...and then it dawned

I have some brand new features to report on The Night Shift! I have a donation button on the right hand column of the blog now. This features a direct link to a place where you can donate funds for good music and help keep me fed, clothed and sheltered while I work on the compositions.

I'll give you a run down of what it takes in monetary units and time to create music. This is not meant to be a guilt trip by any means. I just want to let everyone know that I love DJing regardless of donations. In fact, the thing that makes me most excited is you all enjoying the mixes.

Lets start with money, this is money that does not include new technology. It is just me getting the music to you.
Every track I purchase costs $2.50. The tracks are more expensive because they are .wav rather than .mp3. The .wav tracks have much better sound quality because they haven't been compressed like a .mp3 track. So in music alone I spend roughly $25 to $40 per mix. The reason I may spend up to $40 is because not all tracks sound good together so I may have to find another track that I think will be a more appropriate fit for the mix. I also use a website to host my mixes. The website charges me $10 a month to make my mixes available for download. All in all I guess I spend $35 to $50 a month to produce a mix.

I've been trying to keep track of the time involved but it's extremely difficult. First of all, every track I think I want to go into the mix I have to listen to over and over again. I have to know all of the cues and breakdowns in the song. I am actively listening to all of the nuances the song offers up so I can make the mix sound seamless. I'd liken this process to an actor trying to memorize his lines for a scene.

Secondly, I have to arrange the tracks in a particular order. Track order is one of the most important things in my opinion when DJing. There are two objectives when I put together a track list: First, set the mood of the mix. Get the listener engaged in the music. The second is to make sure the tracks are mixed in key so they sound good overlapping one another.

Next I do several run throughs of the mix where I try to incorporate the effects I'm going to use in the mix. As you know my mixes are usually about an hour so this part alone can take a few hours. I'll then go for the gusto and actually record the mix. This can take several takes as well but is typically less time consuming.

Lastly, once the mix has been recorded I go back and smooth out effects with Ableton. This is followed by the mixdown and viola! We have a completed mix!

I would honestly say that it takes me 20 to 40 hours to complete a mix depending on the level of involvement. I'm also still learning Ableton on the fly and I have a lot yet to learn.

FYI, I am working on a new mix and I'm hoping to have it ready to go next week!

If you haven't yet, check out Best of Beatport 2008. You can listen to it if you click on the link on the right hand side of this page. If you want to download this or any future mixes you can do so by following the link and registering with djmix.net. Save that bad boy to your ipod and hit the gym or take it to a party.

Happy listening!