DJ's & Producers - Two Different Worlds

Hey guys! Hope you had an awesome easter weekend break and enjoyed the relaxation. Or, if you're like me, going out and doing the complete opposite and partying hard ;).

Today I figured I would tackle one of the biggest questions for newcomers and beginners to the electronic music industry: What is a DJ and what is a Producer? How are they different and how do people do both simultaneously? All of these questions will be answered in this blog as well as clearing up some of the confusion around this topic. So without further ado, lets jump right in!

First off, what is a DJ?

There's definitely no avoiding the stereotype here, by definition, a DJ is someone who plays records to an audience. Generally, these records are other people's songs. However, what the general public don't realise is that there is a lot more that goes into it than "just hitting play". A DJ's job is to control the crowd, search for the vibe of the room or venue and play music that is appropriate for the given circumstances. From this point on the main goal is to progressively lift the energy in the room and get everybody dancing. However, it does get a little bit more technical than you may think.

There are many areas that I could start with but why don't we start off with what everybody's thinking: what the fuck are the headphones for?

Half of a Dj's job is to blend songs together seamlessly and create smooth transitions between them. This is controlled by the cue functions on the mixer. On every volume fader (a standard mixer has 4), there is a headphone 'cue' button. Once this button is activated, it enables the Dj to listen to the track they have loaded onto that channel through the headphones without having to touch the fader. Essentially, the Dj can hear what the crowd can't.

For example, if I was playing a track at 124BPM (beats per minute) and decided to mix in another track that was also 124BPM, I would cue the first and second track's and begin blending them together in my headphones. The crowd however, would still only be listening to the first track that was playing to begin with. That is, until I begin to use the fader on the second channel to make the second track present. From this point on, it is simply a matter of EQ and blending the two together to make a smooth transition. When mixing electronic dance music in general, this is very easy as the tracks are created and produced to blend together in a live mixing environment. However, if you ever want to make it past the peak of performing in clubs, original content is the next step.

This leads to the next big question...

What is a Producer?

This seems to be the part where everybody gets confused when in reality, its actually very simple! Let me explain...

A producer is somebody who spends less time Dj'ing (if not at all) and more so creating original content and tracks. A producer's job is to create the tracks that the Dj plays and potentially, create tracks for themselves or other artists. However, this raises another big question, if the producer is spending so much time making music and not actually Dj'ing, how do they perform the tracks they spent so long making? Is it even possible? In fact it is and its also a very interesting process.

Australian music producer Flume can be used as an excellent example of this as he was never a DJ to begin with and strictly focused on his music. His setup is known as the 'Infinity Prism' and it consists of a main mixer accompanied by multiple MIDI instruments that are run through Ableton Live software. Flume has actually created a youtube video outlining his entire live setup that he performs with on tour which I have listed below for those who are interested!

Flume Live - Behind The Scenes With The Infinity Prism

Do people do both?

The answer to this one is a big fat yes, in fact most of the electronic artists of the music industry in the current generation are both Dj's and Producers. However, most of the current artists in the industry began as Producers immediately and this reflects in their sets as their skills towards Dj'ing as an art is rather basic. Martin Garrix can be used as a clear example of this as he tops the charts with his tracks but when it comes to Dj'ing, drop mixing is about the maximum extent of his capabilities. For anyone who is unaware as to what drop mixing is, here a video tutorial by DJ Gustav demonstrating how a lot of big Dj's perform in the current music industry.

How to Drop Mix like Martin Garrix, Jay Hardway, Don Diablo etc. (Pioneer XDJ-RX) - Tutorial 2017

So... What's the difference man?

Although most of the differences between the two have already been identified throughout the course of this blog, I'd like to show you guys a video that DJ/Producer Laidback Luke created about the difference between the two as he was once only a DJ before he started creating original content as a producer.

Laidback Luke - Dj's and producers are not the same

Although Luke is covering most of what I have already mentioned, he does make an extremely valid point about producers which I almost forgot to mention! As a producer, it is rather important that you are somewhat of a gear head in terms of plug-ins and audio effects and equipment. A talented producer should be able to easily distinguish where certain sounds and elements belong in a song such the position of various instruments like the bass, synths and drums! They also generally have an audible talent for certain frequencies and the places they belong in tracks. At the end of the day, there is a lot more that goes into producing music than just 'makin phat beatz'.

To finish...

Overall, DJ's and Producers are from two different worlds, its only under certain circumstances that these two worlds tend to meet. A DJ comes from a domain where its all about playing tracks and the order in which you should play them in. Whereas, a Producer comes from a domain in which it's all about making tracks from scratch and mixing them. I hope you guys learn't something from this blog, it was a rather lengthy one today! Look forward to lots more blogging content to come from me this week as I aim to cover what I will be doing in terms of new projects and also how to avoid Copyright laws in terms of remixing tracks! Until then, catch ya's next time!

Levels :)