I was listening to kosmas epsilon's january mix the other day and it really struck me how good the mixing was in his set. Every song flowed perfectly into the next. It really made me realize how much the mixing ability of the dj makes the set for me especially considering that i lose interest part way through most of the sets that i download. I was just wondering what everyone thinks about what's more important, the mixing ability of the dj or track selection?

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both!

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haha good answer:lol:

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[quote=shoobadoo;571954]Every song flowed perfectly into the next.[/quote]

You need both good mixing and track selection to pull that off. Tracks that blend together because of the right keys or sounds, good long mixes so the transitions are seamless. But it's track selection that makes or breaks a set. I can put up with basic fade in / out mixing, but not lousy track selection.

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a good dj must be good at both, but i believe track selection is more important because anyone can learn how to mix, but putting together a set is not so easy and i think that programming is what makes the sick dj's sick!

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^^Programming. Absolutely.

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Ingredients or cooking?

Seems like a pointless question. Both are equally important to complete a set.

Do ingredients make the food? Yes.

Does cooking it make it taste better? Yes.

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^^Or the chef.

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Sure both are important to make a set but if I had to choose one, it'd be track selection.

I can stand a wreck for 20 seconds just to hear a good song. However I can't stand a great mix for 5 minutes of shit.

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[QUOTE]^^Or the chef.[/QUOTE]

Yeah. the cooking. lol.

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Interesting question , when I first got into this music I would have said track selection all the way. I still think it's the most important, same reasons as others have said, but I now really appreciate meticulous mixing! It's what makes the difference between a good set and a great set. :D

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Dave Seaman's sets usually do that too. But the problem with programming all your sets, is you don't leave any room for improvisation in the tracks you use.

I was listening to the Seaman Renaissance 4 hour mix of recent, and one of the reasons it flowed so well was each track was not all that different in melody from the next, they were all pretty abstract with a standard one or two note bassline.

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yeah both are equally important for me. a true dj must know how to choose the right tunes and mix them well.

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track selection.......for those of you that disagree ask yourself this would you rather listen to garth brooks tracks seemlessly strung together or hot ass choons played in a very basic fashion and sure the best mixers make the best dj's b/c at the end of the we all can play hot shit

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This might be a can of worms but with the advent of technology, people using cd decks, abletone live, final scratch, serrato, etc ... the shift or emphasis is towards track selection and away from mixing. As they say, anyone can / is a DJ these days, in the barest sense of the name, but who can program a set? And then there's your basic programing in which the set opens, builds, peaks, and winds down or ends on a banging note; and there's totally breathtaking and awesome programming in which the DJ takes you all over the place seamlessly, the sets don't progress in a conventional structure but within pockets of time, everything makes sense. Or you have sets that are layers upon layers of sounds. Perhaps between mixing and selection, selection is coming to the fore these days.

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track selection, programming and CHOONS.. all 3.. period.. How can u be a great dj without all 3 qualities. Programming is prob the most important and i suppose track selection come into play with that so i would say mixing skills. so knowing how to mix music is important 2. Just my 2 cents

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Both are very important, but if I have to choose, I prefer an excellent track selection, It doesn´t matters if dj plays them from the beggining to the end...

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Im going to say track selection as well. Anyone who dj's, should know how to beat match. Making a perfect set with seamless matching is always great and a bonus. But like people have said, if its full of crappy tunes, Im not gonna like it..no matter how perfect beat matched it is.

Take TLB and the Timewriter for instance. They mix well. Not like say uh, Digweed.

You can tell when a track is coming in and one is fading out. Sometimes its not perfect seamless transitions; where you can't tell when one track has ended or started... but their track selections is by far some of the best house tracks I've ever heard.!!

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I agree with all the previous comments about the necessity of all of the components. My thing is...I feel like I still see too many DJs out there totally underappreciate the role that mixing plays in bringing a set to life. It's great that you have two cool songs and you don't train-wreck like a newb; now mix them in a [I]meaningful way[/I] that [I]says something[/I] [I]new[/I] - beyond what the two tracks say on their own[I]...[/I]

Don't settle for an endless score of those pansy-ass 15 second mixes on the "safe" beats at the outer edges of the tracks. My grandmother can do that. Don't bore me to tears by letting [I]every song[/I] in your new full-length promo play out for like 8 minutes and you end up with like 9 tracks in the whole thing. I can play the tracks for myself. Get to know your shit and experiment - [I]take a risk[/I]... I'm talking about striving for 1.5-2+ minute mixes where you [I]integrate[/I] basslines, breakdowns and all the other little stuff and bring something to the forefront that wasn't there before...

That's what I really want to hear a DJ do: create [I]movement across[/I] the set in the track selection and [I]movement within[/I] with artful layering. All while making people in the crowd lose it. That's ultimately the only value you have to bring, whether you use vinyl, digital, or whatever else.

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Anyone that's ever stood behind decks at a club knows that you better be able to do both, or your night is going to suck... Not just for you, but for everyone involved.

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[quote=Miroslav;572375]I agree with all the previous comments about the necessity of all of the components. My thing is...I feel like I still see too many DJs out there totally underappreciate the role that mixing plays in bringing a set to life. It's great that you have two cool songs and you don't train-wreck like a newb; now mix them in a [I]meaningful way[/I] that [I]says something[/I] [I]new[/I] - beyond what the two tracks say on their own[I]...[/I]

Don't settle for an endless score of those pansy-ass 15 second mixes on the "safe" beats at the outer edges of the tracks. My grandmother can do that. Don't bore me to tears by letting [I]every song[/I] in your new full-length promo play out for like 8 minutes and you end up with like 9 tracks in the whole thing. I can play the tracks for myself. Get to know your shit and experiment - [I]take a risk[/I]... I'm talking about a world of 1.5-2+ minute mixes where you [I]integrate[/I] basslines, breakdowns and all the other little stuff and bring something to the forefront that wasn't there before...

That's what I really want to hear a DJ do: create [I]movement across[/I] the set in the track selection and [I]movement within[/I] with artful layering. All while making people in the crowd lose it. That's ultimately the only value you have to bring, whether you use vinyl, digital, or whatever else.[/quote]

I agree with Miroslav on this...when I mix I try to have about 1.5 min transition period depending on a track. Also make sure that the breaks all match perfectly. This assures that the mix is as smooth as possible and that there are no static periods to bring the crowd down. I think track selection is very important (more important than mixing) as most people who listen to dj's in a club will not necessarily know much about mixing so they will have no idea what the DJ is doing...so if you have a good track selection you often will not have to try as hard to get the mixing right and if you have a perfect track selection u can practically fade from one track to the next...some may disagree but IMO Warren for example has often used good track selection to compensate for bad mixing.

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Well said Miro!

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yeah the safe mixers are boring. now that djs are poppin up everywhere. it don't make you a dj cause you can do safe abelton live mixes, thats childs play in all honesty.

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Kosmas's latest mixes have been great builders. Of Course diggers has it down Been listening to Benz, Jaytech, and Derek Howell realizing how some of this more techier music is lacking that musical storytelling ability some of the prog style music contains. Some DJ's just have the desire to build their sets for that one track, could take two or three hours and then the rest of the night is a sonic blur and mental insanity.

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I feel one the of the key things that tells me how good a DJ is is how many times I keep turning it up just a little bit more. And by that I don't mean start making sets that slowly fade in volume throughout the mix. ;)

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^^ jesus christ simon i just went on your myspace for the first time and who is this Calley chick.. i think the kinkmiester would love her

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Dude ... I'm getting deja vu ... didn't you comment on another forumer's myspace friend a while back?

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[QUOTE=johns;572958]^^ jesus christ simon i just went on your myspace for the first time and who is this Calley chick.. i think the kinkmiester would love her[/QUOTE]

She's one of my best friends. Won't have you guys leeching all over her. lol. :lol:

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you have to be good at all of the above IMO.. as its been said perfect mixing with shite tracks doesnt do anyone any good.

a nice long (1.5-2 min) transition and not page turn mixing to me is important too.. i do notice these days some tracks dont give you much to work with in the beginning.. ie: jody wisternoff tracks the bassline tends to kick in VERY early, so know your music too.. loop that shit in the beginning. of course it depends on where you are in the set too, you might to slam that track in if the floor is jumping,

one more thing i think can be over rated is this "seemless" mix notion and not being able to tell when one track starts and when the mix is coming in and what not.. i think it depends on what genre your mixing.. for instance a chugging Digweed like progressive set, yeah, you dont really want to hear the transitions between tracks it jsut builds and builds, layer after layer. Having said that, I think the programming in sets by the likes of lawn chair generals, luke fair, steve porter, eli wilkie, etc is what makes them bump.. you see what i mean? when they drop basslines and are tweakin knobs..

there are no black and white answers for most of this stuff.. it mainly boils down to track selection and programming for me.. so long as you fix the mix if it is off a bit, which come on, unless you are on a lap top, you will be off at some point in a set, especially on a big system in a club.. dont just stand there looking at the mixer and decks like its their fault whilst the shoes are in the dryer (I've seen this in a club, lol) just fix it

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[quote=Steve Graham;573159]dont just stand there looking at the mixer and decks like its their fault whilst the shoes are in the dryer (I've seen this in a club, lol) just fix it[/quote]

LOL yeah I know exactly what U mean

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[quote=feather;572962]Dude ... I'm getting deja vu ... didn't you comment on another forumer's myspace friend a while back?[/quote]

yup i did and trust me she is worth a look :D No offense Simon ;)