Part of being a successful DJ is creating your unique DJ sound. Anything is possible in the DJ world. For you to have a chance at real success, locally, nationally or internationally, you'll need to stand out from the rest and create your own unique style.
What is a unique DJ sound?
Many DJs you'll see and hear when you go out in bars and clubs play similar music to each other. There is not much really wrong with this, as long as they are making people happy and as long as people are dancing.
But if you want to be better than them and rise above the average deejay, get real, better paid club DJ gigs and keep on getting them every weekend, then creating your unique DJ sound is essential.
Your music selection, the order of your tracks, the style of mixing and the blend should all be in your style or DJ sound. Your style needs to be so unique to you that you could copyright it. No one else can play in the way you do. DJs may try to copy you, but they'll never do it, because only you know how to react and surprise people with your unique style.
This is how you do it.
1. Find Rare Gems
First up, you need to get busy searching. Whether it's seeking out quiet record shops where the crates have dust on them, finding random websites with solo artists, contacting bloggers that few others know of or digging into your own collection, you need tunes no one else has got.
The ideal way to creating your sound is to find the best combination of least known but most catchy and memorable tunes. What you find should be rare and unknown but also very memorable and catchy. It should have the music freaks on the floor staring at you and crowding around you to find out what it is.
Someone will fail miserably in an attempt to recognise your tunes with Shazam, because Shazam doesn't recognise who this track is by. You need to have tunes that people know but you need rare gems too. These are what make you stand out. How to get ahead of DJ Shazam stealing your tunes
2. Create DJ Remixes
Look at any successful DJ nowadays and you'll see they have a ton of remixes and some of their own tunes to their name. The likes of Soulwax, Boys Noize and Laidback Luke are just a few examples.
With some luck, your great remix you could end up getting you lots of attention on DJ forums and on youtube. With this kind of viral success, getting gigs should be a breeze for you.
I've DJed with a group called Jolie Cherie. Since they got signed to Kitsune records, they get huge DJ gigs in the best clubs in London and Paris. And they're not even DJs, they're musicians. A good tune or remix can let you leapfrog masses of other DJs.
3. Be a punk
By being a punk I mean go against the grain. You're there so that people can enjoy themselves, but there's nothing wrong with being a rebel and shocking people with your DJ sound style.
This doesn't mean you playing a set for yourself and then dancing away in your booth while everyone else looks at you in bewildered silence and disappointment. It means you play against the grain. Drop surprises. Be a bit crazy. How do you do that?
Vary your style and drop the last tune they would expect. Ask yourself a question: what is the last possible tune anyone would expect me to play right now? Then play that track.
Many more other DJ tips, reviews, advice and a free guide to getting DJ gigs can be found at The Total DJ Site
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