DJs that really earn their money

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baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Went to Global Gathering at the weekend (I know, I know - lots of shite, but leavened by the inclusion of quality acts such as Daft Punk and others), partly to see Erick Morillo DJ for the second time.

As before, he blew me away with a combination of well-chosen tracks, enthusiasm and consummate skills. The way he plays the crowd, with enormous build-ups and drop-outs etc etc etc, just shows so many others behind the wheels of steel to be pedestrian clodhoppers. Pure entertainment.

Can anyone recommend me some other DJs of this elevated standard?
 
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baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
I'll take that as lame sarcasm.

Still, I stand by my point that a lot of DJs are unnecessarily dull (for example, saw the much-vaunted Richie Hawtin recently, and, while the mixing was technically superb, boy was it tedious after half an hour or so - one for the fanboys only). I'm sure there are lots of great ones out there, but I'm really unsure as to who they are...
 
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baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Never seen Derrick May live, but I was massively impressed with Kevin Saunderson when I saw him on the same bill as Jeff Mills, whose thunder he stole completely. However, Mills' old sets from late 80s radio are truly inspirational, from the time when he was playing hip hop and techno alongside each other, with scant regard for (yawn) purism.
 
swears

swears

preppy-kei
I like the fact that doods like Erol Alkan and 2ManyDJs made it big. They have that magical balance of entertaining a crowd without relying on cheese.
 
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stelfox

Beast of Burden
swears said:
I like the fact that doods like Erol Alkan and 2ManyDJs made it big. They have that magical balance of entertaining a crowd without relying on cheese.
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what?! 2ManyDjs are the cheesiest DJs going!
for me, it would be rupture because of the way he creates a dialogue between different music and places street rap in its proper context as avant garde, futuristic and roots.
and buick, you really can be a tool at times.
 
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baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
stelfox said:
what?! 2ManyDjs are the cheesiest DJs going!
for me, it would be rupture because of the way he creates a dialogue between different music and places street rap in its proper context as avant garde, futuristic and roots.
and buick, you really can be a tool at times.
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Yeah, cheesy, but rather excellent in spite of that, I think. Saw the Glimmer Twins last year, and the way they mixed up dance tunes with 'Transmission' and 'London Calling' may not have been cutting-edge, but was a whole lot of fun.

Forgot about Rupture - I loved the first (?) CD he did (the one with 'Get Ur Freak On' on it), but not yet had the pleasure of seeing him live.

Excellent to see the use of 'tool' as an insult - along with 'spanner', it remains one of the finest one-word putdowns in the English language.

Other thoughts - really love Slimzee's mixing back in the day - is he still going strong (lost touch with the pirates a bit)?
 
swears

swears

preppy-kei
stelfox said:
what?! 2ManyDjs are the cheesiest DJs going!
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lol....Depends on your definition of cheese, I suppose.
I don't mean their mash up CD's btw, I'm refering to the times I've seen them play vinyl sets at Evol, Chibuku and Bugged Out in Liverpool, lots of instrumental techno and electro, no bootlegs or vocals at all really. Sort of like the stuff you'd hear on Annie Mac's radio 1 show. Not that different to the times I've seen Dave Clarke in the last few years. Maybe a little bit more light hearted.
 
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tox

Factory Girl
hurricane run said:
On a good night, derrick may rocks. Relentless mixing of crazy music. But on a bad night oh no...
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Derrick May is amazing. He knows those records inside out and isn't afraid to experiment with chops n fades etc.

Moodymann is another to look out for. Unlike May, its not his skills and knowledge of the tracks that impressed me, but the way he put the set together. He took it from disco, all the way to to house, hip-hop and detroit techno. I can remember dancing away and having an epiphany moment about how disco related to techno, a link which I hadn't really be able to comprehend before.

Jeff Mills is pretty much a given. Norman Jay? Gilles Peterson? I like some of the Bugged Out DJs too...

(btw I was at Global on the saturday too... not a bad night out at all).
 
G

Gabba Flamenco Crossover

High Sierra Skullfuck
IME, Harvey is a DJ promoters love to book. He can go completely off the wall and still keep the crowd locked in. He'll play the most obscure stuff & then drop a chic record or something. Promoters usually put him on last because people don't drift off when he's playing - everyone stays til the end.

Ditto mr scruff - I've never seen him throw down a duff set. I had an excellent night out in brighton where he encored with this, followed by this. No other DJ on the planet would play those two records back to back.

Pete Herbert who used to run atlas records in Soho is a great DJ - he was a resident at a night run by friends of mine & he delivered month in, month out. Lovely bloke too.

Robert Hood is a phenomenal techno DJ - even his 'bad' sets are better than most people, and his good sets are mind-blowing. No one understands how to use the music better than him - mills is a show pony by comparison.
 
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wonk_vitesse

radio eros
Jerome Hill, ex-london squat DJ who as others have mentioned has the ability to 'go off on one' but he somehow manages to hold it together with wonky tekno. First saw him in a disused bar in smithfields in some empty cellar, totally blew me away, scratching & tight mixing making everything seem effortless ;)
 
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Logos

Ghosts of my life
Equinox is hands down the best jungle/drum and bass DJ you would ever hear. His selection and attitude is great.
 
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dubble-u-c

Dorkus Maximus
It really depends on what perspective you are coming from and the time period.
Back in the day (early to mid 90's)I was very impressed by Masters at Work, Todd Terry,
Frankie Knuckles, Tony Humphries and Dj Pierre on the House tip.
I also loved Claude Young and Carl Craig on the techno side of things they were really focussed and somewhat eclectic in their approach. Claude Young is a total blur on the decks. He never stops...
there are others but I dont go out as much anymore.

I Recently just watched and heard Distance and Pinch provide an excellently Dj'd dubstep experience.
 
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gek-opel

entered apprentice
I have to say Kode9 really impresses me- constantly mixing it up between genres and half-step/2 step, a perfect mix of arse shaking and brain pleasuring... underrated, I think especially as he doesn't really stick with a single sound, so you don't get bored after half an hour...
 
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dubble-u-c

Dorkus Maximus
gek-opel said:
I have to say Kode9 really impresses me- constantly mixing it up between genres and half-step/2 step, a perfect mix of arse shaking and brain pleasuring... underrated, I think especially as he doesn't really stick with a single sound, so you don't get bored after half an hour...
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I would really like to see him live. Perhaps someone in my area will fly him out and provide him a place to play? MAybe if I win the lottery or make dumpster full of money I'll do it myself- lol :)

I love his sets on Rinse and the forward podcast.

I prefer dj's mix it up a bit as well.
But, sometimes though if the music is very good and the vibe is right one type of sound is fine really depends on who is manning the decks.

There is a guy here in the SF Bay area (Dj Blackstone) that i don't even know if he dj's out anymore but I loved his eclectic approach and skill at blending different genres when he dj'd at the DNA lounge in the early 90's.
 
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gek-opel

entered apprentice
I was surprised at how good Kode9 was, how imaginative his choices were (playing Prince into Burial if I recall) and how damn danceable the whole ting was, how he crafted the peaks and troughs with a greater sense of subtlety than the often diagrammatic big start-- lull--- slow build--- dark climax--- outro structures that are over familiar from other sets... a lot of Dubstep mixes begin amazingly, then trail off at about 40 mins into really dull conventional stuff. Kode9 kept it constantly shifting (within the circa 138 bpm set up of course).
 
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dubble-u-c

Dorkus Maximus
gek-opel said:
I was surprised at how good Kode9 was, how imaginative his choices were (playing Prince into Burial if I recall) and how damn danceable the whole ting was, how he crafted the peaks and troughs with a greater sense of subtlety than the often diagrammatic big start-- lull--- slow build--- dark climax--- outro structures that are over familiar from other sets... a lot of Dubstep mixes begin amazingly, then trail off at about 40 mins into really dull conventional stuff. Kode9 kept it constantly shifting (within the circa 138 bpm set up of course).
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Being able to mix prince into burial and make it work is def. the sign of a good DJ!
I can tell from what i have heard of his work online and allstars #3 that he can definitely follow the rules so to speak and he has the technique of the mix/blend and cut down to science so he can break the "rules" succesfully and to good effect. Plus of course his track selection i.e.. taste is very good as well (imho)

I would love to experience him selectin' live...
 
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baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
dubble-u-c said:
Being able to mix prince into burial and make it work is def. the sign of a good DJ!
I can tell from what i have heard of his work online and allstars #3 that he can definitely follow the rules so to speak and he has the technique of the mix/blend and cut down to science so he can break the "rules" succesfully and to good effect. Plus of course his track selection i.e.. taste is very good as well (imho)

I would love to experience him selectin' live...
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Sounds fantastic - anyone know when he's playing live next in London?
 
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