What are DJs doing wrong

[itwillhappen]

The average tango DJ simply isn't interested in discographical information.

What could an average DJ do with discographical information exactly? I mean, aside from the usual tags like orchestra, singer, and release date?
(And a talented, top-notch DJ doesn't need any technical information anyway; they hear a track and either it fits somewhere or it doesn't.)

 

[Rabbit]

Thought experiment: if you are a DJ and wanted to have people not dance - let’s say to prop up the alcohol sale at the venue or because your past lover is there and you want to spite them - what would you do?

You have to still stick to the tanda system, can’t be obvious about it, but your goal is to do all the things dancers hate. How would you go about it?

Wear earplugs. Have ChatGPT prepare one explanation of why the track you just played is historically and culturally significant for when people complain. Use it for every track. Play 3rd-rate GA orchestras, guardia vieja, and obscure Troilo that no one ever heard of, with the songs in random order. Ensure the sound quality of the tracks is bad enough that the violins and bandoneons are unrecognisable as actual musical instruments. Then EQ the bass and treble up to maximum.

Put salsa/bachata cortinas and play the song full length every time at least 1 couple starts dancing. If questioned, explain that this is how it is done in Buenos Aires, then play 3 chacareras.

Every 3 tandas, announce that drinks are half price at the bar for the next 30 minutes only. Also that someone's birthday will be next month (even if you don't know when it actually is), and that there is a festival this coming weekend in a city 8 time zones away.

 

[ArbeeNYC]

As I mentioned earlier, the tango crowd isn't selective in their listening and will dance to any music that's the problem.

Depends on the crowd.

 

[itwillhappen]

Depends on the crowd.

Then you have to select the crowd appropriately, perhaps implizit at a milonga notoriously unfriendly to beginners ("El Destino" in your area?), or even explizit at an encuenro.
But you usually also get a shift in taste towards "Top 50 Tandas EdO 1941-46".

My personal explanation:
@opendoor is right, the majority of tango dancers simply dance together, mostly in the same style, mostly slightly off-beat. And that often feels better than trying to force yourself to the music. Ultimately, your dance partner is still alive, and the musicians are already dead. Or you end up hopping around to non-tango music.
And then there's a segment of experienced dancers who want to dance musically, fluidly, and with ease to mostly familiar music.
Gifted dancer, who can adapt their dance to a wide range of music, but perhaps only want to dance to a part of it at any given time, are naturally rare.

Personally, I draw my own conclusions from my observations:
In the first third of a milonga, I play simpler but good-sounding pieces. In the second third, I play more complex but good-sounding pieces. And in the final third of a milonga, I play an "endgame" with more opulent and good-sounding pieces (that I personally enjoy). Anyone who doesn't want to join in can go home, but in general, this works very well for my regular milongas.

 

[opendoor]

Depends on the crowd.

I don't think so. And my city also has a relatively large scene. 75% of milonga goers belong to a homogeneous core group that you see at all the major milongas. They are tolerant, or as I say, immune to the music. The remaining 25% dance in niches for beginners or on the outskirts of the city. They also are immune. Only the neo-dancers are strongly confined to a particular style.
The scene is divided along dance-related, geographical, or sociological criteria, but not with regard to musical demands.

 

[brujo]

Ultimately, your dance partner is still alive, and the musicians are already dead. Or you end up hopping around to non-tango music.

Is there a compromise here? Feels like either you have the modern traditionalist like Cachivache or Tango Bardo or bands that try new stuff but their music feels too simplistic for traditional dancers like Bajofondo or Tanghetto. Are there tracks that exist that feed the neotango desire for innovation but are also rhythmically complex? If so who? Or is that not possible at all?

 

[itwillhappen]

Dear DJ Diary...

...I've been going through my D'Arienzo tracks and checking the tags. Around 2000 files have accumulated over time, so there are a lot of different transfers and duplicates.
To my ears, there's hardly any progress; beyond EdO, it's just more of the same sound, routinely played music so the orchestra musicians can support their families.
Basically, it's acoustic pollution, but also a waste of time. One minute per track, that's 2000 minutes, or 33 hours, 4 working days. As a DJ, you're better off retired.

I'm going to try Francisco Canaro now; at least he offered some innovations and dared to experiment...

 

[opendoor]

..D'Arienzo ..Around 2000 files have accumulated over time.. To my ears, there's hardly any progress; beyond EdO.. Basically, it's acoustic pollution.. going to try Francisco Canaro now..

Right from the very beginning of my tango career I refused to listen or dance to every Victor tracks that had been recorded with ribbon microphones. Odeon employed moving coil mics from 1950 on. Victor did the upgrade in 1955. Therefore, as a DJ I don't have those aforementioned 2000 files. I only play Late d'Arienzo.

 

[itwillhappen]

herefore, as a DJ I don't have those aforementioned 2000 files. I only play Late d'Arienzo.

My ears aren't so sensitive; I decide on a case-by-case basis what I consider acceptable and what I don't.
However, I have accumulated - including many duplicates and the like - at least 7,000 tracks featuring tangos dating from 1950 right up to now; so far, I have adjusted the tags for approximately 4,500 of them. At some point, I plan to rent a venue and try to host a milonga specialized on this.

 

[opendoor]

My ears aren't so sensitive..

I don't believe you. Compare the sound quality of recordings by d'Arienzo and di Sarli before the upgrade at Victor's with contemporaneous productions by Pugliese, Biagi, or de Angelis, who always were with Odeon.

 

[TTanguero]

Compare the sound quality of recordings by d'Arienzo and di Sarli before the upgrade at Victor's with contemporaneous productions by Pugliese, Biagi, or de Angelis, who always were with Odeon.

I think my ears are very good at filtering out the sound quality and hearing only the music, at least while dancing.

 

[AlexTangoFuego]

Then you have to select the crowd appropriately, perhaps implizit at a milonga notoriously unfriendly to beginners ("El Destino" in your area?), or even explizit at an encuenro.
But you usually also get a shift in taste towards "Top 50 Tandas EdO 1941-46".

My personal explanation:
@opendoor is right, the majority of tango dancers simply dance together, mostly in the same style, mostly slightly off-beat. And that often feels better than trying to force yourself to the music. Ultimately, your dance partner is still alive, and the musicians are already dead. Or you end up hopping around to non-tango music.
And then there's a segment of experienced dancers who want to dance musically, fluidly, and with ease to mostly familiar music.
Gifted dancer, who can adapt their dance to a wide range of music, but perhaps only want to dance to a part of it at any given time, are naturally rare.

Personally, I draw my own conclusions from my observations:
In the first third of a milonga, I play simpler but good-sounding pieces. In the second third, I play more complex but good-sounding pieces. And in the final third of a milonga, I play an "endgame" with more opulent and good-sounding pieces (that I personally enjoy). Anyone who doesn't want to join in can go home, but in general, this works very well for my regular milongas.

What’s the meaning of “EdO”? I’ve been seeing that used a lot lately, for the first time in 23 years…

 

[opendoor]

What’s the meaning of “EdO”? I’ve been seeing that used a lot lately, for the first time in 23 years…

twenty years ago we used GA instead, Alex !

 

[itwillhappen]

"Época de Oro"

 

[itwillhappen]

I don't believe you. Compare the sound quality of recordings by d'Arienzo and di Sarli before the upgrade at Victor's with contemporaneous productions by Pugliese, Biagi, or de Angelis, who always were with Odeon.

True, but in the world of tango, a great deal of hastily performed and carelessly mixed entertainment music was released anyway.
I give it a quick listen and make a decision; any potential technical issues are of secondary importance to me.
Sometimes, to my ears, even something from 1930 sounds acceptable.

I think my ears are very good at filtering out the sound quality and hearing only the music, at least while dancing.

May be - even if there is a school of thought that suggests distorted sound eventually has a negative "psychoacoustic" effect on the general mood.
However, I don't listen to tangos only "while dancing" (and DJing, as I suppse many DJs do). And if I find myself wondering - say, while driving - whether the sound really has to be that poor, then the dancers are surely wondering the same thing, at least at the beginning of a dance. Besides, one can always play something else out; there is usually no shortage of options.