It's all about the music : The Instant DJ Paradigm

This is yet  another blog entry to add to the ever growing number of conversations & debates over the state of affairs created by the advent of digital DJing, or more specifically in this case, the instant DJ. 

A lot debates out there centre on the "traditional" DJ technique of beat matching. Beat matching is the (arguably) basic skills of  adjusting the speed &  tempo of one track,  being previewed in headphones, to match the one currently playing through the speakers so they can be seamlessly mixed. The general upshot being a continuous mix where the beat just keeps on going & going.

 In realm of the digital DJing, this core skill has been supplanted by technological automation and subsequently caused raging debates on forums & communities across the internet and into clubs & house parties across the world. The digital DJ is too often keenly aware that they sidestepped the skill to beat match manually and often take great offence if this  issue is raised with them. It's around this time that the over arching altruistic credo gets raised : "it's all about the music ...man".

Well yea, it is all about the music .... and you know what, this is the bigger problem with the birth and rise of the digital DJ.

*Cue harps & dreamy flash back music with a wavy lined dissolve.*

 “Back in my day ... “ Yea I’m going to go there because there is an important point to draw on here. 

It wasn’t that long ago when all the club/DJ music came on CDs &12”s (or 10”s … or 7”s) of vinyl and prior to that,  vinyl was the only option. NB: I don’t give a fuck about the debate about what sounds better and what “real” DJs use … so let’s just forget about that tired debate and move on. 

These physical bits of media were mostly purchased at the local record store. Hundreds & hundreds of pieces of vinyl & CDs, categorised & organised in some semblance of a genre based order. The hip hop over here … the techno over there.  The dubstep on those shelves & the breaks just to the left. Latest releases on the wall and the random grab bag of 2nd hand plates lurking down the back.  

The process of visiting this place, the digging, listening to, selecting & buying tunes resulted in every DJs music library, and subsequently their own sound. There was a certain process in going through the different sections and stumbling on that epic jungle track “misplaced” in the house records, or pulling out a wad of white labels with no clue as to who or what you were about to listen to. You would spend your Saturday morning digging through various sections & crates and then end up with an armful of vinyl. The next stage involved throwing them on the decks one by one and whittling down your finds to the select handful of aural treats worthy of your hard earned dollars. With the exchange of some banter about your selections with the guy on the other side of the counter, you'd eagerly head home to get them on the decks.

Once home, you’d crack open a beer or 2 and have a mix. You’d get to know that new handful of tracks intimately (and loud!). You’d figure out how they work with the existing tracks in your collection. You’d stand behind the decks as they played, listening intently You’d get a firm idea of what they were and how they worked within your mixes.

This was an investment in time, energy & money. You had to make an effort to leave the house and get to the store. You had to spend the time in the store … and you had to spend some serious $$$ on those records. Once home you’d spend quality time with those tunes on the decks. This wasn’t a one off event of course. This would happen week in, week out, month after month. Piece by piece a library was built. Your sound was forged & tempered. 

Crucially, the monetary concern was also a form of quality control. It forced

 you to think about your purchases. There weren’t many people who could literally buy every track they picked up and listened to. You HAD to choose. You had to make a short list and decide what was worth the $xx amount being asked. “Is this single sided white label really worth the $18 they’re asking?!”  (just quietly, 1 or 2 i have have more than doubled that value i paid for them initially). 

Right … so that’s long enough rambling down memory lane. (Although, as a side note on the record store experience, there is also the social factor. Meeting fellow DJs having a dig, local promoters dropping off flyers and sticking up posters, conferring with often knowledgable staff and getting their recommendations … again, different form today’s situation.)

Let’s look at the new version of this exercise. 

You open your web browser, press a bookmark or two, preview some tracks (albeit only usually only having access to a portion of the track, often having no idea as to the intro of the ending) fill up a cart (possibly following charts, possibly using search functionality)  and download a complete buttload of fresh tracks. You scan through them on your media player … possibly not even listening to some of them because you’re too busy telling everyone on Facebook what you had for lunch or sharing a hilarious meme. 

Worse yet, you hit a torrent and get 100 badly tagged MPFrees and then chuck them into your DJ software library.

Now, i’m not saying old skool collectors didn’t buy copious amounts of tunes they never listened to (there’s more than a few 12”s where i know one side intimately, but seldom give the other side any air time), or that there are digital DJs who don’t take the time to carefully select and add tunes to their library. However, it’s evident from the questions being asked by new digital DJs about how to organise their collections or “how big is your dick collection” discussions that there's a new paradigm when it comes to collecting & sorting music and becoming a DJ.

The availability of music makes the process of building a collection very different. DJs aren't defining their sound from that ongoing thoughtful selection of releases from the finite selection available at the local store,  requesting  imports when required. They have access to pretty much any and every tune they could want and can have it in an instant. They’re downloading GBs & GBs of music and dumping into their software library and relying on the details of the BPM and key to decide what to mix when. 

Recently I found a discussion online where the “DJ” was asking how people find, choose and organise music and crying for help because they couldn’t afford the meager $2  per track being asked.  Imagine how much harder they’d think about purchasing that track if it was costing 7-10 times that price. Imagine how much easier it would be to think about how to store that track in relation to the rest of their collection if they acquired their tracks in discrete handfuls, getting to know each  with a degree of intimacy that allows them to pinpoint exactly how it fits within their collection. 

One other factor to consider is availability. Finite vs infinite copies. In vinyl culture if only you had that shit hot 12”s, then only you could play it. It made your sound your sound. Now, everyone can have the same sound because once a track is available digitally, it’s effectively everyone’s track. The uniqueness of a collection is effectively diluted. 

Seldom has the phrase “spoilt for choice” rang so true.

Aside from the building of a library, there is a second factor involved with the phenomenon of the instant digital DJ, and that is the gear required. The aspiring DJ no longer needs to save up for 2 turntables (Technics 1200s being the weapon of choice) and a mixer. The laptop they use for everything else will do the trick .They might have to buy a controller and some software, but compared to the outlay required for decks & a mixer it’s a poultry price to pay. The financial commitment has diminished. 

All of this adds up to the advent of the instant DJ, which is worlds apart from the gradual growth (key word here … growth) of the previous generation. The time frame and resources required to get from the idea sparked inside the mind that says “hrrmm… being a DJ would be some kinda rockn' fun!” to having the tools & library to lay down a mix has vastly diminished. It no longer requires an ongoing commitment to reach that point where you’d dare to label yourself a DJ, let alone play in front of a crowd.

Now let’s bring it back to the beginning: “It’s all about the music”.  Visiting a lot of forums & blogs for and about DJing, reveals that a very large portion of the posts,  threads & discussions are about the choices in technology (hardware & software) and features associated with them. When it was strictly vinyl, there was little to discuss aside from your choice of mixer and stylus, and these factors barely changed the essential methodology and techniques involved. So this catch cry of it being all about the music is a bit of a lie really. It’s equally about what hardware controller is best or what updates are included in the latest Traktor update.

There is a distinct shift in focus away from forging a personality as a DJ through building a library over time. The focus is now to get as many tunes as possible as soon as possible (territory restrictions being a laughable curse of the digital DJ) and with the addition of some cheap software and one of various hardware controllers ... BAM : instant DJ! 

The instant DJ is ultimately as disposable as their plastic hardware controller and the USB stick they have their library stored on. However, some will stand out. Some will dig a bit deeper and take more time to explore. What’s note worthy though is is the ratio of the former type of digital DJ to the former. Compared to when it really was just about the music, i honestly feel as though this ratio has a very ugle skew on it. 

( Footenote: The methodology of promotions and getting gigs has also changed the playing field, but that’s a whole other blog entry. )