DJ Stop Looking at the Laptop Look at the People! Underground October 2018

0:00 With today's technology, you can perform a great mix

So, with today's technology, you can perform a great mix. Not only that, you can perform something that's so pristine, so clinically perfect, it just, to be quite honest, probably sounds shit. Now, I am not against the likes of controllers. Not at all. I've embraced them because they have made my life as a DJ so much easier. Gone are the days now of going to gigs, taking loads of 12-inch singles and boxes and breaking your arms and lugging them in and out of trains that I used to do before I could drive. And now, with a controller like this and a laptop... Yeah, you know the score, don't you? But with the effects and the sync and it does this for you and that for you, are people getting to the stage where they are losing what they've got and completely relying on what that is giving them?

11:05 Starts finishes, first track

Now, this here, right, if we looked at this controller, it's great. Flashy buttons. Flashy buttons and knobbly bits and it just, it's eye candy. But it's still a piece of plastic. That's all it is. With a bit of metal and some electronic wizardry inside. But it's only a piece of plastic, whereas you are a real person. Now, there's a complete difference there because if all of a sudden you threw a brick at that, you'd probably cry but you'd forget about it after a while. Maybe not. On the other hand, if someone threw a brick at you... It would hurt for a very, very, very long time and you'd have a mark for the rest of your life. So you're real... And that isn't. So, when you perform a mix, when you are in front of a crowd, what you've got to try and do is just get back to basics.

2:28 I can tell it's going slightly off beat and then in beat

Use the controller but don't abuse it. Alright, so... Now, for anyone who knows me... I'm rough. I'm rough and ready. I like it rough. I like it real. I like to just have a mix that's got a bit of soul to it. That's got that kind of... You know what? I can tell it's out a little bit. I can tell it's going slightly off beat and then in beat. I can tell it's just a little bit, sort of like, sort of organic and real. Which is how it should be! You listen to some of the top DJs out there playing in front of a crowd. Just with CDs. And you will hear the occasional mistake. It's because they're mixing from their heart. They're not mixing from a laptop. Now this one here is Spirit of the People. It's the original club mix.

And I'm going to bring in Moon Shadows... Moon Shadow, sorry. The original... Yeah, Shadows, sorry. The original mix. Love it! So... Let's go towards the end of the vocals here. I'm just finding a place. Again, these videos... Let's bring it in here. In phrase. Bit of filter. So I'm using filter on the left hand side. Taking the bass out on the left. Add a bit more mid on the left. So I've still got that going in the background. Okay so what we've got here, we've got a couple of tunes that have got a similar kind of like airy feel to them. Now... What I've said to a lot of people and to some people I teach online is that when you're choosing tracks to go into a folder don't think, oh they're all in that key, put them in that folder.

They're all in that key, put them in that folder and so on. So... Folders for keys. Try and put them in folders based on how they feel. And what you'll find then is that when you open that folder you've got a whole bunch of tunes and they probably will work together because they're the same feel and energy. So let's say for example you're in front of a crowd of people and all of a sudden they want that buzz kind of vibe. You could have a folder with the buzz vibe and you'll know that that will just give them that oomph. And the folders are personal to you. That's how you've got to make it. Alright so this one here, Moon Shadows...

6:06 Let's bring in this tune here called Desire The Original Mix

Let's bring in this tune here called Desire The Original Mix. Not even a mix there. I brought one track in that's a completely different genre, full stop. Now definitely not the best place to bring it in but who cares? I'm playing these tunes in front of a camera at the moment. Would I do that kind of a mix at an event? Probably not. Because I'm playing house music and then I'm going into drum and bass. But what I try to do is just pick a part in the track where there's no beat. Now on the right hand deck there was a break. So there was no beat, there was no sort of 4-4 time and on the left hand deck there was no beat. There was no 4-4 time. But now there is. So you can sort of get away with it if you mix two tunes

Different genres with no beat. I hope it makes sense. You see this is what I like about the Underground series. It's an eclectic mix of just... Tunes. And... Underground it's CD Pulls It's an interpretation of like let's get a whole bunch of tracks that have got that kind of underground, clubby sort of feel. And by the way don't forget CD Pull will be at the BPM show this month 20th and 21st October So if you want to come along and find out more about CD Pull and for that matter the BPM show then be there. It's in Solihull I will put the address in the description of this video alright? Alright let's find something else. Some of that.

8:40 Laptop, effects colour, colour effects

By the way the controller I'm using is the DDJ-1000 Now also I've been DJing for a very long time and... I have seen how controllers have progressed they've gone from huge massive machines with probably one circuit board inside them that don't really do that much to something now that's very more compact user friendly and for example the 1000 let's imagine you're in a position where you've plugged your laptop in you've got your controller plugged your laptop in and all of a sudden let's put this tune on here here we go This one here by the way is Dished the male stripper alright? Interesting Let's imagine all of a sudden your laptop stops working well you know it's going to be a very embarrassing position for you to be in but with the 1000

You can actually plug in two laptops so you can do back-to-back with another DJ or you could have another laptop ready as back-ups all you've got to do is above each channel you've got USB sorry yeah above yeah 1, 2, 3, 4 that's the microphone you can switch from laptop A to B so you can pretty much go from one laptop to the other also the mixer on here is not dissimilar to the DJM series because you've got your effects you've got your colour effects and you've got the colour effects dial here also there's no need now to stare at a laptop because a lot of the information you need is in the centre of the turntables themselves and as I say in practically every single video where I use a controller and a laptop note where my laptop is it's over there

It's not in front of me because I like to see the people in front of me not them seeing me looking at a laptop because in their eyes I'm looking at Facebook so let's find something else here erm Black Magic that sounds interesting now I'm listening to these tracks as well for the very first time ok bit of a squiggly sound there now that's nothing wrong with the controller I hope not anyway it isn't it's the tune Black Magic Original Mix ok let's zip this forward a little bit this one's got a lot of vibe to it alright I'm getting this track the first track in say a set in fact you could play this sort of as the first track like maybe in a drum and bass set definitely dubstep kind of feel or a dubstep set of course not that kind of brothers and sisters

Peace love and harmony let's make some mudda friggin noise it's making noise

Alright we'll be linking the description to the CD4 website right down there these are the underground series for October 2018 I wanna see you at the BPM show 20th and 21st it's only £5 to get in on the 20th starts at 11 finishes at 6 21st starts at 11 finishes at 5 Saturday night there's always something going down as well alright so come along have some fun just play a part in the show we'll see you there soon practice and enjoy

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