@DJPaulWest

1 year ago

For anyone who’s interested in getting a deeper understanding of what you're listening to… I’ve pulled together a mini-study of the set - demystifying the ‘art of DJing’ and showing that it isn’t just pushing buttons! :) Overview The overall mood of the set was soulful and funky – starting in a more chilled and melodic manner before increasing the pace and putting people ‘into their bodies’ with more rhythmic tracks. The energy never became too aggressive and therefore worked nicely with the time of day – sundown turning to night-time. I would describe the set as having four distinct ‘chapters’ – the warm-up (with lower BPM, lower percussion intensity) for the first section; increasing the pace (an increase in BPM / percussion intensity) for the second; the third chapter becomes the climax; before bringing energy down to close the set. To create movement and interest in the sound, the guys did a great job of alternating between instrumental and vocal-driven tracks. In addition, the sequencing of the tracks in alternating between tracks driven by the low-end Vs the high/mid frequencies. Again, this also creates movement to the sound and therefore the set never feels like it becomes stale. In terms of key observations and emphasising what was done very well: Energy Movement The two biggest elements which a DJ can use to drive the energy of a set is to make changes to the BPM (the primary driver) and also changes in percussion intensity of the tracks they choose (secondary driver). The guys actively managed both of these elements to great effect. In terms of BPM, the set starts off at 126BPM, before quickly moving to 127BPM for the tracks 2 – 7. Track 8 (26:00) is moved up to 128BPM and then track 11 (35:00) is moved to 128.5BPM. Finally, as we enter the third chapter and climax of the set (59:00) the BPM is moved to 130BPM – where it holds until the end. To illustrate more clearly, if you click @ 02:00, and then @ 59:30 - you can easily perceive the difference in energy levels. This is the power of using BPM as a means of manipulating energy. In a similar manner the percussion intensity of the first track – the kick drum, the hi hats, the snare are all fairly muted. By 10:00 you can feel the difference in the kick – its much more full and energetic. If you move to 29:00 you can feel this has gone up a notch again. And finally, by 59:45 the kick, hats, snare are much more aggressive. The guys have therefore not only made movements the BPM to increase the energy but also selected tracks with higher intensity percussion to increase the energy. While the BPM is maintained at 130 until the close, the percussion intensity in the last chapter comes off from the peak. For example, at 1:16:00 you can hear the difference in intensity to 59:45 (despite both being played at the same BPM) If I was to be hyper-critical, it might have been an idea to pull the BPM to 129 and then 128 to close the set out in the final chapter (then again, there was a follow-on DJ after the Martinez Bros, so perhaps this was not the objective to the close) Frequencies While I could go into detail on the instrumental Vs vocal contrast (which creates emphasis) or the motif length changes (which can be used to make more nuanced changes to energy) I’m going to look at the differences in the frequencies of the primary voice / motif of the tracks. By using tracks which are driven by different frequencies DJs can create movement and interest in the sound. (If for example every track was driven by a bassline banger or every track had a vocal, the set would become stale very quickly) For example @ 07:10 the track is a 16 beat melody, which is driven by the higher frequencies. The following track @ 11:00 is likewise a 16 beat melody but this is driven more by the mid-range. While the next track @ 16:30 is an 8 beat rhythm driven by the low frequencies. Another example (where there is contrast in frequencies in order to create emphasis), @ 29:30 the guys use an 8 beat rhythm driven by the lows (basslines). @ 33:20 there is a 8 beat rhythm also driven by the bassline, before pulling away the bass motif at 37:45 – occupying the higher frequencies, before re-emphasising the bass frequencies @ 42:05.  It is the use of a track driven by high frequencies (and ‘takeaway’ of the low frequencies) which then provide contrast and allows re-emphasis of the low-frequencies in the following track. This is something which DJs use frequently on a more micro-level when they use a high-pass filter at the end of phrase – often removing the kick drum and bassline for the final 4 or 8 beats before reintroducing. The notion of changing frequencies is present throughout the set and creates not only movement in the sound, but also a way of creating emphasis of certain elements / frequencies. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- If you're interested in reading commentary on other Cercle DJ sets; I've included a list of the Cercle video links with my commentary at the top: Blond:ish in Sint Maarten: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad4IAkS-1-w&lc=UgyYS7pegfiMkfHUmKx4AaABAg Lee Burridge at Omnia Bali: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h96MGcsi7GQ&lc=UgyXBVeIehYJkpXra-R4AaABAg Above & Beyond in Guatape: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEzU1HvBo6Y&lc=UgzwLbb8bwfCee9x72N4AaABAg Hernán Cattáneo at Cercle Festival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Easqg4SUl2Q&lc=Ugz6nHNUJYRxJcvLxhh4AaABAg Black Coffee at Salle Wagram: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGqg_ZzThDU&lc=UgxQT39JEwTd-j7E1Ax4AaABAg More to come soon!

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