HI there !
I'm seeing some videos of big electronic music festival, I noticed that the DJ does not use the cds ( I know they are now obsolete), but on his desk did not even see any laptop or device only see the mixer and the two consoles (maybe SD cards ?).
I wonder if the music tracks come from the direction and they are a sequence of already-mixed songs to which the dj applies only some cuts and some effect, I think the dj no longer even mix the tracks
am i wrong ?.
thx bye

(great music selection tho...)

 

Last edited: Apr 17, 2017

It appears Djs are now performers of musical sign language. I really want to see more performances with Ableton clips and having live drum pads, keyboards and such. I know Glitch Mob has been going in that direction

 

As a Professional DJ, I can ensure you that those guys are actually Clowns.
90% of them are playing pre recorded sets made by someone else, and they just stay there (Most of the time with the equipment shut down) trowing cakes and jumping.... just like in the Circus

 

that's more than just ableton clips & a few pads, it's a whole (badass, btw ) custom-design audio-control system, we're far from the usual DJ stuff.
i'm learning ableton because i want to make some techno-dub-ambiant sh*t-whatever ( trying to mix all the electro genre i like actually ) and because i want to go perform live in front an audience,
and i was watching chris liebing live setup the other day, it's already a lot to take on the road,

but this you've posted is already some top level gear with A LOT of preparation before they go on tour.
but thank you for the video, nice behind the scene sh*t, it would deserve a proper documentary

and honestly, i'm pretty sure the cake was made by a ghost-baker

happy easter, guys

 

Technically these people are NOT a DJ. many of em are playing a pre arranged mix and fake turning knobs and mixing.
Fans call them DJs cuz:
1. they dont have a proper understanding of DJing
2. they think any dance music producer should be called a DJ
3. half of these kids in mainstream festivals are drunk or high they dont care. really. people love to see the guy up there cut the highs frequently and shout GO FUCKING CRAZY!!

 

The majority of CDJs I see these days can also read from USB storage devices. You can identify these because the top of the player is tilted for easier reading. You can even see a thumb drive sticking out of the left player he's using. That's why you don't see CDs anymore. Its just more convenient to bring a flash drive than a book of CDs.

As for whether or not his mix was pre-arranged and he's just going through the motions, I would have to watch more of his set before deciding on that. There are certain things to look for like if he's alternating decks, using the crossfader, using the CDJs to browse through his music, etc. But in the end, as long as the crowd is enjoying themselves, then he's fulfilling his obligation. The crowd is just as responsible for allowing DJs to basically do the equivalent of lip-syncing. They shouldn't support DJs who don't perform everything live.

 

As a professional DJ, I'll challenge you to the bone to give me every single data available to you on how you come to the conclusion that a whopping 90% of DJs are "playing pre-recorded sets made by someone else".

Please elaborate and bring proof to the table, sir! because without that, it's only your assumption and chosen negative word that makes those guys "Clowns".
It's easy to judge, call names and label people... sooooo easy. Let's make it easier by adding your proof.

 

looking closely I think you are right , i sow the usb drive (min 58:44)
...it seemed too weird

 

Last edited: Apr 17, 2017

too funny lolololol

 

hey, be nice, I didn't sleep

 

Proofs you ask?
Let me tell you something, just search in YouTube and you'll find a lot of evidence of fake DJ with pre made sets and even "famous" ones playing sets used by other DJ in different places.
I don't think you are aware of how many do this.

 

Yeah yeah, blaming the commercially successful DJ for not being able to mix and running a mixtape instead of djing "live" is a common thing among the not-so-successful-but-very-street-credible-true-underground-djs since I don't know when.
In the 90s, it was Marusha, now it's "enter generic edm name here". It's getting old.
Yes, there are famous and wildly rich djs who cannot beatmatch for the love of it (talking to you, Sven), and there are famous and wildly rich djs who are true geniuses of the craft.
It's a discussion full of envy and distrust, and nothing good has ever come from this. The truth is, 95% of the crowd in that picture don't care if the guy plays a mixtape or does the real thing. 10 years back, they would have been at a random r&b event or seeing n'sync or whatever.
Those are not the people standing in line for hours to see their favorite dj and if we're honest, we all would not want to play to these random philistines but much rather would like to be the dj people standing in line for to see us play in reputable clubs like fabric, womb, fuse or berghain.

this whole discussion is pointless, old, and completely off the op's topic.

 

I am fully aware of DJ's playing pre-made sets, that goes on before DJs even had that much of spotlight on them, before YouTube and the digital market. In no way am I suggesting or arguing that such a thing is not happening.
What I did challenge you on is your wording of it which went as follow: "90% of them are playing pre-recorded sets made by someone else".
I will outright say that it is unrealistic that 90% of DJ's out there are playing sets "made by someone else".
I get it, we as people tend to just throw percentage and numbers out BUT we truly never take real account the weight that they carry... 90% is grossly inflated in such a case. A few dozens of videos (or even a few hundreds) on YouTube and other Social Media being copied and parade around doesn't represent 90% of the entire DJ world. That's why I challenged you on piecing around the evidence you have for it.
Even if you were to just focus on DJ's playing Dance music/large festival and discard other DJ's playing Hip-Hop sets, R&B, Dancehall, Open Format and other Genres, 90% is STILL not realistic.
90% is a high number; Just think about it, that's about 90 out of every 100 DJ's in the market man

 

This is the industry standard media player: https://www.pioneerdj.com/en-us/product/player/cdj-2000nxs/black/overview/

Players network between them via ethernet cables and all of them can access music library from a single USB memory stick. Of course, if they're not networked a DJ always have multiple USB mirror clones of their music library.

Especially in the mainroom/festival acts, using a premade "mash-up" is something usual. More technical DJ's can do such mashups on the fly, live. Some DJ's are suspected for playing an entire pre-recorded set, these acts run on 20-45 minutes slots on festivals so if the peformers need heavy sync with pyro fx, visuals and lights this has becomed the usual route.

The subject is highly controversial but in my opinion it doesn't matter if the performer mixes, not mixes, uses sync button or is using turntables (all of these being just some "tools" for achieving the purpose of the set: people having a good time). If he/she has a following crowd and sells tickets (which implies a level of taste in dance music, marketing skills or both), that's all is needed in this industry. True, I don't go often to festivals but who am I to judge the kids that enjoy the pre-mixed music a good fireworks show and endless beers in a plastic cup?