Anoebis Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 I am always wondering how djs are born and how unknown groups manage to get on their first cd... For artists it's pretty clear I think, if they HAVE a great track the chance is big they will have a realse somewhere, but as a dj, if you are Totally unknown, how do do you get gigs? Thanks to gigs? Tell your story! In my case it was an accident in fact During newyear 1999 there was a real snowstorm and because of that some djs cancelled at a friends party, they told me to bring some cds, in case of... And there I simply played one track after another, but the people really liked it, and one of the other djs was so pleased we stayed in contact and he learned me all mixing skills Thanks to some friends I managed to play a few times on their parties, and not much later I could play at the Senseblender festival (2001), that was my breakthrough Since then I had and still have the possibility to play on a lot of parties (like 3-4 a month, so I'm really lucky) and the more I do it, the more I like it it seams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phobium Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 For me it started with music making when I was 13 years old, messing around with protracker on amiga. By the time I was 16 I had gotten several of my tracks played on various shows on national radio (some of my house and tech-house/techno tracks). When I was twelve i connected two cd players into one input on my brothers amp to be able to mix, not a good idea, I know Some time later some friends of mine bought 2 1210s and a mixer and that's where I learned to mix, I was 13 or 14 I think. I later on bought a pair of cdjs myself aswell. But my first gig was in january 2004 in Belgium. Which is kinda odd, since I'm Norwegian. I got the gig through irc actually, talking to Rik (psygarden.be) who was telling me he was planning to do a party and he wanted some demos of people who were in the #goa channel on ef-net. I recorded a dj set, and voila. Other people who played at the party was Grapes of Wrath, Sienis and Sungirl. Check the flyer here. Later in 2004 i moved to Oslo and got to know people within the psytrance scene there. During the autumn of 2004 there was a 2 day festival in Oslo, where Derango played amongst others. They were staying with some of my friends, and they played some of my tracks for them and Derango then again hooked me up with Stoneage. So now I get a track released every now and then which is fun, and also some gigs. Not often though since the scene here in Norway is quite small, and I don't do promotion to get myself any gigs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukiro Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 When I finally decided to start DJ'ing, some of the people I got to know at parties were starting to arrange parties of their own. Since they knew me as a person and since I offered to play for free I got my first bookings. After each of the first 3 or 4 gigs there were huge threads on some swedish forums with praise, which got other organisers interested in me. I haven't worked on markening myself much at all, and now I just play 5-8 parties every year. Once I raised my fee beyong 50 euro the mails stopped coming, so many organisers are very reluctant to pay for the performers... which I find weird, as the music should be the most important thing. Instead they let their often untalanted and newbie friends play, and as a result the parties suck. But since I was also a "free friend DJ" once, maybe I shouldn't be the one complaining... =) But at least I had started organising parties 6 years before I started DJ'ing, so I had some experience. A lot of DJs today were never normal partygoers, they went straight to DJ'ing and have no understanding for the dancefloor experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anoebis Posted January 12, 2006 Author Share Posted January 12, 2006 A lot of DJs today were never normal partygoers, they went straight to DJ'ing and have no understanding for the dancefloor experience. 413897[/snapback] There you have a point, I know djs that I saw never dance They just don't know what they are missing, héhé But it's not because they don't dance they appreciate the music less of course... But I also thing it's rather weird... Phobium, then I heard you play the first time without even realising it, héhé Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moni Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 i didn't start. but i was told i should. i'd be like a second skazi or so. isn't that great? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatsu Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Very nice thread Anoebis! Reminds me a bit of the Ten Years Ago thread, I love to read those stories (even when I can't really participate in that thread). Keep them comming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ov3rdos3 Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 i didn't start. but i was told i should. i'd be like a second skazi or so. isn't that great? 413969[/snapback] Can you beat mix? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phobium Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Phobium, then I heard you play the first time without even realising it, héhé 413938[/snapback] Haha, small world, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fohat Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 nice topic... after fanatically consuming electronic music for almost 20 years i decided very late getting a dj. my life was already kind of well organized (work, family etc.) but i felt that there is something missing. something i can be creative with and i can stick on even if other things are running bad. finally i started dj'ing around 1999, being a bedroom dj for almost one year (didn't practise all the time only here and then so it took me longer time than normal). after that time i thought it is time to go public. so i was writing emails to organizers offering demo cd's and asking for gigs. it was the only way for me cause i was not very well connected to the scene. and yes it was really hard to get into it. as most beginners i offered also playing for free but it took me a few month until i got the first gig and it didn't come through my promotion work. it happened more or less as a big coincidence: a guy from slovakia was actually searching in google for "psytrance dj". as i was good that time in search engine optimization my website was nr. 1 for that term :-) so he asked me for a demo, he liked it and i got the the booking. from the very first beginning an international dj, wow i was so proud. this booking and some other smaller ones i used then as a reference for further requests. i still consider myself nothing less than a small and totally unknown dj, but i managed meanwhile to play in different countries (still on smaller or midsize parties) and had also some really nice gigs. my biggest one was a dj set after "parasense live" at 4 in the morning in front of 700 people still heavy in party mood. and it worked well, what a blast. funny thing is that in my hometown i'm still almost unknown. i play on very small partys as starting dj or last one (nothing against it as long as it is fun:-). but i don't want to complain, i'm very happy with the situation. one other thing i noticed through out the years: if somebody wants to get noticed as a prof. dj it is a imo a mistake to play for free (or offer a free play). reputation can only be build up in behaving prof. and asking always for money. sad but true! i get much better gigs since i started asking for money. that doesn't mean that i don't play for free. when i know the organizer and i see it is a non commercial party I agree often times on playing for a couple of beers :-) but i think that's quite common among other dj's as well. nowadays i have 1-2 gigs a month and i am very happy with the situation. i couldn't play more often (cause of regular work and family) and less would be kind of frustrating as well. what i miss is better connection to my homescene and better new releases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delars Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 first time i officially played was april 1st, '05. what a joke right? It was a party Jos and I had organized called '....and now for something completely different', the last party in the 'legendary' club Zazou. Before that i had played twice unofficially, with fellow beginning dj's (Axis&Peter). Actually these were kind of accidents because most of the time i had brought my cds, and these guys asked me to join in because they hadn't really prepared anything, and wanted some extra input. i couldn't mix for sh*t, but i DID know a lot of music, wish was a result of spending quality time with jos, steve and ken (last 2 are know as afterhourz and kenetic). I had (and still have) collected loads of music in mp3, but i couldn't really play it because i didn't have the skills, and didn't have original cds. In the end i got kind of frustrated because it would happen that i would be standing next to a dj, who didn't bring his cds because it was all last-minute-improvisation, handing him my (copied) cds and telling him what track to play next.....So in may '04 we (jos, steve and i) organized a party called 'Rise Of The Phoenix', where Filteria did his first gig ever. the party was so good i even had some money left. About the same time, an older dj (dj Psilo) had retired, and sold all his cds.....soo i went over and bought the lot... i finally had some original cds YAY. From that moment on my cd collection has kept on growing, and my mp3 collection keeps on shrinking. at the end of that summer i got lucky on ebay and bought pioneer mixing gear. Finally i had everything what i needed to have. After that, i kept on working on the dj skills (wish are still crap but wtf), until april 1st, '05........ Offcourse i got some mayor chances because i knew other people who would organise parties, or dj (first time i ever did a set on my own was as an opener for a party with Artifakt as the main act... ), and i am still very thankfull for that. Nowadays i still get a lot of opportunities from my friends, but more and more people who i don't know ask me to come and play at their parties. So i guess i am more than a "free friend dj" after all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mutilated_Core Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 i didn't start. but i was told i should. i'd be like a second skazi or so. isn't that great? 413969[/snapback] Yeah, DJ Kilargh Moni with her new Girlargh Poweargh Remix! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moni Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Yeah, DJ Kilargh Moni with her new Girlargh Poweargh Remix! 414116[/snapback] said with polish accent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_kolibri_ Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 I have always liked music. When I started a band with some friends I got my first touch in making music. I loved to write lyrics and jam with them. And the best of all was the feeling I/we got on stage. Already then I was going to clubs and loved to dance. I could dance for hours and hours... I remember that once I danced from the party beginning to the afterparty's end. Only 1 hour brake between, and when I danced a friend brought me water. And I never used drugs. It was pure me, the sky (or room but my mind was in the sky), the people and the music. Also I used to go alone, didn't make much friends in parties cause I only danced and danced it through...then back home. I was there for the music. I don't really know what it was that made me want to dj. Maybe my brother knows, as I probably told him,heh... I bought the equipment (the same I have today) and learnt all by myself. I didn't know anyone who knew the tricks and didn't dare to ask on the net (shy person). So I played and played and played. I really thouhgt I never gonna get it right... But when I started to play lounge and chill, really chill beats it felt better. Then I got my first gig at a bar/café which was our regular place to hang out with friends. No money for me, free drinks ofcourse and good time. Knew the owner after partied there so much. After awhile I ran into psybient sounds and soon it was psy (which I already was in contact with through my brother). At the same time our band split and I made the decision to do all I can to be a better dj. And somewhere between here and there I managed to succeed. My first psy gig came from an old friend who was arreanging club events and I sent him my mixtape and so I was off. So that is about how it started. I really have bad memory and probably some off my friends knows this story better than I do, heheh..but I have enjoyed it all, even if sometimes I feel like I'm getting nowhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebadtrip Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 My story is SHORT, but I'd rather say it hasn't started yet. My oldest brother (33) has been a deep/tech house for like 10-12 years now so I had been connected to music for a loooong time. In August 2004 I believe I went to my first psy-party.. it was called Groove Attack.. Some major full-on projects performed.. I don't remember which ones.. but I really started to get into psy after that.... and started to want to produce/DJ. Since I don't have much free time right now to produce and I believe time is NEEDED to produce good stuff I chose DJing. In August I bought a pair of CDJs + Mixer + headphones and started practicing.. In October two friends of mine who are like popular in town were booked to play at a party organized by a friend of theirs.. problem was that they didn't even know how to use a mixer or a CDJ! They called me up asking if I could teach them (something I am not good at myself... ).. so they brought their CDs to my house and listed a full-on set.. I just mixed the set together and wrote down the beat-match pitch number on a piece of paper and handed them.. Basically they only learned to set the Cue point and use the cross fader/channel volumes on a mixer.. and to beat match they used the cheat-sheet I wrote for them with the exact pitch numbers so the BPMs were matched On the day of that party I arrived early, before the party was opened to check the sound system out and assist them both on whatever they needed... They were scheduled to play an 1h30 set around 00h30 when the party opened.. There were 2 dance floors.. one with hip-hop and dance music... and the psytrance one. So I got there, gates opened they were like.. "Hey.. you wanna play a bit.. until like 1h15 and then we play?" so I said yes.. borrowed their CD case and played whatever was like commercial/known (GMS/Astrix/IM/...) and wasn't included in their set just go get the crowd going.. You got to understand the scene in my town is small and the public at this specific party is made of people who don't know e-music much.. So there I played my first and only set for with a great sound system... But I want to play Progressive House/Trance... bought my first set of vinyls and am gonna get a pair of pick-ups. But I want to team up with my brother and for that I need to practice a lot. I aim to be GOOD at the first gig... I don't want to be known as "the guy who spent $$ on vinyls, to show off, who doesn't know how to mix"... So.. give me 3-4 months at least with a lot of practicing.. If I am to play somewhere.. I want to impress. Really. I can get gigs easily since I helped those 2 popular guys.. they can hook me up easily at some parties in town.. and I have been making some connections as well. People have been inviting me to play, but I turn all the offers down with the speech above "if I am to play... I must be good..". I wanna see people listening and saying "wow.. this is good music". So hopefully I'll come back to this thread in a few months with a happy story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmtree Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 i've always been a "dj" - making mixtapes every other day, playing "sets" while driving on long roadtrips with friends. Then I got into radio and played IDM and electronica for a couple of years on the radio. I began to DJ drum'n'bass also, but got bored with it quickly. Eventually I found psytrance - I liked dancing to it the best, incidentally - and learned how to spin it with vinyl first, then CDs. I played at a lot of house parties for the first 2 years, the first time I played out was at a trance party in 2002 - I got a peak slot somehow, and blew everyone away.. since then it's been pretty much non-stop.. I think I played about 30 gigs last year, most of them free parties though, so I don't get paid very often. But the scene where I live is not commercial at all, we don't make any money on the events, just do it for fun and concsiousness exploration. When I go play in New York or other places around the US I usually get some kind of payment or travel expenses.. but the scene here is still very small compared to Europe and not very commercial, so there's lots of fun to be had but not much compensation.. oh well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krell Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Around 1993/94 I did a project with a friend at school - It was a musical project where we were to learn about electronic music and sum it all up for the class. That we did, and we went to our first trance/techno/house event as part of the ressearch... (very different event from what we see now). There was no real Goa Trance scene in our part of Denmark, and we decided to create one of our own. My friend worked at a cinema and we got a deal so we could use their area for events while they would actually sponsor a bit of money for us to create a budget... As it turned out, we managed to lease gear which would cost 60.000-70.000 Euro if we were to buy it.. So, we started out organizing true Goa Trance events using very high end gear at the age of 15 & 16. We Djed our selves at those events, since we had no connections what so ever and we bought everything that was released anyway (I think we were also up to the task from day one due to us having ressearched what this style of djing was all about, and regarding mixing basicly all goa djs didnt beatmatch back then and those who did sucked at it with VERY few exceptions like suzuki, shanti and so forth). So it began :-) Back in 1994/95. Now - I dont really have many friends who organize events, and mostly I am not popular with organizers because I often give very harsh critique concerning their events. Also, I run a community with another friend (www.electrobeat.dk) and I often have to moderate organizers doing commercials etc (anyone who has been a moderator knows you never get a mail saying "cool you deleted my spam") hehehe. The party scene here is very "either you are with us or against us" HARSH. So, - for the future I hope to get gigs abroad, and for national events I plan on arranging stuff for the community according to my own values which I believe in. This is also why I work with the community by making it a center piece for our local danish scene and thru that way affecting it positively (after all I feel a lot more dedicated and caring about the scene than many of the other players here - but thats my own not so humble opinion regarding myself) :-) My Djing has always been 50% own events and 50% other peoples events. I have basicly always been booked due to people meeting me online and acknowledging what I had to offer. In truth, the total amount of gigs I get is the same as a popular "know everybody" dj will get in a year, but it doesnt matter - DJing for me is an artform, and I am an artist - and its a personal quest of mine to become better at it. If people dont value music and good djing, I dont want to present my art to them anyway. Basicly - I have been fed up with the booking system in the Goa Culture for quite some time, but I cant change it... I often appeal to people with common sence (which is basicly also what I am doing now) to find new criteria for booking DJs other than whether they will book you back, bring deco, bring drugs, play for free or pay their own travel ticket or basicly perform other services than DJing. In short, it sickens me - and I think its something we need to abandon if we want art & quality within our events. Btw - Even though I practicly started out DJing from day one I always liked to dance on the dancefloor. If a DJ cannot go to a dancefloor and connect with it he/she has lost something very important (no matter if its in front or behind the decks). Being the dancer on the dancefloor is to me THE MOST IMPORTANT way of connecting with the dancefloor (its for me not about watching what happens while I spin, but understanding what happens when you spin). If I couldnt take part in the dancefloor experience I would not be able to understand it at all anymore. Most of my "reading the dancefloor" is done at home before ever going to the party and seeing it (but this is part of my style, which is individual - something people often dont get). So - In short - I get my gigs by means of qualification - I dont think I was ever booked for "a friends event", but I have often played at my own events. Best Wishes Krell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniël Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 I'm not a Dj but does deco count to tell you how i started? It's a funny story actually... i'll be fair & straight to the point I went to a party and took drugs, saw this backdrop and thought, OH MY GOD!!! I must have it. I could buy it... mmmhhh too expensive I could steal it... nope, not my style So a few days later I took my bed leek(leek? engrish?? the stuff over your mattress) I took some sissors and ripped it into pieces of 80*80cm Then i went to the store and bought some fluoro textile paint and started making my own ultrapsychedelic flashy backdrop. (btw, the one i loved som much was a backdrop by fluororobotanics and it was destroyed in the morning, i guess the wind did it.) It didn't went well in the beginning. Here is a photo of my very first psy painting, made at 3th of August 2003 So 14 days later i had made 15 of these little paintings & even made a bigger one of 2m*1m. I posted some pics on psygarden.be and an organised mailed me to ask if i wanted to hang them on a small party. For the belgians: it was Lies birthday party in the infamous prins marginaal @Lier. now, 3 years later, at 10 dec 2005 i did another party with the same organisers. BUt this time with +60 paintings (the total amount of paintings ever made is +100), 20 gig visuals & Penta live delivering the tunes. I made alot of progress in those few years. Unfortunatly I don't have much time anymore to paint like i used to, there is this ugly thing called reality and it keeps bothering me over & over again. I've got tons of designs to make but no time. I'm buzy all day, leave the house at 6.30 and come home at 21.00. But the stuff i have to do ( promotional movies, recording sound, commercials, etc) is at least as fun as painting, only more professional, alot more social communication (and stress, deadlines, deadlines, deadlines). But i guess i like stress, rrrrrrrr. That's it!!! I finally understand myself after writing this post. I'm an obsessed workaholic and stress fuels me. When the excitement, curiosity and stress is gone i close the chapter and throw myself into another adventure. I hate routine. my life motto: You're as young as the last time you changed your mind! thank you psynews, you've been a great audience. /me now knows the true meaning of Daniëlism /bows edit: i also make music but no psy, more IDM, breaks oriented, aphex twin is my biggest source of inspiration. I sold a few tracks to promotional videoproductions but nothing released. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krell Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 So 14 days later i had made 15 of these little paintings & even made a bigger one of 2m*1m. I posted some pics on psygarden.be and an organised mailed me to ask if i wanted to hang them on a small party. For the belgians: it was Lies birthday party in the infamous prins marginaal @Lier. now, 3 years later, at 10 dec 2005 i did another party with the same organisers. BUt this time with +60 paintings (the total amount of paintings ever made is +100), 20 gig visuals & Penta live delivering the tunes. I made alot of progress in those few years. 414383[/snapback] You need to make some more backdrops to relieve the stress - and you need to rethink your life, if you really like what you do when you are not making backdrops :-) Can we see some of your creations ? Please ? :-) Best Wishes Lreææ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmtree Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Most of my "reading the dancefloor" is done at home before ever going to the party and seeing it (but this is part of my style, which is individual - something people often dont get). 414379[/snapback] hehe, I do that, too.. once you've played long enough, you just learn how certain tracks or sequence of tracks is going to impact the dancers and their brrrrainz. DJing at its best is certainly an art. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Journey Man Project Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 I'd dance while I DJ but back is to fucked... now I can only stand and listen... it sux and it's slowly killing the music for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krell Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 hehe, I do that, too.. once you've played long enough, you just learn how certain tracks or sequence of tracks is going to impact the dancers and their brrrrainz. DJing at its best is certainly an art. 414424[/snapback] Wooow :-) Someone understands ! :-) *Amazed & Happy* Great way to start a new day :-) @The Journey Man Adapt your dancing - When you get old you will probably not even be able to walk, but you still might want to spin a few records :-) Best Wishes Krell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lepton Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Most of my "reading the dancefloor" is done at home before ever going to the party and seeing it (but this is part of my style, which is individual - something people often dont get). hehe, I do that, too.. 414424[/snapback] that makes three of us .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest djnemo Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Ohhh nice thread Hmmmm, I started djing at the age of 14 actually, at a school dance hehehe. What I was really impressed with, was these djs that spun Acid House at a school party back in 1987 or something. Well to make a long story short, I started djing because I wanted to be a dj. Not only that, but also to produce music. I started as a ambient dj, playing a mixture of ambient and acid... Music making began way earlier though, on my commodore 64 hehehe http://www.discogs.com/release/43714 is one of the records spun at early ages by me hehe. Also a lot of tangerine dreams. http://www.discogs.com/release/98278 another floorkiller that I played... Well, it all kind of spun off for me in 1992, but I was djing before that. 1992 was the year that I got good gigs though. Looking back now, its amazing how music has grown since then, but I feel that all the technology around music has destroyed a lot of the magic elements of trance. I am thinking of going back to basics, buying only old analogue stuff, have an old sequenzer and ditch the computer. Oh well Story continues, but this topic triggered me to write the long version of my Bio, which will be out there very soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moni Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Can we see some of your creations ? Please ? :-) 414409[/snapback] sure! Daniël is part of the Xibalz deco team. they decorated Transylvania Calling 2005 in Romania, and the chill-out area at Rhakti Dei 2005, Belgium. well, they decorated more psy events, but i am aware of these 2. here ya go, check out some pics: link 1, link 2, link 3, link 4, link 5, link 6, link 7, link 8. yes, i'm a fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krell Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 sure! Daniël is part of the Xibalz deco team. they decorated Transylvania Calling 2005 in Romania, and the chill-out area at Rhakti Dei 2005, Belgium. well, they decorated more psy events, but i am aware of these 2. here ya go, check out some pics: link 1, link 2, link 3, link 4, link 5, link 6, link 7, link 8. yes, i'm a fan. 414560[/snapback] Thanks :-) Like a lot of them, just not the one with a mushroom in it. Mmm, the more detail the better :-) Thanks for the links Moni - Your the master :-) Best Wishes Krell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.