Welcome! RAVE TILL I DIE - Episode 5
In this episode, I speed things up a bit. Mixing in 30 songs in just over an hour. Definitely, faster mixers are out there, but for me creating the groove is the most important, and one of the challenges of mixing quickly is the groove.
Mixing too quickly and you'll lose your audience but if you find the right balance you're engaging the audience. You're teasing the audience. The way I find to do this best is by listening to the music. Some songs you can mix quickly, while others need a bit more time.
For example many psytrance and classic trance tunes, especially the extended versions are great when mixing. With many featuring multiple drops that are each different. This helps to create unique blends. Allowing the ability to interquine songs, and move freely between 2, or 3 songs. One tune may be perhaps 6 minutes long, but you can mix in 3 separate pieces and many won't even notice. Some of these textures you may notice in the mix. Taking a bit from one, another from over there. Add this section here, another at the end. And I do quite a bit of that in this mix. Creating live mashups, reworks, and/or edits. Something I'd say has become a signature.
Fuck the Groove. Yep, that's right. Fuck it. For me, it's boring to maintain the groove constantly. It's like listening to "Melbourne Bounce" for hours on end. It has happened to me many times in clubs. After that first hour, the drops just don't feel the same, it all becomes lackluster. Yes, the groove is the most important, but it's a tug and pull. Present the groove, and get it going. Then cut it and present something new. Yes, it can be perceived as aggressive, almost a sin in the DJ world, but think outside the box. Don't let the groove control you.
I almost get the sense of watching certain DJs, they are so scared to break the groove. And if you have that perspective on things, you're gonna get that result. The audience will leave you. But if mixed cut with confidence, then the audience will feel you are in control of the mix, and they'll give you the room to experiment. Be confident in your skills as a performer. We're emotional creatures, not robots.
An interesting aspect I'd like to share for this episode is live reworks/mashups of remixes. Some of the most famous dance tunes have many remix versions available. Sure, sometimes it's great to play the original but if you find great remixes of the original, work with them to create something new. Take 2,3 remixes and create a new mashup from them. Mashups don't just have to be a stupid acapella a hundred times, they can be blends of songs and creative interpretations of remixes.
The mashup for "Sandstorm" is a good example. The"Adagio For Strings" is another one in the mix. The key here is presenting a new perspective of the song. Perhaps a faster take on things. A more aggressive tone, a different genre of music, and/or different keys of the orignial song.
This is something you can try for yourself. Can you notice the moment I do this? It's the same artist's song but the 2 remixes are in different keys. Listen carefully for it and you'll pick it up. This is something I talked about previously - harmonic mixing. Try implementing this in a breakdown section or before a drop, it can freshen things up. And expand the range of music you can mix with.
Thanks for checking out episode 5 - it was a joy to create this mix for you and to talk about some of the aspects I wanted to present in this mix for you. Please share with your friends and family. Enjoy those great times partying and catch ya in the next one.
I'd love to hear from you and about your musical journey. Please feel free to comment and talk about your experiences below.
Much Love,
Valarijex
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