Now before I begin my summary and subsequent walkthroughs, I have to admit a couple of things.
For one, 25 years into the DJ game, I do not consider myself that technically minded when it comes to music. In fact, I almost border on the ignorant. Indeed, even when I get the chance to visit my backstreet record dealer, I occasionally look at the labels. It's the music that interests me!
What I attempt to do is generally give you some kind of feel as to how the sets were constructed, why the playlist is in the order it is and offer up some thoughts on the tracks themselves.
Now, this word construction. I am and always have been, a vinyl DJ. It's only recently that I've bothered to equip myself with a mixing CD desk. In my opinion, people prefer to see the DJ mixing rather than pushing buttons!
Technically, it's a much smoother ride when it comes to mixing using vinyl. You have more control for a start! CD mixing requires much more sensitivity and unless performed with great accuracy, will definitely sound very messy. I've been to loads of parties where CD mixing has been attempted and let's just say that it's thrown me off my dancing with messy beats all over the place. Even Fat Boy Slim's gone on record as saying he can't mix with CD's and I know for a fact that most jocks out there can't either! Not to any great accuracy anyway!
Now that's not to say I'm the world’s best! I wish I was - but like everything, practice makes perfect and if anything, this project certainly gave me a lot of that!
If I had not spent 2 months constructing these sets, you would have certainly noticed the difference! And there is a difference! At the end of the day, I prefer spinning those 12" discs rather than a 2 inch jog wheel I can tell you!
The other thing I’d like to point out here is that I'm dealing with a lot of tunes that come from people who are not schooled in some of the more technical aspects of music. Not everything's strictly 4/4, timing wise. Plus the fact that whilst some of the tunes where long, others were very short. Kinda took me back to the days of playing 7" records. (Now I'm showing my age, lol)
Which ever way you look at it, the only way these sets could get played (remember I had to mix these live), without making them messy and to ensure that I got the best from all the tunes, I had to first sit down and construct them from scratch! And I don't mean rehearse either! I do mean construct!
Out of the 150 or so tunes I had to work with, it was interesting to see how few tracks would mix into another one. This is because I wasn’t working just with dance music, for example, but a whole range of styles and tempos. It does show the versatility of eJay, but boy, does it make a DJ’s life hell!. Following on from that, determining which tunes fitted into what genre was another headache!
Whilst some were pretty obvious, others were not and quite often anyway, I create my own genres.
I tend to feel that whatever turns me on, musically speaking, will do the same for others and luckily, history has proved me right, many times throughout my career. If that had not been the case, I would have either given up this game long ago or fallen into one of these 'I'm gonna play what I want - not what you want' DJ's!
The construction of these sets did require some precision mixing though. Everything had to be scripted. I had to make notes on exactly where the mix had to start and finish, not to mention some pretty quick CD changing and cueing. Speed was also essential. When you are working with vinyl, you can manipulate various things in a manner of different ways. For instance, you can nudge things along or slow things down gently with your fingers by gently sqeezing on the centre spindle or the outside of your record deck. This is what we call flanging!
With CD's, depending on the mixing equipment you are using (I was using a pair of Gemini CD 240's) the fine art of mixing becomes more sensitive and you do not have the same versalility as you do when mixing vinyl! You can just about pick this up during some of the sets. It's like playing catch up! Sometimes I thought I was gonna develop a little blister on my index finger while I was furiously spinning away at that little jog wheel in an effort to keeps all beats together tightly! Luckily I did'nt, but I nearly had a heart attack one or twice when it came to listening to the finished work. Talk about rush! Drugs? Who need's em when you've got this lot to listen to?
One thing that struck me when constructing the sets was that, hard though it sometimes was to match tracks, when I finally did so, they blended so well and flowed so seamlessly together, I began to feel as if I was losing control of the outcome. Very spooky! They almost developed a life of their own! Even though I could control the tempo and the general direction of the tracks they seemed to augment each other and create something with a completely different feel.
I feel sure that after you have listened to these sets, you will agree with me that all the hard work that has gone into this project has paid off. From the initial creation of the tracks themselves to the final mix (which is still ongoing), it shows that the eJay software is a valid music making tool and I personally feel that they stand up well when compared to commercial mixes.
Finally, in closing, I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this project. Without you and your musical inspiration, these sets would not have been possible.
Respect
DJ MuzikAL
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