DJing Energy Levels

[didi]

I don't think I'm thinking about the energy levels of the listener enough when I'm mixing. Any tips/advice

inb4 think about it more

[Genevieve]

At least you have goddamn listeners!

I don't know, I do this whole "brutal assault of syncopated distorted breaks and high speed distorted kickdrums" thing. Energy levels are always at a constant 150% and supplemented by stimulants

[outbound]

I usually aim low enough to give myself enough room to build up to my highest energy material.

Of course this can get a bit boring doing the up-ramp of energy every time so it's nice to switch it up every now and then, give yourself a break in there but still try to keep your highest energy stuff for about 3 quarters through and you should have a nice momentum going

[wub]

You mean mixing live in a club or recording a mix at home?

If it's mixing in a club/venue, it's fairly easy to gauge the crowd by looking at them, seeing what works and what doesn't on the dancefloor etc. Warmup is slightly harder but at the time slightly easier as you've got a blank canvas to start with. You can have at it with some broad swathes of leftfield electronica or Anime soundtrack cuts if you're building your own momentum as opposed to keeping an existing one going, slowly building things up to entice people to dance, maybe an old classic or a more current cut to be dropped at an opportune moment to signify a 'here we go...' moment.

If you're playing more peak time sets then you've got a dancefloor already. Or you should have if the warmup guys have done their job properly, nothing worse than having to come on after the opening guy has scared everyone off with 90mins of Now That's What I Call Generic Dungeon, for example. If you've had chance to see the crowd during the previous DJs set, you'll know what is working and what isn't, so you can take that knowledge and adapt it to your own selection. Boys love bass and girls like the occasional vocal, generally. But that's a broad generalisation, and every dancefloor is different so don't take as gospel.

A lot of it is trial and error. They liked that tune with the bassline and that tune with the vocal, so they should like this tune with the bassline and the vocal that I only got sent today by this shit hot producer who is relatively unknown. Again, another generalisation but you get the idea. No hard rules here, it's a case of taking what you know and adapting it to what you have...DJing is trial and error when you first get started and then experience takes over and it's a case of knowing your tunes inside and out, and being able to read the dancefloor and adapting accordingly.

If it's a case of recording a mix at home, then you've got a different set of challenges as you don't have a dancefloor to specifically read. That being said, you have the luxury of time and practice, so it's a case of how you want to approach the mix. For me, how I find works is the somewhat cliched 'tell a story' approach. The mix starts somewhere and finishes somewhere else. I don't give a shit how good the tunes are, if it's 70mins of the same pace and BPM then it gets really fucking boring for me really quickly.

I had a technique I use for planning mixes I called the James Bond approach. Like a Bond film opens with a BIG FUCK OFF ACTION SEQUENCE then the credits and the film begins in earnest, builds towards a big set piece, then a slight throttle down and then ramped back up for the finale. In the case of Skyfall, for example;

1. Opening - Big fuck off chase on bikes, Bond gets shot
2. Build up - Bond recovers and returns to help MI6 catch Silva
3. Big set piece - Silva escapes from M16, big shoot out and chase
4. Build up # 2 - Bond and M prep for final showdown
5. Finale - Explosions, guns, explosions, death

Applying this to a DJ mix using the same principles;

1. Opening - Big moment to capture the listener. Could be a massive tune, quirky sampled opener, swirly pad thing, one of your own tracks, bootleg etc
2. Build up - Continuing the same pace of big tunes would tire the listener out, so bring it right back down and start ratcheting up the tempo with your tunes
3. Big set piece - Another burst of a big tune, maybe a vocal cut, some mixing trickery, vocal layerying
4. Build up #2 - Taking what you've worked on in #3, gradually increase the tempo more and more until...
5. Finale - All fucking hell breaks lose. Triple dropping tunes, acapellas, distorted gabber kicks, massive tunes, your own soon-to-be-signed future classics, whatever. A memorable end that makes people finish their listening experience on a high.

Basically telling a story. I admit it's cliched as fuck and it doesn't work for everything but it's an idea I've used before that works. Doesn't suit all music styles, obviously and as with everything is a suggestion not a rule

[didi]

Cheers everyone for the response.

You mean mixing live in a club or recording a mix at home?

i actually came on to the subject from a mixlr experience

i basically played whatever the fuck i felt like switching from hi energy to low energy willy nilly and didn't hold the attention of anyone who locked in for a reasonable period of time.

that just got me thinking about taking more care with my selection and manipulating energy levels to keep listeners engaged. but yh im talking live more than mix at home.

the telling a story simile was interesting cheers for that wub.

I usually aim low enough to give myself enough room to build up to my highest energy material.

Of course this can get a bit boring doing the up-ramp of energy every time so it's nice to switch it up every now and then, give yourself a break in there but still try to keep your highest energy stuff for about 3 quarters through and you should have a nice momentum going

yh i think i agree.

At least you have goddamn listeners!

not really, the most ive had on a mixlr is probably four or five.

just want to keep the listeners engaged

[outbound]

Forgot to mention catering to your set time as well whoops.

As well as the energy of the tunes you are playing (lower energy for start of the night, high energy for peak time) mixing style is important to consider as well for these 2.

Like at peak time I like teasing tracks, double drop fader tricks etc but you do this sort of thing to an empty room at the start of the night and it's a little cringey. For opening sets I like to just go for smooth as possible transitions you may be using EQ to help there but it's to smooth the transitions, nothing abrupt or too 'exciting'. Likewise that style at peak times just smooth mixing one track to another may come off as 'boring'.

Time of tracks being played too. At the start of a night I prefer tracks to be played for longer and peak times shorter. Again no rules but I've found this is generally a very good way to get a night doing what you want it to.