We live in an age, where social interact has never been so easy and versatile as ever before. Thanks to sites like Soundcloud, Mixcloud, Facebook and other social media, it has become possible for the next generation "DJ" to share and promote his mix with just a few clicks of his mouse. Since it's a matter of seconds, many will blindly press the share button to get their mix all the attention they think deserves. Nothing wrong with that right?
I think there certainly is. In fact, I think 99% of mixes on the web aren't worth anybody's time and just make it harder for the good stuff to stand out, and here is why:
The Shared Monstrosity
Nowadays "Social Media" mixes and even live DJ-sets have a tendency to contain the latest tracks, smashed together without any clue or idea. The once so wonderful world of mixtapes has become a fast-food joint-esque industry, where nothing stands in the way of gaining as many hits on your platform as possible.
Instead of presenting something special, people are spammed to death, harassed if you will, to hit "the like" button on somebody's thoughtless one hour creation. Because when, through the means of sharing/mutual spamming, one actually decides to look onto one's mix, he or she will find nothing but empty hits paced together into a monstrous mutant of electronic music. In other words: 99% of the mixes on the web aren't worth anybody's time. So what IS a good mix?
Idea Before Creation
I believe that in order to promote and share a mix everywhere on the web, you should be certain that you have something worth somebody's time (because the supply of amateur mixes on soundcloud alone is already beyond anybody's grasp).
I've always told myself and others, that if you want to make a mix, one should go to the drawing board first. There you should line out the overall thought and idea behind your mix before even considering to plug in your midi controller! A story line ,if you're capable of that(James Zabiela does this as no other), should be the centerpiece of your one-two showcase. That can be considered the hardest part I believe.
The next step is to select the tracks to tell your story/idea with. The selection should be placed in an order that keeps a certain flow in the mix, the best way to do this is with own personal cuts and edits, since the idea you are presenting is something personal as well! (for an extreme reference; see [url="http://www.residentadvisor.net/review-view.aspx?id=5988"]Joris Voorn's Balance Mix[/url] and shit brix)
The real trick here though is here to not only select them in the right order and keep the attention of the listener, but more importantly: to make the listener aware of your idea and storyline. The easiest way for this is with vocals or vocal samples. It takes real skill and some form of musical intellect do to this without words (again, Zabiela prevails above all others, James Holden and Sasha come close though!).
The mixing itself is actually the easiest part, especially when you make your own edits to keep things as smooth as it could be.
No Words But Deeds
This is what I think should be the basic understanding of the term "mixtape". I would like to see some more of the above instead of just the newest tracks smashed together in one hour. I'm not judging anybody's mixing skills here, but I don't think many people will press play on something that contains tracks that they themselves are already surrounded on a daily basis.
I myself have been working on something for which I don't yet have name for, but it tries to capture the many struggles of life and explain them in a one hour musical journey. Greatly inspired by James Holden and James Zabiela, I've been working on this for quite some time now. It's blueprint (picture) has been lying around for a while now and the time has come it's time to finish it.
To be continued...
