So You Wanna Be A DJ: Part 7

We have talked alot about the tecnichal aspect of music, how to present yourself, and how to produce... One thing very few people talk about is the actual business and how it can one minute elavate you till you're floating on cloud nine, then drop you, and crush your soul till you wanna die. Dramatic? Maybe... Still it has been all these things and more for me. It always helps me when I read about other artistes going through the same thing, somehow giving me the strength to go on when things are bad, it shows we are not alone. The truth is, apart from acting, you have chosen the hardest profession in the world where you'll live the life of a starving artiste. The slot is filled for DJ superstars. To join the ranks you'll need to produce 20 hits in a row and sell more tickets than Paul Van Dyk... yes i'm DJ RAP but if you think its all rosy for me, you couldn't be more wrong.

This blog is about mental toughness. I believe that victory is for believers and for those who believe long enough. The question will always be how long can we hold out before we win, before we starve, before we have to get a day job at McDonalds or Burger King, or even better Fry's!!!!
Yep, I make light, however, what else can I do as this is all I have done my whole life?
So, lesson one is have a backup plan. When you learn to produce this will be a valuable skill and you will always find work in the editing/production world of music and film as well as any studio be it RecordPlant, Conway, or the like... When times are tough, and they will be, you'll be glad you have that skill, believe me.

There isn't a day that goes by where I don't question my sanity for choosing this path, as it's so damn stressful. I have given everything up for this and yet, my dream eludes me and remains only half answered... though many think fulfilled. The struggle to make a great living doing what you love is truly only for the hardcore, that's what make the great great. Look at Oprah, Mohammed Ali, Ghandi, the Dali Lama, the father on the street, our mothers and grandmothers. All people who taught us life is hard but also can be glorius.
I will let you know when I get there. lol..........

luv and bass DJ RAP

as always, head over to my website and sign up on the mailing list to receive free tracks in your email every month!

Available Releases - Buy Now

Click through the links below to buy all the latest releases on Propa/Impropa Talent

Impropa Talent Releases:

Somewhere Somehow/Two By Two
Only Human/Cascade
Solaris/Frenetic
Don't Hold Back (I Want You)/Silver Sunrise
Alpha/Beta
Good To Be Alive (Paul Anthony Remix)
Liquorice Latex/Ooh Daddy
Cascade (Joey Modus Remix)/Tryna Woo
Lost In Shanghai/Sub Killer
Do What I Say/Two Of You
Slow Draw/Chill

Propa Talent Releases:

Hindu Boogie EP
Falling Through EP
Hammerhead EP
Blind/Self Harm
It's Been A Long Time/Rolla Master
Stream/Time Will Tell
Greedy Thug/Sneak Theives
The Gold Bug/Stinger

So You Wanna Be A DJ: Part 6

Hi there, hope you're all feeling groovy.

Well we have talked about the basics of making music: the arrangement, choosing the right sounds, the equipment (although I am biased to pioneer when it comes to DJ' ing) the mix, studio setup etc... maybe it helped you, maybe it didn't. There are a thousand magazines and websites and places to go to get more info. For example Electronic Musician, Sound On Sound, EQ, Mix Magazine, are greats among a number of publications. Or if you want just want a good laugh I love "geekologie" (nothing to do with music but great for geeks). As far as websites I like: futureproducers.com is a great community for upcoming and crackin producers, acapellas4u if you need vocals to practice with/remix (don't forget you need to obtain a license if your thinking of releasing/selling anything with these vocals), or freesound.org is a great website for license free samples.
So, what's next? well once you feel your music is ready there are a few options available to you, but, before you put yourself "out there" for the world to see and hear lets talk about presentation. I can't tell you enough how sad it is the amount of music that goes unlistened to that I receive simply because it comes with a "smiley face" and no contact info. What are we, five? Presentation is everything and if it's done right, you will be taken seriously.

Make sure you print a label on your CD with all the relevant contact info. Pictures of yourself on the CD are a bad idea (I'm not kidding, I get those too) unless of course you look like Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Ryan Reynolds... ok you get the picture! A note (preferably typed on a letterhead) with a BRIEF explanation of who you are (this is why a small bio is a good idea) and why you think this label is right for your music. That's right, you have to think about where you feel your music fits... no good sending drum and bass to a house label like Subliminal or Impropa Talent, when you know it needs to go to Propa Talent! lol... Don't spend all your time gushing how great you think the label/DJ is, be professional at all times, after all, we are all the same, no one is god here and we are not saving lives, so polite and directly to the point is the way to go.
Lastly if you get no response, do follow up as many DJ's/labels need a gentle "prod" mainly because they are busy. I always try to give feedback whether I like the track or not, some don't bother and I am sorry as I think it would really help out the newblood. If you get no love at all, don't keep at them. Why would you want to be on a label that doesn't give a shit anyway?
Hope some of you find this useful, it certainly helped me. And yes, I have sent a "smiley" cd out when I was a young raver myself, so I can say whatever I damn well like! lol.



luv and bass DJ RAP

-by the way, all the people on my mailing list get free tracks on the first of every month as well as goodies in their inboxes. so head over to my website [djrap.com] and sign up today.

So You Wanna Be A DJ: Part 5

Well hello there friends, it's a lovely day in the neighborhood and I'm happy to see all the great feedback we've been getting from the blog. I'm glad you're diggin it! Rather than drone on about more mixing mojo and blah blah blah... I thought we'd talk a bit about arrangement today.

While you might not think that arrangement is a big deal, I'll tell you its a well known fact that many Dj's wont play your record if the arrangement sucks. Plenty of DJ's, myself included, will spend hours editing their sets to flow together like butta. But thats another story. Getting your tracks to peak and breathe is going to take a bit of schooling and a lot of listening.

You're probably gonna kill me here but again... the first step to getting arrangement right is.... anyone, anyone... Bueller... Bueller... listen to your favs. The importance to listening to your favorite producers in any genre of music is huge. Simply because there is a formula and it works.

When it comes to electronica, gigantic intros are a pain in the ass to mix, as well as not putting beats at the end of the track, meaning more time in the studio editing so that the sets flow. I mean come on will it kill you to put 4 bars of beats at the end? or fade the sounds out so it ends up just being beats. Sounds like im nagging, but you have no idea how many dj's bitch about this, myself included.

Once you've spent time and you understand the formula, a great way to cheat with this is to import the track into your sequencer and simply copy the arrangement. I personally dont do this but it might help you in the beginning. One of the great things about having experience DJing is knowing how the crowd will react. This is something the bedroom producer never gets to see. For example I know that no matter what people say, big drops go down well. You only have to listen to productions by Paul van Dyk, BT, Tiesto, Deep Dish and Dubfire to know that i speak the truth. Same goes for every genre of electronic music, it simply sells records. However it's important nowadays to stay away from the old fashioned crashes and 'ravey' breakdowns. Deadmou5 is a perfect example of how to do a perfect modern breakdown. It doesn't have to be cheesy, it just needs to be powerful. Of course there are some producers who do not want this kind of impact in their music as it would not suit the productions they are making. So it really is a judgement call on your part dependant on the production style you're going for.

That's really about all i can say concerning arrangement for right now, but keep it here for more in a couple weeks. And as always, head over to the djrap website and sign up to the mailing list to get free music every month.

luv and bass, DJ RAP

So You Wanna Be A DJ: Part 4

Hi everyone and welcome to 'So You Wanna Be A DJ: Part 4.' As we discussed in part 3 the importance of choosing the right sounds, and keeping it simple is a big deal. Now getting ready to start producing a track, let's get more into the basics of how to make those sounds come alive.

I mentioned kicks last time, and making them really break through your mix. Kicks are what make your fans move to the groove so its no small task selecting a kick sound and processing it properly. Firstly, choosing the sound. There are tons of libraries full of kicks and one-hits and samples out there and while some are better than others you can generally shape a great kick out of a mediocre sample with a little massaging. Again, it's important here to listen to your idols. Different types of kicks work for different styles of dance music. Electro goes great with a real knocky heady kick, trance is great over a pulsing urgent kick, and progressive minimal house [my latest affair] can really take off with a deep crisp kick that slices through the mix. Say we're just looking for your classic four-on-the-floor propa house kick. This sound should be stated and clean while carrying enough weight to support the rest of your mix. So it's okay to end up changing your kick halfway through producing the track if you find that once you start threading layers through your tune, the kick's gone pear-shaped. I do it all the time.

Whoo... enough on the ideology on the god that is the kick drum! [lets get technical]

Once you've chosen your sound, you want to identify what needs to happen to the kick to get it throbbing. When starting out producing your own music, it's always a good idea to find a track that has the sound you're going for and put it into your sequencer right up against your track. Called reference mixing. Can't stress how invaluable reference mixing is. The two basic tools you're most likely going to use on your kick is a Compressor and an EQ. I EQ first, then compress, so let's talk about Q'ing.

If you're using a real sampled bassdrum, like from a drum set, I almost always notch out 300 Hz by at least 5 db. Real kick drums just have a 'boxiness' to them in that range that tends to kill a mix. The best way to find out which frequencies are helping your sound and which ones are ugly is to boost one band of your EQ about 6-9 db and sweep through the frequencies top to bottom, noting the areas that are warm and sweet and which areas are harsh or unnecessary. And any time you're changing a sound, keep in mind, add with eq to CHANGE a sound and cut with eq to IMPROVE a sound. [says Confucius]. And as always, this is all just means to an end, so if you find that cutting 600 Hz but 24 db gets you the sound you want then by all means cut 600 Hz by 24 db. If it sounds good, it is good. BEWARE though, if youre using cheap computer speakers, it might sound like you need to boost the low end of the kick by 15 db or more until you hear the bass... if you play this at a club it could blow the subs, which makes for very unhappy promoters and even madder club owners. Thats where reference mixes can save your life.

COMPRESSION! oooh, compression. This can be a love hate kind of relationship. Keep in mind that kick samples might already be compressed to your liking which is great and might mean you dont have to get into this at all. But if you're a perfectionist like me you'll usually do the compressing yourself. Now compression is going to give your kick the width and the balls you'll need to knock over a dance floor and there are different theories on the best way to accomplish this. Lets just start with setting your compressor.

General rule of thumb, load up a compressor and turn the attack to the highest/longest setting and the release to the lowest/shortest. Now here's where there are different schools of thought. I like to squash the shit out of it at this point to make it very clear where the attack and release should be. so I'll set the threshold pretty low and the ratio high, somewhere around 6:1. Now bring your attack down/shorter slowly until you hear the kick lose its vigor and turn it back just a bit. And with the release, move that longer and longer until you hear it pump from one beat to the next. You want the next kick to fire right when the release from your first kick is finished. This will give you that classic pumping house kick that's o so tasty. Lastly re-adjust your threshold and ratio to settings that please you, and compliment the mix. There are now set rules here so go ahead and fly by your ears here.

And Im going to leave you with that because I've just reached 'reserve battery power' on my laptop and I'm nowhere near my power supply. But I hope you can use some of this knowledge to shape your kicks like the pros and really kill the crowds.

LUV AND BASS, DJ RAP

-- As always, don't forget to sign up on my mailing list for free tracks in your inbox on the first of every month. Sign Up Here.

So You Wanna Be A DJ: Part 3

So now you've got the basics and setup, you've chosen your weapon of choice. What really sets DJ's apart from one another is their production. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to mix two records together but you have to acquire real skills to become a professional DJ/Producer. What creates a fan base is your music. Look at any of the greats, pioneers if you like, [BT,Paul Van Dyk, Erick Morillo, Deep Dish, Nick Fancouli, Robbie Rivera] and you'll see that none of them are just DJ's. More or less any top DJ you look at will have a mini empire of their own. Including their own sound, their own label, in fact it takes a great team working hard to make a great DJ. So what you really need to do is start making music, this is what's gonna get you gigs. [well good ones anyway]

The first thing you should do is spend time listening to as many producers and DJs as you can and decide which direction you'd like to go in. Pay close attention to the arrangement as there is a formula to this. It really pays off spending time listening to music and learning from your heroes because it can take months to even years to really find your niche.

Because I use Logic [and Logic kicks ass], I'll be talking about how I use it to make music. This doesn't mean of course that you can't use one of the many other daws out there. There are plenty of other great platforms, some of which I have mentioned previously [ableton live, fruity loops, acid pro, reason, nuendo, cubase...] that are great for music production as well.

Choosing Sounds:
This is really up to your personal taste but starting with great sounds is key. Whether you're making them from scratch or sampling you'll want to make sure the sounds are clean, undistorted, and suit the mood you intend to create. I think less is more. One of the easy traps to fall into is using 46,000 sounds in one track because you keep finding things that you like and you get too attached to sounds to let them go. I try to keep my arrangements minimal, sometimes with as few as 10 tracks for the whole song. This gives each sound an opportunity to stake its claim on the sonic space it occupies while also pushing me to make sure that my sounds are hands-down-kick-ass every time.

For beginners, a great way to start sketching is to set a 4 bar loop in your sequencer, and run through preset sounds whether they be apple loops, fruity loops, synth presets, etc. Just getting into the groove of hearing what types of sounds compliment each other is an invaluable tool. In fact i know producers who make a great living never touching a computer, mix desk, or synth, but rather just knowing exactly the type of sound that will take a track to the next level.



Once you've got an idea for the sonic experience you want to shower your listeners with and have identified the sounds that rustle your feathers, you're ready to start laying down a groove.
I'll get into the specifics in a couple weeks when we'll discuss how to make a kick throb and what will make your synths take flight.

In the meantime head over to my website and sign up on the mailing list to get your free track I'll be sending out on the first of May.

I've also just bombed my MySpace player with fresh tracks so head over to myspace.com/therealdjrap or my website djrap.com to have a taste.

luv and bass, DJ RAP

What can I say about Miami this year? as a veteran,( Ive been going for over 10 years) I've seen alot of changes, people seemed to be wise to it it now, for example, it;s so damn expensive that people really plan their 3 to four days,( hotels cost from 200 to 800 per night) it used to be that everyone went for a week and we all moved like a crazed herd from one party to the nest, totally united. now we are all fragmented, no more long waits to get in, no more attitude from the bouncers. we trust brands now, not the DJ, we believe those promoters that throw quality not quantity. everyone thinks this business is easy, but ask those who lost money if they think that's the case now. Is this good or a bad thing? well we shall see....for me it was good, I knew where to go and when to be there, I knew who I wanted to see and ignored the rest.I got so much business done that for once it actually helped my label and career...meetings at 9am on the beach can't be a bad thing except for the fact I was in bed after my sets most nights. I know, I know, lame. still, I played 5 shows that were wicked and the early bird certainly catches the worm....
Best party? JUICY..... and can I say how fucking cool ROBBIE RIVERA is? I'm so happy to see him and his team doing so well, they worked hard for it.
I met up with my artistes sanchez and the shockers and joey modus and we all performed together at EUPHORIA which was awesome..... I love those guys,after the show wearing wigs and having a blast we went to OPIUM GARDENS where we hung out some more with PAUL VAN DYK. who is also the most incredibly cool, nice cat, I wanna say thanks to all at his camp for being so very hospitable.... now, earlier, at the IDMA awards I had won an award for BEST DRUM AND BASS ALBUM, 'BRAVE NEW WORLD" this was collaboration of myself and KENNY KEN and HYPE, RANDALL, G SQAUD , DJ SS, and many more....we made this eons ago, so it was really nice to finally get recognized....( and I got to wear a dress which shocked many).....especially my publicist LAINE. Now this woman is a force to be reckoned with, and boy, does she get the job done. We have been through alot together and sometimes it was tough, but she always does everything out of real love and passion for this scene and is a fierce supporter of electronica. So, THANKS YOU LAINE!!!!
I could go on for hours about the good times but I can't really print it, no doubt you all have stories far superior to mine anyway.......whether it's a good thing or a bad thing is measured by the memories you will take home with you, whether it's an award, a new boyfriend or a hangover or just a plain grand old time....see you next year!!!