EDITORIAL - What makes a great DJ set?

[jayblue]

<i>As seen in dis week's newsletter</i>

I think my favourite DJ sets have always had an ‘X factor’ which separates them from the norm.

It’s hard to put your finger on exactly what a great DJ does that lifts their work into the “tear up the dance floor” category, but there are probably a few criteria we rate a DJ on which combine to produce an amazing set.

So what’s most important?

Track selection? Seamless mixing? Crowd pleasing?

I think personally it’s the music as an entity which is most important. A great set for me isn’t just one in which you hear all killers no fillers, it’s one in which the individual behind the wheels of steel really seems to think about where they’re taking you for a few hours.

A classy DJ can take a reasonably unremarkable set of tunes and fashion them into something amazing. Conversely they also seem to know just the right time to throw in an unexpected ‘bomb track’ which really does your head in.

How they do is the X factor -you can’t really put it into words adequately most of the time. It’s an experience (like many good things in life) and that’s why I’m prepared to pay money to see them spin.

So what does it for you?

[TwoUp]

Q: What makes a great DJ set ?

A: Great gelatine.


"Boom-tishhhhhhhhh"

[neffitz]

i agree that it's really difficult to define what sets a "great" dj set apart from a "good" dj set.

for me, track selection is definitely important, but only as part of a greater whole. a great dj set doesn't even need a particular direction, but it does need to "move" and "progress" and "evolve" through different sounds that trigger particular emotional responses. so i guess a journey is what's most important. anyone can tack together a cohesive string of good tunes with practice and experience, and any dj can produce a "great" set with those same qualities, but to some degree i think that forcing something to happen will result in failure. a "great" set just happens.

interaction with the crowd is not an imporatant in making a great dj set. does nervous waving his arms in the air make his sets great? no. i think not! especially since it's very forced and insincere. does john digweed "interact" with the crowd, beyond being able to pick the mood of the crowd?

but a great set is a subjective thing. i have never heard a truly great set with breaks, but that's because it doesn't do anything for me.

enough written diarrhoea.

:)

[stylustrouble]

good music....is always a good place to start

[Shadrach]

I think a great set is very subjective and in the moment... I've heard sets that were fantastic at the time they were played. Some of these happen to have been recorded and out of the context they were played in they just don't seem to have that special something anymore... that's why I think a great set can never be planned. it's definately one of those things that just happens...

a good indicator though is when the DJ comes off the decks either buzzing with adrenaline (the natural stuff) or totally spaced out and completely exhausted....

[muzik_response]

jayblue,

heres my 2 cents worth:

i think a distintinction has to made between a great dj set and a great night out.... is it possible to have a great dj set in my mates garage...? or do you have to be at a cool venue, eg home?

concentrating solely on the dj and his/her performance... well YES i agree with you that the muzik is the most important thing.

for a good night out/experience i think "set and setting" is just as.. important.

but im pretty sure youve made the distinction. just think some ppl might be unable to distinguish bettween a great dj set and a great night out... i know i often get the two confused.

as for the X Factor... hehe i suspect its set and setting, but i could be wrong. ;)

[muzik_response]

ps twoup..... one of your worst.

[rabs]

i think crowd interaction can go a long way to making a set better. DJ's that really get into the set their playing make me go much harder and get into it a lot more. watching someone such as peewee really getting into a set as he bangs it up is a lot better than watching a DJ just stand there deadpan. track selection is good, but u cant just throw on a whole heap of good tunes, there needs to be buildups and a progression throughout the set. great mixing is really a key too. a good mix of all of these is what i consider a good set, not just one or the other.

[i-clanVJ]

i like it when they build it up, bring in a bit of dat crazeecrazee stuff, and keep it there for half an hour at least, then journey on but keep it funky and rockin the house, and reference that amazing half hour wyld rad period ... like a microcosm of the entire world's history ... or not ...um, i like it to be happening.

[mattyt]

A great DJ set...

Several ingredients...
Crowd - energetic and positive crowds will heighten the atmosphere
Venue - being able to move well and especially dance in your own space.
Music - track selection shouldn't be limited to classic floor rockers, but new stuff and remixes

To play a remarkable set, the DJ should have a plan of what energy level they wish to establish, build on and work in with their music. They should interpret the crowds desired energy level and play with that, keeping the crowd wanting more and more and then dropping in what they want and taking it higher and higher.
LOVE IT!! Feeling the flow, working it. Circular! Circular!

[TwoUp]

thanks muzik ... I can only go up from here!

[phunkdust]

pushing the envelope - stuff the crowd hasnt heard before

[beesfanny]

well said matty....and a good indicator that all of the above has occurred would be a nice and sweaty dj, crowd, and set of speakers..........