JournalInTime
Forum Master
Well, that's the ultimate skill. All things being equal, announcing tangos is a tie-breaker.
Tango DJ-ing
- Thread starter ardix
- Start date
JournalInTime
Forum Master
Underlining the problem with judging a DJ "good" or "bad" based on what they play and not who they play it for.
I don't judge a DJ based on whether they play music that I, personally, like. I might judge the event a dud, but not the DJ. I'm well aware that my penchant for the late 1940s though early 1960s, complex melodies with tempo changes and unobvious beats, band leaders nobody much has heard of, etc. isn't universal or even widespread. I have to accept that I won't often hear what I like.
I do judge DJs based on whether they play music that the majority of dancers at the event like, because if I can't have the music I like, I can at least profit from the great energy this creates. A DJ who keeps playing rhythmic tangos to a crowd that sits waiting for lyric music or vice versa, 1920s-30s tangos to people who are waiting for 1940s-50s tunes or vice versa, more Pugliese than Troilo at a "celebrating Troilo" party, etc. isn't that great. Especially if someone politely requests something and the DJ ignores them.
A lot of DJs get it in their head that it's their job to challenge and teach dancers – to show them "Here are the classics danced by serious dancers everywhere." Whatever. Their actual job is to read the crowd and adjust their tandas to please the dancers, even if the results aren't pleasing to the DJ. The top five or six Golden Age orquestas are not, in fact, a safe bet everywhere; as time goes on, more and more younger dancers are challenging that.
I mostly agree, but I would like to hear some of the DJ's personality coming through and at least a couple of tandas of whatever they think is good that others have overlooked, and equally importantly I don't want the DJ to play music that they personally think is bad or overrated. That way we get different sets from different DJs, not the same one all the time.
JournalInTime
Forum Master
I think it's possible to hit both targets. A really excellent DJ will give the crowd what it wants but with their personal twist on it . . . sort of like a good barman won't refuse to make you the drink you ordered but may well put a spin on it that challenges you to think as you drink. I'm just against DJs who do the DJ equivalent of a barman at a self-described Martini bar serving Margaritas to people who want Martinis rather than, say, experimenting with a few drops of tequila in a signature Martini.
ArbeeNYC
Forum Master
This makes no sense. By good music, I mean the ebb and flow of the tandas during the evening. How does one not be a good DJ in that sense, playing good music in the right sequences? Also, when or where does an organizer ever ask a DJ to play something specific? Maybe in B.A. but not up here. I've never seen anyone interfere with a DJ unless there's something wrong with the sound system.
opendoor
Forum Master
Sorry, it sounded to me as if you meant your preferred pieces and orchestras, Arbee.
It happens all the time, you just don't realize it. Neolonga organizers will not invite you if you play traditional music. You will as well no longer be invited to traditional milongas if you are suspected of playing complicated or unusual pieces.
Speaking to a local milonga organiser a few weeks ago, I was told who would be the DJ, who had come to AT through nuevo, alternative, jive, etc and had been adapting AT to his dance styles. I was told: Don't worry, he's moved from the dark side, and I've told him to strictly limit the alternative and nuevo.
LadyLeader
Forum Master
For me the DJ skill is not so much about the favorite songs but about what is happening in my body and dance. The most important dividing line seems to be the musical education and I find my favorites among the experience based DJs and dancers. I am pretty sure there are a lot of people crossing the line to both directions but still it has importance for me.
Appreciated DJs with professional music background can leave med seated when a AT dancer as DJ can keep me on the pista, dancing like crazy.
When I feel content and happy at the end of a long milonga I know that s/he knows the energy management. On contrary if I am exited even next morning the energy was obviously too high at the end of the milonga.
A good DJ knows the options to play when the pista is chaotic.
Appreciated DJs with professional music background can leave med seated when a AT dancer as DJ can keep me on the pista, dancing like crazy.
When I feel content and happy at the end of a long milonga I know that s/he knows the energy management. On contrary if I am exited even next morning the energy was obviously too high at the end of the milonga.
A good DJ knows the options to play when the pista is chaotic.
Well, I can, and regularly do, play anything from 100% golden age to 100% contemporary, so I'll ask the organizers what their guests' preference is myself
JournalInTime
Forum Master
It totally happens all the time, and you don't have to go as far as traditional vs. nontraditional to underline it. When I was behind the tango bar, the owner and organizer regularly asked the DJ – who was right there next to me – to play something she or an influential or popular guest wanted, or not to play certain music. One DJ I loved (and who is no longer with us, R.I.P.) told me, "I'd love to play X, but she won't have it." I'm talking about specific Golden Age music here . . . orquestas, recordings, years, whatever.
I find the claim that DJs generally have free rein to be more surprising, to be honest. Most of our local places have crowds with clear preferences, and the organizers definitely tell the DJs to respect those. Of course, in several of these places the DJ is one of the organizers most of the time, so it's less obvious.
TTanguero
Forum Master
In a blog post I wrote this morning about The Feast (a quarterly tango festival in the UK), I quoted something which made a lot of sense to me:
There are many different ways we can judge a DJ, and we all have our own criteria. In large part, of course, this will depend on the music we love.
But I was struck by something teacher and DJ Felipe Martinez said in a recent podcast. He said that at a local milonga, where everyone knows each other, a DJ might be more experimental, and aim to introduce dancers to lesser-known songs. But at a festival, where people are dancing with unfamiliar partners in an unfamiliar ronda, they already have enough new things to cope with. In those circumstances, he said, he would stick more to the classic songs.
JournalInTime
Forum Master
It's certainly a complex equation.
There's the consideration of local milongas filled with regulars (which tend to be either rigidly set in their ways, like many of ours, or chummy enough to entertain experimentation) vs. invitation-only encuentros and marathons (which can poll their attendees for musical preferences, or even select attendees on that basis) vs. festivals and even local milongas during high tourist season (which have to offer a kind of least common denominator).
There's the matter of whether the DJ is a volunteer (who can walk if their artistic sensibilities are offended), a high-profile hire (who can probably dictate their terms), a low-profile hire (who has to follow orders), or one of the organizers (who can do whatever the heck they want).
There are also special-case rules, like "Does the event celebrate a specific orquesta leader's birthday?" (I've been to a Troilo-fest) and "Is it a teaching event?" (I've also been to a milonga designed to teach students the orquestas). These can override the above; e.g., an arty volunteer with strong preferences DJing an all-comers event might set aside their preferences and those of the average dancer if the event is advertised in advance as "all Pugliese, all night."
All of it has to be sensitive to the dancers' age and experience level. Notably, younger dancers tend to like more energetic music and more recent cuts that they can build bridges to. Experienced dancers have less fear of complex melodies and tempo changes, and less reliance on a clear beat. You can ignore them, but they won't be back next time.
Rereading all that, I'm now convinced that I don't want to be a DJ.
There's the consideration of local milongas filled with regulars (which tend to be either rigidly set in their ways, like many of ours, or chummy enough to entertain experimentation) vs. invitation-only encuentros and marathons (which can poll their attendees for musical preferences, or even select attendees on that basis) vs. festivals and even local milongas during high tourist season (which have to offer a kind of least common denominator).
There's the matter of whether the DJ is a volunteer (who can walk if their artistic sensibilities are offended), a high-profile hire (who can probably dictate their terms), a low-profile hire (who has to follow orders), or one of the organizers (who can do whatever the heck they want).
There are also special-case rules, like "Does the event celebrate a specific orquesta leader's birthday?" (I've been to a Troilo-fest) and "Is it a teaching event?" (I've also been to a milonga designed to teach students the orquestas). These can override the above; e.g., an arty volunteer with strong preferences DJing an all-comers event might set aside their preferences and those of the average dancer if the event is advertised in advance as "all Pugliese, all night."
All of it has to be sensitive to the dancers' age and experience level. Notably, younger dancers tend to like more energetic music and more recent cuts that they can build bridges to. Experienced dancers have less fear of complex melodies and tempo changes, and less reliance on a clear beat. You can ignore them, but they won't be back next time.
Rereading all that, I'm now convinced that I don't want to be a DJ.
I'd go out of my way for that
JournalInTime
Forum Master
So would I. But the only comparable event I ever attended was "all Troilo, all night," unless you count La Juan D'Arienzo.
TTanguero
Forum Master
I'd cross oceans for that