Envy dj page
From Wikisquare
This is a resource page for Envy Lounge swing DJs
Contents |
DJ setup
DJs should show up around 8:00, with music ready to go. Plan to have some songs ready to go for the lesson, and know your bpms, in case the instructor wants a different tempo. If you need anything other than a headphone plug for your laptop, we need to talk about it.
DJ tools
If you are using mp3s, there are some tools you should use:
- MP3 Gain (download here) works directly on the mp3 files, adding a volume factor to give them all the same apparent volume. Real time normalizers don't do as good a job.
- Beat counting: Every DJ should know the speed of the songs that are playing and in the playlist (sometimes you need to pull up a certain speed song quickly). Automatic counters don't seem to work. Here are 2 manual ones:
- Arbpm (download here): simple -- tap a key on your keyboard.
- Electronome (download here): a little more complex; Arbpm might crash on you.
- MP3 Editor (download here) works directly on the MP3 files; lets you cut them (remove long silent periods or end glitches) and apply a fade. I've used it to shorten good but too-long songs. If songs are converted to WAV files (this causes some quality loss), there are many WAV editors, such as Audacity (download here).
- Crossfader (for Winamp, download here) The music sounds better when there is little or no break between songs. This crossfader is good because you can tweak it to just the right amount of overlap.
- Blank track -- always have a track with no music in the queue for when we do announcements.
We should also save our playlists from the night so that we can review them (and reuse them!)
Music program
I propose we keep driving toward more attitude in our music. This is a general feel I get from the crowd during swing night, and something I think the venue would appreciate more -- seeing how we are an introduction to their club music night. As such, we should plan our playlists to turn into sultry blues and club music after 11 pm. The plan is for them to take over with straight club music* at 11:30.
What songs constitute music with attitude? I am finding many newer 'hip hip lindy' songs that work. Some songs from my standard collection include Tom Waits Telephone Call From Istanbul (and other Tom Waits), Stray Cat Strut (though we've nearly killed that song by now) -- it also seems many West Coast crossovers get a good response and fit the bill. E.g., all the songs listed under West Coast in the next section are good ones.
I recommend we all keep googling 'hip hop lindy' and finding new material. Kevin also just sent me this link to some swing/jump blues playlists. Check it out. There's lots to keep us going!
[*For what it's worth, I changed the reference to music that isn't swing or blues from "hip hop" to "club music" because "hip hop" is potentially confusing. Hip Hop is generally used to refer to a rap-and-beat mix, but most music that I've heard on transitioning from swing/blues to the later music is really anything that is not swing, e.g. R&B, soul, rock, alternative, funk, techno, dance, house, disco. These all generally fall under the modern heading of "club music". "Club music" would also be used to refer to Hip Hop and its modern nightclub-dance derivatives such as crunk. Sean]
...Except that I do mean pretty specifically "hip hop" when I talk about this music -- e.g. "hip hop lindy". There are of course several other genres you can throw into the night, but I'm looking to make the hip hop genre a staple of at least the later part of the night -- I wouldn't say that for techno, house, disco, etc. So I would not generalize into calling it club music. tom g.
DJ Song timing and examples
Note that some songs which sound fast can have low BPMs and songs with high BPMs can sometimes sound slow.
East Coast/Jitterbug BPMs: 150 - 220 (For the Envy crowd, anything faster than about 200 is too fast. Few people know how to shag, charleston or balboa) E.g. songs: Brian Setzer, rockabilly, 'Crazy little thing called love', 'Taint what you do', 'See you later alligator', 'This house is rockin, 'Hit the Road Jack', 'Rockin' Robin', 'Little bitty pretty one', 'Walk right in, walk right out', 'It don't mean a thing (if it ain't got that swing)', 'Sing, Sing, Sing'
Lindy BPMs: 115 - 180 (too many at the low end will bore the east coasters) E.g. songs - 'Lavender Coffin', 'Vem Vet', 'Sermonette', 'Easy does it', 'Shiny stockings', 'Beyond the sea', 'Fever', 'Ain't That A Kick In The Head', 'Love me or leave me', 'Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen', 'Taint what you do', 'Daddy', 'Straighten up and fly right', 'Christopher Columbus'
West Coast BPMs: 100 - 180 E.g. songs: 'Fire', Desree gets a good response. Bad Bad Leroy Brown. Lou Rawls. Mashups like 'Bootystition'
Blues BPMs: 65 - 115 E.g. songs: 'Wade in the Water', 'Glory Box' (Straight tempo, not swing), 'Gee baby, ain't I good to you'
Club music BPMs: 100 - 170 E.g. songs: the remix of the portishead song by rebirth of cool phive; the web has good resources for 'hip hop lindy', eg hiphoplindy.com Mashups like 'Bootystition'
Building a set
Extrapolated from feedback forum responses and dancer comments. Basically, Envy dancers like variety, but it is a swing-dancing night, so most songs should (you guessed it!) swing!
- Start with something mid to high tempo to get people on the floor.
- Build up and slow down rather than jumping from tempo to tempo.
- Songs that sound slow can sometimes have high BPMs, and songs that sound fast can have medium BPMs.
- Vary song styles. In particular, to modern ears classic swing songs can sound very similar, so follow a classic with a newer song to avoid a same-y feeling.
- Avoid a preponderance of any one song style (e.g. mostly rockabilly or mostly lindy) because it will alienate a section of the crowd.
- Avoid too many fast songs ("too hard to dance to") or too many slow songs ("boring").
- Songs around 3 minutes are the best. Anything over 4 starts to feel very long.
- Some songs vary tempo within the song (e.g. 'Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen'). Dancers like that so long as the tempo changes are clear enough.
- Songs should have clear endings so that people can do their crazy dips, so favor songs with clearly built endings rather than fade-outs (although there are always exceptions) or abrupt endings.
- Some people like to dance to latin songs, but many don't or can't. Some latin songs, though, have enough of a swing flavor to allow East Coast, so those are worth finding. Cha Cha and mambo seem to be the latin styles most danced to, salsa and tango much less.
- Respond to the crowd if you see no one is on the dance floor and everyone is sitting down make sure your next song will get people back out on the dance floor. Also, don't come with 50 odd songs and hit play then go dance, I know I have changed almost half my entire playlist because of the energy (or lack there of) I was getting from the crowd.
Feedback forum
Here we can give each other feedback, based on what we've heard from others and how we feel about the night.
3/27
Talked with a dancer about the feel of the place and music and came up with an important view on the character of the night -- what she called the "shameless hussy" vibe, or as I call it, a bit of attitude in the music. I think this was a draw at the Fuze, and I think she was saying, and I agree, that there was too much light n easy lindy music. The Tom Waits Telephone Call From Istanbul is a good example of music with attitude. All DJs should also understand the Story of Swing at the Fuze, and why our night and music has its own character.
One song got a complaint -- I think it was the King of New York? The broadway number. Complaint was it was too quiet and annoying. or something like that.
Other songs got a good response and I think it was a good mix. Except I would take Moondance off your mixes more. It's a great song until it's overplayed.
I would also say watch out for overly long songs -- over 5 minutes can get tedious, especially at the beginning of the night, when newbies are trying it.
oh, one more thing -- can you tweak your crossfader so there's not so much overlap of songs?
-tom g.
We are getting a few responses to the music -- you can see responses to the feedback form here. Those responses, and this page, are not linked anywhere, so bookmark them. Djs can also leave comments right on this page -- we are the only ones seeing it.
Sean -- Don't know if you caught Jason's comment on Envy swing -- I would agree with that, unless we get more lindy fans attending... Thanks for taking the night by the way! You're of course welcome to stay in our rotation...
G'day,
I did see Jason's comment, and I really appreciate it. I'd love to be in the regular rotation. I thought that 10/15 bpm changes up and down would be more dramatic on the floor, and I was going up and down in fairly small ranges. I was wary of 160-190, but I have plenty of more up-tempo songs that swing nicely, so I can work the energy up further.
Until anon,
Sean
