Opening set at DJ comp...

[Otto]

Playing at a DJ comp in a month or so - and unluckily enough, I've got the opening set.

I'm just a little confused as to what I should be playing. Deep House just seems a little bit too boring (even though it probably fits the time slot?) considering it's only a 20 minute set, and downtempo music like Disclosure, Flume, etc. just seems a little too hard to mix? Is the latter what I should be going for? Or should I consider maybe playing a bit of Breaks, perhaps?

Any hints would be great (or suggestions of artists to look at). Keep in mind it's only a 20 minute set and it's around 9pm or so.

[SolDios]

I have an opening set tomorow so im in the same boat dude!

My plan is just to play some half commercial "boppy" electro:

E.g.

https://soundcloud.com/dirtcheap/zedd-clarity-dirt-cheap-remix

Mainly just to set a vibe ect.

Check what the club usually plays though for sure, don't play gabber at a UK bass club.

[GREMM1S]

Will completely depend on the club, i'm going to assume it's a top 40 remixes house and electro club.

Some older more commercial stuff like Calvin harris' feel so close will go down well alongside really cheesy new stuff to get the girls on the floor.

I also find hip hop flavored booltegs and remixes work a treat.

Being a comp i doubt they will look at the music programming as much as technical ability and of course how many people you bring.

If you want to do well bring a massive crowd then you can play more what you want so long as you aren't dropping filth.

[Lurk6r]

For a dj comp, just play whatever gets the crowd going. You only have 20 min, so go with something that will grab their attention at the start, then go banger after banger after banger. Id say 2 min max a song, have a build up at the half way point, but it keep short and sweet.

[Gandy]

depending what club it is, smash out bangers for the genre. Its a comp, and being first up on the plate you can really blow the crowd out of the water, you're lucky you arnt in the middle because thats when people usually get bored of it, but come back towards the end to hear the winners

belt out as many booties and bangers as you can and fuck the rest of the whales in the comp, its a COMPETITION, you want to win. As lurker said keep it energetic, you need to showcase you have bullshit good skills and able to keep up the energy, also as grem said you need to also bring a crowd, the more people that come shows the club you can bring patrons in to spend money at the venue

[GREMM1S]

I wouldnt be playing overly heavy bangers though, some comps will still want you to play to your slot.

Can i ask which comp it is?

[overit]

Hit it hard. Ignore the time slot and the competition.

Either:

Play all bangers that you think will work for the moment you find yourself in.

Or:

Show off your best mixing skills as well as you can.

but preferably:

Good luck.

[Otto]

I dunno, so far everyone that has played bangers hasn't made it through. They're pretty strict in terms of playing to your time slot. I don't think I'll play anything hard at all...

Its the New Race competition at Candys (Sydney).

[russell]

play disco

[GREMM1S]

I dunno, so far everyone that has played bangers hasn't made it through. They're pretty strict in terms of playing to your time slot. I don't think I'll play anything hard at all...

Its the New Race competition at Candys (Sydney).

Haha what night are you on might come out, mattus, lgeunner and myself all dj for music people.

Yeah if you play bangers you won't get through in this comp.

It has been quiet in the early sets as well so make sure you bring your own friends.

I prefer the comp on fridays too actually.

[Otto]

I'm not sure at the moment, Steve is reshuffling the comp since it got moved from Wednesdays to Fridays... Once I find out though I'll let you know!

And I was thinking of playing some chilled house, sort of similar to this I guess...

Thoughts?

[Gandy]

i guess this is a different structure to the comps i have been in. For all the ones ive done its been a "show us what you can do in 20-30 mins" regardless if your first or last

[overit]

i guess this is a different structure to the comps i have been in. For all the ones ive done its been a "show us what you can do in 20-30 mins" regardless if your first or last

[GREMM1S]

Nope this comp is very much play to your slot.

From experience at Candys and What Club i would be playing bouncy/commercial/hip hop flavoured stuff.

You really, really need to bring a solid crew down for this first slot as not many other people will be there.

In that sense you are let off the hook somewhat musically in a dj comp, don't play too heavy, but make sure you play what your mates like.

https://soundcloud.com/djkalus/sam-and-the-womp-bom-bom-kalus

etc etc )))

[legunner]

Alright, I played candys last night with Torro Torro.

- the guy before us played a banging electro set at 9-10. Nobody was impressed. This isn't because of the mixing skill, it is the song selection.

- I know a few of the judges and from talking to them, I believe you need to find a balance between playing a set that represents you and still caters to the slot.

[GREMM1S]

Alright, I played candys last night with Torro Torro.

- the guy before us played a banging electro set at 9-10. Nobody was impressed. This isn't because of the mixing skill, it is the song selection.

- I know a few of the judges and from talking to them, I believe you need to find a balance between playing a set that represents you and still caters to the slot.

Lol who was that poor form

[Gandy]

if you are playing at a candy's comp i would be taking advice from the candys experts (ie grem and other candys regulars), reading over this my advice was way off so im sorry about that, the comps i have played in are obviously structured differently to the place you are playing at

good luck mate

[overit]

So they're looking for DJs that can actually read a moment and suit the crowd.

+1

[russell]

So they're looking for DJs that can actually read a moment and suit the crowd.

the horror of it eh?

[legunner]

So they're looking for DJs that can actually read a moment and suit the crowd.

the horreur of it eh?

Fixed.

[GREMM1S]

So they're looking for DJs that can actually read a moment and suit the crowd.

+1

Was a welcome surprise.

The guy running it awesome and good to see he is running it properly and not just how many people you can bring etc.

[Skank]

if its a dj comp play the best you got as quick as you can, gotta play to win man

[mattus123]

I dunno, so far everyone that has played bangers hasn't made it through. They're pretty strict in terms of playing to your time slot. I don't think I'll play anything hard at all...

Its the New Race competition at Candys (Sydney).

NICE!!

i might be judging you

whats your dj name?

in response to the original post, track selection is VERY important

DO NOT start dropping heavy trap and dubstep at 9:00

find the right right tracks to fit the mood of the crowd, and jsut focus on your mixing, keep it tight and try be creative (ie not jsut mixing from the intro of the track), if you can.. however, if this will result in sloppy trans, then jsut stick to what you know

i also recommend going down to the other comp heats to support the night and be apart of it. Also have a chat with steveen (the guy running it), he's a really top bloke, no need to be a kiss ass, just introduce yourself and be friendly. And me! introduce yourself to be me!!!

At the end of the day knowing him wont be what gets you through the comp (that will purely come down to your skills as a DJ), but it is a good thing to start getting in the habbit of, as this industry is very heavily based on knowing people.. and you cant know people before u meet them

[Otto]

I dunno, so far everyone that has played bangers hasn't made it through. They're pretty strict in terms of playing to your time slot. I don't think I'll play anything hard at all...

Its the New Race competition at Candys (Sydney).

NICE!!

i might be judging you

whats your dj name?

in response to the original post, track selection is VERY important

DO NOT start dropping heavy trap and dubstep at 9:00

find the right right tracks to fit the mood of the crowd, and jsut focus on your mixing, keep it tight and try be creative (ie not jsut mixing from the intro of the track), if you can.. however, if this will result in sloppy trans, then jsut stick to what you know

i also recommend going down to the other comp heats to support the night and be apart of it. Also have a chat with steveen (the guy running it), he's a really top bloke, no need to be a kiss ass, just introduce yourself and be friendly. And me! introduce yourself to be me!!!

At the end of the day knowing him wont be what gets you through the comp (that will purely come down to your skills as a DJ), but it is a good thing to start getting in the habbit of, as this industry is very heavily based on knowing people.. and you cant know people before u meet them

I've been down every week so far, definitely a good crowd. Talked with Steve for a bit the other week he just seemed super busy.

I'm still just not entirely sure what to play. Torn between playing bouncey deep house / chilled house, and chillout stuff like flume, disclosure, etc. Maybe a mix of the two if I can make that work?

[Otto]

Oh and as for DJ name, "OTTO". Meant to be playing in Week 6 but Steve said he's reshuffling the comp so it may be another week.