DJs that really earn their money

[stelfox]

Again, like a good techno set.

Precisely what i've always said about dubstepo. It has more to do with techno than anything else nowadays.
and i'm not making stuff up, i'm merely responding to what's being said.
and clubs are not places to meditate as far as i'm concerned.
the good thing about clubs is dialogue, making connections with different people, different styles of music, not pulling your head in and withdrawing from that.
it's like everything that's frequently and wrongly said about reggae – that it's serious , meditative, spiritual, transcendent music that's always obliged to have a higher purpose, despite the fact that it's actually plain and simple mass-market pop music – is being taken as the starting point for dubstep. i mean how often do you hear words like catharsis, meditation, pressure, release applied to it?
it's not fun, it's not pop music and that to me is a bad thing.
that's why 2step garage did best out of any strand of the hardcore 'nuum, because it was pop and it embraced that without shame.
jungle may not have been pop, but it didn't set out with lofty ambitions and was certainly not shy of being what reynolds calls "alternative mainstream" in the beginning.
dubstep starts of as alternative music and that's it's problem. it's the indiest reading of hardcore possible.

 

[baboon2004]

besides, english people have always been the worst dancers in the world and crowds here just don't "lose it" much to anything!

Sorry, but this is absolute bollocks. Quite possibly Britain doesn't measure up to Jamaica or Brazil in this regard (wouldn't know tho, never been), but, compared to other European populations, we lose it big time in musical settings. For example, when I went to Berlin (which I loved), the dancing was, to be charitable, not the most exuberant. And same with Spain, Italy, France etc etc - in comparison, Brits know how to throw a party with aplomb. And that applies across genres - the energy at a drum n bass night, a grime night, a dancehall night, even many house nights, is often incredible.

We can be accused of many things, but not lacking passion in music.

 

[peripheral]

well, it is my job to check this stuff out. i don't just make sweeping random statements without any basis in fact, or at least what i've seen to be the case. i admire the passion and enthusiasm of dubstep fans a lot and there is certainly good in it as a genre, but the future of british club music? i sincerely hope not.

i think i mentioned my bad. and why we're waaay off-topic, i'd take issue with the 'basis in fact' bit. 'basis in opinion', based on what you've seen, fair enough. I find most early reggae largely dull, tho it's not my job to surmise such things and i have no squeaky clean methodological approach.

for the record, i don't think dubstep is the future of club music. and i don't think most dubstep fans do, either.

 

[Sick Boy]

Rossi B and Luca
Mac 10
Slimzee

 

[UFO over easy]

not pulling your head in and withdrawing from that.

But meditation can be so much more than that! What you're describing sounds more like a coked up funky house fan on an ego trip. That dialogue and connection you talk about can be positively encouraged by meditation - it's just a different kind of connection. Personally I feel like it's a far less shallow experience than you'd get elsewhere, despite the fact that it might be more obvious..

Making connections with people doesn't have to be about euphoria, and it certainly doesn't have to involve hugging strangers and showing off your best moves. Despite the meditative feel dubstep encourages, I've never felt more at home and more connected with people at any other club, and that's mainly because all the people are there for the music, and nothing else. They aren't there to pull, and they certainly aren't there to prove how good they are at dancing.

 

[stelfox]

Sorry, but this is absolute bollocks. Quite possibly Britain doesn't measure up to Jamaica or Brazil in this regard (wouldn't know tho, never been), but, compared to other European populations, we lose it big time in musical settings. For example, when I went to Berlin (which I loved), the dancing was, to be charitable, not the most exuberant. And same with Spain, Italy, France etc etc - in comparison, Brits know how to throw a party with aplomb. And that applies across genres - the energy at a drum n bass night, a grime night, a dancehall night, even many house nights, is often incredible.

We can be accused of many things, but not lacking passion in music.

oh come on, we're world-renowned bad dancers!
and i'm not saying that people don't like or care about music, it's just that there's a lot less of a dancing culture here than there is in the US, Jamaica, Brazil, or wherever and, as a result were 1) not as good at it 2) less able to express passion and enthusiasm through movement.
as a nation we're pretty reserved, it's just the way we are. it's not a terrible thing, just a marked national characteristic.
british people are like the global equivalent of your dad at a wedding.
it's completely true!
(and for the record i am really bloody awful)

But meditation can be so much more than that! What you're describing sounds more like a coked up funky house fan on an ego trip. That dialogue and connection you talk about can be positively encouraged by meditation - it's just a different kind of connection. Personally I feel like it's a far less shallow experience than you'd get elsewhere, despite the fact that it might be more obvious..

Making connections with people doesn't have to be about euphoria, and it certainly doesn't have to involve hugging strangers and showing off your best moves. Despite the meditative feel dubstep encourages, I've never felt more at home and more connected with people at any other club, and that's mainly because all the people are there for the music, and nothing else. They aren't there to pull, and they certainly aren't there to prove how good they are at dancing.

this is totally missing the point. and doesn't address a single thing i'm saying, really. apart from this bit "Despite the meditative feel dubstep encourages, I've never felt more at home and more connected with people at any other club, and that's mainly because all the people are there for the music, and nothing else. ", which i'm totally willing to accept.

 

[Poet for Hire]

Oh, Kode 9 earns his money, no question. He loves what he's doing too which is nice to see

And yes, it does take courage to drop Prince at DMZ... but he didn't mix into or out of Sign of the Times, and other than that, everything he plays is "138 shit". The musical palates he draws from aren't that disparate at all - he plays grime, and he plays dubstep. Occasionally he plays a crunk vocal or something, but he doesn't play anything which couldn't be mixed smoothly if he practised a bit, which is a shame. If his blending was a bit less dodgy, he'd be the best DJ out there. By miles.



I agree to a certain extent. But certainly not with dubstep. Part of what I love about dubstep, and about hearing someone like Youngsta play, is that you'll hear a load of great tunes, but they'll all work together as a whole. Like a good techno set or something. Hearing someone beatmatch a tune badly is the easiest and quickest way to jolt me out of that awesome meditative state the DMZ lot talk about so much.

We saw Kode9 and Spaceape in Manchester a couple of weeks ago for the first time. His mixing was seamless, and he dropped Cameo's 'Back and Forth'. From the online mixes i've heard, he seems to stay in the mix longer than the average dubstep dj, like the difference between dubstep allstars vol.3 and vols 1 & 2.

 

[peripheral]

We saw Kode9 and Spaceape in Manchester a couple of weeks ago for the first time. His mixing was seamless, and he dropped Cameo's 'Back and Forth'. From the online mixes i've heard, he seems to stay in the mix longer than the average dubstep dj, like the difference between dubstep allstars vol.3 and vols 1 & 2.

definitely stays in the mix longer. even when it cocks up, it's admirable. like i said above i've no problem with 'platter-pushing' to keep a long mix on the go.

 

[UFO over easy]

this is totally missing the point.

How so?

As for kode staying in the mix longer - yep, he does.. but I don't think it sounds good. Youngsta is tighter than kode 9, and could stay in the mix longer than he often does - but he doesn't unless it sounds really, really good. Check the recent set on barefiles with D Man, it's amazing. Long blends, loads of amazing doubles..

 

[Poet for Hire]

How so?

As for kode staying in the mix longer - yep, he does.. but I don't think it sounds good. Youngsta is tighter than kode 9, and could stay in the mix longer than he often does - but he doesn't unless it sounds really, really good. Check the recent set on barefiles with D Man, it's amazing. Long blends, loads of amazing doubles..

Youngsta is very tight, you're right. He also sends me to sleep and lets average tracks play far too long and so gives himself longer to cue up a tune before going in the mix. Prefer Hatcha to Youngsta.

 

[UFO over easy]

Youngsta is very tight, you're right. He also sends me to sleep and lets average tracks play far too long and so gives himself longer to cue up a tune before going in the mix. Prefer Hatcha to Youngsta.

We have different ideas of average tracks then. Haven't been a fan of Hatcha's selection for a long, long time now.

 

[Logan Sama]

I like to think I work very hard for the little money I earn

 

[Don Rosco]

oh come on, we're world-renowned bad dancers!
as a nation we're pretty reserved, it's just the way we are. it's not a terrible thing, just a marked national characteristic.
british people are like the global equivalent of your dad at a wedding.
it's completely true!
(and for the record i am really bloody awful)

I suggest you dig out a copy of AWOL at the Ministry. I think that pretty much defines exuberance in a club setting. Also, Sunday Sessions at the Blue Note? Not very reserved. Those are just two prime examples, but there's plenty more. I can't vouch for DMZ and that cos i've never been mind.

Agreed on the poor dancing, mostly, but not the reserved thing. As Baboon says, you should see the continent. Yawnsville.

 

[wonk_vitesse]

of course there are mental parties in London but generally i find going out of town you find a more upforit crowd. We're a bit spoilt here in the big city, too many choices, hard working DJs!

 

[lazybones]

one dj who most certainly does not work for his cash is that much revered clown aphex twin , saw him "dj" once when he just played some analord tracks with no beat matching and nothing added other than stupid errr eeeeghh wwwwah noises over the top. i mean please if you are going to use a laptop [which i have no problem with whatsoever as long as some interesting ideas are thrown up] at least take advantage of the possibilites offered... he then played crap dnb with sort of ironic rave stabs and then gabba. yaaawnn. and the whole hiding behind a screen thing . hah.


i really enjoy kode's mixing personally .. for me its 95% selection rather than 70% - i mean id rather hear one tune i love after an other with no mixing than a perfect mix of stuff i dislke. and hes the only dubstep dj i know of that rinses stuff like geoim and timeblind , seems like a man totally open to anything - a quote which i found really reassuring from him was something along the lines of dubstep can be anything , just aslong as its sub with something on top of it...





who wants to open a double decker sized can of worms and ask - reloads yay or nay?

 

[Martin Dust]

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

One of the best DJ's around, massive fan of his work...

 

[hint]

I like to think I work very hard for the little money I earn

Hey Logan. I sent a promoter from the Czech Republic your way recently. Did you manage to sort something out?

 

[dogger]

of course there are mental parties in London but generally i find going out of town you find a more upforit crowd. We're a bit spoilt here in the big city, too many choices, hard working DJs!

i heard exactly the same thing from a german dj (who wasn't famous at all) - he complained that no one really goes for it in berlin unless it's villalobos or eullberg or someone....that being said, my experience of the berlin club scene (and mostly i'm talking the minimal club scene) is that people there a) actually care about, and are knowledgeable about, the music b) are not just there to look good/pull etc. this is at odds to anything in london i've been to apart from fwd and dmz...and /possibly/ a haywire night tho my memories of that are rather hazy....

with regard to my original comment one of the most memorable nights i've been to was seeing slam dj in ullapool village hill, a tiny place in the north west of scotland....cans of tenant's lager for a quid, everyone from a 50 mile radius making the pilgrimage....now people really /were/ excited about the music that night!

 

[Ned]

a) actually care about, and are knowledgeable about, the music b) are not just there to look good/pull etc.

It's such a shame that when people like Villalobos come to London they almost always play at Fabric, where the 10% of the people who are there to see Villalobos have to queue for hours because of the 90% of people who would go no matter who was DJing.

 

[dogger]

one dj who most certainly does not work for his cash is that much revered clown aphex twin , saw him "dj" once when he just played some analord tracks with no beat matching and nothing added other than stupid errr eeeeghh wwwwah noises over the top. i mean please if you are going to use a laptop [which i have no problem with whatsoever as long as some interesting ideas are thrown up] at least take advantage of the possibilites offered... he then played crap dnb with sort of ironic rave stabs and then gabba. yaaawnn. and the whole hiding behind a screen thing . hah.

interesting...i saw him last month at melt festival in germany headlining on the second day and he way exceeded my expectations (my expectations being a set comprising of whale noises/microphone dropped in a blender or similar). he played a totally committed, tecnically flawless and surprising varied set (everything from ambient to drill n bass, via sleep archive and missy elliot), complete with the best visuals i think i've seen, and disabled basketball players on stage.