What makes a great mix?!

[psy-fly]

Ive just started mixing stuff recently, mainly proggy stuff, really enjoying getting a handle on it. Just wanted to see what factors people find important when mixing. I of course realise that each dj will have their own style and many will wanna smash the boundaries of routine standard mixing but if people could put forward their approaches to it id find it very helpful.

thanks

also sorry if a thread like this is already around!

 

[Marc]

Hmm ok Im quite opinionated on this one ... however I think primarily tune selection is always gonna be the first thing however I guess where you may get a diff response out of me than many other on here is I like to see something technically interesting being attempted in a mix or at least some defining individuality. You say that...

many will wanna smash the boundaries of routine standard mixing

Youd be suprised in fact at how this isnt really the case [most definitely in the psy scene]. If folk are trying to break boundaries theyre ususally doing it via a live set rather than dj'ing. Imo the avg set involves just stringing 10 tunes together and thats your lot oh and if youre really lucky someone might throw a lord of the rings sample in for good measure. Don't get me wrong, Im all for being taken on a journey but theres making an effort and theres doing the bare minimum.

Its kindof like guitar say ... anyone can pick it up and learn to strum a tune - but how many people play with say the skill of hendrix ? [this is maybe a bad analogy but Im trying!]

So I guess my advice would be not to limit the music you listen to or play, try *everything* musically/technically, dont play the same old thing as everyone else and at the same bloody time too [night time/morning tunes .. pfft!].... and most of all *have fun* !!!

I guess my approaches are those above ... I try not confine myself and Ill do anything from mixing stuff up at the wrong speed, scratching psy trance, doubling up copies of yellow submarine ... oh and youre not a dj if yove never drilled an off-centre hole in one of your records :P

.. sorry you caught me on a subject close to my heart on this one !

peace,
m

 

[Monkey Do]

I guess where you may get a diff response out of me than many other on here is I like to see something technically interesting being attempted in a mix

I kinda agree but disagree, I find all to often (generally outside of Psytrance as we all know that Psy DJ's suck ) that the technical stuff tends to distract from the flow of the mix and if you notice the skillz then the focus is wrong (just IMO of course) - not saying there is no room for them, but you can have technique without it being in your face...important with trance I think.

Personally (not that I'm claiming to be a great mixer or anything) I find that a couple of CDJ's and half a dozen FX limits you a bit so I've been using software for years which allows realtime non-destructive editing of the tracks (great for looping bits and cutting out all those bloody identikit breaks), as many effects as you can shake a DX plugin at, virtually unlimited number of tracks, samples not to mention the fact that you can cue stuff up visually and actually enjoy your own set and do things that are beyond my own skills (like beatmixing from ambient sections so that the beats will kick in on both tracks at the exact same time for example).

 

[Red five]

thing is with beatmixing psytrance...you gotta be able to mix bass lines, sounds and stuff.

yes while not as technically interesting as techno or hip hop , you can get it to do some strange shit, which is what it's all about.

just have fun and accept the fact that you ain't ever gonna be one of Underground Resistance, The Scratch Perverts et al.

and most of all dont think that theres anything new left to do with Dance music. cos it's all been done before, it's generic by nature see?

Jaded? me? noooo...

 

[Ruskin]

With relation to a psytrance set, I like it to really progress and for a general direction or contour to be perceivable. Rather than being 'a progressive dj' or 'a full-on dj', I think it's far more interesting to incorporate different things with a view to sending the set on a certain path. For example, snafu's set at Labyrinth had a movement which was so exciting to identify... starting things off slowly then building up through beaty ambient to progressive and on to proper doof, with a healthy dosage of superstratospheric spectaculaire to finish off.

 

[Marc]

thing is with beatmixing psytrance...you gotta be able to mix bass lines, sounds and stuff.

I think that applies equally to all genres to be fair... Id say the difficulty with psytrance really comes from the often lack of headroom to add anything else in so you're not really left with much choice other than to dry and drop a certain freq range and replace it with another.

just have fun and accept the fact that you ain't ever gonna be one of Underground Resistance, The Scratch Perverts et al.

and most of all dont think that theres anything new left to do with Dance music. cos it's all been done before, it's generic by nature see?

Jaded? me? noooo...

Id say not trying hard enough :P You can be as good as you want to be - it's spending the time doing it.

...tho I have to say I've got yer makes the tea mix on my mp3 player at the mo funnily enough and your selection is def better than a great deal Ive heard in the psyworld. It's Just such a pity so few takes risks with psy imo.

peace,
m

 

[psy-fly]

great, thats given me a good deal to ponder. Ive been playing stuff from chill to prog to full-on in the same mix a bit, im not mad into full-on at the moment but i liking banging one or two tunes at the end of a set. Oh do people tend to keep a constant BPM, start from a point and go faster and go up and down. I know my questions seem quite simplistic and probably basic knowledge for your typical dj, but i have to learn!!

 

[Marc]

dont be daft - I ask the stupidest questions around here and probs compete well for making the least sense .. you gots to ask ! I think in summary if you wanna make tunes/ dj /wahtever practice+practice+more practice

I think on the bpm thang, for me it depends where Im playing. At labyrinth I started with funk and built it through house, breaks,prog etc - but that was start of the night. I think judging the mood is good. Also you can completely break the tempo rules and drop something fast/slow as shit from nowhere if you know its gonna make those bootys shake. Some of the most memorable sets Ive heard have been where the dj's just dropped something nuts from nowhere I think as with most of this shit you find whats right for you .. or you see what everyone does and do completely the opposite

peace,
m