One thing that is challenging in improving at anything (specific to this post, DJing) is letting go of what you know and are accustomed to try things that will ultimately make you better at what you are trying to do. In putting together this mix, I really wanted to do it 100% live, but let it go as I struggled to figure out how to practice to prepare myself. Similarly, now stuck at home in quarantined due to COVID-19, I am interested in getting better at design work, but struggled to figure out which software to use. So, this mix really is about experimenting.
To get it out of the way, the experiment with design was to go with Adobe Photoshop Elements for my album artwork. I usually use Paint.Net, want to master Photoshop, but want to graduate into it after a sufficient amount of use of the lighter version. For DJing, after reviewing a ton of past training material and doing a live session with a professional DJ, what I came away with was that I just need to practice what I know, experiment, watch it fail, and do it again. Over and over and over again. So, I spent some time doing that then took a breather to wrap up this mix.
This is not necessarily the most innovative mix, but I did manage to exercise a lot of techniques including 2 loops, 2 effects, a release effect, and beat jumping. The effects felt a little heavy and the cut down of the 2nd loop was a bit clumsy, but here’s to experimentation. I plan to do a ton of this between now and the next mix. It will be interesting to see where it lands.
Enjoy!
