A logical and intelligent view on the Quality DJ debate...

[PhonicAssassin]

Don't know if anyone has seen this article before but I thought that it was worth posting. Let the flame war begin!

http://behindthedecks.org/2011/07/13/trainwreck-djs-dont-be-angry/

[PhonicAssassin]

Couple of things worth remembering here. The reason that people are there and (hopefully) dancing is not necessarily the same reason that you are playing. This is the inherent difference between the undiscerning/uneducated punters who flock to the "mega-cheese" venues to be able to recognise and dance to whatever popular junk happens to be current on the radio as opposed to the discerning clubbers who choose to attend sometimes smaller, apparently less popular venues BECAUSE of the quality of music being played and the consistency of the DJ(s) ability to build a terrific set which takes the audience on an auditory journey. Now granted, you can argue that the punters are both attending these respective types of venues because of the DJ and what he is playing, but again I would like to reiterate that the reason the people are there is not necessarily for the same reason(s) that you are playing! I have to wholeheartedly agree with what Behind The Decks said with regard to "finding your true audience" because different DJ's have different motivations for playing, but the ones who playing for the crowd that provide them with creative gratification are the ones who are winning, not the ones who are playing like a human top 40 hits jukebox.

The whole "press play" DJ syndrome on the other hand is a separate issue. While I agree in principle that it shouldn't matter what tools the DJ is using to achieve a great result, I would still argue that these people that download from itunes etc and do everything from a laptop do not have anywhere the same degree of creativity as the DJ's that developed their skills over several years (due largely to the fact that you HAD to have more creativity in order to manipulate vinyl turntables and cdj's to get their desired result and because there simply weren't the computer programs that did the real work for you back then).

As DamianPell pointed out though, these fly-by-nighters don't tend to last the distance because they lack the required CREATIVITY needed in order to consistently last in the scene.

Do the punters even care? Because, lets face it, this is largely a DJ only debate which the general public are largely unaware of and moreover, don't really care except in the case of the more discerning (and educated) punters as I pointed out.

These issues (well, issues for the DJ's anyway) are probably never really going to go away, and besides, do they even really matter if you don't let them? Let your DJing speak for itself. Find your true audience and get on with good DJing instead of getting distracted by bullshit debates!

Peace out!

[GREMM1S]

Tells everyone to not bother with stupid debates,

starts stupid debate

I do agree with this though, im trying to ignore the whole sync etc war now.

Technology is not going to go away, embrace it and take your sets to places previously not possible.

BUT, if you use the technology and cant achieve anything better than what people could 5 years ago without the technology, you need to either go back and figure it out or find a new hobby.

[Kodiak]

Just read this in an interview with Kid Kenobi When asked aboout the new Nexus and sync....

All in all I think these new features are a reflection of the fact that we are moving out of the ‘DJ age’ and into the ‘producer age’. These days it’s less about being a ‘good DJ’ and more about being a producer who DJ’s (performs) their own music via the DJ format. Again, sure there is more to DJing than beat mixing but honestly, by and large I think people turn up to see artists these days, not just ‘DJ’s’ playing good ‘DJ sets’ as they once did. I think that time is over. I mean look at the skill level of someone like Jack Beats (having been members of The Scratch Perverts and the Mixologists). I reckon most people at their gigs go to hear their tunes rather than marvel at their skill as DJ’s.

hat said, I think people are always going to respond better to a good DJ than a shit one i.e. someone who has good knowledge of track selection, set construction, how the energy transfers from one track to another, and the ability to balance things like education and entertainment etc etc. I always have and always will believe that skill will win out in the end – even if that skill is now bereft of things like ‘beat mixing’.

I thought he made a good point. Of course DJ's will always exist in local venues. But right now it seems the Superstar DJ is a dying breed with the "Producer who DJ's" now the drawcard. And I can't really blame this mentality. There has always been the superstar DJ criticism of they are just playing other peoples music. This takes it to the next level of them actually (for the most part) playing their own tunes, or remixes.

http://lifesupportmachine.co.uk/tracks/ ... exclusive/

Also some free Kid Kenobi tunes

http://soundcloud.com/kidkenobi/sets/free-shit-2