On the road again...

http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature.aspx?1545

This article on Seth Troxler got me thinking - its a great article sure, but one that could be representative of just about any working DJ in the 'Premiership', Sasha must have been going through this kind of life for years.

It certainly makes me appreciate playing irregular gigs - making them special occasions to me, I can treat each one individually.  Playing every night and several places even on some nights I can see the temptation to repeat sets and mixes that work, fortunately, thanks to the plethora of dance music out there this rarely needs to happen.

I've always said I'd be unsure about turning DJing into a job if I ever had the chance (highly unlikely!), as much as I love doing it, the loneliness of the travelling, the brief interludes of highs then back to the grind again does not appeal that much - that said I'd certainly like to try it for a month!  Perhaps I could do project management as a hobby...

Producing...

Producing... Its something I don’t do, maybe i’m not creative enough, maybe I haven’t got the patience (definitely that), whatever it is, you can’t escape the fact that it is a good way of getting ahead of the game and can catapult a career if the work goes into it. 

I have seen several debates recently on the need to produce to promote a DJ career – why should this be?  Granted the promotion is easier – more record labels after ones name is a bonus, but I defy anyone to say that has anything to do with their DJing ability.  Several high profile producers have found out the hard way that producing and DJing are two entirely different things – knowing how sound works does not mean that they know how DJ sets are programmed!

This is by no means an attack on producers who also DJ – there are many out there who can string a set together, however they have a talent – why would they not want to show it through live sets?  There are some seriously diverse artists out there who can cover several genres and hours with their material without even thinking about it.  This is what I want to hear when I see someone who is well known for their producing skills on a bill – not 2 hours of music that anyone could string together!

So full respect to those who do produce – and make the most out of it, and also to those that don’t – and make the most out of it, I’m not feeling any pressure to get into it, and the world is probably better off without any crap I’d make anyway!

Apologies

For going awol, a new house and a crap internet connection does that...

Will report back fully after Berlin on Thursday!

Full circle

I feel like I am going to go a full circle when I relate to my first article on here - visiting clubs outside of London, I remember saying that the feeling of seeing a world class DJ in somewhere other than London is pretty good - special even...

Now I can appreciate it from the other side, I have been fortunate to live near to London for a while and hence my last few gigs have been in the centre, to be honest they were ok, nothing special, just ok.  I was lucky enough to be invited up to Leicester to play for Collo's night Seed at Sophbeck Sessions, regular readers will recognise the name, it is without doubt the best place in the city to go for a proper underground night.  As a consequence, I made sure that I enjoyed this night the best I could.  From the moment I stepped up to the booth - before anyone was there I might add I could tell that something was going to happen...

Well it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable gigs I've ever played, from Ibiza to London I've always felt I've been playing for other people, a subconscious pressure to play to the crowd, for some reason the venue (and maybe the alcohol) just made me say feck it, I'm playing what I want... And people seemed to enjoy it!

Maybe all that expressionism bollocks about feeling the music was right after all...

Big ups to Collo and Sameed for playing great sets and having me down...  The mix is at the top of the page and the tracklist is here:


Gene Chandler - Does she have a friend for me?
Gil Scott Heron - The revolution will not be televised
Soulstice - The reason (DJ Spinna remix)
Morgan Geist - Skyblue pink
Tina Turner - I can't stand the rain (Rayko edit)
Kenneth Bager - Fragment Eleven - The day after yesterday pt.1
Aaliyah - Rock the boat (Collo 103 edit)
Chuck Norris - All that she wants
Gil Scott Heron - Angola Louisiana (Alkalino edit)
Fourtet - As serious as your life
Duff Disco - Just in time
Prinzhorn Dance School - You are the space invader
The Rolling Stones - Miss you
Soul Clap - Michael went to hell
Charlie Winston - In your hands
Ark - Old chariot
MCDE - Raw cuts #6
Mike Dunn - Freaky MF (Original mix)
Redshape - Unfinished symmetry - Part 1 & 2
Stacey Kidd - Freaky MF (Female mix)
SECT - Thieve skrilla
The Fab Four - Last night a DJ blew my mind
Todd Terje - Inspector Norse
Detroit Grand Pubahs - Sandwiches (Alkalino edit)
Alex Dimitri South Soul - Heaven (Alex Dimitri Soul Mix remix)
Todd Terje - Bodies (Prins Thomas Orgasmatron)
Daniel Wang - Not feeling it
Kerri Chandler - Halleujah
Marcus Nikolai - Bushes
Stimming - Radar
Deetron - Starblazer
TWR72 - Paradox
Dr Kucho! - Patricia never leaves the house (Dr. Kucho! remix)

New years resolutions... NEW RADIO SHOW!

Getting on with my new year's resolutions, I've now got a weekly show on www.dhpradio.com - its from 2-4pm every Friday afternoon - starting tomorrow!

As usual theres no plans and no preparation - I haven't even got a name for the show yet... Either way its going to be great fun and i'll probably be looking for guest mixes in the near future!

Hope to see you in the chat room or in the stats listening :)

Buying and discovering music

Theres no excuse no when it comes to buying music and discovering new music, with so many mediums available to delve into the genres, its clear that music is more accessible than ever, and not only that - ALL music is as accessible.  The days of having to go to a certain club to hear certain tracks only played by a certain DJ are over in all but a few small cases (edits and self productions aside).

I am more than happy to share where I get my music from with whoever asks - be they friends, punters etc, what is the point of holding music back?  Soundcloud for alternative versions through edits, I listen to tracks on Beatport then buy them on Amazon or Play.com because they are often half the price.  We're talking about 99p here, not a huge amount.

I believe that if someone truly does like music then they will do their best to make the most of it - finding other tracks by the artists, listening to the recommendations of Youtube in the right hand side panel etc.  But it is clear just from listening to the radio that most people think of music as something in the background - this is true in multiple situations.  Take commercial nightclubs for an example - no-one goes to them wanting to hear the music, they will often play the same music in the same order on consecutive nights - and they can because no-one is listening, they are too busy getting drunk.

As much as I slag off the people and places involved with this non-music I must be grateful it exists - because if the mainstream didn't exist there would be no underground, there would be no rebels against this widespread crap.... So I salute the mainstream for giving us (in a roundabout way) the best music and experiences I can imagine!

Tracklisting for the mix above!

Finally got around to doing it...


Fever Ray - When I grow up
Clams Casino - Brainwash by London
When Saints Go Machine - Konkylie
Boards Of Canada - Music is math
Phantogram - Mouthful of diamonds
Jesse Boykins III - B4 the night is thru
The Park - Belleville
Pillowtalk Vs. Mayer Hawthorne - The makings of a lover (Edit)
Todd Terje - Myggsommer
Essay - Morning mountain
Urulu - Untitled 03
MCDE - L.O.V.E
Yacht - I walked alone (Get a room mix)
Todd Terje - Inspector Norse
Tim Deluxe - Transformation
Donnie - Cloud 9 (QH remix)
Renaissance Man - What Do You Do When You Do What You Do (Sei A Remix)
Floetry - Superstar (Fresh Fruit dub)
Chicago Skyway - Fall down
Cosmin TRG - Izolat
Ben Damage & Doc Daneeka - Infamous
Lana Del Ray - Video games
Mosca - Jaeger
Boddika - Grand prix
Instra:mental - Vicodin (Skudge Warehouse mix)
Armand Van Helden - Witch doktor (Quentin Harris & HD mix)
The Fitzcarraldo Variations - Black cat (Alkalino edit)
Best Coast - Boyfriend (Lindstrom remix)
Mayer Hawthorne - Your easy lovin' ain't pleasin' nothing