Funny, was just reading the original article a few hours ago :D

Ah, whatever happened to rave-rap-electro-rock-ghetto-tech-favella-crunk? I miss that style.

first :)) but i don’t get it, after six months booked to play all around the brazilia? well they must have had total lack of good DJs or no ears :D here is situation different, really selective i could say. the good side is that you can meet microwave DJs only at shitty village discos (well at least majority of them), on the other hand, it’s really not easy to get in the club or booking agency even if you’re good.

i just can’t understand what the hell do the microwave DJs think about themselves :) i couldn’t play in a club unless i was 100% sure i’m good enough to do so…

Even though i see your point and understand it. At the end of the day its all about integrity. in both ways whether performer or promoter. Yes in the short run they might be able to get gig and perform but in the long run only those with integrity will be able to successfully in proper gigs.
On the other hand it pushes also veteran djs into moving into production and produce and even better product that they used to do since the knowledge they acquire.
i think there is a certain movement forward in terms of technology and there is a place for all layers of the industry.

my take on it ;-)

Never forget that most of you are ‘just a DJ’ and all you play is music that people ‘want’ to listen to. Never fall into the false belief that you’re some sort of artist…unless you actually add a creative technique to your mix and people come to listen to your interpretation of other peoples music.

And those big-name DJs are like pop-stars so unless you can generate that wave of support…pfft…don’t kid yourself.

Nice article that still holds very much true. But we’ve been complaining about this since day one, it’s never gonna stop.

The problem in all creative fields is the difference between being able to brag about yourself to get gigs, vs actual skills.

In the end, kicking ass and taking names is the only cure.

you rock jacob :D

we place too much emphasis on dj’ing. sorry, but its true. i think im with Deadmau5 on this one. producing your own tracks and remixes is where the talent is. programming a set is important, but its not exactly hard to play two songs at the same speed and drop some samples.
if all is beatmatched and has a good key flow the crowd will be fine. the standard club goer doesnt go home and say, ‘zomg the dj at the club was awesome.’ most people dont care. unless its a show for a specific dj,most people just want to have ‘fun.’
some djs get elevated to rock star status for playing some other rock stars songs.

Just can’t help but love your last sentence: ” epic rave-rap-electro-rock-ghetto-tech-favella-crunk set.”

Yeah, whether like it or not , that’s where it’s at… lol

Nice article and so true. : )

Surely looking forward to the story on you sister’s party!

Producing tracks may be the “art” of music but it doesn’t mean that there is no talent needed to DJ. Like Ean said it is a craft. And a DJ that wants to tour around a country and play in big clubs should have sharp enough skills to realize that two tracks aren’t beatmatched correctly. DJing is something that does take practice, hard work and dedication. Which is why we are criticizing “microwave djs”. We aren’t saying that they aren’t artists like the people who paid their dues (bc neither of them are), we are saying they aren’t true masters of the craft and therefore should spend more time in the bedroom honing their skills and less time skipping over learning the needed skills just to make it big fast.

what a great article, thanks for resurrecting it.

Hope a lot of readers would get that the gear doesn’t make you a Dj.In fact I’ve realised I even started to despise the word…

I really like the sentence “Microwave Dj… is a term applied to anyone who has not ‘paid their dues’ “

I used to write like this, too. As a woman DJing for 12 years now, I eventually realized that, wait, it’s only DJing.
I think if we wanted to have any real cachet in life we should probably be forming a jam band.
DJing doesn’t really put any of our ego out there or take any risks.

While I certainly think I am far better than most new DJs, it’s still just playing other people’s music.
Beatmatching, pitch matching, theme building, live mashups, crowd hyping, etc are mostly easily learned technical skills and pretty much pale in comparison to the risks of just holding a guitar in your hand or picking up a microphone.

DJs are there for the party. If you don’t DJ, the party will go on without you. So best not to worry about it too much.

Have seen quite a few examples of these aptly named Micro Wave DJ”s on the home circuit.

A haircut seems to be the only requirement for gigs these days.

DJing is art. Even in its most basic form, simply selecting one song to follow another, to illicit a response from an audience, qualifies it as art.

Saying that DJing isn’t as much of an art form as playing a guitar, or making a new music track is the same thing as saying that being a pianist isn’t as much of art form as writing a novel, or making a movie.

The truth is, there will always be different levels of expertise in any given art form, and an even harsher truth is that in any given art form, there will be individuals who are brought to the heights of stardom because they are beautiful, or young, or great at marketing themselves.

In the end, if the act of DJing isn’t creative to you, if you don’t feel its as expressive as another medium could be for you, or if you don’t feel as though the moments you are playing music for other is the most important in your life, and might be the most important moment in the life of the person you are playing for, then you should give a jam band, or painting, or writing a novel a shot.

Why? Because you’re taking my gigs, and you don’t deserve them.

LOL…I’m sure that I’m coming off super serious…its not that heavy.

But it kinda is.

To me, mixing is like cooking. (Yep, I’m a girl ; )
The quality of the ingredients and how they are “prepared” (timing, where you cut or introduce, order the songs) are important.
Also the accuracy; do your guests feel like eating that sort of dish?
And if not, how to introduce them to some exotic “flavors” by reassuring them with a few references they know?

Like in the kitchen, the mood of the chef is the key; a simple dish made with love and joy always taste better than some complicated and stressful stuff made to impress.
There are fastfood and gourmet restaurants, organic and chemical products. Whatever you feel like eating, it tastes good as long you’re in the mood for it.
After a while only, your body will react to what is absorbed.

So, I guess it’s right to say (except for the real “connoisseurs”) that most of the club crowd doesn’t care much about it as long as they’re having a good time.
But I believe the reason they’ll come back again, even if they can’t put a word on it (even if you’re just an oldskool vinyl-dj with no loops, samples, filters or tricks) is because you’ve mastered the art of cooking.
It takes time and practice to make a difference or maybe you’re just born with that gift.
Even without external technology and exactly the same playlist, different djs will produce different results. That’s the “Soul”.
You have it or you don’t.
And it’s the same if you use creative technique, controlerism and live remixing.

Quality food is an education and if 99% of the restaurants in town are junk-food, it becomes the norm and remains successful.
I mix in the most simple way and still find I have a long way to go because I had high quality references. We’re now in the golden era of the internet flooding. (Then will come a time for indigestion, then for the soup-diet?)
Internet provides tons of new mixes and djs and it’s always very easy to feel good because with a few clicks you can hear 10 000 djs who are simply “worst” than you.
Veterans djs sit on the same platforms beside beginners, talented, audacious and wannabees (Myspace, Soundcloud…). In order to survive they should create their own sanctuary.
If quality music and mixes had better visibility maybe it would help some people to think twice and refine their skills before going public?

Jacob – Kicking ass, taking names – awesome. I love it. And Cait, I’ve played the Trumpet, Piano, and Bass for fifteen years in jam bands, ska bands, and rock bands, and have felt my creativity flourish incredibly. But I finally went to DJ’ing a while ago, and I’ve discovered a realm of creativity and control with playing ‘other’ people’s songs that I haven’t felt before. It’s exactly like Franco said about the pianist. Also, hypying the crowd/beatmatching/pitch adjusting/live mashups; these all just aren’t techniques used for the sake of being a DJ that can be easily learned. Just like painting, just because you know how to use a paint stroke doesn’t mean you know how to use it in the right place and WHY to use it.

Ean, loved the last bit. Promoters do have a point – he crowd might not be able to notice all the things a vet does that makes him/her infinitely better. But that doesn’t mean clubs should book microwave dj’s. Just like a museum shouldn’t put a piece of art up that is done by a crappy artist. People walking through may not have any idea that the art is crap, but that doesn’t justify promoters hiring kids with a laptop and knowledge of how to use bittorrent to come play for crowds who pay money and time to be at an exclusive club/lounge. Promoters really should have better knowledge of the music end of things instead of just business, and DJ’s sometimes could maybe have a bit better understanding of the biz end too ;-) As usual, being well-rounded rarely hurts.

ha its still true in Berlin ive been living here for a year and although im digital im still a bit shy about it all the Djs are still Vinyl and still play minimal although the minimal is getting a bit more housey and techy now its still daunting to even think about try to got to a club when your, a) starting out and b)not the biggest minimal fan and c) using a midi controller and computer.

This article is pretty pesimistic, even if it does try to make up for it with the positives at the end :P

We live in an age of un-filtered communication (a good thing). This gives people more freedom to express them selves to everyone with an internet connection, whether it’s with a shitty blog about their favourite kind of roof tiling that no one reads or if they’re a youtube DJ who posts videos of themselves mixing badly.

People need to stop being so up their own ass about these sorts of things. People have this incredibly annoying habit about skill based tasks:

People who drive manual cars think people who drive automatics are crappy drivers, people who DJ on vinyl think digital DJ’s are amateurs, person X who had to learn task Y 5-10 years ago and it was really really hard to learn hate person Z who learnt task Y in 5 seconds because TECHNOLOGY HAS ADVANCED SINCE THEN.

Seriously if we all did things the way people did them years ago the human race would get no where and shrivel up and die. It’s called luddism and it’s bad.

The people who stay shit at task Y will quit, or fade away, or they’ll become acceptable at task Y and people won’t notice. Then some people will become so proficient at task Y that they’ll evolve it into something better, and hey presto the human race has advanced 0.00000000000000000000000000000001%!

Sorry that was a bit of a rant :P

Defining what is and what isn’t art is arguable. So I appologize for that disputable statement. If you think that DJing provides you with an expressive outlet then it is art to you. But to say that one doesn’t deserve to play gigs because they don’t feel the same way doesn’t sit right with me. I obviously see DJing more of a craft than art for a lot of reasons. If I listed them all it that would just take too much of space in a blog response. But DJing is also a lot of fun. And that’s what I get out of it. Pure enjoyment. Not that I feel creative like a musician who produces music or a painter who creates a painting.

Just a newbie checking in… Had a dream last night. Took over a parking space and was mixing and laughing with my friends who were all dancing in the small rectangle of street, a nano-club of our own. Open, fun and free. Woke up happy. Seems like the prize to keep my eyes on is just finding my own voice in the music and the joy of sharing it with others. Everything else will take care of itself…

I duno man, I think there deffinitly is a creative aspect to it. Think about beat juggling or the feeling when you do such a seemless mix on the fly, or when your just waiting to hear how the transition will sit when mixing two songs and you all of a sudden do something really creatvie and the crowd goes nuts.

DJ’ing is deffinitly not the hardest thing in the world. But you could say the same thing for people that play sports. Playing the sport may not be hard but people do excell in it greatly and they get much respect for that.

But speaking of digital DJ’ing I still think we are in an awkward age where the transistion is taking place and people are butting heads. Once even more “producer style” techniques are brought to the table in a on the fly setting for DJ’ing and stuff starts to get more involved, Instead of now where digital DJ’ing is just copying the old way of DJ’ing(excluding Ableton) Mix track one with track two on Deck A and B. Don’t get me wrong that method has held the test of time over the years and it works but DJ’ing digitally I think will become alot more involved then it is just now. Instead of just syncing tracks and adding loops and effects for flair. Who knows what the future brings?

this scenario, as stated above in the post, reminds me of the infinite monkey theorem.

In the end I think it is best to judge djs by the crowd response.

I mean, it may make it a bit more noble or something that somebody worked hard for developing skills, but it’s not a necessary condition for a good dj.

Classic! Its true too. In my town, many bars are booking novice DJs who play for free. I understand that they need the exposure and are happy to play for nothing, but it means that experienced DJs find it harder to get paying gigs. Moreover, many of these novice DJs have only been DJing for a few months and fit the description above perfectly. Some are pretty good…but many have no style, no taste, and limited musical understanding.

A DJ is a profession in the Entertainment/Music BUISNESS. It’s just that, a buisness. Whether you’ve been playing for 30 years or 30 days it doesnt matter. In the long run it all boils down to one thing-MONEY! Promotters and club owners could care less if you “paid your dues or not”. Save the sappy stories for American Idol.
If you really want to knock out these “microwave DJs” you have to stoop to their level.You have to learn how to market yourself and build connections like they do. The problem is these cats have figured out something most DJ’s take a while to figure out. Unfortunately, it’s not about art or music. It’s about packing a club full of people and making the most profit from a situation.
I live in Miami and I am part of the minority of club goers. Im what you can call a “club connoiseur”. I DJ because I love the music and the club scene. However, recently every time I go out these shitty DJs are making my ears bleed. I went to see Mark Knight the other night and the guy that opened for him was AWFUL! What sucked even more is that he played for like 4 hours! By the time Mark Knight came out (who rocked the house BTFW)I didnt even want to listen to this type of music anymore.
You might be asking yourself: “how can someone that sucks open for a big name DJ like that?” answer: he was the owner of the club! It sucks but the bottom line is that he plays the game better than anyone in this town. You have to respect him for that at least.

What an ending but I love the article

Bad taste in my mouth

The influx of technology and open communication via the Internet has created a pattern throughout all forms of artistic expression–DJ, writing, filmmaking, etc. It is the same argument: the craft diluted, newcomers with new, easy-to-use technology (be it YouTube, Traktor, or Final Cut). The veterans who had to put in hours of practice to do something a novice can done with one click.

Ean’s right–DJs should learn the fundamentals before they throw themselves out there and blast cheesy 80s remixes (Your Bmore?). But I think one must embrace this technology rather than be left out in the dust. True–newcomers like me have it way easier and are taking shortcuts, but that’s the name of the game. The laptop DJ is here to stay. If you have ever been to a Girltalk concert (yes–he is a producer rather than a DJ but that point is moot), I have never seen American college-aged kids get some worked up. And this is a guy with a Panasonic (not even the standard Mac) laptop covered in Saran Wrap.

Very nice article.
I agree in the fact that listening to microwave dj sets is a total bummer but there’s something positive abuot them though: they revitalized the scene and lower the big “godfather” expensive DJs from their ivory pedestals.
Furthermore, not all microwave DJs are bad and I am sure than most veteran DJs sucked in their very first “Brazil” tours.

PS: Technoytonic are touring now! They played here in Argentina a few months ago.

[quote comment="27767"]Never forget that most of you are ‘just a DJ’ and all you play is music that people ‘want’ to listen to. Never fall into the false belief that you’re some sort of artist…unless you actually add a creative technique to your mix and people come to listen to your interpretation of other peoples music.

And those big-name DJs are like pop-stars so unless you can generate that wave of support…pfft…don’t kid yourself.[/quote]

well said. as much as I love djing and appreciate the work GOOD djs do… my opinions lean on this side of things.

As an artist who pursues creative outlets outside of djing that require much more time/dedication, skill and talent to do properly (screenwriting/film-making, visual design and music production) – I can humbly admit that DJing as a craft shouldn’t be held in such high regard. This is especially true when comparing DJing to just about every other art form. The only exceptions are guys who use turntables/controllers as an instrument like Q-Bert and Muldover.

The only bad thing about these “Microwave Deejays/Producers” is them bragging about how they are in the top 100 on hypem. When did this mean you are a good producer? Okay so you made a crappy remix and told all your myspace friends to add it to their favorites. Wow your cool!

Sorry, it is what it is…

DJing is a skill. DJing can be taken to an artform.
But who are we kidding here? DJing is not hard. Rocking a party is not hard. Finding awesome creative mixes is not hard. These things are fun. Not hard.
I agree with duerr and holotropik.

Compared to my peers, I am a very eclectic and creative DJ. Check my site and tell me otherwise. But I still know my place. I wouldn’t dare compare myself to a professional painter.

If you don’t agree, that’s cool. But I would appreciate if you reply with links to your mixes that you feel are creative expressions, that truly say something about you as a person, and convey something deeper than the mere act of selecting and interconnecting whatever tracks you currently find hot.

Cait, you are officially my hero. everything you’ve said is spot on.

Dj’ing is first about selection since the invention of the dj I think, technical stuff comes after that. Lotta technicians like scratchers and stuffs are interesting on youtube but boring on a party.
The laptop technology let a certain amount of people with intersting eclectism and tastes start in the dj scene without worrying about all this beatmatchin’ journey before startin’ dj’ing. I think that’s a good thing.
It create also an mount of hipsters lookin’ for fast and easy celebrity but there’s shit like that in rock’n roll, graphics and more… Maybe they get some bookings but the crowd isn’t so easy, it works like 6 months for them and they’re out I think…

I totally agree with this. I’ve had years of music training, and it literally hurts my ears to hear some DJs. The saddest part is that some of them have regular gigs around town, whereas I only play house parties (i personally like them the best, no rules!). Not saying I’m jealous of their gigs, but I consider playing a club to be the top of the line, and these guys are so questionable that I would doubt their ability to even handle a small private party. I’m not against new DJs, because I think it’s great that more people are getting into music, it’s just people are so quick to think that they’re the best shit in town.

And what’s up with scratching? Anyone who thinks they can touch a record and make it go “errr” is instantly an awesome DJ. The worst part, is that anyone who merely SEES that a DJ has tables instantly honor him is the end-all be-all of entertainment. Now the fact that I despise scratching is obviously a debatable opinion, but the fact that it brings instant credibility just sickens me.

Maybe here in a few years, people will move onto other things and thin the pool a bit.

It truly saddens me to see some of the comments here. Please, please, take ten minutes to learn what can REALLY be achieved by playing records, and know what a Dj should strive to be.

http://www.djhistory.com/features/larry-levans-paradise-garage

Intro teaser:

“Larry Levan’s Paradise Garage

Putting a roomful of people in the moment. Amazing them, surprising them, challenging, even confusing them; pushing, electrifying, loving them; carrying them with you towards a better place. Shaking the dull daylight out of their bones, waking them into their other life. Few people know what great DJing is really about. Those who don’t dance think of wacky radio presenters and gabby wedding spinners; they have a real problem seeing how playing records could be a performance.

But, ironically, most of today’s young clubbers can be just as clueless when it comes to separating a good DJ from a bad one. UK club culture, with its rootless brand-name jocks and their two-hour guest sets, has bred dancers with a painfully short attention span. Our dancefloors might throw their hands in the air for a clever technical mix, a swift key change or a bombastic snare roll, but they’re largely immune to anything that takes a bit longer to achieve – like pacing, building, teasing, exploring. Sadly, these days most of us just want to pay our money and get an immediate dance fix. We’re happy to be switched on by manipulative drug-pop and thrashed around at fever pitch all night. It’s rare today to find a DJ brave enough to take a crowd down as well as up. Or to reflect emotions more complex than mad-for-it ecstasy, or to play music outside the narrow focus of their niche. Or to throw a risky curveball or two and ‘cleanse’ the dancefloor for a fresh start. When you find a DJ willing to do more than stitch together a bunch of surefire floorfillers, shake his hand.”

Look at you all ! big sentence and funky words are ussed for nothing more then making poeples dance and enjoy they nite out.
The way i see thing is that who give a shit about the dj? really sorry to hurt your ego! off course as a dj my self i do pay attention to the guy in tha dj box but others don’t give a shit about who, when, and the gear they ussing.The music have to be what you expected when you pay your way in but the all the other factor are not important. Wicked that you look good and that you have been a dj in the 90 and you traine like hell and spend millions on gear, good on you ! Microwave dj or wathever else you call them are just poeples like you putting trax’s togheter for the masses to dance and enjoy they time in. You’s are arrogant and with your attitudes microwave dj will take over becausse its 2010 and its a new deal and concept so you better get usse to it or stay home and play for your sister!!

I would point out this story is not new. beatmatching itself was not a very difficult task to learn back when all you had were turntables. everytown saw the rise of brash up and comers who bought $100 in records and were playing big clubs ahead of establishing DJs, thanks to connections/coke deals or whatever.

as with everything in life, its all politics – not much has to do with talent as a DJ.

wax wrote:
[quote comment="27834"]I would point out this story is not new. beatmatching itself was not a very difficult task to learn back when all you had were turntables. everytown saw the rise of brash up and comers who bought $100 in records and were playing big clubs ahead of establishing DJs, thanks to connections/coke deals or whatever.
[/quote]

Thanks for bringing this up, I couldn’t agree more.
I remember back in the mid 90s when we would hunt down ragga jungle tracks that other DJs couldn’t get, and it was the same story when the mad represses and bootleg 12″s started coming out. It was the same belly-aching about the new kids coming in and hadn’t worked as hard as the rest of us to get that rare track.

And nico, that’s all very romantic, but it’s also a very long-winded way of saying “the drugs were good.” The technical details aren’t very complicated, but it’s made to be a profound sentiment, and is typical of “DJ as god” hogwash where the memories of the night are for my inspiring than the music itself.

The thing that annoys me about “DJ as god” culture, and which is often overlooked in these kinds of conversations, is it is the party that matters, not the DJ. It is the people that give it their all on the dancefloor and bring their energy. It’s not the DJ as supreme controller, it is the party, the moment, that is important.
You can rock the craziest house party with just an Ipod.

I don’t remember DJS. I remember parties.

‘Express Cook’ this! Microwave DJ’rs!!!…. Just kidding… However you mix, have fun and enjoy the music!

I’ve defended the fact that noobs need to learn how to beatmatch, but after years of experience and getting into more of the controller/software technology, you really don’t benefit from it at all. It’s more of an egotistical thing and I guess, bragging rights. Technology has made this easier like syncing tunes together, but it takes a lot more for someone to be creative and take advantage of the technology at hand (i.e. controllers).

Hi Cait!

It seems we didn’t see the same things in that slab of fairytale disco nostalgia I posted. Dj as God? Ultimately, you will deserve the respect of others or won’t. Now if you regularly deliver transformative experiences to others, it is pretty much inevitable that some will look up to you in awe, but damn! Don’t let that get to your head, because you are only a catalyst and a facilitator, and in the end people do this to themselves.

You play music and people who play great music become prey to the ‘rock star’ phenomena. With close to no exception, though, all the above-the-rest performers I’ve ever met are really down to earth and nice guys, the more shitty they are the more they act like pricks.

And why is that? Because to do that job you need to care about others, have empathy, feel them, to be able to use the music to benefit them. If you are on an ego trip, you probably don’t have those qualities available and thus will suck.

But I see that you agree with that anyway. It’s all about the party, and all about the people, not about you. But don’t expect people to not notice it was you who done it :)

Dj as puppet master? Oh, yeah. This is also inevitable, because this is at the heart of what we do. We get people into a controlled environment, and the more control we have over the sound, the lights, even the temperature of the room, the better, because those are the tools we use to change the inner state of people. So technique and tools are important, as in any music playing, because technique allows to express yourself and for this expression to be received. But it should always be at the service of the ‘soul’, if you have technique but no soul it can be interesting but is totally missing the point.

But I think we mostly agree on all this.

And yeah the drugs were goods too, but that is not the point either, I’ll dump them into the same environmental factors as all the rest.

Hi Stev!

While I agree that beatmatching skills are not as necessary as they were, they still are an essential part of the sound of dejaying, and I believe this is something that needs to be learned for several reasons. I wrote something about it here: http://www.djtechtools.com/2008/06/13/phasing-old-school-beatmatching-for-all/

Great article and I totally agree. 90% of the Clubs over here in Ireland pay their DJ’s crap and all they do is turn up with a few tracks and press play. Most of them using Virtual DJ or some other useless programme on the laptop to transition the tracks really poorly. Never knew there was a term for such DJ’s.
Microwave DJ’s – Love It :D

I had put the challange to a test. Laptop,VCI100 and aside a set of CDJ’s and 4ch mixer. i set up a stage for a 3 DJ gig. 2 were playing CDJ’s and me “The microwave set”. For back up reasons i alwas take 2 Burned cd’s with 20 songs. The same are on a playlist in my TR-pro. I had shown the other DJ’s my controller. But they didn’t want to use it….They said my laptop being an easy way to DJ, so i switched to the CDJ’s and played on. I asked them to do the same, and switch to my set…Bad or no results.
Bottom line in my opinion is know how of the equipment and music that you play. Technology is advancing our abillity to give special effects and samples to create a on the fly live remix or flavour to a song.
Long live technology, but explore all styles and equipment to become the best you can. Comes down to ART….
Doing or being good is a result by your influence and ability to adapt to the crowd. If you play well the club owner will be happy. If you make a show everybody will be happy, regardless if you use a ‘Microwave” or vinyl or CDJ’s.

Just because someone did something for 10 years doesn’t mean he/she is better.

A-Trak won a DMC after djing for like 1.5 years.

a competition that is based on skills alone. not taking anything away from any of these strictly house djs. i myself enjoy house music and love playing it in my rave-rap-electro-rock-ghetto-tech-favella-crunk sets. but any time you see a dj scratching, beat juggling while rocking a party you know they’ve practiced for hours. that is why they get respect. doesn’t matter how long it took them to get the hang of it. if you suck but love what you do you’ll eventually become good through the love of the ART. if you don’t love it you probably won’t do it for long anyways.

Djing would be so much more then it is if Djs would stop hating on each other and start learning from each other. We’re all in this together right?

Guess the common thread I see poppong up in this discussion is: Don’t hate the tools hate the (ab)user.

I have to admit I’m a little on the fence about the DJ is/is not an artist argument. But then again I don’t consider myself a traditional DJ. Sure I spin stuff at home for fun and the occasional wedding gig, but when I play out, it’s either in a band context, along with a vocalist, a keyboardist & a guitarist, or as a way to somehow recreate my solo sample experiments live. So If I DJ in a band playing out our own studio creations, or mix & loop samples that I’ve created on keyboards or my bass guitar, am I an artist or not?

ok so im a bedroom producer and dj for me i just wanna get in the club and have a good time and make a lil money on the side, ive always wanted to entertain with music, djing is fun and with this new micro-wave technology its easier than ever, house parties are full of drunk stupid kids that talk your ear off and ruin your equipment (not worth it_), ide rather work my ass off trying to recognized by a club owner and promoter then get a 20 min opening set. just to see if they like what i do and then go from there. im not asking for a 2 hour set from 11-1 (prime time_) also i practiced for a year before i did my first house party and 2 years before i did my first club so with that said even tho im a microwave dj i do have skill i do practice 4 hours or more every chance i get. and if i could shit on all the shitty ass dj’s with pioneer djm800′s and cdj 1000mk3′s i would. i cant afford that stuff but im 20 time better than they are. what dj doesnt know you can use your headphones as a mic??? those are the kinds of dj’s you need to stay away from

[quote comment="27782"]Producing tracks may be the “art” of music but it doesn’t mean that there is no talent needed to DJ. Like Ean said it is a craft. And a DJ that wants to tour around a country and play in big clubs should have sharp enough skills to realize that two tracks aren’t beatmatched correctly. DJing is something that does take practice, hard work and dedication. Which is why we are criticizing “microwave djs”. We aren’t saying that they aren’t artists like the people who paid their dues (bc neither of them are), we are saying they aren’t true masters of the craft and therefore should spend more time in the bedroom honing their skills and less time skipping over learning the needed skills just to make it big fast.[/quote]

so i read on and came across DJ R3 Bonaire’s post the thing is i have the aspiration to test, use, and become competent using all different types of equipment but i dont have access to them i would love to have 1 cdj 1 turntable 1 torq controller and 1 tracktor controller set up on a djm800 but i dont have the luxury of having over 8 grand to shell out. i have the want in my heart for this but i just dont have the funds. i do the best with what i have and if that makes me a micro-wave dj so be it. but if dj’s wernt on such a power trip and would actually let other ppl use their equipment maybe i would be able to navigate a cdj or turntable.

Well i got to be honest about some thing, i am not a PRO DJ but do the same as Handata. DJ for the fun and love of music and entertainment.I remember as a teen using casette tapes and making loops and glued remix tapes, kind of beat jugling remixes.But now my main thing is FOH/ST mixing of live bands. So call me an Sound Eng. with a passion for DJ-ing. My roots come from sound systems and enginering. Playing with my or other equipment is a privilege, but if one has the feeling and knowledge to do so you can develop your own best. There is always people judging, like i did once. I was at the opening of a new club in vegas in 2008. The DJ was in my opinion bad, i could do much better. Later that evening i was looking at the crowd and they were all happy and sales were doing well… I made there a mistake i will never do again. The DJ was very OK to the crowd and club, but i judged it in my own vision.. Tiesto isn’t Deadmau5 and Guetta isn’t Benassi and Picasso wasn’t Rembrandt, or all ART would look the same. Each Dj has find its own way to play,explore,produce and use different equipment to establish his best DJ style..
Use what ever one can purchase or get on equipment and make the best out of that.
One thing i am against is to play for Free. If something is for free one can never complain if it is good or bad and it screws up the market. Nicer would be a Promo play without pay but a possible contact for a next gig.

I agree with Micro’s last statement, “Djing would be so much more then it is if Djs would stop hating on each other and start learning from each other. We’re all in this together right?”… If this so called “I have been dj’ing for ten yrs” stop crying about the new technology of dj’ing, everything will be moving forward faster. But you are right about how some ppl abused it, and never learned the basics, it just gives us a bad name. I started with vinyls, skipped cd’s lol, and I have learned the skills. Even when Im using my setup, which is all digital, I still beatmatch. I still wanna go back to the time when I was playing about with vinyls. It may not feel or look the same, but its there. And plus when I regretfully sold my tables and wanted to get back into it, going digital made more sense to me financially. I get some looks from an old friend of mine that still hearts vinyl but the funny thing is he is using SSL, which to me is digital/microwave dj’ing lol… he probably made that switch 5 yrs ago and I know he’s been dj’ing for more than 20 yrs.

The microwave-dj phenomenon is caused by a recent access to cheaper technology and media but also by a new social assertion (the Andy Warhol’s 15 minutes of celebrity). If the public keeps staring with fascination to a guy who cut his toenail on TV (Big Brother), why wouldn’t people listen to the boy next-door trashing a mix?
There is a lot of complacency in front of mediocrity but also jubilation: visibility and celebrity are no longer a private ground for privileged and pros . Everybody get exposed (You Tube/ Twitter etc.) for the best or the worst. The selection is made by popular casting and not in a manager’s office. True talent reside among them for sure but It will take time now to get back to an homogeneous quality level, this “visibility flood” is a never-ending process. About the “art or not art”, “hard or not hard”…I guess the way people attribute djs some value or not, pay attention or not depends of each one’s sensibility and intellect.

[quote comment="27774"]Just can’t help but love your last sentence: ” epic rave-rap-electro-rock-ghetto-tech-favella-crunk set.”

Yeah, whether like it or not , that’s where it’s at… lol

Nice article and so true. : )[/quote]

they love it here in deep deep (deep) south texas and they won’t let it go….

This article makes me laugh at you Ean Sorry.

There is a whole lot of passive aggression in this article that seems to stem from “There was no technology when I came up, So I spent more time in my bedroom than you and it makes me angry when we play together!” “So I ran to one of the most elitist scenes in the world and I feel better about myself!”

You spent 10 years workings a day job to finnally be able scratch yer way out of your bedroom? That Doesn’t mean you put in more dues.

I learned to laser, crab, transform and so much more in about 6 months because of Qberts tutorial DVD/Battle Record combo. So In turn I geuss im just a poser and not a true blood OG DJ I didnt take the bus across town to spend 8 hours digging thru Records to pay $12 each. I MUST HAVE NO PASSION AND DONT DESERVE MY TIMESLOT. IM JUST A QBERTWAVE DJ.

Bottomline: If you’ve been playing for along time and someone new steps up and rocks your floor harder and takes the music to the next level it means you need to get your shit together and be a better DJ, NOT START THE HATE TRAIN on Technologies/methods you don’t use.

Hey, I am a Pro I read all comments.
Just to clear the ART question: yea, even this little phenomenon evolved. Da Vinci, Brunelleschi were Renaissance-Designers. Artists as discussed here, with their golden aura, could only develop in contrast to a well established design-aristocractic tradition which for many hundreds of years was close to kings, popes, was strongly ruled by rules, iconography and all that. Without the Dj-technique-tradition no controller-movement.
What was missed throughout all comments: even a pro-dj can have a bad day/booth or no audience because of a vast amount of reasons and not only at least is this a subjectively made judgement. One just cannot judge a human or her skills based on one performance.

ManDingo agrees with some elements of all contributions to this article. Just do ManDingo a favour and keep that St. Tropez bubble gum recycled house pop SHYTE away from my ears!!!

It’s all about the SKILLS as a dj to mix, to select-program the right tunes on the fly to make things happen in real time live or in the studio, selecting your tunes which reflect your sound ( you may have a chill sound or a more aggressive sound for different events), you might create live music all day in your set, you may have a good ear to produce tracks, whatever the case may be you better be good at it. If you kick ass you will find your audience and they will multiply if you deliver. And to deliver at that level consistently will take commitment and practice. I find mixing is always a learning experience…there is always a different way to mix and transition for maximum affect and impact. I get a kick outta dj’s that sound like they have that perfected. That means having the skills and knowing your tunes WELL to be able to manipulate them do to whatevea wheneva you want. If you been spinning a long or short time, if you have talent through hard work people will respond to that.
So, yes! Everyone and their grandmother is spinning but I think it will be easy to spot the real deal over a SELF GRATIFYING, NARCISSISTIC, CHEESEBALL!!!!

I hear yah on a lot of the fronts. I think that promoters/venues are booking DJ’s more based on ‘pull’ than on quality of performance. This year I pretty much told myself.. I’ll tell ppl about the gig but I’m not gonna stress bringing people there, my job is to either play what I’m booked for or to do my thing.

Z-Trip nailed it when your interviewed him at NAMM. The most important piece of gear you should have is soul. I don’t really hate those ppl who get gigs so quickly. I envy it a lil because they never felt what it was like to play Hardstyle in north beach at fuse on a Monday night (LOL) to 5 people and feel great about it. They wont have the wisdom that comes with experience.

Great article, once again Eon. As a dj, I consider myself an artistic performer because every time I play I infuse my character, knowledge of music and personality into my sets. Although, I may be requested to play music I dont like, the fact is, I play in my own style. Its sad that promoters are contributing to the “microwave dj’s” phenomenon. I do think that if you are a dj and you consider yourself a professional, you should want to push the envelope and utilitize technology not just to make what you do easier but to add additional elements to your sets.

Its like the analogy about buying a cheeseburger. You can buy a cheeseburger from Wendys, McDonalds, and BurgerKing. You can also go into any Five Star restaurant and buy a cheeseburger.

I rather be a cheeseburger that you can only purchase from a five star restaurant.

Edubbs, NYC

I love this thread. Wawerkit out! You will find my tsi file for the microwave mapping at the end of this comment.

Seriously, though the deeper into music I go the happier I am. Do whatever you do to the best of your ability and always progress. Being alive means moving forward. So don’t get too stuck on the prefaceing of DJ with “laptop, microwave, breaks, vinyl,…ect”. Who knows what the future of DJing is. I just don’t wanna miss out on anything fun. I need to go take some piano lessons now, thanks DJing.

Wait, if I use an Oxygen 8 as a controller, am I a “piano DJ”?
Microwave.tsi

The main thing here is these days your gradma could call herself a dj and use software to beatmix some tunes together.
But is your grandma a dj the answer is no,
Whislst beatmixing and accesse to tunes is now easier than ever
the true art of the dj is playing the perfect tune for the moment it may not be the easiest/best mix it may not be able to be overlayed as a keymix but the best djs will pick the right track for the moment and use their experience gathered from hours of playing to actual live people.
People get too hung up with technique at the expense of reading the crowd.
You could in a live situation have 2 djs one who was awsome technicaly and one who was technically average but awesome at reading the crowd this guy would come out on top each and every time without a shadow of a doubt[unless it was a dmc scratch contest].
The old jamican tern for a dj was a SELECTA a selector of tracks that was his skill.
Whilst automatching looping reversing scratching etc are all very good tools to have at your disposal they are just that TOOLS, nobody in the crowd realy gives a fuck.[oh went out last night had a great night did you hear that dj loop that breakdown]
At the end of the day the music has to flow and make sense to the crowd and above all the dj has to read the crowd and play the music and put it together well for the benifit of the crowd not his own personal ego.
Its not just one or two flash mixes its the sum of all the parts that counts

Just to add im listening back as I write to a live Judge Jules set at MOS in london.
To ilistrate the technical thing his mixes are very simple intro to outro, on some they are going slightly out of time
But you can be sure he is spending most of his time watching the dancfloor and choosing his next track based on the reaction of the crowd to the one he is currently playing

Great read. CAIT I couldn’t agree with you more. Tony C was spot on about being a selecta. Larry Levan a legendary DJ but basicaly just a amazing track selecta. On DJaying as an art I think you all should check out Public Enemy’s instrumentals by Terminator X also re-educate yourself with Z-Trip & DJ Shadow, those guys are artist total track deconstruction on the decks! So that brings me to this personal experience, Giles Peterson is a world famous djay/ selecta. I’ve seen him play sold out venues in the late 90′s early 2k. This guy has been on the radio and on the net for at least 10 years or more discovering acts from all over the world. When playing live he barely beat matches and seldom has flawless transition. When he walks into the club everyone wants to take photos with him and shake his hand. He is looked up to by the likes of Oakenfold and Teitso. He plays 12inches, CDRs and MP3s. He uses a laptop and turntables. I really don’t think he practices. Whenever I saw him the crowd had an amazing time. I had a great time and my friends all had a great time. Point is he played GREAT MUSIC, he traveled the world and brought you sounds that no one would have for ahwile or probably never will. He played demos and unsigned artist. he played stuff from the net and random tracks that people emailed to him. Giles, just has the ear for what people will like. He has soul. No skills, just a great ear for music and SOUL.
He found his niche long ago and has his followers on each continent, you’ve probably never heard of him cos he isn’t a superstar deejay. You don’t need to be. Just play good music and you will find your crowd. Skills and dues don’t mean dam thing if you simply can’t move the crowd…

The flip side is this is with mp3 sites, anyone can release a dance track now, so it seems I spend hours going through crappy songs just to find something worth playing out.

I stopped posting my setlists about 8-10 years ago when I realized another DJ was just downloading everything I played off napster after I spent all that time and money to find those tracks.

NICE points CAIT:

Ive been a staple floor personality in my scene for 17 years. While djing and promoting shows myself. Ive watched seasoned veterns go.. some gladly. Ive watched newcomers FAIL new comers Succeed and Newcomers take every single one of my gigs and FAIL. But Im still dancing. And everyone stands around looking at me .. trying to figure out what Im talking about.

Man I just love to make people dance!Hell i’d do this for free,
but the equipment cost like a Mutha! And my family won’t pay
me when they want me to play at their partys! Sucks to be a Microwave dj.But wtf I’m lovin it and that’s what counts!
Maybe one day i’ll earn the respect of the masters!LOL
Peace People…………me dj

I notice a post about being with ‘deadmau5′ ‘on that one’.

He has little option as the guy cannot Dj, i dont care what any new age numpty says about it not being important to beatmatch traditionally, it is! Software locking does not do it 100% all the time nor even 80%, more offten one track needs manually nudged in time with the other(s), how do people suggest they do this if they do not know what they are listening for, or even hear that there is a discrepancy to begin with?

Building some cheesy, mainstream tainted pish on ableton is one thing but djing whether traditionally or via software and controllers is vastly different ball game, it is far easier to create one track in live, probably using pre made, perfectly synced samples than it is using complete tracks to build a decent set, where things like levels, dynamics and energy as well as timing come into consideration. My advice is for some off these overnight so called jocks to carry on doing whatever they are enjoying because at the end off the day……..they make us old skool guys with the KNOWLEDGE and the TECHNOLOGY remain on another level.

look…in todays party scene it aint about the DJ set anymore (and i know people might not agree )but, the atmosphere of the party. Most of time when people see the flyer and see the DJs, they dont have a clue who they are, they just go to have a good time. Thats not to say that if the music is weak no ones going to notice because they will but, im saying now and days music skill is really necessary.

AeeVar(LA)

“rave-rap-electro-rock-ghetto-tech-favella-crunk set.”

Somewhere, somehow, some producer/DJ is making this sound GOOD.
Ean what did she play? On paper it looks kind of scary/terrible. But in some ways, it looks like it has potential.

Hi

I read this post two times.

I like it so much, please try
to keep posting.

Let me introduce other
material that may be good for our community.

Source:

Nightclub promoter job description

Best regards

Henry