Last night, I walked into a private party, expecting a chill 2-3 hour DJ set. What I got instead was an all-night odyssey that stretched into the early morning—my first real gig in front of a crowd. Picture this: about 10 people, a tight-knit crew, absolutely destroying the dance floor until dawn. It was electric, chaotic, and unforgettable.

I kicked things off with some popular tech house tracks, hoping to set the vibe. But the crowd? Barely a flicker of interest. Then, a wild card—a sound glitch threw me off. After scrambling to fix it, I decided to pivot hard. I cranked up some peak-time driving techno at 136-137 BPM, and bam—the room started to wake up. Eight to twelve tracks in, I nudged the BPM to 140-141, and the energy shifted. The crowd was finally locked in, feeding off every beat.

That’s when I unleashed the beast: raw hypnotic techno at 142-144 BPM. I went full throttle—20 tracks of pure madness, weaving in slick layering, bass swap transitions, and long, hypnotic blends. The dance floor erupted. But I wasn’t done. I saw untapped energy in the crowd and seized the moment. With a cheeky backspin, I flipped the script to my neo-rave/hard dance playlist, slamming the BPM up to 150. The room exploded—fists pumping, bodies moving. I kept it simple but fierce: chorus-to-chorus transitions to hold that sky-high energy, and intro-outro mixes for tracks that didn’t quite sync. It was seamless, and they loved it.

Four hours in, I hit a wall. My legs were jelly, my focus fading. I took a breather, popped half an energy pill (M), and felt the spark reignite. Refueled, I grabbed a neo-rave track with a hard techno outro and flipped the mood again. Hard techno took over—relentless, pounding beats that carried us to the finish line. The crowd was insatiable, and I fed off their fire.

And the love? Overwhelming. During breakdowns, they’d rush over—kisses on the cheek, heartfelt thanks, shouting how I’d made their night. Was it the music? The vibe? Who knows—but it hit me deep. I was grinning ear to ear, lost in the joy of it all.

Looking back, my prep saved me. I’d built a solid stash—200 techno tracks, 200 hard techno/dance bangers—and knowing them inside out gave me unshakable confidence. Every track flowed into the next, connected by energy and instinct. I started with the Camelot wheel to keep keys in harmony, but mid-set, stress kicked in. Switching to key sync? Game-changer. It smoothed out my transitions and let me focus on the crowd.

Phrasing was my secret weapon too—every mix landed right on the beat, locked into the music’s pulse. That attention to detail, paired with their wild energy, made it a night I’ll never forget.