Mixing with initial beat (without fading...)

[NickNack]

Originally Posted by QUINNY

There were very few (if any) records with an intro that had no beat. Most times out of a hundred, once you knew the BPM you'd find that a beatless intro actually lasted 2,4 or maybe 8 bars. To have an intro that was completely out of time would be odd and perverse arranging really and completely superfluous for a Disco track.

I can give you two off the top of my head that don't stick to the formula. "Ask Me" by Ecstacy, Passion & Pain and "Boogie, Oogie, Oogie" by Taste of Honey. Are the "beatless" intros with a beat? Yes. Are they in synch with the body of the music? Hell no :x . I know there's more out there 'cause most of us have had to deal with them. Just some more annoying fun for the dj.

Oh Yeah --- "My Love Don't Come Easy" by Jean Carn. This is a true 'no beat' intro.

[QUINNY]

Nicky: I'd say that Boogie Oogie Oogie actually was in time, but at half pace....if you tap out at 125-126 bpm from the start, it more or less keeps in time (in as much as most of the intro went up and down like a yo yo) for exactly 16 bars. Trouble was that the first 8 bars of bass and drums after the 16 bar intro were so untogether that the effect was that the tempo fluctuated like mad until the 25th bar? where the guitar started (with that nice little crescendo to start it off). Sorry if a little vague, but I'm writing from memory, without being able to reference to a disc or CD.
BTW: This record's intro was a bitch to mix so I always started at the 25th bar? mentioned above, which still allowed 8 bars to get the mix going before the vocal came in. I think the problem was to do with bad edits or a drummer that sped up slightly when he? did rolls/turnarounds at the end of 8 bar sequences. I think the comparative inexperience of the girls showed up, but what a great breath of fresh air when it was released. A classic of the Disco scene in the UK. I loved that record.

The other record I can't comment on as I don't remember it, although I did play it.

P.S. My point was really that, if an intro or part of intro was so obviously out of time, why bother with it? Just get to the point where it was fairly solid and go from there, so long as it was practicle. You'd soon get to know whether or not an intro was solidly in time. It would either mix well or it wouldn't.

[Mixmachine]

I admired how many former DJ posters here still remember precise details of particular mixes they did back then, am guessing I party to hard in those days because I can’t remember most of my mixes, but the main reason I cared and searched for hit songs’ “beat Less” intros snippets was to use them in master mix tapes (Reel to Reel) and play them in the club (like modern samplin'), also used them for ‘Life’ overlays to create dance floor anticipation and excitement as to what was coming next. (Sometimes I didn’t play that song at all :lol: ), if the song was well known the crowds will roar after detecting the ‘snippet’ overlay.

[Masdefi]

Hey guys, you are driving me crazy! Your posts are very interesting but my english is poor... :cry: so I need a little time to fully understand.
But anyway just two comments:

1. BAR
I did not know this word so I assumed erroneously 1 bar = 16 beats. So 1 bar = 4 beats. Therefore one 16-beats set is 4 bars. Thanks.

2. Boogie oogie ooogie
I listened to the album version, to me there is an intro of four 16-beats sets, this means 16 bars. Is it OK? The intro is beatless but I used to mix it anyway.

Ciao and thanks to all who have given more value to this post.