A DJ’s primary job (or, if you prefer, “purpose”) is choosing songs. For a while it was his only job—back when turntables didn’t have pitch control and scratching was a surefire way to break your record player and destroy your vinyl all at once.*** A DJ was a one-trick pony, playing one song after another until the party ended. Hence, the only way to compare one DJ with another was by his song selection. A better DJ played better songs. (Of course, the argument “What makes a better selection of songs?” is even harder to settle. But the logic still follows that whoever played better songs was a better DJ.)
***Insert long David Foster Wallace-esque footnote here: A turntable is basically a motor that spins a metal disk at a constant speed. There are two types of turntables: belt-drive and direct-drive. A belt-drive turntable has the motor off to the side. That motor is connected to the spinning axle via an elastic band. This band isn’t strong enough to withstand any serious scratching, and over time the band deteriorates until it must be replaced. This was the standard for years, and it’s probably what your parents used when they first listened to the Beatles.
A direct-drive turntable has a motor directly underneath the spinning disc. This design makes a record reach the proper RPM much quicker; you need a direct-drive turntable if you’re going to scratch. Even better, there’s no elastic band to replace. The catch? For a long time turntable motors were loud and clunky; the motor vibrated during playback and made the needle jump. This shaking damaged the vinyl itself and created rough, irregular playback. But modern motors are quiet enough to keep the record spinning consistently and the needle firmly in the groove. Direct-drive turntables are preferred by every serious DJ, though they’re typically more expensive.
Back to the main point: DJs were choosing songs, and we were comparing them by those songs. But DJing evolved (along with the equipment) and there was another criterion by which to judge DJs: technical ability. The best DJs knew how to use the equipment. They could beatmatch perfectly; they could EQ songs with just the right amount of high, middle and low frequencies; they could use samplers or effects processors or any number of sequencers, drum machines and synthesizers. Learning to use this equipment was hard. But those who mastered the machinery were considered better DJs. Two DJs could play the exact same songs, but one could play a better set depending on how he played the songs. Technical ability mattered.
Today, software like Serato Scratch Live and Ableton Live make the technical aspect of DJing much easier to learn. Modern DJs aren’t learning to use hardware, they’re learning to use software (or some combination of hardware and software).
For example, beatmatching used to be the most important technical skill a DJ could learn. It took years to perfect that ability. Now it’s a breeze. I’m pretty sure I could teach anyone with a decent ear and a few hours of free time to beatmatch songs using Serato. Ableton literally beatmatches for you, assuming your songs are quantized correctly beforehand.
There are two main implications to the rise of software-driven DJ sets:
First, I think we’re all better off because amateur DJs don’t sound as amateurish. Nothing is more painful to listen to than shitty scratching or off-beat mixing. Software corrects some of that. It’s easier to be a mediocre DJ, and mediocre DJing is better than bad DJing. And the fact that DJing is easier to learn also means more people are doing it. That doesn’t mean they’re doing it well, but they’re still doing it. More people DJing is, on the aggregate, a good thing. Even if they’re bad DJs, they probably pay money to see other DJs or in some other way help “the scene.” On a more personal note, many of them also read this blog.
There are certainly purists (read: turntablists) who scoff at the idea of using anything more than two turntables and a mixer, but those people are in the minority. Most DJs use a laptop or, at the very least, CDJs (which, by the way, are still digital rather than analog and often have some sort of built-in software package that’s essentially just a scaled-down version of Serato). It’s both foolish and futile to oppose DJing software. If it makes the set better (“better” meaning “let’s the artist get the exact sound he wants”) then I’m all for it. But then again, there are also people who prefer an acoustic guitar to an electric guitar because that’s the sound they want. It’s just personal preference.
Second, DJs are again primarily judged by the songs they play. We’ve come full circle. Operating Serato/Ableton still requires a certain amount of “skill” (should I even include quotation marks there anymore?). But software helps level the playing field and, more importantly, adjust the learning curve. Once all DJs become the same in their ability to use the software, the only judging criterion left is—you guessed it—song selection. Technical proficiency isn’t a valid criterion for comparison anymore because everyone is technically proficient. Maybe we’ll eventually get to the point where all a DJ will be able to do is chose songs while the software takes care of the rest. Where do we go from there?
Kissy Sell Out
My favorite DJ right now? Tough to answer. But the first person who comes to mind is Kissy Sell Out. He’s got the technical ability that every great DJ has, but his song selection is top-notch. He’ll play a set with music from all over the place and somehow make it all work. For example, a recent performance of his included songs by Rusko, Cat Stevens, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, M83 and Machines Don’t Care. The tracklist reads like a total clusterfuck, as if he just hit “shuffle” and played whatever came up next. But if you listen to the mix you’ll realize he pulls it off like nobody else could.
My favorite thing about Kissy Sell Out is that he remixes songs exclusively for his live sets (appropriately titled “Kissy Klub Versions”). See him perform and you’ll hear a track that’s never been released and never will be; his hard drive must be loaded with homemade gems. It’s actually a little frustrating—much of his stuff is fantastic and the fact that I can’t get the individual songs drives me crazy. But it makes his live sets that much more exciting. I never know what he’s going to play and I’ll probably never get to hear some of those Kissy Klub Versions again. The songs add a thrilling sense of once-in-a-lifetime urgency to his performances.
Enjoy this original track from his album Youth and a fun R.E.M. bmore-inspired remix.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Kissy Sell Out – Garden Friends
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
R.E.M. – Nightswimming (Kissy Sell Out Remix)
Tags: kissy sell out
Share
[...] Metal Uh Oh Disco I found some cool stuff here: Uh Oh [...]
I’ve got a little nut to crack,
Is it socially accepted around the DJ-scene to make the set beforehand, i.e. Not use Ableton Live’s built-in clip-section and instead build the set around weeks of work and planning like you would build a normal song?
Maybe not acceptable in the club as a resident dj where you (as you say) “read the crowd”, but take Bloody Beetroots for an instance, they have pretty similar tracklists to all of their sets, where people pay to see them. They still have their tracklists in their minds, or even typed down, but is it acceptable to do the work before the live set? I don’t think Justice did their concerts “on the fly”.
Martin–
It’s a valid question and an issue I’ve thought about a lot. Is it fair game to plan a setlist beforehand?
Short answer: it depends.
Long answer:
You’ve hit on something important–not all DJs are playing to the same crowd in the same venue. I can only speak for myself and the parties/bars I’ve DJ’d. I’ve never planned out a setlist beforehand for exactly the reason you put forward: it all depends on the crowd. You’d be amazed how some songs go over great one night then fall flat the next. Reading the crowd is a skill every DJ learns over time, and planning a setlist works against you. That said, if I was doing an Essential Mix I’d certainly plan out the tracks and practice until my hands went numb. Playing live is different than playing a recorded radio mix.
Also, all DJs (myself included) have some strong (can I borrow a film term?) “set pieces.” By that I mean 2-4 songs that I’ll play in a row because I know the combination works. It’s not the same as planning a whole set, but it’s not entirely improvised either. If I have enough “set pieces,” I could put together a set from, say, 10 “chunks” of music rather than 40 songs. Then I could get down to 8 chunks by making each set piece a little longer. Keep going until you’ve got on long set piece that becomes a set unto itself.
Another note: sometimes I’ll be practicing at home, do something on a whim and then make a mental note to do the same thing when I’m in front of a crowd. That’s part of the reason why practicing is important; I’d rather try something new at home rather than risk it in front of an audience because it might sound really shitty. Does recreating something you did alone at home count as improvisation? Sorta. Not really. I don’t know. But that’s how improvisation works: in pieces. A guitarist might have a string of four notes he knows sound good and use that during a solo. He won’t play note-by-note; a DJ won’t play song-by-song.
So that’s my own personal experience. But every DJ is different. Playing an arena is very different than playing a bar. I think if I was a big-name DJ I’d do a lot more planning beforehand. Does Justice plan their sets? Absolutely. So does Daft Punk. I know for a fact that both of those groups program their entire show into Ableton’s Session Mode. It’s not a big secret or anything; they’ll tell you straight up.
It’s hard to explain what “Session Mode” means if you’ve never used it, but basically they have all the loops ready-to-go and they can trigger them at will. With Daft Punk it’s especially easy to tell. Listen to any recording from their 2007 tour (or the Alive 2007 Album) and the sets will be almost identical. The only thing different is the effects they use.
They way Thomas Bangalter (one half of Daft Punk) explained it in an interview I read was that it’s best to think of a Daft Punk show like it’s a “musical;” the songs are the same every night but, technically speaking, each performance is a little different (though it’s only the effects that change). I don’t know if I buy that comparison or not, but their live show sure sounds good, doesn’t it? I don’t think it’s fair to say Daft Punk is “cheating” the audience by playing that sort of show. They do what works for them.
I think another reason the big name DJs plan their sets is because they’ve also got a lot of original material to play. I don’t; I play other people’s music. But Daft Punk plays Daft Punk songs. Justice plays Justice songs.
If you go see David Guetta he’s going to play his hits. That’s what people paid to see. So I suppose he plans his sets in that he knows his song selection, though I’m not sure he chooses a specific order.
The Bloody Beetroots? I’ve seen them twice and I can’t say for sure how much planning they put into it. I think they’re mostly on-the-fly guys. But since they’ve also got a share of hit singles I’m sure they make it a point to play those. If you go see them, you’ll hear Warp. Guaranteed. Another thing to note is that– let’s be honest– all their songs sound pretty damn similar. They’ve all got the in-you-face synth and a looped vocal (or occasionally that weird high-pitched vocal they were fond of for a while). I can’t say for sure but, like I’ve tried to explain above, I think it’s a combination of improvisation and practice.
In the end I think it all depends on who you are, where you’re playing and who’s watching you.
Nick
UhOhDisco.com
Hello Nick,
Whoawh! Thank you for that incredibly enthusiastic answer, I really appriciate it!
I like how you draw paralells with, let’s say guitarists, they don’t really play note-for-note and to compare that with a dj is brilliant.
You can always have preferences, at the handful of gig’s i’ve done so far i’ve had pretty much the same set of songs +/- a few new ones depending what i might find looking around the web, hype machine, beatport. These shows grew to become a success much due to the fact that I knew the songs worked, and my energy was about twice the crowd, hell I was even more sweaty than the crowd! Like Stephen Wrote, it’s how you do it, not what you do. A-Trak is busting his ass off doing the Robot Rock routine, crowd gives a small wiggle to the neck. Aioki rips off his shirt, nearly swallows the microphone screaming while molesting the on-button for the Stroboscope. I’ll remember Aoiki doing Warp more than I would remember A-Trak’s Robot Rock.
Same goes for BBS i guess, looking at their setlists from 2008- they pretty much come back with the same songs, thus in a different combination, even though I know for a fact that they play the exact same songs in the exact same order as they did in the beginning of the year from some pub-show that someone recorded and put up on ElectroKid.hu. They might add some, and by every I Love Techno they come back with a new setlist, keeping some of the old ones, adding the new ones.
I’m totally with you on all of these points, so the question is more of where you play then how you play, cause in the end, what really matters is how the audience will remember the night and come back to see you again… unless you’re some elitist bastard hanging around electro-forums analyzing tracklists and being rather pesimistic.
Cheers again for that brilliant answer, you’ve put some clarity around the subject, and with all the methods of playing live today and making it sound good the question will be of great importance.
Great admirer of your blog,
Best,
Martin
http://www.myspace.com/midibyte
Cenna informacja, dzięki!