6:50
A famous set that went wrong, and why
On YouTube this video is called The Grimes DJ Set Coachella MY Thoughts and What Should of Been Done
What this lesson teaches
Commentary on a widely-discussed festival set that went wrong. He is careful at the outset - he does not know the performer, he is going on what he has read, and he asks to be corrected if he has it wrong.
What is worth keeping is the analysis, not the verdict on an individual. Three things in it are genuinely useful.
One: be able to play on anything
His central standard, and it is the one he has argued for throughout the catalogue.
A professional should be able to turn up and play on whatever is there. The manager says the software is broken, here is a box of twelve-inch vinyl and a pair of belt-drive turntables - and you should be able to do it.
That is not nostalgia. It is a description of what happens at gigs: equipment fails, the house system is not what you expected, the laptop will not talk to the mixer. A DJ whose ability lives entirely inside one piece of software has a single point of failure for their whole career.
And it is the same argument as the backup lesson in this course, moved from the equipment to the skill.
Two: what the software does and does not replace
His complaint about modern tools is specific, and he is fair about the appeal: people looked at DJing and concluded they could do it, because the software will beatmatch, detect the tempo, show the phrases and suggest what to play next.
What he says is lost is soul - and the concrete version of that, which is the part worth taking seriously, is track selection, feel, vibe and energy. None of those are automated, and none of them are visible on the screen.
So his position is not that software is cheating. It is that software covers the mechanical half and leaves the half that actually makes a set, and a DJ who only learned the covered half has nothing when it stops.
His recommendation, same as the controller lesson in stage 7: learn it without the screen first. Use your ears, with what is in front of you. Once you can do that, use the screen by all means - and the honest minimum it should be doing is helping you pick a track and load it.
Three: the questions nobody asked
And this is the most interesting part, because he turns the blame round.
Who was responsible for making sure the software worked? At an event that size there is a technical crew.
Why was nobody on stage helping? A performer alone with a broken rig in front of thousands is a production failure.
Who booked them, and why?
That last question leads to his real argument: promoters book names because names attract people - and a well-known name is not the same as a DJ who can hold a crowd.
Which is a fair observation about how the business works, and it is the uncomfortable complement to the first lesson in this stage. The route in is to be good and reliable and smartly turned out. The route to the top of a festival bill is frequently something else entirely.
And his own offer
Worth recording, because it is characteristic and it undercuts the harshness: if anybody knows the person involved, get hold of them and he will give them a couple of lessons for free.
He also notes, correctly, that all publicity is publicity - and that the real cost of a night like that is reputational rather than immediate.
What to take from it
One test, and you can apply it this week: if the laptop died right now, could you finish the set?
If the answer is no, that is the thing to work on - and it has nothing to do with buying anything.
Contents of the video
0:01 Is about the scenario, about
Alright ladies and gentlemen, this is a DJ related video and it's about this Croatia DJ set. Now, first and foremost, my disclaimer, I've got no idea who the woman is and all I can tell you, all I would like to explain is about the scenario, about the situation she was in. Okay, so if I may be stand corrected, please in a comment let me know if I'm incorrect here. But I believe there was a lady who played a DJ set in front of many thousands of people and basically cocked it up because the software wasn't working properly and she was relying on the software. Now, you probably know where this is going to go, alright? But I'm going to delve into this in a little bit more detail because I think it's really important because potentially you could have done a far better set than her.
Now, I have banged on about this time and time again, use your ears. Now, I make mistakes, I do live DJ sets all the time and they're as random as anything, they're as rough as old boots, but it's me. And if you've ever watched my videos, you'll know what I mean. If you've ever watched them, you'll notice I'm not concentrating on the software. I'm just picking a tune, playing it, having a glass of wine, getting a little bit drunk, but just enjoying myself and it's a way of unwinding. But suffice to say, a lot of DJs today or a lot of people today, I won't call them DJs, I'll call them just general people, have looked at the DJ community and thought, do you know what? I can do that because they really...
2:17 The modern day or when I say the modern day DJ
I've realised that all they've got to do is press a couple of icons on the software and the bloody thing will do it for you. It will do everything for you. It will mix for you, put the BPMs in, it'll show you where the phrases are, it'll even show you what tracks to play next. I mean, the mind boggles. So what's happening is a set is losing its soul. The modern day or when I say the modern day DJ... I must make this quite clear, the modern day DJ who completely relies on using the software has no soul. Now that could be you. I don't know. It could be because there's a lot about track selection. There's a lot about the feel and the vibe and the energy of a track, but let's get down to brass tacks about what happened at this festival.
Basically, I mean, in a nutshell, this lady can't DJ. That's it, OK? Now I've said before you should be able to a professional DJ should be able to turn up at an event and be able to play on anything. In other words, the manager says, I'm really sorry, software is buggered. We've got a bunch of old tunes in the back, 12 inch vinyl. We brought out the belt drive belt. Yes, not Technics. We brought out the belt drive turntables with... a small Thames 2 or Trent 2. Do some research, you'll see what those are and... You can DJ and you should be able to DJ. You see, to me, a real DJ should be able to DJ on anything. Yet this lady apparently was completely relying on the software. The software didn't work, so all she could do was just wave her hair and talk on the mic and point and say,
4:33 No, it's not a question, it's just fact now
I can't. I'm really sorry, you know. Now we've got to delve into this quite a bit. Not that I want this video to go on forever, but who was responsible for making sure that the software was and wasn't working? Why wasn't there someone up on stage helping this person out? Who was the person who booked this lady? Why did they book her? Him, her, whatever. Knowing that they couldn't, or possibly knowing that they couldn't really DJ correctly. Whereas, like I said earlier, potentially you could have done a far better job. Which also begs the question... Well no, it's not a question, it's just fact now. And that is, a lot of promoters are looking at well-known names because they will attract people. Whereas you in your bedroom
Are a thousand times better than them. And you could have made that crowd go frigging nuts. Yet they have to have someone who is a social media kind of influencer or whatever they were and just stand there like an absolute bloody lemon. So really, I'm going to finish this video off very simply by saying, as I've said time and time again. If you class yourself as a real DJ, start from the roots, start from the basics. Learn the proper way. I actually teach online, so if you're interested, send me an email. It will be in the description of this video. But start from the very basics. You know, you need to use your ears. You need to be able to mix just with you, the stuff in front of you and not a screen. Once you can do that, then by all means use the screen.
But even if you do use the screen, or if you don't have a computer, all that should be there for really is to pick a track, plonk it on and then press play. And away you go. The rest of it should be down to you because many years ago when I started, that's what it was like real vinyl, no grid format, no BPM readout. It was two pieces of wax and that was it. So really, I do feel sorry for this particular person. But in a way, all publicity is good publicity. Now everyone wants to know about her. So ironically enough, there'll probably be even more hits. The downside is I don't think they'll ever get another DJ set ever again.
Anyway, and if you know this particular person, get hold of them and I'll give them a couple lessons for free. Can I say any more? Anyway, thank you for watching. Practice and enjoy. Take care.
This transcript was produced automatically from the audio of the video and may contain mistakes.
This video is part of
Related videos
-
How to Get a Better Fee for Your Mobile DJ Services
He disclaims it as not financial advice and notes that everything depends on where you are. Taken as a checklist of what justifies a higher…
