DnB Collecting and Mixing but never wanting to play out ?

Stevie Dee

Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2008
Location
Glastonbury
Hey guys, bit of a weird one and sorry if it's in the wrong area.

Just been thinking about the way i approach the whole drum & bass scene. I actively follow all new releases and check out most member's mixes and podcasts, spend about £120 a month on records and mix daily.

But i never feel the desire to actually play out or go to local drum & bass nights, and i feel like i might be missing out in not getting involved. Not sure if it's down to not really being 'in' with the local area's scene or the general aggro that comes with playing out.

So, does anyone here collect records and mix at home exclusively or do you all play out as often as possible?
 
dj'd at house parties and stuff but never really done it in a club and I've been mixing about 5 years. I can understand not wanting to play out or not being bothered about playing out, but you should definately hit the local drum & bass nights up and do a bit of skanking
 
I love collecting vinyl, mix at home, got a few regular slots around the towns near me.....get involved dude. I love playing out, specially when you play a banging set and ppl give you respect for it!
 
I buy records, go out A LOT and DJ out when I can. I think by going out to nights and stuff you get a real feel for new tunes and what sounds good etc
 
either way big up yourself for buying records. mixing is a hobby the same as anyhting else and if you enjoy it then good on you. i find if i've had a hard day a good mix can really help me unwind, nothing better in my opinion.
 
I put my decks and stuff away for a good month cos i wasnt feeling mixing recently. Then i went out and bought a stack of new tunes and left them to sit there. Then thought about all the mixes i could do, got all the equipment set back up and have properly got the mixing bug back again
 
dnb has always had a sense of community ive not experienced in any other music scene. Definately go out to your local underground places, theres loads of like minded peeps there that you can share your passion with. Why would you not want new friends that like the same stuff as you?

Be sure to hit the undergound though, theyre easy going, non assumptive and generally better nights. The bigger venues tend to be fucking mental. Too much chav, not enough space for said chavs. People get heated. You leave with a bitter taste. At least that was my last experience at hospitality in notts.
 
I've played out in the past but the local scene seems to be dominated by two or three groups that seems really 'clicky' and a bit aggy.

There's always gonna be politics involved and it will depend on how you play things...but then the enjoyment of playing out and people praising you for a good set is your reward for all that bollox.

Swings n roundbaouts mate
 
I've played out in the past but the local scene seems to be dominated by two or three groups that seems really 'clicky' and a bit aggy.

you'll find that anywhere tbh mate , get yourself about and hand your mixes in to the promoters etc , maybe start a litte net radio show to showcase what you do and put mixes up for download , if your happy tho bro just do your bedroom ting ;)
 
I have no intention of ever playing out, I just love mixing for the sake of mixing.

Maybe in the future I would play out if someone asked me to, but I am nowhere near that level yet hahaha
 
In my opinion you should only want to play out if thats a sincere desire you have, don't think that you have to want to play out to people just because you dj, for me the two don't necessarily go hand in hand. I'm sure there are many people that mix just for fun/self enjoyment. I could stick a bunch of tunes in an iTunes playlist and listen quite contently but then stick the same tunes on a set of cds mix away and you can see a whole other side. You shouldn't just move on to playing out as you see it as the next step, there are already far too many producers who turn to DJing just to make money, you can always tell they're not enjoying/thinking of their set and it just ruins it for everyone.

Regardless though of wether you DJ you should definitely give drum and bass nights a chance. It's true that some nights may not suit you for reasons like the crowd (moshers) or could be the music choice but it's all about finding that one night, sound or DJ that just gets you going.
 
Mainly a bedroom DJ myself... I keep up to date, go to local events, spend about £30 per month on records, and record the occasional mix to go online. Mix almost daily, still love it.

Love playing out when I get the chance, but it's very rare as the scene's small in Guildford and there's definitely no shortage of people wanting to play. When I was living in Southampton I played out a lot more at events and house parties.
 
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My brother asked me the other day when I was gonna start playing clubs, I asked him when he was going to start playing in the premiership.


any profession that requires you to perform in front of people, hundreds and thousands of others do it just cause they enjoy it.
 
either way big up yourself for buying records. mixing is a hobby the same as anyhting else and if you enjoy it then good on you. i find if i've had a hard day a good mix can really help me unwind, nothing better in my opinion.

This 100%

Nothing better after a shitty day.
 
I put my decks and stuff away for a good month cos i wasnt feeling mixing recently. Then i went out and bought a stack of new tunes and left them to sit there. Then thought about all the mixes i could do, got all the equipment set back up and have properly got the mixing bug back again

I miss the mixing bug. I haven't been able to mix properly for months. I can only play at a fairly average standard when I play out.

Oh the pain of being skint and not able to buy tunes.
 
I finish work 9-5 every week day, first thing i do when i get home is get changed, and power on the 1210's. Cant imagine getting home and not having even a little sesh. Trying to get pretty good, and i think doing it has made me improve quite a lot.
 
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