Electronic music such as house, breaks, dub-step, and others, embody distinct differences from most other genre’s of music. Dance music likely draws its roots from our ingrained tribal pasts to appease the heavens and bring rains from the sky with driving, repetitive beats in a primarily simple, yet climactic structure. Especially when talking about underground electronic music, we should look at this genre as a story being shown, rather than told. The disc jockey’s job is to give a vision to their listeners in a flowing manner, using only what is audible. This is where the job of the d.j. becomes much more than simple music selection; there is a dynamic process involved.
Beyond Beatmatching: Harmonic Mixing
Beat-matching is a bread-and-butter disc jockey skill that every real d.j. should be able to do, so lets look at the next level. Harmonic mixing is something that d.j.’s have been doing since the beginning; In the vinyl-dominant days, d.j.’s would arrange their music libraries by both BPM (beats per minute) and Key and by doing so, they had a lot more control over the energy constructed in a mix. To the left you can see the most common organization system that dj’s, including myself, utilize. By dj-ing songs in a sequence that is based on key’s, spinning music becomes more like a real instrument than just simple playback, and your ability to paint a picture for your fans becomes much greater. For instance, if you were to jump up in scale, the perceived energy of your mix would certainly increase in the same way that increasing the tempo would. And if you have independent key controls, there is a whole new world of transitions you can enter into. This link will take you a site with more information how to mix harmonically, and also check out the Mixed In Key website, which is the software I use to read the key of my tracks.
Be A Tease
Chances are that you mix your tracks using, well, a mixer, right? Faders and equalizers can be used for more than just bringing tracks in and out; they are yet another expressive tool in your arsenal. If during a mix, your EQ’s and line faders spend most of their time in generally the same position, the set may seem somewhat stale. Punchy bass and high volumes are what a big crowd craves, but you never want to give them all they want all the time; they’ll always want more, and if you hit the ceiling of your system, there’s no higher to go but being stuck with some blown speakers. Once you give them that blast of bass, take it away after a few bars so they’ll be drooling over the next time you give them a taste. During breakdowns and a cappella’s take your line faders down to about 65% and don’t slam them back up to 80 or 90% until the biggest climax of that song. Save that extra 10% for the grand climax of your set. They will love you forever and keep coming back for more. They always do.
Psych Them Out!
Beyond the mechanics of dj-ing there is a more subconscious effect that a d.j. has on his audience that is much less often talked about. Your “feelings” toward the track you’re mixing certainly effect your audience. When you hit that climax, you should be genuinely excited about the sound and rock out in your mind. Your audience will thank you. Keep yourself moving on stage, and build up that energy in your mind before you release that next drop.
Your thoughts about your mix effect your mix especially when playing electronic music without much vocals, and it’s something we will talk about more in depth in the future! Look out for that article as well as more in the series “The Dynamic Dance Floor” when we talk about looping, sampling, quad-deck mixing, and how hip-hop can have some different rules
