MIX - I Never Stopped

The Bloke Network of Shows

I was a little surprised when I started mixing again. I expected to struggle a bit with the beatmatching - having not done it for quite some time. Much to my surprise, I didn't have that much of an issue. I got pretty much back into the groove with the expected rollercoaster of keeping a mix in sync. I have always had this, as most DJs do mixing vinyl - it's not digital, so there is a little wow and flutter in every mix. I guess though, I never really stopped mixing. I would often hear music out and about and be mixing something else into it in my head, my Spotify playlist often just resembled set planning. I still can't sit anywhere that I can hear two different audio sources out of sync and be able to do anything other than try to marry them together in my head. So. With this mix, I turned off a feature in Serato - the key lock. I have always struggled a bit with mixing in key. I am not a formally trained musician, so I never really learnt the theory or have intentionally practised identifying key. I can certainly hear if something is sour, or off-key in a mix, and I think I can identify someone singing sharp or flat - though - I couldn't tell you which it was. So, as the software systems came into play, a feature I jumped on was indexing everything by key - using the Camelot Mixing system. It certainly helped my mixing, but just in the last couple of weeks - since I had the system back up and running, something has been bugging me - a certain mussyness to the sound. I did this mix with the feature off. I increase or decrease the speed of the record; the pitch also changes. This does mean that mixes might not be entirely in the same key it means tracks may not be in a 'traditional' key at all - a percent up or down can change things - go read about the backstory of 'Kind of Blue' to see how this can become part of a legend. https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/miles-davis-kind-of-blue-mono-speed-issues.232772/ So - you may have a slight mismatch in regards to the key. Instinctively, in this age of metronome perfect mix by numbers mixing - this probably has a few people aghast - why would you turn such a useful feature off? Well - try listening to the audio, listening to the mix. Close your eyes for a while, stop looking at the waveform and listen. The early version of Serato incorporated Pitch'n'Time into it - actually - by my understanding - it's this software that got Serato started. Now, I am not sure if the later versions got upgraded algorithms, but, I find, listening to the sonic characteristics of the audio - I feel (and, yes, it could merely be an auditory illusion I am creating for myself) that there is a slight marring and smearing of the sound. Logically, if there is any wow or flutter on the analogue controller (vinyl), the plugin must be all but permanently correcting the sound. Add into it, a bit of pushing and pulling on the platter, and you end up with a mix that seems to have a bit of a background, almost rubbery characteristic. It's not the music itself; it's in between the music - behind it that I hear the issue. Additionally, much like manually beatmatching itself - there is something in having two tracks in the mix that are not 100% perfectly aligned - the slight, slight disharmony helps create a tension in the mix, that resolves when finally transitioning to the next tune. Tension and release, what, to me, a lot of DJing is really about. Anyhow. Another mix. Enjoy!