creative psy mixing for DJs

[Guest kingdok]

I've been mixing psy for about half a year now, having just listened for about five, and am wondering how to mix it creatively.

 

Rephrased, is there a way to mix this music more organically than just straight fades? Do psy DJs mess with the equalizers on their mixers? I tend to turn down the bass on the track that's playing while I mix in the new track, but that's about it.

 

It seems to me that the best psy set isn't the one that employs the most "tricks" but the one that has the best tracks in it, arranged in a pleasing order. Is my thinking skewed, or is there something I'm missing?

[Guest Noope]

I think you're right, it's not about mixing skills and stuff like that its about the music, actually i prefer DJ's that are not beatmixing, long time ago this is how it was done, all tracks had long nice intros with floating psychosounds, unfortunately this is almost gone, so i have to hear 8 hours of hammering bassdrums, no breaks, i miss them, bring back the DAT DJs...

[Guest psy-fi]

i hate when dj´s turn down the bass to then release it later, fucking up the whole track. a dj dont know how to make a buildup in a track, leave that to the people who makes the music!

but beatmixing is a good thing, i dont want any breaks in a set....it makes it harder to get into trance then. but you have to have breaks, and tracks have that. the same thing, in a track the producer makes the breaks/buildup when the timing is right. but between tracks there should be no breaks. its very hard to make a nice break between two different tracks.....i think

[Guest dj-Rmx]

actually most dj's i've seen just fade in/out tracks with just a few beatmixing, or not beatmixing at all. I did that at the begining but i got quickly unsatisfied with this kind of mixing.

i like to have long parts of tracks mixed together, when it's well done (and yes optimal eq's adjust is very important) you can get very beautiful results, turning your dj-set into a psychedelic story each time different.

it's a lot of work because you have to mix the right tracks together, harmonically and rhytmically.

if not it can turn to something really awful.

to begin take a guitar or a piano and write down on paper the key (A, B,C, C#, etc...) of every tracks on your cd's, then try to mix tracks that have the same key. experiment, enjoy,

have a lot of fun!!

 

boom

[Guest coriolis]

agree with noope - psy sets these days are too dense - not enough ambient space between tracks. floor stomping is only fun for so long before you need something else, and this is the job of the dj. whether or not you choose to beatmatch and mix groove to groove, or mix with ambient trails/intros, you should be sure your sets are well rounded in terms of breathing, restorative space for the intense sessions of the tracks. the creativity i guess comes with how you plan and implement the energy voyage of the night, not so much in the mixing between tracks. (i am not a dj so don't take my words too seriously!)

[Guest Jaimz]

Ok, beatmixing IS pretty important for a psy DJ, but the most important thing is to do it right. A perfect mix is one in which you cannot tell where one track ends and the next one starts. This is best done using a combination of all three EQs - exactly which ones to move and when to move them is an artistic decision that depends on the track and the DJ, but generally you should definitly focus on blending the low, and to a certain extent the mid range of the two tracks. The highs can be played with at your leisure, but be careful if you have two tracks going ballistic both with the highs maxed out because it could sound crappy.

 

Usually I mix about a minute to a minute and a half, and sometimes up to two minutes.

 

Coriolis and Noope - The lack of breaks in a set is not due to poor mixing, but rather poor track selection. You'll find a good DJ will know when to give the crowd a rest, and more importantly how - and not using fade in/fade out mixes, but by using the right kind of tracks.

 

Psy-Fi - I'm with you on the no-tricks thing. DJ tricks have no place in psytrance. The DJ should try to be as invisible and inaudible as possible - no-one should even notice the track has changed. This is the secret to drawing people into a trance.

 

dj-Rmx - Forget about recording the key of your tracks, unless you plan not to change the BPM of tracks, which really limits your track selection. If you alter the pitch of a track, you will change its key, so the key information is then useless. [and trying to calculate the new pitch is a nightmare. forget about it]

[Guest Clone]

My advice...

Since I'm a DJ, doing beatmixes, I'll share with you the optimal (in my opinion) way to mix two tracks.

Of course, first you have to match the beats, then wait for the last break in the first track, and on the first beat after the break put in the second track (or if you know better before of after the first beat, never mind). The second track eq should be set with wery low (but never off) basses and treble, and the middles a bit lower then the half. Then slowly increase the middle (it allways holds a bit of kick and bassline so you can hear if the beats split, to fix them), increase treble, while decreasing a bit first track's mid and treble (but not much). increase second track bass, to about the middle, and then on a short break take the second bass to the full wolume, and the first one down to the middle. Slowly put out the rest of the first track (or reduce the basses completly and live it to play to its end).

That's it

I hope this will get you some more creative mixes. Of course, the right sellecton of tracks is the most important...

Cheers

-=ClOnE=-

[Guest polarbaer]

sorry if my question does not appeal to the thread but what kind of information do djs make note of in order to know what atmosphere the track is suitable for or what sort of mixing technique they should use ?

[Guest danvapid]

great advice Jaimz...however, i think dj 'tricks' do have their place in psy, primarily w/ full-on stuff, but only if done to perfection...i know because here in NYC dj Influx, an incredible dj, really uses some unique mixing techniques that make the crowd go crazy - easily the best dj in the area at the moment....with minimal/progressive stuff though, i don't think this would work - the technique you described is perfect for this type of stuff