Djing. Is it all about Mixing?

Djing. Is it all about Mixing?

Larry Levan has often been called the greatest DJ that there has ever been. A lot of people will raise their eyebrows to this statement as his technical ability on the decks wasn’t that great. I never saw the man in action myself. But from reading various articles, and talking to people that actually went to the Paradise Garage Nightclub in his heyday there can be no question as to who in their minds as to who was the "greatest".

However, he had his critics as well as his devoted fans. His critics claim that there were, and have been DJ’s since then, that have had greater technical ability on the turntables then he ever did. We get too sentimental when we mention Mr.Larry Levan they state.

What we do know is that he took chances. Sometimes they sounded damm right awful. But on most occasions it left the clubber/raver at the The Paradise Garage Club, New York City, Usa spellbound.

I have learnt that Larry Levan, was never afraid to try something new or outrageous. He wanted to prove that the correct ways of Djing in the past was not "the be all and end all of Djing".Rules were meant to be broken, and he did that without no questions asked.

However, what stands him in good stead of being called the greatest DJ that has ever been by many DJ critics is the fact that he understood his crowd/his audience.

Many of today’s DJ’s never have been clubbers. That’s to say that they been to a club once or twice, maybe even three times and were amazed at the power that todays DJ’s have, and then decided on the spot that they wanted to become a club DJs. Fine, there’s nothing wrong with that. Djing has become a multi-billion dollar industry nowadays. DJ’s of today are the new "Guitar Heroes".

However, what separates a good DJ from an outstanding one is a understanding of why people attend clubs to dance, and the use of song selection within Djing.

Larry Levan, is often called the Jimmy Hendricks, of modern day DJ-ship. For instance, one moment he would be playing records as you would expect in the DJ booth at his beloved "Paradise Garage" club in New York, City, USA.

The next moment he could be dancing right next you on the floor whilst the record was left unattended on the decks. So that he could feel that vibe of the moment; and then return back to decks with this feeling that he got at the moment and apply that knowledge to his tune selection for that period of time. The actual feeling of what a dancer/clubber feels when he or she loses they mind to their favourite track/song in a club he applied to his dj sets!!

Or he would suddenly turn off all the lights in the club, whilst everyone was dancing and him Djing ( And I mean all of the lights everywhere!!),which created such thrill and intensity, that when the lights came back on.

No one could believe that he did this, and drove everyone crazy with excitement. But the greatest accolade that could be given to this man was that his ability to program a DJ - set to meet the emotions of his crowd.

He seemed to know what the crowd wanted as their next record; or taking it one step further; controlling the crowds emotions without them even realizing it, and yet they came away totally satisfied that they had gone to the Paradise Garage nightclub instead of somewhere else. That was the draw of Larry Levan. Everything was geared towards the audience and not himself to an extent.

Djing should be about moving a crowd. As mentioned above from certain aspects of the late Larry Levan. Great Djing is not always about "Flash mixing, seamless mixes and clever tricks". It is about finding new tracks/songs that you are going create a buzz and excitement with on the dance floor. Improvising with your tune selection at the drop of a hat, and how you as a DJ interacts with your audience.

Try playing to a packed dance floor yourself. It much harder then you think. Try keeping an audience from being bored of your set whilst they are on the dance floor is quite hard and requires knowledge of your crowd and the record that you are playing to really pull it off.

Thoughts such as, "If I were to drop this track, will it clear the dance floor..?", have often enter the minds of millions of DJ’s across the world when trying to introduce a new track to an eager audience.

Its is a good job today that some of our more revered DJ’s were either dancers at clubs, musicians or from a musical background before they came into Djing. Coming from these disciplines they grasped the fact on what keeps people dancing, and wanting to dance for long periods of time whilst on the dance floor.

The modern day DJ is a mixture of a number of things. A Collector, a Showman, a good Selector of tunes, and a Artist. Yes an artist! Carl Cox, England wowed the world with his mastery on 3 turntables. Walter Gibbons, Usa revolutionary use of cutting between two records caused a sensation when it first came to light way back in the day and Grand Wizard Theodore, Usa invention of the "scratch technique" when applied to Hip Hop turntablisim scene and more. These are DJ’s have used the turntables as a musical instrument to take their crowds/ravers on another level when performing for them within a club scenario.

The traditional musician such as a violinists for instance uses notes to capture a audience attention. A club DJ uses songs, or tracks to have the same desired effect. Yes we know that he is combining records made by other people, but there lies the skill. Knowing when to drop one track in against another is a skill in its self. Try it and see? You have 5 great tunes in your box, but when you drop one after to another the floor clears. Why?

The reason is that you haven’t read or studied your audience properly. You haven’t felt the vibes of the moment within the club. For instance a fight could have just broken out on the dance floor, and it is your job to select a record/s that will get everyone dancing again. Your boss will expect you to do this. Can you do it without you having to speak on the microphone?

Or the club manager has just announced over the club speaker systems, " the car is blocking the entrance path of the clubs, car parking area, with the registration number of "3BY WEH1, needs to be removed. Please come and remove it at once".

See what I mean? You will have to choose a record that will automatically pick the vibe and tempo up again after the disturbance was made to your flow. Can you do it? Can you choose the right record that will bring forth that atmosphere that you had a only a few moments ago?

However good or outstanding a DJ is, he has to be able to play the emotional card as well. To do this it really needs to be live. Taping is a set and putting over the Internet, or over the radio is good, but it doesn’t have the same effect as being there. Music is really a direct line to people's emotions. Governments know this and fear it at the same time. The Modern day DJ is responding to those emotions whether they realize this or not.

Another factor that I have learned is that the modern day DJ has become a cross between a performer and a promoter. One moment he is playing a selection of music to his audience to get hem to dance, and yet a the same time he is unaware that his urging his audience to source out this new material to buy it and make into a hit.

Most of today’s modern music owes a great deal of single mindedness of the modern day DJ. He was the one who was willing to take chances on new music that most the large corporate music labels would rather stay clear off. Rock and Roll, Reggae, Disco, Hiphop, House and Garage have all benefited by DJ’s willing to play obscure tracks within this catergories to their audience, rather then playing what was sent to them in the post.

The DJ’s power is now event around the world. And governments around the world closely watch musical directions because of him, and the music that they choose to play.

Rock and Roll music of the Late 1950’s comes to my mind here within in the USA, and the Pirate Radio Setup here in 1960’s here in England, also shows us how important governments take DJ’s. In England especially, the National and Legal Radio programs of today we owe thanks to the illegal pirate shows who now provide most of these legal organisations with their employees. DJ’s today are employed by large major record companies because of their musical knowledge in a particular area within dance music. The rise and rise in Dance music compilation albums is what we are talking about here. Get my drift?

And you thought it was all about throwing together a load of tunes to a packed audience?

What are your thoughts. Please give me your views.

Please listen to this Audio documentary about the great Dj man - and learn.Please click on the link below