Another Drum'n'Bass mix I recorded

Mr.HappyMr.Happy Acolyte
edited February 2011 in Spurious Generalities
EDIT:

Recorded a deep/liquid mix today. It's only 35 minutes long, featuring some of my favourite lush-sounding tunes.

"It's a little bit of a random selection and I'm not entirely sure about how well the tunes flow together, I keep changing my mind about it. Feedback on that would be nice. The mixing is generally alright, not perfect but there are few really noticeable mistakes and I kept it tight for the most part. Some of these tunes are genuinely hard to mix tightly because of the way the drums are engineered and the high tones present in them which make even a tiny adjustment audible (the Dave Owen tunes are the best examples of these, and the mix with Contradictions and Feeling Kinda Blue is one of the trickiest I've come across purely because any drift at all is reeeaally noticeable), it was definitely easier to mix the last set but I feel this one is to a higher standard. I was annoyed the final teaser drifts a bit though, since it was bang-on in the previous two recordings, but what can you do?"

Mix:

[SOUNDCLOUD]

Tracklisting:

1. Klute - Strange Dinner
2. Kryptic Minds & Leon Switch - Hide The Tears (Loxy & Resound Remix)
3. Data - Splice
4. Spectrasoul - Guardian
5. Alix Perez - Forsaken
6. Lenzman - Bittersweet
7. Klute - Trust Me
8. Dave Owen - Still Waters
9. Alix Perez - Contradictions
10. Dave Owen - Feeling Kinda Blue
>> Alix Perez - Menacing Ways

/EDIT

LouisCypher seemed quite keen for me to post a mix up here, so I know at least one person will appreciate it.

It's just over an hour long, dominated by heavy and aggressive tunes (gotta love a tune called "Insane Bitch"), contains some minor mixing mistakes but mostly I'm happy with how it turned out. It's set to allow downloads if you want to keep it, but it's a 300MB+ .wav file.

Play it loud.

[SOUNDCLOUD]

Tracklist:

1. High Contrast - Days Go By
>> Alix Perex - Behind Time
2. Spinline - Radioactive
3. Icicle - Spartan
4. SKC - The World Has Changed
5. Digital & Outrage - Final Demand [S.P.Y. Remix]
6. Animal Collective - I Need A Dollar
7. Icicle - Hang On
8. Phobia & Jubei - Guillotine
9. Rockwell - Full Circle
10. D-Kay & DJ Lee - Tuning VIP
11. Skeptical - Sphere
12. Icicle - Final Stop
13. Amit & Outrage - Insane Bitch
14. Amit - MK Ultra
15. Lynx - Disco Dodo
16. SKC - Close Encounter
17. Amit & Outrage - Reclaim The Symbol
18. Fracture & Neptune - The Limit
19. EBK - Mud
20. Digital - Calling
>> Commix - Justified
>> Illskillz - They Could Love

Comments

  • edited February 2011
    Great choice on tracks, a lot of these are awesome :D Now listening, got the bass turned right up for effect. I'm liking it so far, and I'm only a little way in :D

    I tried recording something similar using Virtual DJ. Kinda sounded lame, but I'll see if I can find it.
  • Mr.HappyMr.Happy Acolyte
    edited February 2011
    Cheers dude, go ahead and post yours up if you find it.

    I forgot to say, this was all mixed on vinyl (hence the occasional bit of audible pitch-stretching). Those last two teasers were a bitch to get in, but I was in the zone by then and they turned out really nicely in the end.
  • edited February 2011
    Just finished listening to the whole thing - it was great! Really good mixing, you managed to keep everything in check throughout the whole mix, which was great. Very good mixing, the flow of the music was almost perfect and the tempo was consistent too, which was good to hear. A lot of the time, you hear DJ's mixing and they absolutely make a mess of the speed of each record, causing the whole thing to sound horrible until they start again. This mix however, was very fluid and flowing. Reminds me of water :)

    Good shit, and I'd happily listen to this at a Drum and Bass rave :thumbsup:
  • RemadERemadE Global Moderator
    edited February 2011
    DnB and your name is Mr Happy? I like you already :D
  • edited February 2011
    RemadE wrote: »
    DnB and your name is Mr Happy? I like you already :D

    This :thumbsup:

    Reminds me of someone I met once when doing an all nighter. Me and my friends decided to walk to the store at some crazy time at night, just to hang out and to pass the time. We arrived there and a guy dressed up in a bright yellow T-shirt with a smiley face on was standing there. We got talking, and he called himself the "Smiley Raver", and he basically goes around to all the raves wearing his smiley face t-shirt, being happy.

    Shit was awesome.
  • Mr.HappyMr.Happy Acolyte
    edited February 2011
    trx100 wrote: »
    Just finished listening to the whole thing - it was great! Really good mixing, you managed to keep everything in check throughout the whole mix, which was great. Very good mixing, the flow of the music was almost perfect and the tempo was consistent too, which was good to hear. A lot of the time, you hear DJ's mixing and they absolutely make a mess of the speed of each record, causing the whole thing to sound horrible until they start again. This mix however, was very fluid and flowing. Reminds me of water :)

    Good shit, and I'd happily listen to this at a Drum and Bass rave :thumbsup:

    Thanks again man, that's some glowing praise you've got there :D

    I was lucky in that I learned to mix surrounded by (good) DJs who play to crowds, so I picked up a lot of useful stuff straight away. And foremost amongst 'em was the important of keeping mixes in time/not letting them trainwreck under any circumstances... I hate listening to DJs who clearly can't beatmatch properly and just slam tunes in, let 'em clash, try to keep two very different-tempo tunes in time out loud, mis-cue, try to blag mixes in beatless sections, etc etc. Fine if you're just in your bedroom learning, but if you're in a club or something, get off the decks and let somebody who can mix play. Luckily I've only ever very rarely encountered DJs playing like that.

    RemadE, good to hear it. You've earned a place in my good books.
  • RemadERemadE Global Moderator
    edited February 2011
    trx100 wrote: »
    This :thumbsup:

    Reminds me of someone I met once when doing an all nighter. Me and my friends decided to walk to the store at some crazy time at night, just to hang out and to pass the time. We arrived there and a guy dressed up in a bright yellow T-shirt with a smiley face on was standing there. We got talking, and he called himself the "Smiley Raver", and he basically goes around to all the raves wearing his smiley face t-shirt, being happy.

    Shit was awesome.

    Well that and..this..



    :hai::hai::hai:
  • Mr.HappyMr.Happy Acolyte
    edited February 2011
    That song's jokes, but I do generally hate jump-up.

    EDIT: I wish I still had it on vinyl, though, I unfortunately lost my copy. If you remember that old Fresh tune, The Immortal, I had a sick mix with those two. WUM WUH WUH-UM, WUM WUH WUH-UM!
  • LouisCypherLouisCypher Regular
    edited February 2011
    On the DL, tracklisting looks good, I loves me some amit and Fracture and Neptune.
  • Mr.HappyMr.Happy Acolyte
    edited February 2011
    Just played the song all the way through before posting. It was pretty fucking awesome. I love DnB and yours was mixed really well. Good job :thumbsup:

    Cheers man, I missed your comment last time I looked at this.

    The little mixing blips bug me, but then again I know the mix much better than anybody who's listening to it, like I know exactly when I'm gonna hear a little pitch stretch in each mix and which drops are going to be a fraction off when they kick, I'm automatically listening out for them. Did anything stand out as a mistake to you?

    (it's the first mix I recorded - apart from an earlier version of the same mix - and I'm surprised how much of a learning tool it was)
    On the DL, tracklisting looks good, I loves me some amit and Fracture and Neptune.

    Amit's one of my favourite producers, I've got a few more of his tunes so I'll throw 'em into the next heavy mix I record. You get a chance to listen to it yet?
  • edited February 2011
    There was a noticeable mistake (noticeable to me as a musician, maybe not so noticeable to others) where an off-beat snare was coming in at just the wrong time for a little too long.You sorted it out in the end, but I think you could work on getting the beats matched just a little faster.

    That's being extremely critical though, and I can't even remember where I noticed the mistake.
  • Mr.HappyMr.Happy Acolyte
    edited February 2011
    Extremely critical is fine by me, 'cos I eventually want to be an extremely good DJ :cool:

    *listens to mix again*
  • Mr.HappyMr.Happy Acolyte
    edited February 2011
    Played from 8 countries:

    ...

    7. Pakistan (1)


    DFG I SEE YOU THERE :D
  • LouisCypherLouisCypher Regular
    edited February 2011
    Mr.Happy wrote: »
    Extremely critical is fine by me, 'cos I eventually want to be an extremely good DJ :cool:

    *listens to mix again*

    Extremely critical?

    You need alot more practice man. Very few of the mixes were smooth and in the ultra competetive world of dj's those mixes better be smooth as butter. That being said, Its obvious you can mix records, and if you put in the time and work you won't be far off from being able to make a really killer mix.

    Recording a mix is hard. I don't know about you but even 5 years ago when I was at it every day and even playing out occasionally, once you hit that record button it really rattles your nerves. I know guys that have been djing profesionally for years and still record and rerecord their mix 4-5 times before they get it just right, and they HAVE to. Especially in the DNB world where at the average weekly show there are probably as many or more dj's in attendance than fans, tons of chin stroking hipsters with drinks in their hands standing around rolling their eyes if anyone gets off beat for a split second.

    I need some hardcore practice too, I haven't been spinning much at all the past 2 years, and after the fader went out on my mixer I just never replaced it, its probably been a year since I last mixed records. Last week I replaced my mixer, took it home and played for awhile, I'm pretty sloppy, but beatmatching is like riding a bike. Recording a mix however, is another story. The day after I listened to yours, I downloaded audacity and tried to record a mix, trainwreck city. I made it through about 3 records before I quit. :facepalm:

    I'll try to get something together in the next week or so and if I can share it without humiliating myself I'll post it up on Totse.
  • Mr.HappyMr.Happy Acolyte
    edited February 2011
    Ah yes, the DJ's perspective.

    That's more how I listen to the mix. The mistakes aren't huge but are really noticeable to my ears. Passable for bedroom mixing or a session with mates or an hour up on the decks at a house party or something... but I wouldn't use it as a promo or put it on a CD for people. You listen to a proper mix CD and the quality is just ridiculously high, not a single beat out of time for a second, it's nuts. By my standards it was a good mix, mind, so I was pleased with it nevertheless.

    It's strange hitting that record button. Like you're concentrating so hard on not making mistakes than you're more likely to make one... or rather, that if you make a small mistake or hear the records drifting out, you panic a little and handle it worse than you should. Great learning experience though, I'm going to start making a habit of it. Really lets you get a detached perspective on things. I'll put another one up by next week in a slightly more chilled-out vein.
  • bornkillerbornkiller Administrator In your girlfriends snatch
    edited February 2011
    That is fucking sik. :cool:
  • Mr.HappyMr.Happy Acolyte
    edited February 2011
    ^ cheers buddy!
  • bornkillerbornkiller Administrator In your girlfriends snatch
    edited February 2011
    Nope...Thank you bro. It gives me something awesome to listen to while browsing totse. :)
  • Mr.HappyMr.Happy Acolyte
    edited February 2011
    Heh, let's get some mutual love up in this bitch.

    I'm going to go work on another one now. Got frustrated with the mellow approach because I couldn't slot together a tracklisting that I was totally satisfied with so I'm just gonna bust out the filth again.
  • Mr.HappyMr.Happy Acolyte
    edited February 2011
    I added another mix to the OP, 35-minute deep/liquid set. Went for the pleasant approach after all :)
  • Darth BeaverDarth Beaver Meine Ehre heißt Treue
    edited February 2011
    Nice work Mr. Happy, not my cup of tea but i can appreciate the effort you put into it.
  • LouisCypherLouisCypher Regular
    edited February 2011
    The new mix is dope.
  • Mr.HappyMr.Happy Acolyte
    edited February 2011
    Thanks guys :)

    And bump for new, attention-grabbing title (cheers Marijuanasaurus).
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