I used to DJ a lot in the period from the late nineties till ± 2010 . I was into minimal music (still am) and rode that entire Minimal Techno / Click House wave during that period . I think i must have been one of the first guys who organized events exclusively for this type of music in Belgium . I literally started out in a bar on Monday evenings cause nobody would let me do stuff in the weekends … but as this genre started to gain traction with some of the bigger techno dj’s jumping on the bandwagon around 2004 - 2005 all of a sudden i found myself in the perfect position as an ambasador of this genre . Started a radio show , started organizing bigger events , and found myself opening for or closing after all the big international names of that time , Nathan Fake , Robag Wruhme , Bookashade , Raresh ,… you name it … Good times !! In 2010 i just decided to pull the plug and focus on other things . I never set out to do this my entire life and always thought that those older dj’s trying hard to stay relevant at one point started to look kinda lame … so i didn’t want to become one of them myself . There is a time and place for everything and i just moved on .
https://www.mixcloud.com/Club106/club-106-oldskool-residencies-2-crisp-zwarte-vijvers-1/
Here’s a mix recorded in 2006 which showcases best what i was into… recorded on two Technics SL1200’s and a two channel Rodec Mixer . I used to be freaky about mixing as tight as i possibly could , especially when recording a mix at home i could spend days in a row until it was perfect …
I made a second account on Mixcloud a while back for all the recordings we made from some of our events. We typically recorded on MiniDisc so it’s quite a PITA to get that all over on the computer to share it. Especially when the recordings are several hours long…
So if you need some background music while cleaning up, working out or whatever else you like doing while listening to some music and don’t like the typical commercial radio stuff maybe there’s something in it for you.
And the description is accurate 
That’s really great! Before the pandemic there was this little high end whiskey/bourbon place downtown that had a nice space, they did a mix of nights, as your night, it was collectors that were also DJs and had amazing funk etc collections. Then they had really great house music night once a month as well . Miss that. Hope we can get back to those days soon.
A couple of years back there was a ‘vinyl revival’ thing going on where I live. Mid-week where you got 15 minutes to play what you wanted. I went primarily to promote the record cleaning but ended up on the decks…to hard to resist… Started with 90s rave 80s ska but quickly descended a few weeks later to my hardest hard House tunes. It’s amazing how quickly you can clear the cool kids out with Glazby at 145bpm… The track is Hostile on Vicious Circle records BTW if interested.
Naughty really, but fun all the same.
Here is how i once cleared a room in 15 minutes straight ! It was july 15th 2005 and i had my first real big gig at 10 Days Off , an electronic music festival in Ghent . One of the most impressive line ups i was ever part of so naturally i was super excited and looking forward to this . I’ll copy the line up below . I was programmed just after Jamie Lidell who was playing live . When his gig was over and they started to clear the stage of his gear , some technician in the backstage told me , “Ok , you’re on” . So i walked on stage with my record cases only to find myself on an empty stage , no dj-booth in sight , standing awkwardly in front of 1500 people . So i signaled the technician asking him where my dj-booth was ?? They rolled a table on wheels to the center of the stage which contained the two record players and a mixer , plugged some power supplies / audio cables and according to the technician i was once again , “Good to go buddy !” . I put a record on only to notice the record players didn’t have any needles , and also they forgot my monitor speaker . People started to vacate the room as it took some time for him to find a set of needles , and as for the monitor they plugged one of the on stage monitors from the live performances . 3rd time’s a charm you would think , but that stage monitor was giving of so many vibrations that the needles where jumping all over the place., nothing but trainwrecks …just impossible to properly mix … i tried my best for about 15 minutes until i noticed everyone left , except for about 15 people of which most were my friends . After that i just closed down the monitor and put on records , leaving them play till the end … no mixing , while joking about this situation with my friends . Never did i thought i would run into such amateurism in a event of this caliber… disapointing but also some valuable lessons learned when it came to my rider and own preparations (always take your own needles with !! )
MIA [Live on Stage]
Mathew Jonson [Live on Stage]
Jamie Lidell [Live on Stage]
Cobblestone Jazz [Live on Stage]
The Bug [Live on Stage]
Mara Carlyle [Live on Stage]
Cristian Vogel
Akufen
Agoria
Spacid
PR Soundsystem
Snof
Aardvarck
Crisp
I once had a DJ show up to an event without bringing anything and then he asked me (and basically everyone else since this was a small festival) if he could use my laptop and mixer. He was playing beats for a rapper on the main stage and probably got paid more than I did and shows up completely empty handed. They burned some CDˋs with the beats and he pressed play… I also saw few „DJ‘s“ being confused with the concept of crossfader and always asked to disable it (if possible like for example on some Pioneer mixers) or saw mixer/controllers on stage with a crossfader taped to the middle position. That really was/is a downside of DJing being more accessible since you didn‘t have to put in the work anymore.
I also managed to clear a full dancefloor with my set but mainly due to trying something new. We had our regular party in a local club and before I had a DVS system I tried once to play some tracks I liked a lot with Ableton and a controller since it wasn‘t available on vinyl. Since this was my first time ever trying it and basically just setting it up a few hours before I messed it up here and there. But also the crowd didn‘t seem to like the music either, so lesson learned. Just as the painful lesson to NEVER update software before a show.
Used to DJ weekly with my brother at a bar in North London approx 2009-2012, and briefly ran a club night. Did it for the fun of it and a few free drinks. The club night we got a bit of a cut of the bar and the door takings, but invariably ended up with us losing cash on flyers, booking acts etc. Loved doing it, but it was a lot of work, and all I wanted to do was DJ. Couldn’t be arsed with all the promo and stuff.
Cut my teeth on some awful belt drive Geminis and the most basic of numark mixers around 2000. Really glad I did though. Feels like if you can mix on those, you can mix on anything! 1210s always seemed like a dream whenever I got to play them. Managed to pick up some mint condition 1210grs pretty cheap a couple of years ago, and added a xone96, but barely get a chance to use them 
Really miss it. Would love to play out again. Still buy far too many records, and rapidly running out of space…
Some mixes from that time:
So, here’s my 10 year in the saving, long-dreamed about kitchen setup. This opens up on to the garden through french doors. Nice for the summer beer sessions (not so much for the neighbours I suspect!)
There was a time when I got a lot of random gigs. A real random one was the opening of a new restaurant from Paul Rankin. A TV celeb chef but also had michelin star restaurants. An events company had a jazz band booked who cancelled last minute and someone gave them my number because I was resident in at a night that would play a lot of trip hop and acid jazz.
I turned up with my turntables to a look of disgust from Paul rankin and ainsley harriott who had booked a full jazz band and get me playing mo wax records to a load of z rate local celebrities.
Most awkward 4 hrs ever that was also highly amusing because I was djing to ainsley harriott
Bet Ainsley still cut some shapes tho?
The odd little shuffle then stare at me and I could see in his eyes wtf is there a dj there and not a pretentious wanky jazz band. The disappointment was strong
I am debating whether to replace my Stanton ST.150 DJ turntables with Denon SC6000Ms, a media player with spinning platter. My DJ activity will resume next year, in some capacity, and now seems to be a good time to make the transition.
Any long time turntable DJs here that switched to spinning media players or controllers? Did you enjoy the outcome or revert back to turntables?
Used vinyl for many years then switched to cdjs and for djing they are great. If you are into turntablism it’s not really the same. Can do basic scratches but can’t completely replace vinyl for turntablism. Beat mixing and standard DJing though they can easily replace vinyl
There isnt so much competition i figured - i.e its either Pioneer XDJ-700 or 1000 MK2 or this Denon player - i am not a DJ in any sense - but i would love learn it - its just that these players are so freaking expensive what is currently holding me back. 2nd hand market in Germany is also empty when it comes to these things - so not easy to just buy used and try it out to see if its a thing.
Yeah, that is why I was looking at the SC6000M option with spinning platters in hopes of replicating a vinyl experience.
Most of my DJ friends use either turntables or Pioneer CDJs. No one uses the media players with spinning players. I used CDJs on gigs before, and borrowed them on occasion. Overall, I still preferred my turntables and did not like the static jog wheels.
A sort of best of both worlds is phase so you get the benefits of modern DJ software with traditional feel of vinyl
I just bought a pair of Rane 12 turntables and a Rane 72 mixer to use with Serato after a 10 year break from djing. The 12s feel like the real thing so that was easy enough. I wasn’t sure I would dig using software, but I’ve been enjoying that as well. Being able to loop and stretch things out is really fun.
Lately I’ve been wondering if I would have been better off getting cdjs as that seems to be the standard these days.
I’d say the ranes are the closest to vinyl of all the controllers.
Hi. My name is Orión and i’m addicted to djing. Been doing so about 20 years now on my trusty technic 1200s mk2’s. I have a weekly saturday that’s open format i’ve been doing about 12 years and i throw a latin party that will turn 15 years old in December.
I bought a pair of rane twevles recently so i can put my technics in the shop, i think i want to powder coat them cause they’re 20 years of nasty. Havent really used the 12s out yet but im sure they’ll be fine.
Anyways, yes djs lurk up in here. 
i’ll drop stories in here as they come to mind.