KLH vs djbroray vs Baller95 - New Years Day Battle

[JonAvalon]

Mix 1 (http://www.djfbattles.com/battles/KLH-vs-djbroray-vs-baller95-1.mp3)

Mix 2 (http://www.djfbattles.com/battles/KLH-vs-djbroray-vs-baller95-2.mp3)

Mix 3 (http://www.djfbattles.com/battles/KLH-vs-djbroray-vs-baller95-3.mp3)

Rules:
Inspired by the EPIC NEW YEARS EVE Mix Battle.

The point of this battle will be to get creative with mixing, blending, transitions, sampling, juggling, scratching, and having fun like only DJs do. As such the rules will be as follows:

* The mix will be at least 20 minutes with the last track playing or starting during the 20th minute. This means that as long as the last track is playing or starting between 20:00 and 20:59, the mix will qualify to compete.
* Music can be played via any sound source, but must be recorded live. This means that TT, CDJ, DJ app, DVS or mobile device can be used, but the performance must be recorded live in one continuous take.
* No post-production allowed. This means that no DAWs or DAEs can be used to fix the mix. Ok, you can normalize... but that's it!
* The Track list is published below. Remixes are ENCOURAGED!
* The mix must play at least 8 of the 15 tracks. YOU DO NOT NEED TO PLAY ALL TWELVE TRACKS! You do not have to play the entire track.
* The mix must include ONE track that isn't on the list. I don't care if it's classical, country, or DixieLand singing in the bathtub. You must play one track that isn't listed. Make it good.
* Winner gets bragging rights and losers have to acknowledge their loss to the winner in their DJF signature for January.




TRACK
BPM
Year


Michael Jackson - Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough
112
1979


K.C. & the Sunshine Band - Get Down Tonight
113
1975


C & C Music Factory - Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)
116
1990


Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax (Don't Do It)
116
1984


Madonna - Holiday
116
1983


BlackBox - Strike It Up
118
1990


Lady Gaga - Just Dance
120
2010


Kool & The Gang - Celebration
123
1980


Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling
128
2009


Pink - Get The Party Started
129
2001


Lmfao - Party Rock Anthem
130
2011


Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger
130
2011


David Guetta ft. Taio Cruz - Little Bad Girl




Starships - Nicki Minaj




Scream & Shout (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYtGl1dX5qI)- will.i.am (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYtGl1dX5qI)ft. Britney Spears (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYtGl1dX5qI)

[DJ Nada]

Edit: Need to re-listen apparently.

[Baller95]

Good luck all!

[JonAvalon]

fixed

Sorry i posted the wrong file for one of the mixes, I've reset the polls. Nada and the other voter if you don't mind listening and resubmitting again.

[Dharry]

Just listened to all three......great job guys!!
good luck :)

[KLH]

Just listened to all three......
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop the clock! If you vote, you should give feedback. Say what you liked / didn't like about each. The feedback helps us grow.

Thanks for listening. Now I'm going to listen and vote.

-KLH

[Dharry]

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop the clock! If you vote, you should give feedback. Say what you liked / didn't like about each. The feedback helps us grow.

Thanks for listening. Now I'm going to listen and vote.

-KLH

OK reined back!

Critique:

I thought the transitions on all three mixes were clean so great job!.

Mix 3 would have benefited from more remixes....? (sorry I wasn't familiar with some of the songs so cant actually be certain which is a remix and which is not if im being totally honest :P )

Mix one and two had me moving and helped my morning workout no end!!......... like DJ Nada said, I felt 3 was a little slow.

My ranking of the mixes would be Mix 2, Mix 1, and Mix 3. Hope that helps :D......

[Dix]

fixed

Sorry i posted the wrong file for one of the mixes, I've reset the polls. Nada and the other voter if you don't mind listening and resubmitting again.

I guess I am the other voter you mentioned. I dont want to have to go back & listen to all three again, only the one you added. So, which one did you delete & which one above is the replacement?

In other words did you replace #1, 2 or 3 in the original poll & which one is the new one in the new poll? I remember the mixes, so if I could just listen to the one , I could make another decision & re-vote.


Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop the clock! If you vote, you should give feedback. Say what you liked / didn't like about each. The feedback helps us grow.

Thanks for listening. Now I'm going to listen and vote.

-KLH

I am with this voting, like I am about political voting. I prefer not to announce my opinion until after the voting is complete because I don't want to influence others. I want everyone to individually make up their own minds. People tend to "jump on the ban wagon" sometimes. If someone is on the fence, I don't think the way another person voted should sway that vote... unintentionally.
Just like with political elections, especially the presidential elections, most people just jump on the ban wagon because Jim Bob or Sally Sue is voting that way.
Just like we don't know which mix belongs to which artist/member and we don't know (by looking at the poll results) who voted for which mix, I don't think votes should be revealed in the thread either. I'm not necessarily saying it should be a rule, although I think it would be a good rule to have, but I am just saying why I don't voice my opinion until the votes are tallied. Then I will comment on the mixes & say how & why I voted to help the artist who made them. :)

I think we can discuss the mixes once voting is complete.

[KLH]

I guess I am the other voter you mentioned. I dont want to have to go back & listen to all three again, only the one you added.
Well, the three mixes are new because the rules changed (to allow remixes and more songs). It's a new battle!

-KLH

[KLH]

I prefer not to announce my opinion until after the voting is complete because I don't want to influence others. I want everyone to individually make up their own minds. People tend to "jump on the ban wagon" sometimes. If someone is on the fence, I don't think the way another person voted should sway that vote... unintentionally.
... I think we can discuss the mixes once voting is complete.
You are free to do that, of course, but I'd ask that most not do that because there's a tendency to simply forget about offering feedback. Yes, it's not an ideally "blind" system, but the voting system works well enough for the fun it's supposed to provide... vote then offer some quick feedback.

If people are swayed by existing comments, well... shame on them. Listen, vote, view results, then offer feedback. Let's keep it simple.

-KLH

[KLH]

Some quick feedback.

All in all, these mixes are much better across the board than the last battle. This should be much closer battle... unless new members appear, of course (I'm looking at you, Mike Hunt and SpookieMcGee). Now the downside of this remix battle is that you don't know how much magic is in the remixes versus the DJ... but whatevs. It's about the energy, bishes. Let's do this...

Mix 1
This is a clean mix that bust of the gate with some scratching and juggling. GREAT ENERGY! I really liked the transitions, scratching, and remixes! My fav transition is the Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough ->Rock Your Body. I'm a sucker for James Brown sample screams (i.e. the one that Rob Base's It Takes Two uses), so I went nuts when I heard this. Of course, there was a transition that could've been better too (Rock Your Body -> Scream and Shout). All in all, this was fun to listen to. The personal song was Rock Your Body. While the mix length was getting a little long, I like how there was a fade to tell the listener "We're done, but I don't want to stop your groove. We'll go out slowly, how's that?" Class.

Bonus feedback: I loved that this mix is "family safe" - there's no profanity. That's a challenge with today's tracks (I'm looking at you, Scream and Shout). I also loved how clear it was recorded; it sounds great!


Mix 2
This mix also had a great start - the mashup of Just Dance was on point. There were some risky transitions and effects, but they worked well enough even if the harmonies clashed. It worked more than it didn't. The I Gotta Feeling was an interesting remix; was it mixed with itself? The transition from Moves Like Jagger -> Starships was really well done (via filter) and Starships -> Scream and Shout was great too. I didn't hear a personal song, but so what.

Bonus Feedback: IMHO, there are two mixing crimes made with this mix: It's in mono and the sound quality is terrible. I didn't factor these into the voting, but for a mix that's meant to be heard with headphones, mono is unacceptable. The sound quality was worsened by a limiter that squeezed the life out of the mix (particularly on Starships); there were times when the vocal wasn't intelligible - which is very bad for a DJ, indeed. I don't know if this was ignorance of equipment (by mixing in the red) or what, but this mix was hard to listen to. Again, I didn't factor these things into my consideration for the vote, but it needed to be said.


Mix 3
This mix reminded me of Mix 2 on the last mix. Actually, I had thought that JonAvalon messed up and copied the wrong mix, but he's too good for that. Anyways, this mix is fearless with transitions. They are in your face and you will notice them. This is a DJ's style... so that's cool. I especially enjoyed Party Rock Anthem -> Everybody, Everybody -> On The Floor until the beat dropped. The On The Floor -> Moves Like Jagger had a great phrasing save... work DJ, WORK! I loved the loop on Xtina on Moves Like Jagger -> Va Va Voom. Balls. There are two personal songs - Everybody, Everybody and On The Floor. The Iron Balls award comes from how the mix ended ("Let's paint the town! We'll shut it d-" 1/2 second TT Break.) Didn't I say fearless? Wow. It's like your girlfriend showed up naked and said the right thing.

Bonus Feedback: This mix was "family safe" and I appreciate that. My Mobile DJ side is showing, I guess. The only thing that tweaked my ear is that the keylock function causes minor glitches in audio. Torq v1.2 (via timecode) and ITCH v1.2 used to sound like that. It sounds like the CPU can't quite handle the load so it cheats here and there (very noticeable on Everybody, Everybody). I didn't factor this into voting; it's just an observation. Other than that, the sound quality is great depending on the track (which may be dependent on the bitrate of the MP3 and/or keylock).


So who takes it? They'll all great mixes and it's close. I had to listen three times to each to make this decision. I prefer the clean mixing, high energy, and butter smoov transitions of Mix 1... but barely. There's something cool about having BIG SWAGGER in your face with Mix 3, and Mix 2 was a solid mix; I strongly considered that one too.

There will be no REMIX of the REMIX, bishes. I'm tired of hearing these songs now. "Everybody go home now."

-KLH

[Sean]

My vote went to mix 3. There were a few clashes in the other two mixes that put me off. I thought the first one flowed better.

[Delta V]

Mix 1: Excellent intro, tight mixing, smooth groove throughout. whatever the sample or remix after scream and shout with the "let your body rock" I love that. Already said it but this mix was smooth, lot of quick mixes and subtle remixes, exactly what I'd look for.

Mix 2: Another good intro (I'm prolly just used to listening to club DJs beat intros haha). Sweet mix into second track, or not were back to just dancin. Good mix into C&C. Good Night sounds really slow here, but I like how the mixing has picked up, feels like Just Dance went on too long. Not feeling this mix out of Good Night, sounds a little too busy. as is the mixing overtop starships, beats drifting in the mix into Scream & Shout. I like this remix of Party Rock. Thought there was another mix or tune com in but just kinda ended.

Mix 3: Couple of older tunes here, good first and second mix. Oh nice some Gaga coming in. I don't know if it's the keys of the songs or what but the mix sounds really good. Some faster mixing here through On the Floor, Moves Like Jagger, some beatmixing errors a little bit later but hey mixing this fast there is gonna be some. Very impressed with your loop on Scream & Shout, that was way cool. And then it just stops, shut it ……, I've refreshed it couple of times thinking it didn't load all the way or something.

Gonna go with mix 1. Both 1 & 3 had pretty equal skills beatmatching wise but 1 took more risks with the scratching, different remixes, and just felt smoother all around. Good job everyone though!

[The Blackest]

Downloading these nao!!

[KLH]

Downloading these nao!!
Enjoy some pre-vote rep.

-KLH

[Dix]

I am not sure why but it says I've already voted. I only voted in the first round before it was rest. I am just now getting around to listening to the set with the new mix entered. The vote was supposed to have been reset? At least that was my understanding. I could be wrong 'cause I know i'm gettin' old & senile but anyway it says I done already done voted..??

Anyway, I like #2 the best. :)
As I listened, I rated each songs mix/transition on a 10 scale.
To me they were close though. I applaud each one of you as I know I certainly don't have the talent to come close to the mix or transitions that you guys performed. My hat is off to all three artists :)

#1 = 7
#2 = 9
#3 = 8

[DJ Nada]

1: Good intro, good use of samples. Sounds a bit too perfectly timed. Didn't like the transition from Starships to Just Dance, sounded overly... loud? The transition out of Just Dance was brilliant. I like this remix of MJ. I Wanna Rock was your special song? Meh. Same thing with the Scream and Shout track. Your mix died right here due to track selection. Wait, more Black Eyed Peas? Sigh... Not bad overall, I would suggest in your unstructured mixes to pay attention to the overall energy level of your set. You always want it to be moving up or down, not static.

2. Wow, dope intro. You have my attention, now where are you going with this? Good transition to Gonna Make You Sweat. Transition to Get Down Tonight was a little out of key, same with Starships into Major Lazer. The track after Scream and Shout is killer, except the lyrics lol. Excellent choice. It's over already? I kinda wanted more...

3. Starts out a little slow, I think this could be good. Smooth intro into Holiday. Still sounds a little slow, even though my BPM counter says it's at 120. Good transition out of Just Dance, I like how you didn't rush it. Don't like LMFAO on principle, love the song afterward. What's the name of this track? I like the smoothness of this mix so far. I think this is the only one with Little Bad Girl? Might get my vote just for that. The rest of this mix is nice, nothing annoying, nothing crazy. This is the mix I could see actually being played live at a club.

For some reason I can't vote again, even though my first vote got wiped. I choose Mix 3.

Kinda sad I missed out on this mix, because I would have gotten some good feedback. Kinda glad I did though, because I definitly would have come in last. I need to practice more!

[KLH]

^ I need to rep more people before I can rep you, DJ Nada (for voting and feedback). I'll get you though.

I wonder if SpookieMcGee and Mike Hunt will be voting...? This race is pretty damn close!

-KLH

[Baller95]

Me too, I can't rep anyone on here almost, I need to spread more. And a really close battle! Good work boys :)

Edit: strange how two of you guys can't vote, so the score is 3,3,2 then?

[recess]

Well, SINCE I GOT TROLLED LAST THREAD.
jerks. :(

Starting my listening now as i get ready to go snowboarding.

MY THOUGHTS:

Mix 1: The first two scratches sounded super awkward to me, the ones after (assuming that was you) were nice. Like the transition into MJ from lady gaga, could've been a tad quicker though. Wish you wouldve switched it up from the Black Eyed Peas in the end, however I like how your using samples from the other songs.

Mix 2: Like the lady Gaga Nirvana song. I need it, hahaha. This is mono isnt it? Pretty conservative IMO, none of the mixing was exciting to me. Not saying it was bad, mixing was on point.

Mix 3 : I thought this was a mess up at first, but hahah. Phase matching is ON point. Loving it.

mix #3 for me

Mix 3: Yes, awesome song to intro with!

[The Blackest]

My vote goes to mix 1. Loved the scratching, transitions and the energy. Helped me get through traffic this morning.


Great mixes guys.

[Mrspyaman]

1: Got my vote creative & clean.
2: Good but using time stretch that much is hard on the ears otherwise enjoyable.
3: Would of had my vote if the beat matching was a little more on time.

[KLH]

Ok guys. Now that this is done, I can talk.

First, let me congratulate the guys on this battle. It was for fun and I know did... I hope you other guys had fun too. Even though #1 won, I still feel like we all won or some bullsh*t like that.

Second, let me say that I was mix #2 on the last battle. That battle's mix took me about 2 hours to put together. About an hour to listen to all tracks and determine what tracks I wanted to mix. About 30 minutes to listen for transition points and practice a mix "feel". The last 30minutes was execution and converting to a lower bitrate and uploading.

Third, I must admit that I am mix #1 on this battle. This battle's mix took me about the same time to put together using the same method. I "scratched" at the beginning to let listeners know that the (great) other scratching and juggling wasn't me but was recorded as part of the remix. I did get to use Traktor's Flux mode (aka slip mode) for that, so I thought that it was cool enough.

Last but not least... I was both SpookieMcGee and Mike Hunt. I thought that the battle needed some attention and thought that a little controversy would bring in more people to do another battle. It kinda worked - except DJ Nada dropped - so it kinda failed. Since this battle was for fun anyway, I didn't think any one would really care. If I offended you guys (Baller95, DJ Nada), I certainly didn't mean to.

In closing, thanks to the DJs that entered, JonAvalon for moderating, and the voters for voting. KLH is outta here.

-KLH

[M!TCH]

Ok guys. Now that this is done, I can talk.

I haven't read through anyone else post but I thought this was open until the 16th? I was hoping to get to this at the beginning of this week...

[Baller95]

Congrats KLH, twice! I was mix 2 on this one and mix 3 on the last one.

[KLH]

I haven't read through anyone else post but I thought this was open until the 16th? I was hoping to get to this at the beginning of this week...
Oh sh*t, I mistook my vote result for the poll being closed. Go and vote before I ask JonAvalon to close the battle.

Man, do I feel like an azz.

http://www.officialmarkdavidson.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ass.jpg

-KLH

[Dj broray]

i demand a recount......i guess this means my mix is #3. i read the first post on the battle mix and i like the strange set of songs to play. So off i went to go find these songs. I kinda knew the song choices was like for a mobile dj spinning at family style party on which every age group knew a song or two. i took all the the songs that i wanted and didn't choose to find remixes. The style i use is in your face you know what song is coming in. I tried to make each song short so nobody would loose interest. I found every possible break in the song so i can mix into. So basically i found a break after the first chorus and then hit the outro of the song (remix sort of)then go into the intro of the second song like in Just Dance into LMAFO so im basically hitting a cue point at the same time hitting the play button. So im saving cue points and auto loops just to start this mix. Then had to practice, it took so many takes but i finally was sort of happy of what i did. I knew some of the song were off beat a lil but i recovered. The ending was on purpose "shut it d .... TT brake" it is a battle. I decided to use the DDJ-SX after buying it in the first of December. I dont why it sounded slow i guess the Serato DJ record feature has a lil bug in it. If I dont get lazy i will post a vid of the whole mix showing how i made this showing the Serato DJ screen. i liked mix 1 and mix 2 you guys did great.

[Baller95]

Two people were unable to vote for some reason so I believe the scores are..

Mix 1 - 5
Mix 2 - 3
Mix 3 - 3

I think we all did great and I'd be looking forward to another battle sometimes as I got a new controller a few days ago! :tup:

So I'll give some feedback now -
KLH - I really liked the songs and mixes you used, the little scratching in the beginning made me wonder what what you did there but then the rest of the scratching was pretty sweet! Transitions were smooth, good flow throughout the entire mix. Definately a good mix!

Baller95 - Mixes were pretty good except "I gotta feeling" so I remixed the remix while mixing to make it sound better but i still didn't like it, plus the transition into I gotta feeling I messed up a bit. I think my transitions everywhere else was alright and the flow was ok.

DJ Broray - Your transitions were great, the mix had a good flow through out but I was surprised you had no mixes. I like what you did in the end there but it seemed too quick haha. Great mix though.