Re: Gilles Peterson Dj's too

Dylan (dylan@exmachina.com)
Wed, 19 Jun 1996 16:17:33 -0400


At 01:54 PM 6/19/96 EDT, you wrote:
>On the subject of Dj'ing.....
>
>I read an interview with Gilles Peterson of 'acid jazz'/'talkin' loud' glory.
>He said he can't beat match worth a shit. Is he a good DJ then, wel obviously,
>he's proven himself over and over.
>
>I think DJ's should think what they are playing more than how. I'm convinced a
>good DJ plans out a good set and could get even the most elitest jazzers
>gettin' down to KMFDM (or some other noise) with a good set. Back to Gilles,
>he was famous for throwing anything into a set, including the Beatles.
>
>Groovin'
>Chris
>

I agree that a DJ should think more about what than how (how will
immediately follow once you know what), but I disagree to the planning part,
at least as far as live is concerned (tapes are another story). I think a
good DJ needs to be able to sense what the audience is ready to hear next.
You know your own records, and just because you hear a connection between
two songs doesn't mean that other people will. Some audiences are open to
anything right from the start, and some need a bit of warming up (maybe even
six months of warming up) before you can take them places like KMFDM or the
Beatles. And even if you get the ultimate open-minded audience you can't
count on a planned set to turn them out. You could plan out the fattest set
of your life at home, and spin it on two different nights and have two
different reactions, even if you could guarantee the exact same audience.
It's a two way relationship: the audience listens to the DJ, and the DJ
listens to the audience (and I *DON'T* mean accepting requests!).

Dylan (dylan@exmachina.com)

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