backtothefront

Hee Won Jung, post: 32917, member: 948 wrote: Hey Guys,

So I just wanted to share something with all of the new and up and coming DJs…Something that i think will help all the new guys trying to get out of the bedroom and into the DJ booth.

What im referring to is creating connections…and not with Promoters or your fans…but other DJs…ones that have already been establish, and have created a place for themselves in the city.

To be honest this is how i achieve my “success” I didnt hound them i didnt even really talk to them…but I was around…I went to a ton of shows and always introduced myself to all the DJs said how good their set was and just made myself be noticed. This imo is an integral part of being successful as a DJ…you have to be seen…not just seen playing but seen around the city, go to all the different clubs…hang out have a good time and just get to know people…the more people know you the easier it will be to get your foot into different places. People like people they connect with…its human nature. Once i started getting into my city as a DJ…a group that i had become rather close with “EPIC PROPORTIONS” asked me to join their crew. I said yes right away…and within 1 week i was headlining a local night in one of the Underground clubs…and I had the most amazing experience of my life…It was my 2nd gig and i was headlining and 2 room venue and it was amazing to see everyone come to my room and rock out to my set. Here it is 2 years later and I run my own residency at one of our local underground venues, throwing big shows in a multitude of genres with names like Dubfx, Rahzel, Xzibit, Sigma, and this weekend our Company will be Opening for DJ ICEY in Edmonton and Calgary.

If you dont make ur self noticed on a regular basis your 5 minutes of fame will be over before u even start. DJing isnt just about Playing the music you like…but people knowing you to come to dance to the music you like.

It takes Years and YEARS to build a solid reputation but only 10 seconds of being a moron to destroy it.

With enough Dedication and hard work…you will make a niche for yourself.

Yep this is spot on for me, said it before, support the scene you wish to be a part of to enhance your chances of getting involved. That’s exactly how’d I’d book along with the appropriate demo of course; understanding the scene and being pleasant goes a long, long way in my opinion. Talking about the number of mates you can bring or how many FB/SC/MC likes you have is a turn off personally.

Oh, and tomorrow evening 6-8PM (UK) on http://www.nu-raveradio.com – This Is Our House with Lofty 😉

Upfront Soulful and Deep House and some other bits n bobs 🙂

D-Jam, post: 32750, member: 3 wrote: I’ll try to get you a mix in a week or so. Things seem to be slowing down at my work for once.

And I play loads of the deep/soulful stuff. Can I or should I use name drops?

I know the feeling D-Jam! 🙂 Of course, a mix would be great, reading your posts I think we’re on a similar wavelength – when you have a chance is fine with me and name drops no problem at all either, as long not another station of course. 🙂

Last Friday’s show for those who fancy a listen, soft, soulful start, picks up in to some deep and soulful stuff, some rave breaks/future jungle and then more house to finish. 🙂

http://nurave.vmlinuz.co.uk/download/NuRaveRadio%20Live%20Sets/NuRaveRadio-23112012-Lofty.mp3

Cheers.

rjwhite41, post: 32560, member: 2565 wrote: I think the point he is making in this article is that you can’t be a just a producer and make a living off it. You have to go out and do some sort of live show (djing or whatever) in order to make a living. Which means a great producer can’t focus on his productions because he is busy preparing for shows instead working in the studio where he is really talented. I also believe that you can’t become an international dj without being a producer (which wasn’t always the case) so mediocre productions are flooding the market in an attempt to promote oneself. I will agree that there is plenty of good music if you look in the right places.

Indeed I understand that however I would argue it is a recent phenomena which ties in with the explosion of dance music or ‘EDM’ in the US. I still firmly believe you can be exclusively a producer or a DJ and have success, certainly within the underground dance music scene. The boundaries have blurred there is no doubt however the distinct skills between making and playing tracks are still there. I’d much rather see a good DJ playing and educating me with an array of varying tracks than a ‘big EDM’ producer knocking out a pre mix of their album – equally I’d rather see a great dance music outfit (Orbital for example) recreating their music live on stage than Steve Aoki playing a pre planned set of his productions/remixes.

EpicDJ, post: 32469, member: 2947 wrote: I use http://www.legalsounds.com and find just about all the scarce EDM I usually am looking for and can usually find a 320 file. There are usually all the remixes as well I am looking for.

I would be a little cautious re using legalsounds (depending on where you are in the world of course), I’ve just checked; it’s a russian based site similar to the infamous allofmp3, which was not strictly legal to use in the UK certainly. 9 cents a track?!! I’m sure many of the copyright owners have not given permission for their music to be sold at that price!

OP, I’m not the world’s biggest Beatport fan at all but don’t let me put you off 🙂 I tend to use Traxsource, Juno and iTunes – sometimes 7dig and Trackitdown.

Eisenhorn, greetings, are you looking to get in to production? If so, I would suggest downloading a load of demos of Ableton, Reason, Reaper, FL Studio etc, there are some free/open source DAW’s as well worth a look at. The reason (no pun intended) I say this is because it is really important to see what workflow works for you before investing, even if it is a intro/lite version. For example, I love Reason and have tried various versions of Ableton Live but just can’t get on with it workflow wise. No doubt I could if I spent more time with it. I suppose what I’m also trying to say is Ableton has got a high visibility in the DJing world but it’s not the only DAW and it is really worth testing out the others. Like DJing software, they’re all tools and all will create good sounding music, it’s just up the user to make it. 🙂 Hope that helps?! 🙂

D-Jam, post: 32354, member: 3 wrote: I think many amateurs could do much by making guest mix sets for these shows, like backtothefront’s.

You get critiques from experienced guys, exposure, and experience.

Indeed, if anyone fancies submitting a 30 min mix along with a short bio then I’m open to playing it as a guest mix on my show. I would prefer Soulful/Deep House, Old School House, D&B, Jungle etc, only so it’s in keeping with the show, however feel free to PM me with Soundcloud, Mixcloud et al.

Cheers

BTTF (aka Lofty) 🙂

D-Jam, post: 32056, member: 3 wrote: I’ve seen rank amateurs come out and play on vinyl long before any laptops got into the booth.

What changed now? Promoters got sloppy.

They want a quick buck and have no clue how to plan and promote events that they take on the freejays or cheap DJs and thus fail. Not to mention since 2000 the promoters have pushed the scene to be about fashion and not about the music. Even now with the whole mainstream popularity and such of EDM, the scene is still more about VIPs, girls dressed like strippers competing for attention, guys pretending to be wealthy alpha males, and the DJ as simply a jukebox.

I’ve seen guys who learn the basics of beatmatching and they run out to play. They have no clue how to open or even how to play to a crowd. They just want their moment to be in the booth and pretend it’s like the fantasies they make of DJing.

Laptops and sync didn’t change this. It’s when promoters made the DJ less important to the night in many aspects, and they now look at ROI to the point that they’ll fathom the rank amateur if they can put a tight leash around him/her.

More fine, wise words, agree with this summary.