Today Hassan and I met up to work on our genius project. However in order to track ourselves over the course of the project, we decided to first take a video of our skills, or lack thereof to see where we needed improvement. It turns out that we need improvement everywhere! As you can see, Hassan and I lacked the knowledge of how to transition properly, use effects, scratch, and use the volume to our advantage. At times we were behind on cut transitions, and overall the mix seemed very forced and unnatural. Although Hassan and I were pretty much awful at mixing, as you can see from our hand throwing, and leg movement, we were having a great time.
Being that this was the first time I have DJed, I decided to forget about the fact that I was messing up, but to just enjoy it. As DJ Iceman once said, "The bottom line from all of this is, I don't care if it's Digital, I don't care if it's Vinyl...Our goal as DJs is to rock a _____ crowd. Period!" Taking this advice to heart, I believe that if the DJ isn't having fun, then neither is the crowd. I have been to parties where the DJ simply sits there and doesn't engage with the crowd, and those parties are usually the ones that nobody has fun at. When Hassan and I were DJing we were having a blast. There was nobody else we were playing for, but it didn't matter, as we were jumping around, and just having a great time. This just shows that both of us have such a love for music, and a passion for it that will hopefully fuel this project and allow us to improve from this mix. At the end of the day, although I may have done a terrible job DJing, it was my first time, and that simply means that there is a lot of room for improvement. Also if you were wondering what songs we used in this mix here they are! 1. Shot Yourself in the Foot Again By Skream 2. Kraken By Skepp x Hawk x Waino 3. Mercy By Kanye West (RL Grime Remix) 4. I Can't Stop By Flux Pavilion 5. Up (Earthquake) By DJ Fresh and Diplo 6. Lobster Beat By JWLO 7. Pursuit of Happiness By Kid Cudi (Steve Aoki Remix) 8. Slip By Baauer 9. First Aid Kit By Winter is All Over You (Baauer Remix) Once again for the best effect turn up the speakers and enjoy!
What am I passionate about? I have no idea... was what first came to mind as I have never really immersed myself in a hobby like growing carnivorous plants, or playing an instrument. Looking at myself, I began to see that I didn't really have a passion, or one that I had ever explored. I knew that I, like most people, liked money (I mean who doesn't like money right), but could I really spend seven weeks making money and creating a business? Probably not. Instead I searched deeper inside myself to find something that I have always wanted to do. Everything from learning how to parkour to making sushi flooded my mind, but I didn't really have the determination and feeling of passion that comes to me when I really enjoy something. Back to square one.
After days of thinking of topic after topic that didn't interest me, I went to a party to clear my mind. However in the process of taking a break from brainstorming, I had my eureka moment! I was getting ready for the party and blasting trap music, which is a genre similar to dubstep, and I couldn't help throwing my hands in the air and just dancing. I pretty much ended up looking like people from the Harlem Shake videos. However while looking ridiculous, I realized that electronic music similar to that of the Harlem Shake was something that I found very interesting, and exciting. What other music can someone dance however they want, and it still be socially accepted? In the video there is a man punching a rubber giraffe and it doesn't even matter to anyone else. Trap music is something that allows people to express themselves through dancing whichever way they please, and personally I think that being the creator of such expression would be an awesome experience. If I could create music that allows for people to express themselves any way they please, it's simply a win win situation.
Music has always played a prevalent role in my life. Ever since I was a little kid, my parents introduced me to many different kinds of exotic music from their travels around the world. Being brought up in a musically diverse home ranging from lounge music from Thailand to the rapid beats of India, my mind has always enjoyed hearing different kinds of music. Although I had a profound interest in music, anytime I tried playing it, I was unable to create such exotic beats that I had once been accustomed to as in school and in classes I would simply learn how to play, “Hot Crossed Buns” or “Happy Birthday”. As my efforts to learn how to play the clarinet and guitar didn’t translate into the kind of music I enjoyed, I started to become discouraged. Of course at such an impatient age of 10 I really didn’t want to spend hours of practicing music I didn’t enjoy, so I eventually quit playing. I think the reason why I wasn’t immersed in those two instruments was because I didn’t really like the kind of music they produced. However now that I have been introduced to trap, dubstep, and house music, I have found a type of music that I thoroughly enjoy as each DJ's style allows for endless combinations of bass and fast paced beats. Not only are DJ's capable of making whatever kind of music they want, as previously mentioned, more modern DJ's create an environment where people are able to express themselves however they please. Learning how to DJ, and understanding how different genres work with others would finally allow me to express myself through music, and allow others to express themselves through dance.
By the end of the 7 week process, I hope to be able to perform a 1-2 minute live mix in front of the entire class. Using the knowledge I will acquire through my study of how to DJ, I will be able to create a mix that is so exciting that hopefully I will be able to get people to stand up and dance! In order to show how much I have progressed over the course of 7 weeks, I will record a mix when I have no experience and then compare it to the live performance I present in class. In addition, every week I will perform to my partner, Hassan, and we will evaluate each other to see if we have improved our skills. These skills being, volume control, transitioning, effects, cutting, and overall mixing. Each week we will focus on one of these skills, see how they have improved by recording and comparing. At the end of the project, I hope to become a DJ that is able to perform live with proper fading, transitioning, effects, and timing. In order to build my knowledge of DJing, I will start off by reading the classic to any how to project, DJing for Dummies, as well as research more about different DJing techniques. I have already broken down my next 7 weeks into 6 phases that are as follows:
Phase 1. To obtain and understand equipment Phase 2. Learning how to fade In/Out (Volume Control)
Phase 3. Successfully transitioning from one song to the next
Phase 4. Understand when to use effects
Phase 5. Learn to cut transition seamlessly
Phase 6. Understand the audience
After these steps are complete I believe I will be ready to create and perform a 1-2 minute live mix. Let's hope that my newfound passion for music will shine through my DJing, and hopefully you will all want to jump in and dance like you don't care. Oh and from now on, call me DJ Yush. (Pronounced DEE-JAY YOU-SH)
