Once you go KORG, the ESX gets better

Add this to your wedding list.

Vinyl, CDs, Mp3s

What's the difference?

Vinyl
Pros: Sounds better, many audiophiles say. I think it sounds warmer and is therefore better with analog music (usually older stuff); It is also sexier for some reason. You seem more legitimate playing on vinyl, because it takes a lot more talent to mix and records are harder to find. For a turntablist, any other medium, I believe, is absolutely unacceptable. Some of the most elite underground artists release only on vinyl as well.

Cons: It is a total pain in the ass to be lugging your records with you to a gig. They also wear down with time, and are hard to find. If the speakers are too close, your record will skip.

CD's
Pros: You can burn CDs with custom mixes and playlists. Mixing with good equipment takes skill and is relatively acceptable, though not as much as vinyl in purist crowds. Most of the world's music today is available on CDs. Sound is crystal clear, especially for digital music.

Cons: You still have to lug around a large CD case if you want to bring some variety to the table. Piracy is rampant on CDs as well. Really good mixing equipment can be expensive as well. CDJ-1000's, an industry standard, will set you back $1,200 EACH.

MP3s
Pros: You can fit whole bunch of these babies in your jump-drive, I-pod, or even cd's you burn. I have DJ buddies that email their favorite mixing songs to their gmail account and burn them wherever they are for a quick mix as well. The quality can potentially be very good. A 300 CD carrying case could potentially hold over 30,000 tracks in good quality.

Cons: How much respect will you get by spinning with 2 ipods and a dingy little mixer at a huge party? Its almost cheating, and not very sexy, except to maybe apple-worms. It kind of ruins the experience to go to a club, shell out $20 to get in, hear a $50,000 speaker system, and have some kid with ipods playing.


There are some exceptions and bridges to the vinyl, CD, mp3 gap. My favorite is a pair of Gemini CDT-05 hybrid turntables that play records, cds (that one can scratch with vinyl interface), and play mp3 cds.

You can also use something like Serato Scratch Live or Stanton's Final Scratch, computer programs that sync up with your turntables through coded records.

In the end it is how you mix,
not what you mix with.
But, you must remember to respect
tradition and reach for innovation.

Are humans hard-wired for faith?

This story about how the brain works when people pray and meditate was featured on CNN.com today and got me thinking about how this relates to the DJ craft and music in general.

Religion and meditation sometimes uses the power of music to heighten the experience. From the article, "The frontal lobe, the area right behind our foreheads, helps us focus our attention in prayer and meditation." This same focus is needed when you spin.

A traditional DJ will play a track and at the same time listen to the next one in his/her headphones adjusting and smoothly making the transition. It takes a sharp focus to discern a difference in tempo and adjust it on-the-fly unless the DJ uses the equipment to fix it automatically (for those out there who still pitch manually, bless your soul, respect). Similar to professional athletes, the DJ gets "in the Zone" or "Flow" as they mysteriously know what song to play, when, and how to mix it in like a basketball player hits net after net.

"When we think of religious
and spiritual beliefs and practices,
we see a tremendous similarity
across practices and across traditions."
I liken the DJ to a shaman bringing a tribe into a trance through music. The use of repetitive beats and progression mixed with communal dancing and other interaction allows the individual to loosen their hold on consciousness and delve into altered states of mind. There is the perception that only drugs get you there, but such assumptions (that all shamans or tribes take drugs, or that the drugs are the only catalyst to a spiritual experience) are superficial and knee-jerked.

Ask anyone that has been into the
electronic music scene for a while
what feelings they have as the DJ makes
the flawless mix, right time, place,
people, and music and watch them
think about it, lost in a hint
of euphoria
as they try to describe the ineffable.
Religious? Maybe.
Spiritual? Definitely.
The accounts of intense religious and spiritual experiences are topics of fascination for people around the world. It's a mere glimpse into someone's faith and belief system. It's a hint at a person's intense connection with God, an omniscient being or higher plane. Most people would agree the experience of faith is immeasurable."

Harmonic Mixing

There are crucial techniques a DJ needs to know to mix well: beatmatching, phrasing, cueing, looping, sampling, etc. However, I notice very little talk about harmonic mixing.

This is the kind of revolutionizing technique that has to be heard to be appreciated. Tools like Mixed in Key and Mixmeister can help up to a point in understanding how to mix with proper chord progression and therefore wowing the crowd without them seeing it coming.

Maybe this is what separates the jockeys from the musicians as it takes a finely tuned ear to identify the key signature of a song. This is a relatively new concept for me, since I played the piano but never really had proper music theory lessons as a child.

Most DJs I have heard seem to hit-or-miss during transitions because they are not very aware (or care) about their selections' melodies clashing. There is an over-emphasis on beatmatching, and while this allows for passing mixes, once exposed to how powerful harmonic mixing can be, you begin to realize how faulty your mixes sound without it.

I am not the exception here, and am learning to identify these keys with Mixed in Key as crutches. I know when they clash, or fit, but not too much further beyond that. I can see quite the difference since I began using the Camelot Sound Easymix System, and I unashamedly use this as my ears learn to do it on their own.

The Hunting Season Begins

What does it take to get a gig?

Skills, Talent, Connections, Timing, and Perseverance.

The Internet has given us so many new ways of getting the word out, although just jumping in head on will cause a headache or twenty.

I can't say I am trying too hard to get some gigs (I have school and work to deal with first). However I have noticed helpful tips like:

• getting involved with an organization (concert promoters, bus-boy at the local nightclub, etc)
• hanging with the right people (find DJs who have been around for a while and you will learn by leaps and bounds)
• staying away from the wrong people (some people care little for your love of music and just want to get high and wasted. It is fun being a designated driver, but being the designated loser for wasting your time with idiots?)
• spending ridiculous amounts of time raiding the crates, whether that is visiting the local thrift store for some hidden treasure, or clicking your finger away in blogs, music sites, radio streams, p2p programs
• spamming anyone who cares to listen with all the demos they dare to take home
• and most importantly developing a style that's your own, a collage of influences taking you in many directions