this here and not in DJ Booth is because i know you guys. i respect and admire your talents and dedication. the MWTA DJs are a great group of folks...
and because RJT already felt my frustrated DJ wrath last night. :stongue: |
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| RJT |
Like I told you last night - These kinds of times occur for everybody, and as a DJ I think they can be times that are incredibly beneficial, albeit frustrating initially. When you find yourself buying such a diverse amount of tunes, I don't feel you should think of it as a bad thing in any way, if anything it's a new challenge; To find ways to incorporate new and old, different genres & styles, and genuinely find out more about your own musical interests; It's all part of what hones some sort of unique style you can claim as your own as an "artist."
An easy example to site is to imagine what it was like for me 2-3 years ago vs. now. To go from banging trance and progressive to playing tunes from artists like Jona and Daso may seem like a large leap, but it happened because I was tired of this "same old, same old" kind of feeling I got when shopping for records of the same style I had played for a few years. Even more drastic is perhaps something like the Radioslave remix of "Deer in the headlights" compared to Electro Hairspray (the tune TA's love to hate me for :p), very different, and a markedly different approach to dance music than I had taken prior.
Just don't get discouraged - Sometimes it's good to just take a step back and perhaps find new perspective on the world music. I know how much you love music, and it sucks to see you frustrated, but I'm willing to bet that getting through this will lead to some very positve results.
Keep your head up kiddo! :) |
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| RJT |
| quote: | Originally posted by UWM
I guess I've kind of been trying to adopt a 'Danny Howells Style', where you've got music for every occasion, and can build and blend from ambient to deep house to techno to trance. It's quite time consuming but I'm beginning to see the fruits of my labor. :) |
BINGO! :)
Howells approach to DJ'ing is, in my opinion, very enviable. It's not always the specific tunes he plays - But the diversity of his sets over time is so impressive that I think this kind of idea of defying genre limitations is really something he's pioneered. Granted, there are many others who are just as eclectic, but I think Howells has become a posterchild for this kind of "I play what I like, when I want to, and it's going to sound damn good" mentality that I think has been very healthy for me purely as a fan of music, and not just a DJ.
PS: Myra, I'm OMW in 20 minutes ;) |
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| lücid |
| quote: | Originally posted by UWM
I guess I've kind of been trying to adopt a 'Danny Howells Style', where you've got music for every occasion, and can build and blend from ambient to deep house to techno to trance. It's quite time consuming but I'm beginning to see the fruits of my labor. :) |
i guess that's kind of how i feel about it too, except for me, it's more of what i like to call a Desynick Masiellowarren style. :wtf:
speaking of Howells, one of the tracks i've been addicted to lately (Nuboy and Sebastian Gamboa - Journey Into The Keys) is from his old Continental Airlines Mix that he had up for download on his site a few years ago. i've been listening to that mix a lot lately too... good .
thanks for the kind words and advice, guys. you know it means a lot to me. |
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| Aquadyne |
change genres for a while. i've played breaks this summer when i kinda got sick of prog house.
nowadays i play a lot of melodic melancholy tracks and a lot of minimal.
i'm also swinging away from that jagged, dirty kind of house to a much more bouncy disco house sound ala kaskade, colette
there's tons of garbage out there: every other prog house track is a bass fart - ridiculous.
i listened to widespread panic for 2 weeks and no edm at all to get my ears reset/recharged too |
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| UWM |
| quote: | Originally posted by Aquadyne
i listened to widespread panic for 2 weeks and no edm at all to get my ears reset/recharged too |
I also did this for a few weeks recently. Well, not Widespread, but I started listening to a lot of the older CDs that I was into in HS / early in college (Cat Stevens / Jim Taylor / PJ / David Gray / CCR / etc etc etc ...) and it kind of allowed me to 'find again' an appreciation for music for what it is meant to be - for listening enjoyment, for relaxation, for an escape. Right around that point is when I kind of got over my bull jaded 'elitist' view about music and started branching out more and just thought to myself, " what other people are playing or what they say about what I'm playing. I do this for my own personal enjoyment." |
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| delobbo |
| Myra, sounds like you got a case of Yurisosis. :P There is no cure yet, and its possible there may never be one. |
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| Blake_Jarrell |
| quote: | Originally posted by Aquadyne
change genres for a while. |
do this
| quote: | | Originally posted by Aquadyne i listened to widespread panic for 2 weeks and no edm at all to get my ears reset/recharged too |
do not do this |
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| RJT |
| quote: | Originally posted by Blake_Jarrell
do not do this |
Not a Panic fan, huh? |
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| Blake_Jarrell |
| quote: | Originally posted by RJT
Not a Panic fan, huh? |
nah im just ing with yuris |
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