Well, it used to be a tape, a c90 cassette recorded straight out of the mixer - and the only plus point was that you’d get to take a pause after 45 minutes when the tape would have to be turned over.
Then came the mini disc, and the CD recorder - both using the same technique as the trusty cassette - recorded straight from what was being played through the mixer. Live. No going back if you fluffed up a mix, the whole thing would have to be recorded again from the start - talk about pressure!
Then came the laptops, Serato, Traktor and Ableton - mixes that could be laid down, tweaked and adjusted, re-arranged and edited until you’re 100% happy with it. Suddenly everyone was able to make a mix that was technically flawless, everything mixed perfectly, all the tracks at the same levels and sounding just like they would on a Renaissance, Ministry or Global Underground release… except for one detail. One minor point that hasn’t changed since the original cassette mix recordings - the mix still contains a series of individual tracks sequenced in a particular order. Mess that part up and it doesn’t really matter how technically fantastic the mix is.
So, are there any rules to sequencing the perfect mix? Yes, there are some, but please note many of the following are personal ones that I try to stick to, and in places are ones that suite the deep / techy house music that I play.
A start, middle and end. Consider your mix to be a story, a journey - don’t just start off and continue the mix on the same tempo and energy, build your mix a little bit with each track - the next track should progress and gain, build on the previous track - this is also effective when putting a mix together of different styles.
Throw in a lost classic. Who says that your promotional mixes have to be full of brand new releases, and even yet to be released track. Digging up an old track that may of been long forgotten, and one that fits into the style of the rest of tracks will give your mix a sense of credibility - you’ve been into this music for a while and you know and appreciate it’s history.
End strong. It’s going to be the track that people remember on your mix - and could reflect on the whole mix, if it ends with a bit of a flop then who ever is listening will more than likely forget the whole mix pretty quickly. The same is almost true of the first track - start strong and get the listeners attention quickly.
Cramming. If you play a range of styles - a 75 minute mix CD may not be the best place to show them all. If you’re trying to fit everything in that you do, it could turn into a mess. Try and stick to a smaller portion and pick out the best tracks. I play deep, soulful and techy house - but for each mix I do I only focus on one or at the most two of those styles.
Listening Environment. Remember, this mix is likely to be listened to at home, in the car, at work - not at a nightclub where you might be intending it to. Pitching you mix down a couple of BPM’s to suite the users surroundings can definitely make it more listen-able.
So, there’s a couple of suggestions from me - do you have any?
After enjoying most of the summer DJ’ing in Ibiza, Kevin Cutts returns to the UK and provides 60 minutes of house music for this month’s guest podcast mix.
A deep house mix from the mind of DJ afraid of cheese. 11 tracks blend together in a melting pot of 65 minutes worth of ingredients by Solomun & Stimming, Kruse & Nurnberg, Jay Shepheard, Sebastian Davidson, and of course - Manuel Tur and Pezzner, the perennial mainstay ingredients.
A 65 minute mix born from that feeling hidden Deep Down Inside. Featuring deep, dubby, tech house tracks and remixes by Milton Jackson, Pezzner, Patrick Turner, Charles Webster, H.O.S.H. and Palm Skin Productions.