I've taught other DJ's the same things you taught me over the years. And in addition that if something goes wrong you NEVER complain to the audience. You adapt or do something else. Even start telling a story on the mic while fixing issues.... Just don't bring any negative energy to the party so to speak. Love and light to you J and pratice and enjoy!
yo.. I'm from Lithuania and we have a few good festivals here. Going to Yaga again this summer. I listen mostly to psytrance so I am also going to Modem in Croatia.
@@spudnikda I know that Boomtown is starting to replace the good oldskool DJ's with ticktock stars who DJ. I heard that straight from a promoters mouth at a gig a few weeks ago.
@analog-dEVA I refer to the comments on her socials more than anything. Gender aside the main problem with this situation was her blame game statement afterwards and that is what needs calling out I feel, the lack of skills is something most people don't care about.
Reading up on it, she wasn't using software. She claims to have "outsourced" the Rekordbox analysis of her tracks, and the organizing of them on her SD card that was used for the Pioneer CDJs. Hence the BPM analysis was all over the place, but you're right that a pro could have dealt with it.
The issue could have been avoided if she had paid attention to her decks. By checking the BPM readouts, she would have noticed that they were incorrect. She could have then mixed by ear instead of activating sync, assuming she knew how to do so.
An amateur DJ with 6mths experience could have dealt with it. But I don't believe that she could mix anything (maybe a cocktail) even if the BPMs were correct & Sync was on.. That's not what she's doing. It's all a backing track IMO, she hardly ever touches any equipment when things are going well, cf. Paris Hilton ;)
Grimes is an music artist. It's no secret or even a new thing that being a music artist is a quick way to DJ a big festival regardless of your DJ experience. If you're a DJ and wants to fast track your career, start to produce.
Still think people shouldnt dj just because they produce. Look, im not gonna fly a plane if im not a pilot you know? Same thing here, so many people get famous and have zero idea how to actually dj and mix. Its so sad and i hope this experience will make her spend more time improving her dj skills
I had two different turntables, one its pitch sometimes randomly slowed down. So I had to correct the speed constantly by hand... It is pathetic to see modern SJ's. (Software Jockeys)
trust me, I’m sure a lot of people would but a pair of turntables are $2500+ while a controller is a lot more accessible. You can still mix by ear without using turntables
@@wianrossouw3434 you do understand you don't need a pair of 1200s or expensive turntables to start off with, right? And yes, you can most certainly just go with a controller but you're already starting with digital nannies like wave forms that are assisting with you beat matching as opposed to playing by ear. I might be too old school here but a budding DJ's journey should begin analog with vinyl. It's the most solid foundation to learn on, then they can transition to using Serato or a controller once they have the basics down.
@@STORM3SHADOW I 100% agree that starting off with vinyl would be best, heck if I could get my hands on a vinyl setup I’d never touch my DDJ400 again :) Keep in mind it’s turntables, a mixer, and vinyls - which I’ve got limited access to ones I want (I live in a third world country.) - those add up quickly my friend
I'll admit that I'm also relying on software too much when performing but if needed I can literally DJ blind if I have to. It's just crazy how they could've hired a DJ 1/100th the price of her who would've done a way better performance. If a smaller DJ got the chance to play Coachella they would've made sure EVERYTHING went well and they would've at least tested & practiced their set beforehand... Besides Grimes isn't even a DJ, she's a singer. So I Don't understand why'd they let her do a DJ set. This whole industry is annoying me so much lmao but that's just the way it is.
ohh wow this is awesome. I just want to say brotha I started 15 years ago and a little bit into it i used watch your videos to teach me.. I now am 10 years into playing live shows all over the the north west. I've opened for some the biggest names in the scene and it started with your videos. What's funny about this and ironic this video popped up. When I was watching your videos 12 years ago or longer the equipment I had and equipment of the time didn't have sync button, didn't have computers hell didn't even have bpm counters. You taught me to ear DJ and I am grateful you had videos back than. So I don't end up in a position like Grimes. Bro this is blowing my mind, you popped up on suggest videos to watch right now. Made my day hearing your voice and face!!!
I started deejaying at 15. Im now 52 and everything you say makes real sense. I had 2 cytronic turntables for my 18th and tought myself to mix as there was no other way. To me this is the foundation for mixing.
Well said, i got into dj'ing before the cd and digital era got in and it was special, like you said you had to learn on your own but you wanted to learn so bad that you would spend hours upon hours just mixing and figuring out your sounds, equipement, and technics in your mixes... Its so much more organic compared to what we hear today... The days where the dj is in the background and the crowd is the focus days are long gone.
I learned on technic 1200s in 1996. Took a solid year of non stop practice before playing out. Even if the monitors give out you can still beat match thru the headphones.
Love your energy, bud! Always click on a video from you - a true dude enjoying the art and giving the youngsters advice 👍 "glass of wine" - I love a lager, personally
Well said, I said very similar on Facebook. Learn your craft and invest in yourself. Learn about the tech, my system went down on Friday night, I always carry a backup and everything was good. No one noticed, I trouble shooted what was wrong and sorted it in 5 mins lol. The night continued 😁
I’ve just sold my pioneer XDJ RX2 and bought 2 x Reloop 7000mk2 and a 2 channel mixer. I don’t find any enjoyment in digital anymore and to be honest the amount of tracks you can acquire is quite overwhelming. I’m going back to basics, teaching myself to mix on vinyl playing only vinyl that i own.
I'm almost doing the same thing, but my RX1 is only new to me so plugged some old decks into that, much more fun, the digital stuff has got more fake to me since getting the rx and also using records again a while ago, for years it was like this equipment is getting better and better, I think it finally gone full circle to me like the next step is gonna be really just press that button, sync on the RX I wasn't using, but once I found out I could press sync, then press it off and it would set it to the matching pitch I was like so that's probably why people aren't touching the pitch anymore and are able to dance about and not concentrate then.....give me back the expensive vinyl route for now, much more real, only main problem is you're more or less stuck in the past selection wise, not completely but mainly.....if I buy an old record it's new to me though....and I'd say most listeners, or younger listeners anyway would pick seeing a digital dj over a vinyl one, newer selection, more tracks played, all those loops and digital stuff, less mixing errors (.....generally).
Sync was left on when she got to the decks, which causes any track which is half the BPM to the other track playing, to double up in speed. It's an impossible situation to get out of if you don't know that sync button is causing it. Can't just DJ the 'old school way' when all your tracks are automatically locking to manic tempos
If this happens and you then turn off sync, can you reset the tempo of the now sped up song? I would assume you can no? The other problem.is she wasn't previewing her tracks with headphones, she was just mixing them without even checking
I have a mental checklist to check all settings on the CDJs before commencing a DJ set (or load [My Settings] from USB. A few times it all seemed a bit screwed, so I rebooted the CDJs one by one and loaded [My settings] to be sure.....
I just did a search on RU-vid to see what went down with her as loads of posts have popped up in Facebook. Your video popped up on the search and I realised your the dude that documented a night I did in 2007 aber arts centre when we booked Goldie. Big ups.
I been watching your videos for so many years ever since i came across them trying to learn the basics frim you back in 2010 for the first time and you still cough/ clear your throat the same 😂😂😂 just kidding so glad I came across your video teaching again after so many years ❤❤❤
I remember back in the days, as a Dj, I had my CDs case with hand writen song list on every cd with bpm for every song, taped manualy waching a clock, and when you practice a lot (without sync) you will instinctual know just from the diference of bpms of two songs how much you have to move the tempo fader... then just micro ajust in headphones!
Totally agree with all of this. Personally I don’t care what technology people choose to use to Dj, but have the skills to actually mix and do it yourself. I get so many comments regarding ‘knob twiddling’ or ‘fake’ and I’m pretty sure it’s due to all the DJs who aren’t actually DJs! These people will continue to get booked for huge events though - not a whinge, just an observation… and thanks for all your great content ❤
I use Traktor pro 3 because of the FX and the Storage that a laptop can offer (Well Known DJs like Carl Cox use Traktor) and of course I don't have at this moment the money for pro CDJs or whatever so I use a controller and yeah at least I know how to mix.. It's not fair that people like that are not booked for events like that, while there are DJs/Producers like me who do have the ability and they don't even look at us... I just want an opportunity for them to listen to me and see my ability and potential... it's not fair... but The real question is Who? Because? How did you get this person for that event at Coachella? I guess you responded that question when you mentioned the "promoters reasons"
I have actually been thinking about this a lot the past week, in a weird way seeing it happen live was almost... relieving to me? Maybe i've become too cynical at this point, but i'd assumed all the bigger-name sets at coachella nowadays would literally be pre-recorded wav files synced up to lights for the dj to dance and twist knobs to. With the pressure of a big, popular, expensive festival on the line, you'd imagine artists they book to come extremely prepared (and most of them did), but seeing that the sets aren't pre-recorded, it can go wrong and let you know who doesn't deserve to be playing there if they can't actually dj is pretty sweet imo Also i just watched her 2nd set on weekend two and there were more 'technical difficulties' lmao
Beat matching has been long gone from most dj sets. About 20 years ago when I produced trance music and went to a lot of gigs, when CDJs became the main tool of DJs, it surprised the hell out of me how many DJs and big ones at that, would tell you in conversation how they actually have the BPMs of the tracks changed. One guy told me if he knows he'll be doing a 140BPM set, then all tracks will have already been set to 140BPM. I remember thinking it was cheating, but when I saw how more time they could apply to doing tricks and stuff, it totally changed my opinion on it. It allowed Djs to explore and play with the hardware so much more.
@@prestigious5s23 I agree with this, nothing wrong with using new technology at all when DJ'ing. It's allowed me to take a track straight from the studio to rekordbox and play out to a danceflloor the same night. Back in the day I'd have to wait in line at the mastering studio and cut a dub plate to do that ( and I ain't going back to that. ) + all the new tricks you can do with cutting, looping etc. that you could never do with 1210's. Technology doesn't take away from the art. I mean, go watch the DMC championship nowadays, it's all pre-done sets on Serato, but it's still entertaining AF. What you do have to know though is how to mix oldschool if it goes pair shaped that's for sure.
Same here, dlp1's first, I bought dlp3's after (dd) but they weren't easy to mix with. Did get a pair of technics eventually which were a game changer.
I’ve learned to DJ since I was a teen with your videos and thank to that I guess that Grimes is anything but a real DJ, hope that this trend of fake-dj-influencers ends soon
So glad that I started on numark belt drive TT200s… I started when I was 16, now 31 and got into production about 7 years ago…. No matter how good you are djing it’s the big producers who are being booked.
Oh thats a old turntable that would be challenging set i would love to take that challenge and learn on a belt drive turntable i hope the belt does not snap on me because its old or the neddle needs replacing since its maybe worn and not used for years i would do some maintenance on it before using it so something like that wont happend,and could be easly avoided
Nothing wrong with using the sync, especially if it's a set of music you've produced and you're using it with a lot of hot cues and loops. But, first buy some CDJ Nexus ( I mean, she can afford them ) and make sure you know exactly what to do if it all goes pair shaped i.e. take it out of sync and manually beat match. She plays pretty much 4/4/ EDM house so it really should not be an issue. I mean, I've had the odd track double tempo in an RB set buy never every single track ( and she should have had multiple USB backups anyway ) so I just don't get that bit at all. Also FTR I cut my teeth on 1210's, I'm just not adverse to new technology
I learned on Belt Drives back in 1981. I also learned how to shoot and develop film on a manual camera back then. It's the same concept. You really should learn the basics. I find the technology these days just makes me cold. I can use it, but it lacks soul for sure.
3:14 Jonathan, I'm making a Keri Chandler Halleujah edit right now so the vocals of Shirley Caesar are stuck my head and when I hit this part a little sampler device triggered in my head when you said "Belt Turn Tables": "GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY". On topic of the video though, I appreciate the continual return to learning by ear and focusing on whether you can do it minus technology. I've put post it notes on my console for BPM to keep training that nervous system memory and keep trying to adopt "old school" habits that older DJs - recently foraying into the Lollipop headphone as well. These minor adjustments DO definitely change the vibe of DJing as they're more challenging, especially vinyl. I do want to ask though, I'm not sure I completely follow what happened with Grimes but it sounds as though Rekordbox 2x'd the BPM from say 125 to 250 and she kept it on sync, what way do you think would be good to recover here from a digital perspective? In this situation, let's assume you're always mixing by ear and not sync - would the right way to go here be to ignore numbers on the screen pull the pitch fader to WIDE and beat mix / match accordingly? Maybe take note of a single track you know to be at 125 and "landmark" it on the decks and in your mind to know whereabouts you might want to be? Just curious.
I have a dual CD player and 100 MP3 CDs that have the majority of my musical collection on them, so I can just go to my car if there’s an issue with the software, and then I can continue performing.
In the early 2000's I would just play records from the same genre within 2-4 bpm of each other. If you need more than your ears for that range, I don't know what to tell you. When I use high end equipment I tend to be more adventurous.
Personally for me, learning to use sync without flaw was harder than just manually beat matching… you should know how to do it all. I think she had the 2x bpm selected on one track
Never stopped playing vinyl. I’ve had gigs with no working headphones, gigs with only one operable turntable (and no CDJ or thumb drive), gigs where the crossfader stops working, you name it. All those experiences made me battle hardened and unfazed in the face of adversity.
i'll never mix music in my HOUSE with anything other than vinyl records for one simple reason. i've invested so much cash in my record collection over almost 40 years and i also don't wanna invest unnecessary cash in digital TECHNOlogies. listenin' to groovy soulful music on vinyl and collectin' them is my thing. spinnin' vinyl is so much fun too. the sound on vinyl, even with imperfections is best, because it's natural.
Her album Visions is quality and well worth checking out, not sure why she was doing a dj set rather than playing live but seems to be the route she tends to go down.
Um er, I kinda don't know how to Beat MIX and the Sync Button isn't kinda working, so it's a kinda gonna sound Crazy, or Shit cause um er.. so far I've kinda been winging it without learning to DJ, and now I'm caught out, as a DJ that can't beat mix her own music..😅😂
Since the first ticket was ever sold, talent buyers have hired artists based on popularity & draw, period. The only difference is that in the beginning, you had a barrier to entry that required the ability to perform. Now you do not. But the #1 priority of talent buyers has never changed, sell tickets. 🤙🏽😎🖤🕺
Yet she's insanely talented. She had no reason to go down the DJ route when her live performances were so good. I would guess she saw it as less work and less taxing on the brain.
@prestigious5s23 her live performances are fraught with technical difficulties- by her own admission on stage that night; so yeah maybe she thought DJing would be a handier gig, guess she was wrong, I hope she at least has the integrity not to invoice the organisers for that shambles of a set
@@feidhlimidhmacanaltha3644 as I mentioned in another, every artist will have a payment clause in contract. Believe me, if you go into this industry you've got to have that clause in their. What if you only did half a set before technical difficulties. Promoter could tell you to f**k off without payment which has happened because you had no payment clause. That payment clause is an absolute essential. At least then you have control to say ill only take 50% of payment you know because you might have messed up. If any artist reads this, take note! You need to get paid!
She’s an artist that pulls in more people than all of us put together. Sad fact is that’s more important than knowing what the master tempo button does.
I've done some stupid things, but it's hard to figure how things f**ed up so badly. Computer aided I guess. I avoid sync not because I want to be clever, but because when it goes wrong it goes badly wrong. Also can't be a**d beat marking stuff. Add phrase matching for added stress! Thanks computer, I deliberately put that out of phrase ffs. You have dubstep laser discs? That would be a cool vid!.
They probably booked her thinking she was going to sing and she got a bit confident after seeing Paris Hilton, what she didn't realise was that Paris used to have IM Mike hiding under the decks for all the technicals lol 😂
She'll get sets again of course because Generation Z don't care for the culture as it's meaningless to them sad but true. Vinyl collecting and DJing is the minority now and an aging market sadly. I hope it changes but that's the reality.
Man when I started I used SL 33s didn’t have 1200’s . Hell at house party’s that’s what we used. When threw big party’s at least on DJ would let’s us use he’s 1200s . The good old days . I d not understand these new Dj systems
the software did work there was no "technical error" she just did not know how to use the software. theres a button you can click to switch from normal tempo to double tempo all she had to do was literally click one button then get on with the set but she did not know the software
audio engineer, professional producer who can dj here, this would be a nightmare. the amount of people who can mix straight cd or vinyl is very low now days. bless her
Thanks for the video & greed ! If you don't love this Art enough to have your set up ready to rock , DO NOT attempt . I'm just waiting for one of the Kardashian's to become a "DJ". I started (mid 90's)on CDs back before they were really respected (Not organic like vinyl) , but the skill set was very similar to vinyl. There was just a digital count down so you knew when the song would end .
@@jackmercer4244 That's a pretty high cost for attention A cost the partiers who paid to go to the event , paid . Though , I did end up finding out more about her than I really cared to know , so in a way , you're correct .
On anything 👈🏾BELT DRIVE GEMINIS IS WHAT I LEARNED ON. In a 🥜shell, jus reload the track 🤷🏾♂️🤙🏾cuz the prior track is still running do some trick like cue point drop needle in middle 😂 she has second set next week too
"that woman" is playing again this weekend - so she got away with that epic fail (due to "celebrity" status). I suspect she is doing a DJ & Rekordbox course and rehearsal this week ;-)
Been saying this for years. While technology can be useful for tricks and what not, but if you lack the basic fundamentals it’s ridiculous to call yourself as such,
Lol Ellaskins, you having Grimes on your channel for some lessons would be a hoot!! I'm a huge fan of yours - but a couple of things on this. No doubt, an unforgivable, epic c*ck-up all round. But she's not one of those random social media stars - she's got a career as an electronic musician and has released some amazing albums (and I speak as a Gen-Xer who'd given up on new pop music long ago). But she usually performs live, she isn't a DJ - as in, she's making tracks live on stage. Whoever booked her obviously thought that this automatically made her a DJ. Anyway, the biggest c*ck-up of all is that she started talking - in those situations you keep going and make it work.
