No one seems to understand it. No one
seems to respect it. And it might just be the most important part of the
night. RA explains why the warm-up DJ deserves perhaps even more credit
than the headliner.
There are many variables in producing a
proper electronic music event. Some things are obvious: a proper space
with quality sound and engaging visuals are part of the physics that
create a comfortable environment for the crowd. If, for instance, the
sound system isn't properly dialed in to the acoustics of the space, the
performer, regardless of his or her talent, is going to sound like
crap. The result is a lethargic dance floor and an angry performer who
will not only expect to get paid but will never come back.
But there are many subtle factors that can keep an event from being
labeled "epic" and instead relegate it to just "another night out." Fast
bartenders, adequate bathrooms and a security crew that behaves
professionally all contribute to a club goers overall perception. When
it's done right, these things aren't even noticed. But when you have to
stand in line for half an hour to piss in a flooded bathroom, while in
the main room, everyone's mind is being blown by the DJ you paid a lot
of money to see, your night gets flushed down the toilet.
=...
A message from the opener
Dean Muhsin, a resident at Steve Lawler's VIVa @ MOS nights sounds off
I've been a resident DJ on and off for about ten years and am lucky to
have the residency I have, but I've just recently begun to notice how
marginalised some residents are becoming. Shorter sets and crappy slots
mean that there's a fair chance that the guest will have started by the
time anyone gets to the club. I know there are people out there who
really believe that a resident/warm-up set is the real essence of DJing,
but for some reason people seem to fall foul of that marginalisation.
That said, people like Secret Sundaze have got a wicked balance of
residents/guests, so it's clearly doable. There's room for the resident
DJ to become the focus of the night again, and not just because they're
sometimes stuck in traffic and have to ask the headliner to start their
set for them.
(Thanks, Will Saul!)
=...
The last crucial element
in the event equation, though, is the opening DJ. At a live music event,
if the opening band is terrible there is always a short break to switch
out equipment. The headliner then takes the stage and the night moves
on. But in a club environment the music rarely stops from the moment the
first track begins. This continuous flow of sound is maintained until
the lights are turned on at the end of the night. A good DJ taps into
this flow and manipulates the energy of a room through careful
programming and mixing choices. Mastery of this flow allows a DJ to take
the crowd on the sonic journey which has come to define the all-night
electronic music party.
But the headliner almost never plays from the moment the doors open. One
or more opening DJs are used to warm up the room, keeping the crowd
entertained and the alcohol flowing until the headliner's designated
time slot later in the evening. And many promoters seem to be unaware of
how important this role can be. A DJ who isn't up to the task of
opening can dissipate the energy on the dance floor before it has a
chance to solidify. In a good scenario, the crowd will pack the bar and
hug the walls until the headliner comes on. In a worst case scenario,
the club will empty out before the DJ has time to mix in a new track.
In many ways, the warm-up DJ faces more challenges than the headliner.
Consider this: The opener must start with a fairly empty room that
slowly fills with generally sober people who aren't there to see them.
The DJ must create an atmosphere out of thin air and at the same time
set the stage for the musical narrative of the headliner's set. Steve
Lawler, head of Viva Music who has headlined top venues the world over,
agrees, "The warm-up's job is in fact the hardest and very important to
how the whole night will turn out. If a warm-up does a good job, you can
feel it in the air, and then usually 99% of the time, it's an amazing
night."
The opening DJs biggest challenge is to program a set that will
seamlessly sync with the DJ who will go on next. "The opening DJ has a
huge responsibility; they can dictate the entire mood of the party,"
says Magda, of Minus Records. "You have to think about who you are
opening for and how they play in order to avoid overpowering their
sound." Each headliner has a definitive musical style that presents a
unique programming challenge to the opener. "If I open for Theo Parrish I
definitely will not be playing the same records as opening for Richie
Hawtin. That's the fun of it though," she explains. "It's a challenge to
get the different crowds worked up while complementing the main act at
the same time."
At Club2Club, Theo Parrish was Magda's opening DJ
A good opener must have two things: an attenuated awareness for the
musical progression of the night, and an extremely large and eclectic
record collection. Craig Richards would concur. With a ten year
residency at Fabric, London's most respected club, Richards is highly
regarded as one of the best opening DJs in the world. Warming up a room
is a position Richards fully embraces, "Over the years I have often
opted for the warm-up slot. I find it a wonderful challenge which if
played properly can result in maximum musical fulfillment."
Great opening DJs know their music and the subtle effects each record
transition will have on a dance floor. DJ Yousef, the DJ and promoter
behind Liverpool's legendary party, Circus, says for a DJ to
successfully warm up a crowd "they need to be aware that the tempo, the
groove, the energy and even the texture of every record must be
seriously considered." This sensitivity to the way music influences the
crowd allows the opener to begin the patient task of drawing people to
the dance floor.
Dirtybird's Christian Martin describes it as such: "Your job is to peel
people away from the bar, and keep building upon that small nucleus of
early dancers that will eventually become a packed dance floor. It's
important to pay attention to the mood of the floor and adjust the
direction of your set accordingly, without going overboard too early."
Martin's last point brings up another extremely important trait of great
openers: restraint.
"I've [sometimes] had to kill the
music altogether to reset
the energy." - Lee Burridge
"I know a lot of my fellow DJs feel the pain on so many nights from an
inappropriate, overly energetic and mostly far too big warm-up set," Lee
Burridge laments. With over 25 years of experience, Burridge is
universally recognized as one of the world's most talented DJs. He says
great warm-up DJs "understand where the guest DJ starts from—not where
they are two hours into their set. The energy needs to be left at a
point where the guest DJ can comfortably continue from." Burridge told
me that in many cases the opener plays records of such high intensity
"I've [sometimes] had to kill the music altogether to reset the energy."
"I've warmed up for many big names over the years and I realized a long
time ago that the night wasn't about me alone," Burridge continues,
"This seems hard to accept for a lot of upcoming DJs as they want the
attention of the people. This attitude totally disturbs the gradual
build of the night as a whole." Many young DJs see the opening set as
their chance to show what they've got, but the result of this enthusiasm
is exactly the opposite. Yousef states when an opening DJs set is
"hitting them over the head with an iron fist" of uptempo, peak hour
tracks, it "will always result in not getting another gig."
But there is more to opening a room than just keeping the tempo under
124 bpm and playing deep music. The signature of a great opener is
defined by a devotion to the music he or she is playing. As Lawler
explains, "you can tell when an opener is someone that has just gone
onto Beatport's Top 100 [to buy their] Deep House [tracks] and is trying
to do it, as opposed to someone who loves and collects the music they
are playing. You can always hear passion in a DJ's set."
 |
| Lee Burridge and Craig Richards: The ultimate warm-up duo |
Craig Richards takes it one step further: "I'm absolutely
certain that the music lovers, not the DJs, are fit for the job—the
people who can forget themselves for a moment and deliver a groove, a
beginning and a sense of belief." The best openers are in many ways the
people who are true music lovers, the ones who obsessively collect
obscure and eclectic music for the simple joy of it. These DJs know
their music so well they intuitively know there is a right track to play
in each moment for any audience.
Opening a room requires the ability to step outside what you want to
play and, instead, to be conscientious of what the crowd is willing to
accept. "As a DJ you have to find the middle ground of being yourself
and being mindful of what you think will work on the dance floors of the
world's clubs," Yousef explains, "I always play the music I love but
I'm experienced enough to enjoy a broad selection of electronic music."
Each DJ I spoke with emphasized the need for an opener to have an
extensive range in musical tastes and, most importantly, the patience to
hold back, and to slowly build the tension in preparation for the
headliner.
For both Lawler and Burridge, each sees the role of the opener as
important as his own role as the headliner. Lawler tries and takes an
opener with him to gigs, "so I know the energy and vibe will be right
when I go on." But they each tell me it is often the promoter who
chooses a DJ not fit for the role, or sometimes, Burridge says, "The
promoter has been known to come into the booth and tell the warm-up to
pick it up." In either case, it reveals a lack of understanding in how a
night develops. Whereas a nervous promoter wants to see the dance floor
packed with people pumping their fists in the air from the start, all
the DJs I spoke with saw this as detrimental to the night as a whole. As
Richards put it, "There can be nothing worse than an over-enthusiastic
start—a soup that burns the mouth or curtains ripped open to let the
light in."
But this ultimately leads to one question for the promoter: If you are
going to spend the money to fly in and accommodate a world-class DJ, why
not spend the extra time and money to get your guest a proper opener?
With the high risk inherent in throwing an event coupled with a lack of
understanding about the role of the opener, DJs who are picked to warm
up a night are often inexperienced and more often than not, underpaid. A
promoter can spend thousands of dollars on a headliner, and to rein in
costs, will often only spend a couple of hundred on an opener.
So obviously, great opening DJs aren't in it for the money. Instead,
these DJs are perhaps the purest music fan in every sense of the word.
Since the opener's artistry is built upon subtlety, they rarely receive
any accolades. The media often overlooks good warm-ups, instead focusing
on the headliners, and only knowledgeable crowds will recognize the
skill that goes into the nuance and restraint of slowly building the
tension in a room. This often leaves only the headliner's gratitude as
any sign of appreciation.
In fact, the biggest reward an opener receives is the opportunity to
explore musical territory a headliner often cannot. Playing opening sets
"gives justification for buying records that you know will only sound
right at certain times," says Craig Richards. "The chance to hear these
records loud was and still is my driving force. Playing deep, quirky,
delicate tunes at a time when they make sense is an utter pleasure to
the man who seeks the truth for the music not the limelight." Successful
venues and events have always recognized what a proper opener provides:
The atmosphere that is the foundation of any event.
Published / Tuesday, 22 September 2009
SOURCE [
www.residentadvisor.net]
=
Notes from the Librarian:
Special thanks to Freddy Wils for pointing this article out to me.
I would like to point out that this is true for any DJ (not in the headliner slot). Each slot of the night requires its own restraint and homework. DJ's should not only read the crowd but also the other DJs in the line up. If your the DJ in the middle, you need to know the style of the warm up DJ and the style of the headliner DJ. Find them on soundcloud, mixcloud, facebook what have you and listen to their sets. Then pull for your own set to create a bridge between the two. That on its own takes a special sort of finesse.
.2 cents deposited.
Respect to Jack O'Shaughnessy and Resident Advisor.
