Guest bugbread Posted March 27, 2002 Share Posted March 27, 2002 I was wondering what you think the ethics of freely distributing, locally, a DJ mix CD in order to promote myself as a DJ would be. It wouldn't be available by net or outside Tokyo (after all, the purpose would be to get local promoters (small promoters, not the giants) to hear my selection and possible contact me). I wouldn't charge for it, and it would be placed in local record stores. Obviously, I can't pay $1000 for rights to songs, but in this case do you think it would be morally inexcusable, bad but acceptable, no big deal, or a good thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest preus Posted March 27, 2002 Share Posted March 27, 2002 hi there bugbread, i´m no professionel musician, but, i also do mix sessions, and hey if you dont have any friends that holds parties, or if you simply wanna play, go for it how else should they discover a new talent ? go for it ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest [tom jaimz] Posted March 27, 2002 Share Posted March 27, 2002 Hi Bugbread, The general opinion of most artist that I've spoken to about this exact thing is that they don't really mind as long as it's not for profit. The real legal decision, tho, comes down to the record labels, but again, they generally aren't really worried. Make sure your mixing is tight enough so that no-one can pull off individual tracks from the mix, and go for it. Maybe someone will complain, but I'd be pretty surprised if they did. Especially if the sound that you're mixing isn't a common sound in your area, the artists and labels concerned will probably be pleased that you're giving them more exposure. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Reece Posted March 27, 2002 Share Posted March 27, 2002 hey bugbread, shouldn't be a problem really, although i am a bit concerned about the "...and it would be placed in local record stores..." cant see why u would need to do that, imho, if its just a mix cd to promote yourself getting dj gigs, just send it to the organisers that you are interested in working for/with... :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bugbread Posted March 27, 2002 Share Posted March 27, 2002 Good point, Reece. In a sense, the prob with appealing to organizers is that I don't know the really really small ones. To put it mildly, my DJing skills are minimal if at all existent. However, I play a VERY different style than what's played here. No minimal, but little Israeli melodic, lots of strange Australian stuff, etc. My reason for existence as a DJ is not Phat Skillz but song selection that no-one else makes. So in a sense, I'm thinking of putting out the mix CD to "test the water", so to speak. I'm planning on DJing for free, but I have no idea who would be interested in throwing a party like that. Optimally some little tiny organizer would listen to it and say, "hey, this is good music, we should contact this guy". Plus, hopefully, somebody interested in organizing but who hadn't done it before might listen to it and decide to contact me about setting up a new party. Basically, the kind of organizers I'm looking for are exactly the kind that are hard to find, playing to parties of 30 or 40 people. I just figured record stores were an obvious choice for placement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest russ Posted March 27, 2002 Share Posted March 27, 2002 hey bugbread, good idea but record stores a very bad idea. a free cd sitting around for an organizer to pick up? not going to happen. unless you put a thousand of them there. you've got to give it to people directly. a lot of small organizers put out flyers (look for the photocopied ones) and even put parties on the web. contact them each individually and give em' a copy. that's the only way. p.s. i have to say if you play australian wackiness, it won't be easy. the last australian wacky set i heard here was ray castle at the equinox party two years ago; he utterly destroyed the party and did in a few minds at the same time. i still remember the angry faces staring him down, and him refusing to even look up at the increasingly empty and hostile dancefloor. on the other hand, your mix will be different from most people know, so at least you have a chance of standing out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dam10n Posted March 27, 2002 Share Posted March 27, 2002 yeah recordstores a no no, they prolly wouldn't be interested in carrying it (though the store me and some friends tried to set up a few years ago was going to comprise a talent-soup thing) best bet is networking, take them to parties and that. And yes a lot of people yo can find via the web. Don't sign with any DJ promotion agency friend of mine did that and what a waste. And if you put little cut sections in the tunes it'll stop people ripping them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bugbread Posted March 27, 2002 Share Posted March 27, 2002 Russ, Thanks for the advice. Since I'm not looking to be a pro-DJ or anything, I'd rather get no plays than a hostile play, and I'd rather get a small party into weirdness than be lynched in front of thousands at Solstice. Anyway, it was just a thought I had floating out there. I think I'll stay with my current plan, though, and organize my own parties with friends. It's a shame that so many people will only be exposed to X-Dream and Hallucinogen and never hear Pelinpala, though. I would have LOVED to have seen Ray Castle. I have my fair share of experience in artists that everyone thought killed a show and I thought were the coolest thing since industrial refrigeration. Aphex Twin, Merzbow, and Mr. Bungle have all had similar responses. But I just can't see why people WOULDN'T like Australian wackiness. I mean, I understand it on an intellectual level, and I accept it, but when I hear the music, I think, "Man, not liking this is like not liking sex!". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest russ Posted March 27, 2002 Share Posted March 27, 2002 That's by far the best way--dj'ing at your own party. Good luck!! It's very strange how something like music can be heaven for some people and hell for others. and you're right, there is some very, very cool music out there that people don't hear. there are a couple of loopus in fabula tracks i have that absolutely killed me, and I think you would seriously dig. In case you don't have it, you should order the new Loopis in Fabula album from Ray Castle's label, Demon Tea. I don't have it yet, but if you like Pelinpala, you've got to get Loopus. I can say my own personal experience in the ray castle set was extremely unpleasant. my body was itching to dance (too many chemicals i am sure), but the music wouldn't let me. it was like the music was laughing at me and my attempts to dance. i tend to take things too seriously, and there was this "taking the piss" attitude about the music that really got to me. it reached the point where it seemed like the music was mocking the entire party and the whole scene. the only time my body jived with the music was when i completely let go and started moving in silly, spasmodic, epilectic-fit like dancing. and when i saw that this was what the music wanted me to do, i left the dance floor, feeling a bit scared and more than a bit shook up. but if you like this, then have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bugbread Posted March 27, 2002 Share Posted March 27, 2002 Epileptic fit dancing is fun! But as a DJ I wouldn't really go in that direction. I mean, sure, it would be great to DJ like Violent Onsen Geisha and have random scratching and TV samples and noise, which can be great for a laugh, but when it comes to goa and parties, the goal is different than in a live artist performance. It's not for people to stand around and listen to and laugh, but to dance, so while the stuff I play with is weird and hectic, it's all quite danceable. Besides which, I kinda gave Australian as an example. I also play lots of Infected Mushroom and Simon Posford stuff, too. I guess the key is just "maximal". Lots of parts, little predictability. No GMS style "straight-forward" full-on. As you know, it SEEMS like Hallucinogen and Infected would be pretty commonly played at parties, but think about the last time you actually heard really maximal stuff in Tokyo. Not very often, and if there is a piece by a maximal band, it tends to be one of their more minimal pieces (witness Psycho by IM is played about 500 times more often than Symphonatic). Anyway, today seems like a long, tangential day for me. Looks like I'm just trying to avoid my looming translation assignment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DeepKick Posted March 27, 2002 Share Posted March 27, 2002 bugbread and russ how are you guys doin? you are in japan, arent you? russ, i think you arent japanese, but how about you, bugbread? i think your english isnt japanalized so you arent either? im just wondering. coz im from japan thou im now in the states. also, russ im not sure but i might have seen you at a party on jan 19th. that was my friends party and sometimes i was with billy(cosmosis) at the party. i saw stieve with some guys but i dont know what you look like. anyway, sorry about THIS off topic replay and my bad english. i just wanted to say hell to you guys. i hope we can meet up at good parties in this summer if there is any. deepkick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bugbread Posted March 28, 2002 Share Posted March 28, 2002 Nope, I'm an American in Japan (guess we switched places?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest reece Posted March 28, 2002 Share Posted March 28, 2002 yo bugbread! hehehe, well im a weird aussie and i think i would really enjoy your sets! for the record tho, there isnt really that much new weird music coming out of australia, of course demon tea and psy harmonics (who arent really psy now), but mainly releasing international artists... back to the topic, if you dont know many of the smaller promoters, then the best way would definately be to put on your own small parties.... the other thing to do is always have some of your mix cd's on you when u go to parties. u never know who u may meet! russ, i thought the weird alchemy kicked ass over loopus in terms of weirdness... they are both amazing, dont get me wrong, but w.a. is just fuuuuuuuked up! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest russ Posted March 28, 2002 Share Posted March 28, 2002 haven't heard weird alchemy yet, but will give it a listen:) and to deepkick, yeah i was hanging out with steve at the cosmosis party, so you might have seen me. american, very short brown hair. are you going to be back in japan this summer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DeepKick Posted March 28, 2002 Share Posted March 28, 2002 russ and bugbread thanks for your replay. to russ. yeah im goin back to japan for the summer break. i have many things to do in japan this summer. but im goin to some parties. i dont think that im goin to solstice thou LOL (i heard there will be a killer outside party this summer whoa!) we will meet up at some parties for sure keep in touch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bugbread Posted March 28, 2002 Share Posted March 28, 2002 Deepkick, are you going to Vision Quest? Looks like Infected Mushroom will be playing again this year (according to their home page). Currently working on checking out Weird Alchemy and Loopus in Fabula. And regarding "weird aussie psy"...Yeah, I always get stuck in the trap of saying I like weird Aussie and then finding out that a particular artist released by Demon Tea or Psy-Harmonics is actually Finnish. I'm kind of curious why Psy-Harmonics stopped being psy-trance and went psychedelic rock. I don't dislike it, per se, but it kind of caught me off guard. That and the fact that suddenly, on their 5th compilation, about half the artists are Japanese. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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