Tips/tricks to putting together a unique mix

[loudsubz]

What tips/tricks do you guys have for putting together some interesting (off the beaten path) mixes. Something that just isn't a 60 min mix of todays top 40 music. Up here we have a DJ called Starting from scratch who is pretty bad ass on the radio. He does some mixes throwing older tune acappella on top of new beats, changing the background beat for a couple of songs in a row and really changing the norm of what a DJ mix is. Sometimes his stuff gets really creative.

[wazza]

one tip for live remixing.... is use the Cross samplers for you beats and bass lines and use the decks for your acappelas
set beat-grids for the acappelas right and the sampler will lock to the beat, tight with no driffed

its the best loop sampler in any DJ software..and you put it with the right sampler MIDI controller to make it BAD-ASS .

.it just needs some more thing

[Alexkidd]

Select you songs carefully
Know your music
Practice

The rest will come when you find your own unique style.
Unique style = Unique mixes

[loudsubz]

When you mention select your songs carefully, does that mean BPM and Key matching so you don't have a train wreck leading from one sing to another?

[Alexkidd]

When you mention select your songs carefully, does that mean BPM and Key matching so you don't have a train wreck leading from one sing to another?

Bpm & key matter a lot yes, but the most important thing is mood. Don't destroy the mood. Take for example Gaslamp Killer... all of his transitions are awfull but he keeps the desired mood.

on the other side is richie hawtin who is so smooth and keeps the mood as well.

I'll tell you my approach to this. Every time i organize my music for a set i am imagining of a story i want to tell with it. When its finally time to play the set, some detail of the story may be different but the meaning stays the same. When you start you have to know where you want to get.

[loudsubz]

wow, great explanation, thank you for your input

[BennyB]

You need to listen your damn songs That is the sad trouth.

When you start thinking about a transition on your head, when two songs fit together perfectly, or you think it's awsome, just try to do it. If you have a lot a transitions like this in your head, then you can use them well in the mixes.

If you are putting a recorded mix tugether, that is different thing.

You can carefully plan the "Mindf*ck" and the "Hight" of the pople, choosing songs together and imagine their transitions, their order.
For a one hour mix I mostly choose songs that fot more than one hour if mixed, then carfully see them in context of each other, and remove the ones that does not fit... regardless how hit or how cool they are: iF a track doesn't fit in the mix concept don't put it in.

Before recording I practice the mix at least once, or stop at certain transitions to perfect them.

1 hour mix takes at least 3-4 hours to make:
Preparation: The correct hardware setup for the mix
Song selection: Just select some songs for the mix. YOu will immediatelly know which one you will use as intro, and so on, but not don't assemble the playlist yet.
Putting the songs in order: Painful thing but worth it. You usually listen the songs well, try to figure out the order, which 2 songs could have a good transition and so on. In this phase I touch the mixer, try to mix them, see what happens.
Practice mix: Practice the whole mix. You can record this, for later use or just to listen back the mix to perfect it (this is a good point to see how long the mix is exactly)
Recording: Just create the mix with everything you know know, most stuff should be in place.
Mastering: Final touches in the mix using Ableton. If I failed a mix so badly, I didn't notice while mixing, this is the point to correct it. Also I consider removing longer monoton parts from a song that makes you bored, mostly because I "shot over" the length of the mix.

I don't know what music you play but here is a good example:

http://www.mixcloud.com/dj_johnny_Bee/bennyb-ehri-competition-mix-2012-02-24/

[Blackbrook]

you only need one thing: THE ear, the in capital letters is important

[MusicMeister]

Take songs you would not normally play.

Mix them.

Do that a lot. Listen to all kinds of music. Push yourself outside your comfort zone. I've found some of the BEST music that way.

Once you are comfortable with the mechanics - start getting creative. Start holding longer and longer mixes. Start looking to rip out bass lines and replace them.

At the point you start putting different parts of the songs together you're not thing as much as a DJ but more like a composer. Look for common threads, similar samples, similar bass lines.

It will all come but it's when the mechanics are second nature and you don't have to think about them that style develops.

[loudsubz]

If there's one thing I do allot of, its listening to as many genres of music and prepared playlists on Songza as I can. I found found talent after talent that I would never be exposed to just listening to local radio.

Problem is most of my stuff is geared more towards weddings, stag and does etc so they already have a set playlist/genre they want me to do so I can't sway too far, but that also gives me an opportunity to add in new un heard of tracks that would compliment the mix.