Opinions Please

[RetroRuss]

OK, looks like I am playing out again on a leading London House radio Station again this week. The audience will consist of the usual house heads plus, I know for a fact, lots of other DJ's both club and radio - the question is, do I play the more 'mainstream' Disco of the late 70's i.e. Musique, Taste of Honey, Roy Ayers, Bohannon or go for the slightly more obscure tracks - like Chameleon, Bonny Boyer, Bobby Rush, Laura Taylor - possibly... ??

Views...opinions...comments....?

[remicks]

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Headlamp, here's my meager two cents: Hope its helpful . :D

---- You said play "again" ...so what have you done in the past?
How much time do you have? What time slot? Are you mixing ?? Is it non-stop?
If so , play shortened versions of the more popular stuff and use it to couch the stuff you reallly want to display ........ Play the hits more briefly ---- the audience doesn't need to hear all 11:00 minutes of The Bombers " Get Dancin'" just enough to keep 'em interested as it leads them into the more obscure stuff . As a listener .. I'd ( me ,remicks) be more interested in the music that I didn't know.... as opposed to that which I could name off easily. BUT, there's still the desire to hear favs. And on the radio , you are probably playing to a lot of young innocents .... for many The Bombers "Get Dancin' " IS brand new !! :roll:
Its a balancing act .... too much of the unfamiliar is overwelming . I'd keep it 67-33, back and forth ,leaning toward the familiar .... twice as much familiar ...

Another technique is to work in just the mid sections , the breaks, of some of the bigger hits , interrupting the mid section of a lesser known song a bit .... then returning to the lesser known & let it play out .... also work in an occassional bridge with a tease that's just the instrumental portion of a bigger record ......iow .... DJ!!

(.... if you speak and introduce the music ....that's a whole 'nother fotballgame ..... )

Mainly ..,, regardless ... be sure to HAVE FUN !!! Because you are so lucky to be doing this ! .... If you are having fun, and why wouldn't you ..... it'll come through ..... you'll be great :D

(( DISCLAIMER )) : This is just my opinion of course .....and I am not familiar with the arena in which you are participating ....

:D remicks
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[QUINNY]

Headlamp: IMO, the common denominator of radio shows seems to be rarity value of records, 'cos no one appears to want to play any big retro hits anymore, unless it's on a commercial station with highly restritive playlists that tend to play nothing but the hits. There must be some middle ground, somewhere.
The most important thing is to establish a quality level to your selections and then rigidly stick to whatever criteria you use to establish that level. It's sooooo easy to play an inferior record, just because it's hip, new, different or obscure. Too many records are just plain crap!

I'd say Remicks has got it about right (although for a radio show, I'd personally tip the balance slightly in the opposite direction). having written that, I firmly believe that it's possible to be too hip for your own good, especially in a market where there isn't a constant new supply of new sounds. After all, what you're playing is a finite resource (albeit one in which no one has it all). Once you tip the balance towards obscurity for the sake of obscurity, you'll be on a treadmill that will be impossible to get off of and your quality record collection will lose all its value in your own mind. You'll then have to become a collector all over again and start paying outrageous prices for some of the records you'll be lusting over.

If that's what you want....go for it.

BTW: If you're talking Bobby Rush - I Wanna Do The Do I'd definitely give it a spin, as it used to work the crowd for me BITD. A powerful, totally overlooked record. The others mentioned are also worth a spin, as the names are not totally unknown.

P.S. Perhaps I ought to send 'em a demo? :lol: :lol: :lol:

[RetroRuss]

Remicks & Quinny, thanks for the invaluable advice! To be perfectly honest (confessional time here) my mixing ain't great and it will be a case of playing the records, with some chat....Quinny your point about finding obscure records is very valid - it is expensive, particularly through the likes of Gemm and Music Stack.

BTW it is Bobby Rush - Do The Do, I went into the loft over the weekend (which is why I call Disco Music, Loft Music as I'm sure a lot of the tunes we love are sitting in lofts waiting to be rediscovered) and found it in a box along with Deniece Williams - I've Got the Next Dance . The box came from a collection I bought for £100 from a disolusioned DJ back in the late 80's before the wife and kids came along and I never got round to looking through properly. I can only describe it as 'blues meets disco' - fantastic track.

The show is hosted by my friend who is a highly repected House DJ who loves Disco. The plan for the show (2 hours) is that we play 70's & 80's Disco to promote our night on June 18th - we have hired a mid sized 'nightclub' - which will be a 70's/80's Disco, without the usual cheese you find at certain venues & aimed at the hard core dance music afficicando who wants something different/retro. I will get my friend to play the 'popular' Disco - Bombers, Dan Hartman, Musique, Saturday Night Band etc....and I'll play some of the obscure tracks plus maybe a bit of Poussez, LAX.

I'll post the time, name of the show and details once (hopefully) it's all confirmed on Tuesday/Wednesday it is available over the www

Quinny - I'll be in touch