How many of these genres do you play? (Click the picture to take a look...) I've got news for you too - music doesn't start and end at the EDM stores online...
It’s easy to fall into the single-genre trap when DJing. I’m a funky house DJ, so I play funky house. I got into dance music through dubstep, so that’s the style I’m going to play. I am a pop DJ, so I’m not going to play rock or hip hop. And so on.
That’s fine to a degree, and I certainly encourage you to go with what you love. But you should also put some time into making sure you can at least play a passable multi-genre DJ set when you choose to. Here’s five reasons why:
- It will expand your tastes – There’s a lot of good music being made outside of your comfort zone. Don’t fall into the snobbery trap of thinking only your scene, style or genre is worth your attention. Your audience may publicly admit to only liking deep house or hip-hop, but I can assure you they sing into their hairbrushes to Lady Gaga behind closed doors. Accept that good music comes from all angles and that picking the best of it for your collection, then trying to incorporate it into your DJ sets, will help you to get even the coolest people’s hearts singing and their feel dancing before their heads say “no!” – if you do it well enough, that is
- It will expand your skills – Yup, “if you do it well enough”. It’s easy to feel like the hero mixing 125BPM electro house all night flawlessly. It’s an absolute other game entirely mixing house, pop, rock, hip hop, dubstep, oldies and funk (for instance), into a skilful, coherent set that wows people and keeps them on the dancefloor. Next week we’ll look at ways you can begin to learn the skills to do just this, but for now realise that stepping up to this plate means you have to polish your skills considerably
- You’ll get to DJ out more – I understand that you want to play raves, or cool alternative bars, or private parties playing just your style to just your crowd. But so do your DJing peers, and there are never enough slots. If you can play normal bars, lounges, student hangouts, mobile or wedding gigs, all the way up to pro gigs like in back rooms in big clubs (where the music policy may be more open-minded) or festival sets (where “anything goes” often wins the day), you’ll simply get to play more
- You’ll learn to read crowds better – As I said above, people are a lot less “cool” behind closed doors than they admit to, having all kinds of guilty pleasures in their private musical lives. A good DJ can tease these tendencies out of a crowd, by playing across the board and watching carefully. If you’re playing EDM to an EDM crowd, you’re frankly less likely to need to read your crowd well, because they’ve come for what they’re getting. But uniting a disparate crowd into a single, throbbing mass on the dancefloor takes a lot more DJ interaction and observation, a lot more give and take. It’s more exciting, more risky, and it’ll make you a better DJ
- You’ll get more longevity as a DJ – Your scene will die, period. I’ve been DJing 20 years and seen scene after scene rise and fall. If you don’t move on, you’ll fade away too. But instead of jumping from sinking ship to new scene every now and then, it’s much better to always be adding new music to your palette from all over the place. Sure, let a style dominate, but trying to take gigs where you can play “across the board” every now and then will keep your interest up, challenge you, and extend your career as a DJ, if only because it’ll keep you fresher and having more fun than the next guy!
Are you a DJ who likes to take gigs outside of your comfort zone every now and then? What issues have you come up against when playing gigs to people who are into all different styles? Please let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments.
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Tags: genres, set planning
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Great great article. For longer sets, I like to play indie, to nu disco, to progressive house and trance. Earlier on, I’ll even throw in some 80s or maybe a remix of a cheesy pop tune if theres something about it i like. Granted, its a lot easier to switch up genres in early sets. However, don’t be averse to bringing a late night solid groove to a screeching halt to put on something totally different. At the right time, of course. THOSE are the memorable moments! “Soandso totally busted out that track out of nowhere! You should’ve been there!”
[ link ]Essential advice. You will never get bored playing the same BPM range, and can always throw a few surprises at your dance floor to keep everyone guessing. I love dropping something unexpected—it’s a great way to kick up the energy and change the mood. You’d be surprised at how a dramatic temp change can turn an evening around, especially if you’re feeling an ebb in the vibe.
[ link ]I agree. In the past, there was no such thing as a “house DJ” or “techno DJ”. DJs simply played what was available…since there wasn’t a lot of “one genre” to play. You had to diversify and play anything that worked and that the crowd liked. Amnesia’s DJ Alfredo is a prime example.
Nowadays, I think it’s essential for a DJ to know different genres, just to keep it interesting. One week I might be into trance, then another week into deep house, and another one into electro house or tech house. I know crowds like their DJs to be “easily labeled”, but the reality is being versatile can help you many times.
I may not like to play pop music, but I try to keep some hits on me when I go play…just when I get that crowd who wants anything but pop music.
[ link ]On some point I think “you shouldn’t have to fake it; if you don’t like it don’t play it”
but on the other hand, I ended up liking songs (that are actually good but never got to listen to them properly) because I was somehow forced to play it.
so yes, the most varied experiences are, the better
[ link ]Exactly, if you don’t push yourself and take risks you risk becoming boring. DJs should expand their tastes at least as often as they attempt to expand everyone else’s.
[ link ]right on this article is very good, this weekend i had one of them kind of gigs, a wedding with everything from country to 80′s songs to mexican regional to house and some old school funk to boot, had some people come out and give kudos, hell i even got bookd for a birthday party, so yes definetly variety of styles is key
[ link ]I totally agree with this article bc i live in the caribbean where we have to be able to play a wide variety of genres (soca,zouk,latin,dance,techno,dancehall,hip hop and alot more. So in other words,u got to be versitile.
[ link ]What you say is true and all, but I’ve got a couple remarks.
I think that sticking to a genre allows you to differentiate yourself from the rest. When you think big names in the business, aren’t they almost always associated with a certain genre of music?
Secondly I believe there are plenty of subgenres within a genre to keep things interesting. Two tunes from the same genre can differ greatly.
I also get the feeling when you say that you need to respond to the crowd, you mean that you need to play what they want to hear. Which is great and all if that’s your thing, but when being forced to playing out something you don’t actually like, it feels like you’re a sellout.
A dj set also has better continuity and build ups when sticking to a genre.
All in all I’m not the greatest genre fan. I feel that dj’s should just play what they like, while at the same time keeping an eye on the crowd.
[ link ]The article does say your sound is #1, but that it’s good to occasionally play something different that’ll then feed back , altering your sound a little and helping you to progress.
I have a distinct “sound” when I DJ, but sometimes it goes out the window and I play a free-for-all set, always these sets are thoroughly enjoyable.
[ link ]I see what you mean about sticking to a genre and in many dj situations when your booked you are often booked to play a certain style.
How ever that artist might play under differant names – like cirez d is eric prydes.
I definately find playing multi genre has extended my dj technique.
[ link ]I’m going to be playing a cross-genre style at a house party soon. I’ve spent the past couple of week searching out disco, soul and old school hip hop to add to my usual tech house sound.
[ link ]Great stuff! Good luck with that
[ link ]Like this article Phil and I agree, the best DJs are those who play several styles. Where I live, a DJ who can bounce eclectically between genres and yet keeps something common going in the selection can go far. It’s a mark of a truely talented DJ.
Regarding top name DJs: some of them do play and are capable of chopping genres successfully and when they pull it off, it works a treat. At a festival I saw this guy mixing Busta Rhymes ‘Gimme Some More’ with Jimi Hendrix ‘Fire’ and the crowd go wild to it.
[ link ]This totally depends on the venue/night you’re playing at obviously. I’ve turned down more than my fair share of gigs because I know the venue was really catering to the LCD.
This article is really more for people who want to become a popular DJ in their local scene, aka the “working DJ” as I like to call them, and not really some one who is ambitious and really wants to leave a mark in some way, shape or form.
[ link ]Don’t agree
The likes of Ed Banger and Busy P and friends are constantly jumping genres and do it well, mashing techno with hip hop, occasional disco and metal.
Mashing genres well goes against the “crowd perception” that to be a great DJ you have to just be a trance, house or electro specialist. Why should this ever be the case? There’s no reason.
[ link ]I like to believe that cross genre mixes *are* my niche. You only have to listen to a couple to see that I am anything but genre specific!
[ link ]“country” gigs pay the bills also…..
[ link ]Generally, agree
My first experiments with DJ’ing on some ridiculous belt drive decks, 13 years ago were evolving around techno and progressive trance, bedroom style of course
Within my professional DJ’ing time (full time-every weekend and and between:) some 6 years ago, I played mostly house, funky (not too cheesy vocals:) and deep-tech house. With opportunities and bills to pay I also enjoyed to play chill-out rooms with Nu-Jazz and trip hop sets, scratching here and there (on the decks as well:)
There’s one catch to this topic.
A few months ago I have posted a question on my facebook page, asking what would my fans think of some deep-tech house set. After which I’ve lost at least 50 “Likes” before removing the post.
I guess there is kind of “stamp” attached if you play one genre and many people just generalise house as disco & cheese and techno as some industrial terror noise and so on.
Concluding I must say I would love to play deep-tech house sets from time to time but I’m afraid that my fan base would really melt down quickly.
Because I have enormous respect to each and every person that clicked “Like” on my facebook page I will stay faithful to the thousands who enjoy my progressive psychedelic trance sets
Greetings from london, peace
)
[ link ]I once saw John Peel play a screaming acid techno track, into an Irish jig and finish his set with the Undertones Teenage Kicks, at Tribal Gathering headlined by Kraftwerk, Orbital and Daft Punk. For me his set was so unexpected, so different, so utterly bonkers that even though there were heavyweight DJs and bands playing I remember more if his set than any other.
[ link ]LOL I have a John Peel memory too… Irish jig, happy hardcore version of Bryan Adams “Heaven”, followed by Peter Beardsley scoring for Liverpool in the European Cup Final!
[ link ]Yep and yet more evidence that to be a great DJ you don’t just have to specialise in playing one genre.
[ link ]Nice read. The only issue I have is with “your scene will die”.
That’s why it’s important not to be in a scene. Play other people’s records well – that has nothing to do with a “scene”
Easy for me to say, I play breaks … which means I can get away with anything that’s all about bass and beats at anywhere between 120 and 150.
[ link ]When I played 80s metal all night, that took me out of my comfort zone. I’m used to mixing different genres. Also, because folks asked for it, I mix in some country music songs once in a while.
[ link ]I agree to a point. I think you as a person can benefit from expanding in such a way but if you’ve spent time and effort establishing a DJ brand, you can do more harm than good. It’s been touched on here before but I’ll say again that if you want to play different styles of music and different sounds, consider using a different name to play under. Just look at Wolfgang Gartner.
[ link ]“Joey Youngman created the Wolfgang Gartner name in late 2007 after establishing a moderately successful name as a Deep House DJ. Not wanting to be criticized for such an abrupt change in style, Youngman created the name anonymously.” – (Taken from Wikipedia)
Good point. Pete Tong says that when you’re starting out, you should choose wisely whether you wish to be seen as an artist or a DJ, as often it’s just an arbitrary distinction but it governs what you can/can’t do. the Chemical Brothers are “artists” who release “albums”, but at the same time they are DJs who more often than not get booked to play DJ sets – sets in which they can play anything. Sasha is a DJ who sometimes makes records, but he’s firmly a DJ with a sound that he has to adhere to. If you’re clever you can still be a big artist but give yourself the freedom to do what you want.
Also, there’s nothing wrong with playing the occasional gig under a pseudonym/unannounced/at a festival or underground venue even if you’re a known DJ, to do what I describe.
[ link ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DPbWnPuZmA
[ link ]I have some genres in my laptop. I do rock/metal/dance/club and pop 80′s, 90′s and 00′s. Not all in the same gig. But sometimes i drop some rock tunes when doing pop.
[ link ]Laidback Luke is the most popular guy in terms of mixing it up.
[ link ]He mixes his normal electro/progressive style with dubstep, hip hop, and everything in between. definitely great to watch live. I appreciate his sets more than some other name brand dj’s as that are mostly spinning with a small bpm range and everything sounds like one giant loop. gets boring quickly.
Especially true in gigs, I mean not only in your podcast
We happended to mix a few times at my work for 60 people and it’s always more satisfying when you please everyone. It’s good to know how to go from funk to eighties, then rock-pop to hip hop and dance-house
[ link ]I’ve got to the point where people expect my specific style of trance from me.
I did get people asking me to play more this and more that…
But when I did a set to do that people expected my usual uplifting euphoric style going from round 130 to 140bpm.
Although if people ask for a specific track, then ill play if I’ve got it, or try to get it. And play it for them.
When I want a change ill play happy hardcore and or drum n bass. (Not with my trance sets. But for other sets)
I’ve never done a gig except for my weekly video set aon a couple of internet stations.
[ link ]I have been DJing as a hobby and a career over the last 15 years and I have played gigs of all styles, for many different promoters, and for my own mobile DJ company.
One thing I find about being able to play many different styles is that I try to pre plan my set lists of different styles into the right key and BPM (using Mixed in Key) then I can find a good range of transitions that I can pick from in a short amount of time. If you are going to play mobile gigs like wedding receptions make sure you have all styles of music and you start out the dance portion of the night with stuff the older generation will enjoy first. This list is a good start for any DJ who will be playing all types of gigs. if you play the classics people will like you, regardless of your mixing skills (as long as you don’t try to remix their favorite songs and train wreck them all)
http://www.djintelligence.com/pages/mobilebeatprint.asp
Being able to read the crowd is essential for these types of gigs once you get to the dance portion of the night. I look around and try to find out what demographic defines the majority of people in the room. Look at their sex, their age, their style and mannerisms. Find something that most of the people in the room can enjoy work up the crowd by playing more and more music of that style. Do this for 3 or 4 songs in a row and then make the last song of that style of music the best one of that set. Then mix in a track that is the of a different style but in the same BPM and key, and you will find that the crowd that is dancing will keep dancing to whatever you play, but new people will also join in and the dance floor just keeps getting bigger. I make bets with myself to see if I can make styles of people who would not normally share the dance floor get up and dance at the same time.
Picking tunes in the right key and BPM is essential for mixing different styles tighter and making it sound good. I always pick by key first if I have a lot of time to mix the track in (it takes me longer to find songs in the same key which are in a close bpm) but if I need to do a mix quickly I just pick something in the same BPM, check it in the headphones, adjust it, drop it in and loop the intro if it doesn’t sound good after the song fully kicks in. Many pop songs have less than 15 second intros, but many tracks I mix have over 30 second outros, which means I have to loop the intros of the pop tracks to extend a remix.
Having a device which loops your tracks easily really helps to build up your set if the times of the intros and outtros don’t match up properly. It always sounds good when you make a perfect mash up and the last beat of the track you are mixing out ends and then the first really big sounds kick in on the new track. Currently I use Traktor Scratch Pro with vinyl and an X1 as my controller to do this.
A good way to learn to mix all different styles is practice by playing music you have never heard before and mixing it as long as you can (get a friend to bring over their music collection).
We used to play what we called “the game” where a friend and I would go one track for one track but I would pick all my friends records our of my collection and he would pick all songs I would play out of his collection. We used to have a joke that whomever mixed the track better got to keep the record.
If you can learn to mix stuff you have never heard before it will help when someone has an obscure request you might have on your hard drive but you have never heard before. Not to mention it really improves your ability to mix stuff you know well.
I get booked to play all different types of gigs and I never usually get hecklers or complainers because people are too busy dancing and having a good time to bother me unless it is for a song request. One thing I really hate is when I have a certain BPM that I am playing and it is very close to the end of the night and someone asks for a song that is way out of the BPM I am playing and not very good for a closer. I want to play as many fast songs as I can before I play a few slow ones to close at most of my top 40′s or wedding type of gigs.
I don’t get to play all the underground music that I think is really good and I like to listen to in my spare time, but I do get play a lot of it. I almost always close the entire last 30 minutes or 1 hour of many of my 6 hour sets with all tunes that are produced by people I know or DJs/producers that I admire and no one ever complains.
The key is owning the crowd and them learning to trust you to take the beat in the right direction. Once you win them over by playing tunes they know and doing amazing remixes that they can hear and pick apart, then they will start to trust that whatever you play is good. It helps to have many remixes of popular stuff that I think are really good. I don’t know how many times I have had people come up and talk to me after my set and tell me I was the best DJ they ever heard, and then the proceed to tell me the mash-ups I did of songs they liked. Dropping an old unexpected tune right in the middle of a top 40′s set where people are getting what they expect can have a lasting memory and impact.
I play the underground gigs less and less because sometimes I like to avoid the drama of the rave scene. I don’t mind playing regular high paying gigs at top 40′s bar residences where I often make at least a couple hundred bucks for no more than 5 hours total work for setup/tear down and playing time.
That’s 5x the $40-$50 pay that I would make for a 1 hour set in the underground (and maybe I’d get two drink tickets). If I can get the promoter to throw in unlimited drinks or get my fans to buy me drinks in exchange for wild mash up remixes of their requests them I got it made. After all, I’m not a famous producer, just a fairly good DJ.
I’m not saying that I’m selling out (sometimes I feel like I am), but I’m trying to stay in business. I can easily charge $500+ dollars to play a wedding reception or other party, people who have heard me play before will always pay it. In the underground I was booking headliners that I thought were good and losing money on shows more often than I was breaking even. Maybe funky breaks was the wrong style of scene for Ottawa but that is what I liked.
I have since realized I don’t have to book headliners and spend a bunch of money promoting shows. There is no better way to get people into the style of music that I like by then by taking the stuff they like and mixing it really well and then mixing it right into my own nu funk or breaks or jungle or grunge or metal or reggae or classic rock or dubstep or electro or downtempo or hip-hop or jazz or whatever instrumental or accapela I’m feeling at the moment.
A few examples of DJs who are good at it are A.Skillz (check out his beatles mix), Z-Trip, Girl Talk, Featurecast, and The Funk Hunters.
Good luck on the mashups.
[ link ]always go genre mashing during my sets/
[ link ]Only ran into this article today, but I fully agree on this!
While my main focus lies on progressive-techhouse, I’ve been doing (live) sets on an internet radiostation.
Those sets started out as purely doing some Hardstyle for entertainment, but eventually brought me to combining Hardstyle and Hardcore (Gabber), and more recently had me finishing up with some Drum and Bass.
The main reason for me to even try other styles, was this advice given to me by a fellow DJ. Why? Because aside from production, nothing will teach you as much about music (mainly structure and phrasing).
It also brought me to trying out one of the most frowned upon genres by a lot of other DJs; Dubstep. Just to try if one can do 3/4-deck Dubstep, but also in the meanwhile teaching me a lot about the structure of this style and music in general!
And as an added bonus, those harder styles also feature a higher bpm, making the need to be decisive even bigger and you get immediate feedback from what you hear!
As for broadening your taste, I’m a music lover myself, so the styles always have been there; but trying to mix something you’ve never thought about mixing before… it keeps you fresh, excited and perhaps will bring you to new combination you’ve never thought about!
So, yes, I fully agree on this!
Just my 2 cents.
[ link ]Yup, I agree …it’s the best way to learn.
[ link ]I think it depends where in the world you are and what type of venues you are chasing.
If you are in a metropolis like New York or London you will probably find being musically versatile in a market where you are competing with lots of accomplished and established EDM DJs, eclecticism will work in your favour.
If you are in a smaller town or on a holiday island where DJs are thin on the ground and clubbers tend to out go to hear the latest hits or the most trendy genre then sticking to the hits or EDM will probably be the only way to get regular gigs.
I have worked on a holiday island and the crowds only wanted electro house or MTV hip hop so my funk, soul, rare disco and soulful house sets were not greeted with much enthusiasm. As a result I struggled to get gigs but in London and Bangkok I find getting gigs as an eclectic DJ much easier than my peers who spin strictly house or commercial music.
It also matters what type of venues you are targeting.
As an eclectic DJ I have definitely lost nightclub work because the nightclubs almost exclusively want house/EDM DJs but due to the sheer amount of aspiring DJs the nightclubs pay less and hire less frequently so in my experience they are not the best places to look for gigs.
Nightclubs tend to hire the specialist DJs who made their name in a certain genre decades ago and flesh out their roster by bringing in up and coming DJs on a freebee.
Your best bet to success in a market saturated by new up and coming talent and dominated by the DJs who made their mark in the 80′s and 90′s is to think outside of the box.
My advice is to forget being a strict sub genre DJ in a nightclub and focus on multi genre sets whilst targeting the members clubs, high class lounges and trendy bars then you will find a lot more work and broaden your musical horizons in the process.
Members clubs, lounges and high class bars tend to want a DJ who can flip styles and keep it varied. They pay well and compared to the nightclubs they struggle to fill their residencies.
The most well paid and exclusive residencies I have ever had have also been the ones where I got to spread my creative wings the most.
It’s a win win scenario.
Anyway as Phil says you need the ability to move out of your sub genre if you want to survive as a DJ long term.
Unless you are one of the incredibly lucky few who shoot to stardom playing one single sub genre you are less likely to be around in 15 years when your niche shuffles on.
Variety is the spice and all that
Great article Phil
[ link ]This article is so on point. I’m more Of a hip hop DJ. Scratching the works, and I was very one genre until a couple years ago when I started incorporating house, pop, reggae, dub step and many more genres into my sets. The results….. Better crown response, mad remixes on the fly. Just all round better sets.
[ link ]Hello Raskal I’m not sure which generation you come from but back in the day hip hop DJs rarely played strictly hip hop. Most hip hop nights I used to go to were 80% funk, soul, ska and obscure rarities, the kind of thing the hip hop producers would sample. So in a funny way by becoming more eclectic you are becoming more hip hop
[ link ]When i read this Article, i was thinking for a moment that we were actually talking about me. This is what i have been doing as a DJ as long as i can remember, and yet if anyone is not convice please go to the following http://soundcloud.com/phatt-freddy/reload and listen to this 2 hour set, the whole set is what i have described as my best work to date.
Enjoy
PF
[ link ]The only way I could use crossver tunes is if they’re withing House/Progressive/Techno/Trance/Chill category. So I would play different genres of EDM that I actually enjoy. But I could never play a pop, hip hop or dubstep. That’s just not who I am or where my passion for music is. No matter how much more interesting of a DJ I’d become by playing these genres.
[ link ]I’m a House/Trance DJ. Period. And if that means getting fewer gigs then so be it, but at least I’ll be getting the RIGHT gigs for me and for my audience.
As a DJ starting out later in life than many (most? any?) I’m making up for lost time and while I’d like to play only funk, soul and danceable jazz, it’s not worked out that way. And I’m quite pleased about it. The more I can vary my music, the more gigs I can get – seems obvious when you say it.
A few weeks ago, I had my first unpaid gig for a school reunion and here is the Spotify playlist for virtually everything I would have played if I’d not encountered technical problems with the venue’s mixer http://open.spotify.com/user/1117169945/playlist/4uxurOvU2AQp1Kjk0HKQZS
I had no qualms whatsoever about mixing Boston with Kylie with Faithless with James Brown. Not only have I now acquired the skills to do it, but I love it. I like all the music so why wouldn’t I try to bring it together? I’m still hoping to pull off a mix that surprises me as much as it surprises my audience. When I do, I’ll let you know…
[ link ]Glad you’re enjoying it, and making up for lost time
[ link ]So, what I’m getting from this article (which is great, by the way!) is that I should pretty much dj everything from dubstep to punk rock?
[ link ]Good advice, I have a gig next weekend, and it’s a reunion across classes. I’ll dig around for some different sounds than my usual deep house.
[ link ]