Recently Carey Ott, a friend of mine and very talented singer / songwriter, sent me a mixtape of some of his favorite funk and soul songs. We had been chatting about DJ’ing, something Carey was interested in trying out. As a sort of a guide, I wrote Carey a long email about what I think are the fundamentals of a great DJ mix. I’ve decided to reprint some of that email here, because I think it captures my thoughts pretty well.
This is not a “how to” in terms of a shopping list of DJ gear or a hands-on tutorial. Rather, it’s an explanation of the creative an aesthetic decisions that go into putting together a great DJ mix. The kind of mix that transcends the individual songs to become its own music document, one that will still endure and entertain listeners years and thousands of plays later. Enjoy the article after the jump…