DJs...
Just people playing other more talented people's music to some, legendary figures to others. The truth is, in my opinion, somewhere in the middle. At least if they're doing it properly.
A good DJ can control a dancefloor, through the music. They can read a crowd and play accordingly. Probing the edges of the collective taste, and introducing something new to the mix and gauging their response. Push too far, and they clear the dancefloor, but if they get it right... Well, that's where the magic happens.
The debate of where a DJ's standing or artistic merit, isn't one I want to get into here. I'm far too close to the situation to be objective. No, something occurred to me today, whilst listening back to one of my own sets, that has pricked my consciousness previously.
Before I get to that, but don't worry, I will soon, let me explain something. Playing live in a club, or even when recording a set, I don't tend to hear everything. Now that may sound odd, especially talking about sounds, but sometimes after a set in a club, I'll rarely remember everything I've played. It's just so easy to get caught up in the whole thing, and act instinctively to the the crowd. Without a crowd to react to, recording a set has it's own difficulties, and the concentration that goes into it can blind you to certain things. And therein lies my point.
As I was listening back to a mix I'd just completed, which I've shared with you below, hearing the tracks I'd selected, it was apparent that they suited my mood and thoughts of late. Now this isn't the first time this has happened. I've noticed it in other mixes I've recorded, although I couldn't tell you if it happens when I play live, but I imagine it does. Something I'm feeling finds it's way into the mix, almost subconsciously. I use other people's, and sometimes my own, but more on that another time, to convey how I'm feeling at the time, while also trying to make people dance. It's not something I think of doing at that moment, but my emotions seem to dictate my track selection. On realisation, it always astounds me. I also find it reassuring that I'm investing part of myself in what I do.
As Eddie Amador's track, "House Music" told us, it's a "soul thing."
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