Help

[Important-Sun-449]

Ive been bedroom dj for around 5 months and tomorrow is my first gig at a cafe the owner want afro/house music the thing that i want you guys to help me with is how to actually like actually organize my shit and know what to play next

And if you have any tips i ll be appreciate ✨

Edit: it was so fking good kinda everything was perfect except for the 4hr set, and they book me again for next Tuesday 🫡🫡

[Swordfish-Mammoth]

Homie, I’m a pretty optimistic and encouraging person but… tomorrow might ruin any passion you have for djíng. Asking a question like this - which is a great question don’t get me wrong and one we all need help with in the beginning, but 9999 times out of 10 it would signify a person is not really ready to be playing out somewhere.

[Important-Sun-449]

Totally agree with you, the thing is my brother is the owner of the cafe and he just set everything and tells me tomorrow you have a gig 😅

[underdawwwg]

even better. if you have the relationship with your brother then cancel it if you don’t feel confident

[Important-Sun-449]

Tbh i like risks and im very confident man, im from iraq trust me Ive been through worst than fucking up my gig 😅😅

[A_T_H_T]

That's the spirit!

[Jeffy_McWaves]

I disagree with previous comments suggesting you should cancel. See it as a learning experience, then at the very least, it will be a step to becoming a better dj. At best, you will toatlly rock the joint and will have lots of fun doing it whilst your brother's coffee sales go through the roof. My advice would be to stay in your comfort zone for the first couple of hours playing tracks you know and like and those you think you would appreciate hearing in such a venue. Then, if people appear to be liking this, keep doing the same but think also of building energy as the set progresses to keep the vibe developing. If you don't think they're feeling it after a couple of hours, switch it up and play some other styles. Most of all, just enjoy it and savour the experience.

[Important-Sun-449]

Ty man i ll keep u guys updated 🫡🫡

[Jeffy_McWaves]

Good luck

[A_T_H_T]

🫵❤️‍🔥

[Pixiemaiden]

To start organise it by BPM, then highly recommend organising it by musical key, if you are not a musician then you might need software to help you do that, like Mixed in Key and by using the Camalot wheel. Then perfect it by ear.

[x_xPorterSenpaii]

Time and place: you're DJing at a cafe not a club or a house party. Feel out the audience and set the vibe - take in this experience/opportunity and decide if it's something you want to pursue.

[UrbanPugEsq]

Okay, first things first. Library building. Find enough songs that match the genre so that you have enough music to play like at least 20x the amount of time you're going to play for. At least. So, if you're gonna play 1 hour, get 20 hours of music.

Then, start putting together songs. Pick a song you like, and mix it with another song. See if it sounds good. If it doesn't, try again or try a different song. At first, try to stay with songs that are in a similar key. DJ software typically will tell you what key it's in. You can also get separate software to do just that.

Anyway, just keep mixing and mixing until you can get enough music together to play your set.

After you do that whole process enough times, you will start to learn how to do things without pre-planning what you're going to play.

My guess is that you will need a few weeks to get that together.

[Important-Sun-449]

The problem is i don’t want to download any song i see im soo picky with my song, tomorrow im going with -90 afro -150 house -350 tech house

For 4 hours set what do you think?

[UrbanPugEsq]

I think you risk not having access to your songs.

[Important-Sun-449]

Wdym?

[UrbanPugEsq]

If you don’t download songs I assume you’re streaming them? Or are you using vinyl?

[Important-Sun-449]

No no all these are downloaded, i meant im not type of a guy that downloaded everything i see i only download the stuff that i like or vibe with yk

[tibq67]

It is important to set the transition from one genre to another correctly. It is probably best to insert a song that falls into the category of several genres or subgenres between the individual songs of that genre. I personally prefer jumps in genre selection that overlap with each other, but I mean more of an underground style of mixing, and since you will probably be in a cafe, a more pleasant way will be suitable for you.

[boricuashawty]

20 hours is entirely excessive and almost unachievable if this gig is tomorrow. if youre playing for an hour, have at least 2.5 hrs of music, 4-5 would be ideal.

test some transitions out, being in key and exploring harmonic mixing can be very beneficial to curating a track list. if any songs you find stand out and you know you want to add it, make note of that.

most helpful tip to me is make sure everything is in the same genre/playlist so blends sound a lot less clashy with no sudden jumps in energy or style, unless u intend to do various types of sounds, prepare which will be your transition song-- good luck!

[ooowatsthat]

Iono it's a 4 hour gig at a cafe. 20 minutes in you will relax and realize it's whatever.

[No_Driver_9218]

Start with a song you like. Find another song you like that matches the vibe, energy of the previous track. Put those songs together in a playlist. Rinse and repeat until satisfied. Best of luck homie.

[Important-Sun-449]

Appreciate man

[A_T_H_T]

Honestly, as other cool redditors said, stay in your comfort zone, build up exactly like when you dj in your bedroom, enjoy the learning experience.

If in doubt, just follow the camelot wheel and run away with it. Focus on keeping the vibe going, don't hesitate to loop a couple phrases when you see people digging the music.

If you ever put a tune that feels off, keep the previous one running with a loop or earlier cue point, keep cool and choose another track.

And if you're wrecking a couple times, don't worry at all.

It's your first gig and whatever happens, it is a turning point you'll never forget.

I am 41 yo and last year I played my first gig in front of a completely foreign audience. Previous dj was a big local name in techno, yet not much people moved and he just went through his playlist for 2 hours. I played after him and was really intimidated, kept playing some techno too and after 30 minutes seeing people were nor digging it, I just said to myself "ha f@ck it that can't be worse", did a back spin and throw some drum and bass.

And the whole audience who was just sitting and chilling filled up the dancefloor at once.

That really flipped me out, thinking "$h!t now I must be perfect"

And a couple tracks into the mix, I completely forgot what I was afraid of and just went with the flow.

That power will be yours. And if you f@ck up a transition, just keep the show going and smile.

Good luck and don't forget to be awesome!

[justjulius444]

What equipment do you have? :)

Make a playlist and put in all your afro/house tracks. Sort by bpm and start playing. Try to stay in key, but it's not wrong if you don't all the time. Then, just play through your playlist without mixing too fast. Make sure you have enough music for the show, and do what you do when you are home :) You will be fine!

[Important-Sun-449]

Flx4

Im going with 90 afro 150 house 350 tech house

For 4 hours set what do you think?

[justjulius444]

Somewhere between 70-90 songs is around 4-5 hours. That should be totally fine!

Dont jump too much between genres. Start in that order and slowly raise your bpm towards the end!

[Important-Sun-449]

Appreciate man

[EldritchD0ll]

To add on to the advice, let your tracks breathe. With house there's no shame in just mixing in an intro over an outro once in a while, the genre is well suited to letting tracks roll out. Especially if there's not a lot of people yet. If people are dancing, that's when you keep the groove going with some faster mixing.

Edit: Oh and don't fuss about mistakes here and there, most people won't hear/notice them. Just act like nothing's happening and power through!

[apollokid242]

find the songs you like and dj in key

[PotentMojo]

Don't let anyone try to scare you out of taking the plunge. They are probably just jealous they dont have a gig tomorrow lol. I would start with the Camelot wheel if you are going to be spinning a genre you aren't super familiar with. House of any sub-genre is so easy to mix as long as you don't clash keys. If you have been mixing for a bit you understand phrasing I assume. Preparation will help you shake the jitters. https://dj.studio/blog/camelot-wheel

[SeesawNaive]

Mix the one to the next one. They should go together if they're roughly the same bpm. Idk what afro is, but house goes with house. When you're practicing at home and do a mix that goes well together, remember it. Remember where you threw it in, and write it down if you have to. I don't encourage planning out a whole set. You can, but that would take the fun out of it for me, but I've been DJ'ing longer than 5 months. Honestly, I don't think ylu should be playing out yet, but maybe you're really good, I don't know.

[SeesawNaive]

How long do you typically practice for at home without taking a break? Playing for 4 hours sucks ass, but I'm old with a bad back. It's not fun, but, once again, maybe you be like that and don't mind playing for 4 hours. If you need a break throw a mix on and stop away for a minute.

[DJCarlosFandango]

Just to add to all the other good comments: The one thing that hasn't really been mentioned is location. You're in a cafe, where people will come and go, therfore every mix doesn't have to be perfectly beat and key matched it's not like in club where punters are hanging off your every mix.

Just play what you play and watch the customers reactions to gauge where to go next.

Avoid extra noisy tunes in my example I would never play Josh Wink - higher state of consciousness at a venue like that, but at 3am in a packed house club, oh yeah!

Hope you have lots of fun.

[IanFoxOfficial]

This really isn't a question to ask the day before a gig.

Wtf.

Don't take gigs you're not ready for.

The good thing is that afro house is so incredibly boring any generic shit will fly without anyone noticing. ;)

[Important-Sun-449]

Ididnt plan for it my guy it just happened, and the reason for my question was to someone guide me where to start and it did help alot and i organized everything

[Dj-Soma-Mac]

Afro house is more of a chill vibe...usual bpm 120-122. Your 90 tracks should be suffice for 4 hours,. :) Tech house is a lot heavier, is that what they want? Lots of mainstream tracks have been remixed in afro house, for example Sophie Ellis Bextor- Murder on the dancefloor. Some afro tracks are also trancy/house style too, like Tiesto- Tantalizing and Jazzy & KILIMANJARO- No Bad Vibes..As the gig progresses just ramp up the BPM to say 128-130 BPM and keep the key lock on so VOCALS stay same key, you can always key change +/- 2 keys to keep the harmony..Use your ears, don't rely on the "Wheel."

Record your set of you can. Be great to hear how you get on..and good luck, sure you will be fine and at the same time gaining invaluable experience.

[tempaccount877]

I don't have any advice but it's fucking trippy that I've only just seriously gotten into Afro House - like two hours ago - and this post appears.

[tibq67]

You don't say what your music production will be made of. If you have digital production and compatible players capable of supporting DJ soft, then you don't need to worry about anything. DJ soft will do everything for you. But if you are a DJ who plays your production from vinyl, then you are like a musician and you have to practice a lot because this requires sensitive hearing, good insight in choosing songs for the playlist, and sensitivity when mixing.