The latest controversy on the drum and bass forums is the hot topic of DJs playing pre-mixed CDs at gigs.  The whole issue has proved to be pretty divisive, polarising opinions into those who think it's harmless in this technological day and age, and those who think it makes a mockery of other DJs who take pride in their craft and work hard for the fees they command.

Those who defend the practice as harmless adduce to their argument the fact that the rapid rise in use of digital formats – MP3s, CDs, Ableton, etc – has meant that the more analogue skills honed by vinyl use have become a bit redundant.

What's the problem with a producer putting on a pre-mixed CD of their tunes on? The audience gets to hear the music they like and the exposure to the exclusive tunes they can only hear from that artist, right?

Understandably you'd feel cheated if you'd paid to see an artist DJ and instead they stood there texting their mates and pretending to fiddle with ineffectual knobs and buttons; if I was a promoter I would be furious, but is there really anything wrong in principle if that's what you were expecting to see?

If you were a paying punter, wouldn't you still feel a bit cheated? In order to answer any of those questions it's necessary to turn first to the central question of this whole debate: what value does a DJ add to a night?  Is it really just 'all about the music'?

Well no, no it's not. That's why a big name DJ can still draw a crowd, because not only are they acting as an authority on, and editors of, the best and most current music, but a good DJ knows how to read and work a crowd.

In addition to simply having a broad selection of tunes, a DJ can adapt cleverly and bring a unique energy to a room; an advantage that is lost by playing off a mix CD. Track selection, EQing, blending, crowd interaction, a little turntablism, all contribute to a live DJing performance. Bunging on a CD or hunching behind an Apple Mac playing solitaire does not qualify as a performance, even if no one notices.

Some have put forward the argument that the act of playing off pre-mixed CDs should be viewed as a statement and that the deliberate omission of a performance becomes the performance itself, forcing the audience to question its assumptions about the role and relevance of the DJ in the post-digital clubbing environment.

Again, fine if that's the stated intention, but a DJ taking payment for playing pre-mixed CDs is not ironic or subversive, it's fraudulent. Nor does the deliberate omission of performance challenge preconceptions regarding the notion of authenticity and difficulty.  

As those who have tried to make such a statement have learned the hard way, DJing isn't just as easy as turning up and hitting 'play'. To assert that that's all there is to DJing is ignorant if you're in front of the decks and staggeringly arrogant if you're behind them.

Just because it's possible to pre-record an entire set and spend the evening at the bar, it doesn't mean any DJ should or would want to do that.  In fact, if they did want to do that, it would probably be time to step away from the decks all together.  

Unless there comes a time when punters and promoters will explicitly choose to pay a producer to stand behind the decks and hit 'play', it's disrespectful to represent yourself to paying people to be something you're not.

 

Related Links:

• Give Em Props: DJ Joy-C
• Native Instruments Reveal Traktor Kontrol S4
• Preview: Pioneer DJM-2000 Mixer
• Review: Sinister Sound, Toronto
• Review: Joell Ortiz @ Cargo

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