I can’t actually remember exactly when I started DJing, I remember asking for a really cheap DJ controller for Christmas sometime while I was at university. The cue button was so clunky, though, it was impossible to mix anything in time. I think I started taking DJing seriously in 2015 and taught myself most things from YouTube. I then signed up for some lessons with London Sound Academy to get some input from other professional DJs.
I use Rekordbox. When I first started DJing I put a lot of research into the available software. I had friends that used Traktor and had heard a lot about Serato but for me when I found out if you wanted to use the decks in most clubs, your tracks needed to be analysed by Rekordbox - that really sold it for me. I like the interface, it’s easy to use and is free to use to analyse, store and simply mix tracks. You only need to pay if you want to use it for performance. This was a big selling point for me too as I didn’t want to invest money in something I may not gel with.
For my first few years of taking DJing seriously, I mainly used a Pioneer DDJ-RB. This was the cheapest in Pioneer's controller range that worked with Rekordbox (approx £200). It’s lightweight, very portable - it’s been with me to the States and back. You can use it in conjunction with Rekordbox to perform live however I do prefer playing without a laptop so I’ve recently upgraded to the newly released XDJ-XZ which is absolutely amazing. It’s got all the functionality of a full club set up without the price or the lack of portability.
I also couldn’t live without several dual flash drives/memory sticks. Having a newer model MacBook means I only have USB-C ports, I used to struggle with trying to find adaptors every time I wanted to get my tracks ready for a gig and these changed my life. I can now easily use the same stick/drive in my laptop and in CDJs with no hassle.
When I’m creating a mix, either for a gig or as a release, I’ll normally create an empty playlist ahead of time and over the week(s) before it’s needed drag and drop songs into it as I find ones I think will work well. When it’s a little closer to the time, I’ll go through the list, sort them into an order, then see if the order works well together, swapping out tracks throughout the process.
I’d say most things I’ve learnt in life, I’ve learnt through YouTube, whether that’s learning to play guitar or DJ or learning to code. I’m always looking for videos with DJ tips to do with mixing, making a career and any other aspect really. I used to use Ellaskins a lot when I started out. Crossfader and Point Blank Music School have great YouTube content too.
I’ve been trying to get more into production on Logic so the last one I watched was part of an in-depth series looking at Logic Pro X’s built-in synthesiser - Alchemy. I would recommend it however maybe watch a part of the series each day and try out the stuff after each video as they are quite long and it’s easy to lose concentration and miss stuff.
With DJing, if there’s a technique or something you can’t master at the beginning, skip past it and come back to it after more practice. You’ll probably find certain things easier when you know your way around the decks more. Also, if certain mix techniques don’t work with two tracks, don’t dismiss them as they may work with other tracks or genres.
I frequently find when creating almost every mix I ever have that it takes a long time to slot in the last few tracks to fit with the others. Getting three or four tracks that sound good together is relatively easy but creating a flow that lasts 1 hour + is always difficult. There are planned mixes I still haven’t finished as I haven’t found the right track(s) to end with or to go with certain others.
Mixing in key! I can’t stress this enough, I learnt this early on DJing and I’m surprised to still meet DJs these days who haven’t heard of this or don’t use this technique. It involves using the circle of fifths to determine the key of the next track you will play. This article explains it well:
This is something I really should do, I don’t at the moment, mainly because I’m too sensitive(!)
I actually re-listened to a mix I created for a competition three years ago, on a walk the other day, and realised how much I still enjoyed it. The mixing wasn’t perfect and I probably would have swapped out a couple of tracks if I was to re-do it again however there’s a killer mix between two songs you wouldn’t expect form 20 mins 16 seconds in.
I’d say RepostExchange has shown me I can have completely different fan bases for the different genre mixes I create. Using the same people to repost mixes of different genres don’t return the same listeners. This has been interesting and has also meant I’ve kept creating house music mixes as well as techno to reach a wider audience.
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This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
