How to record a DJ set – Short Advice

First thing you gonna find out is there are much easier things to figure out than how to record a DJ set. For every DJ, this is the bottom line of their work. The front edge of their marketing. If you are struggling with it, then you have the same problem as those 99.99% DJ in the world you never heard about.

Not all of us are famous enough to burp on the mic and instantly get a hundred new followers on social media. And yes, I withness this situation. We can get lucky with production and get instant fame with one produced track or spend 10, or more years digging in the darkness of the local clubs and pubs to achieve a little spark of our 10 minutes.

But in both situations, we gonna spend tons of hours making promo mix hoping it will make a difference. So, here are some bits of advice on how to record a DJ set that counts.

Don’t make it longer than half an hour

To record a DJ set, you have to find a way to make people listen to it. Usually, the length of promo DJ recording is around one hour, but what I discovered about people and friends is that that is an awful lot of time for them. Half an hour is more optimal. Of course, for some of the music styles, this could look like mission impossible. If you breach with 5 or 10 minutes, don’t worry, this is not a rule, just advice.

Never put more than a dozen tracks

This is the magic number because if you divide you gonna see that every track is radio length of 3 minutes. Technically, you are recording a radio show without adds. If you are lucky, one day you gonna have put some adds. Lucky you if it happens.

This will make your mix sound dynamic and lifeful. It doesn’t mean you have to aim every track on length of 3 min. Be creative and fast in assembling the set. Play with the minutes and exploit the best point of the songs you chose.

Express yourself in first 17 minutes

First 17 minutes use for stunts and acrobatics. Exploit the full potential of equalisers, sound effects and scratches and last 13 minutes use to cool down. There are two main reasons for this suggestion.

First one because of your motivation and inspiration. If you make a mistake in the first 17 minutes, it is most likely to give another shot and not losing the inspiration. After 17 minutes, you are more likely to feel disappointed and lose motivation completely.

The second one because listeners are concentrated on your work for the first 15 minutes. Then, if they like what you did, they’ll just continue to enjoy your set having high rates on their mind. Except if you don’t mess up and shock them with not taking seriously next advice.

Don’t change the style of the music

Or if you decide to do it, make sure you are a real genius in it. As a DJ you have to make sure you know the style of the music you are playing and that you can hold the line with music people accept. Changing genres, like from techno to funky house and then trance is going to make your set (and you) sound lost. Eather audience is going to think you are trying to impress them with famous titles or you are trying to be yourself, not for them but, for yourself. Respect the audience and the reason why they choose your demo for their ears.

Be versatile

You are a DJ, and you know more than EDM sound. There are two dimensions of electronic music. The time and style. There are so many styles, and they were changing so much during the time. Drum and Bass, Techno, Tech-house, Trance, Dubstep, and many more. You can be in love with just one style. Ther is undoubtedly more in you, right? Take 10 tracks from each and make the set. Everything else you need is the spark of luck, and you’ll be there, burping on the mic and getting social media activity. Good luck.