jz416 vs kyle133 vs DJ Difficult - Deep House Battle

[JonAvalon]

Mix 1 (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5847651/Battles/jz416-vs-kyle133-dJdifficult-1.mp3)

Mix 2 (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5847651/Battles/jz416-vs-kyle133-dJdifficult-2.mp3)

Mix 3 (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5847651/Battles/jz416-vs-kyle133-dJdifficult-3.mp3)

Rules:
28 - 33 Minutes Long
No computers

[Rad]

Just stuck them on my Ipod for listening on my commute, will take a few days before I've listened to them, but looking forward to it!

on a side note: because there is still a title tag in two of these files, iTunes replaces the name when importing, so you do not know which is nr 1 or nr 2 anymore. Nr 3 is fine.

[DjZombeat]

Same here imma download them right now but it will take a little time to listen and give and honest review.

[DjZombeat]

Just stuck them on my Ipod for listening on my commute, will take a few days before I've listened to them, but looking forward to it!

on a side note: because there is still a title tag in two of these files, iTunes replaces the name when importing, so you do not know which is nr 1 or nr 2 anymore. Nr 3 is fine.

umm, i thought i was going to be able to simply download these mixes but I thought wrong. How can I download these mixes?? Can you help me?

[Rad]

umm, i thought i was going to be able to simply download these mixes but I thought wrong. How can I download these mixes?? Can you help me?

Right click on the link labelled "Mix 1" , followed by "save link as" works for me here (at work at the moment, Firefox on Win 7, downloaded at home on Safari /OSX yesterday)

[kyle133]

Seriously awesome stuff on mix#2. Going to need a track list after this one is done :)

[DJ Difficult]

And now you gave a hint to hundreds of voters about your number..

[kyle133]

And now you gave a hint to hundreds of voters about your number..

:lol: I don't think I have been in a battle where it was ever voted on :uhoh:

[Rad]

I voted for mix nr 3.
I listened to the mixes in the car, so I was not able to actually take many notes, but I did really pay attention ;) Also, being in the car, I got to play them quite loud.

All three mixes were good, but here's the few notes I did make:
Mix 1: almost all tracks were vocal tracks. I think the mix into "What I might do" would have been better if you had let the melody of the previous track overlap for a phrase more. Again, the actual mixes (beatmatching) were good, but some of the transitions could have been a bit smoother.
Mix 2: that first blend was very nice and long (hey, there's "what I might do" again ;) still a great track. ) I think the mixes were a bit smoother than in mix one although some (around 9:00 minutes in and 11:40) were a bit less subtle. What's the deal with the hint of " au seve" near the end, a sample in another track ?
Mix 3: scratches, done on vinyl? I think this was the smoothest mix of the three, and also the most "deep house" of them. I liked that there were less vocal tracks than the other mixes. There was a bit of a skip / glitch at around 22:50 wasn't there ?

Anyway, all good mixes really, enjoyed all three.
Please don't take my critical notes too seriously as I consider myself a beginner and far from an expert.

Hope you get a lot more voters on this battle, I think the battle section of this site need a lot more action/attention.
Thanks for the mixes, and could you please post track lists when the voting is over ?

[kyle133]

I will post my track list when the voting is over for you Rad :) Thanks for voting!

[Rad]

So who's the other voter ? DjZombeat ?

[DJ Difficult]

Votes needed here guys / girls! Reputation is ready to be given away..

[Vernski]

Ok lads,

I'm going to create some cross genre voting love, I'm going to listen and vote on your battle and I was hoping you guys could come visit here------------->http://www.djforums.com/forums/showthread.php?34732-DJF-Trance-Tourney-2013-Vernski-vs-M!TCH-vs-Sedna

It's a three way final and it would be great to get some external votes

I'll be listening to your battle mixes this afternoon Aussie Time :tup:

Thanks in advance :)

[Vernski]

This is the most deep house that I have ever listened to ever....

I must say that I enjoyed most of the tracks across all three battle mixes.

To Voting.....



MIX 1: Solid mix from beginning to end for me, played a bit on the safe side in comparison to the other mixes but everything was done quite well. I thought that each track was meant to be played with the following track and the mix had a good flow to it.

10:00 transition: I thought the hi hats were a bit too much but I'm only nit picking really

For me this mix was executed the best out of the three.




MIX 2: This mix was was the most technically complicated of them all
3:00 Transition: really loved this one, it took about 3 minutes to play out and was done very well.

8:20 Transition: I was liking the stripping down of the track and I was hoping/waiting for it to rebuild again with the next track but there was a more sudden track change. Not the wrong thing, it just wasn't what I wanted or expected.

13:40 Transition: There were vocals on vocals that didn't sound that good to me at that point, both tracks were good though.

18:30 Transition: This seemed very busy, lots of different tones and sounds happening and it lost me there for a bit. Once that cleared up it was all good again.

The main thing I noticed about this mix was the use of loops and layering 2 or more tracks at any one time. For the most part it was done very well,, just a few times it felt like it got away and there was too much happening.

This mix definitely took more risks and had lots of great payoffs during the session.




MIX 3: This one was the most challenging for me, the first 20 minutes weren't my cup of tea for track selection. The last 13 minutes I was getting into it a lot more, I suppose I have discovered the style of deep house that I like.

I listened to quite a lot of R&B in the 90's and early 00's and I find that I enjoy listening to big black dudes singing about how they're going to love that girl down better than the last big black dude.... :lol:

6:20 Transition: good transition, just not a fan of the change in key as it seemed to lower the vibe for me.

8:35 - The pitch changed drastically for a moment....

9:25 Transition: Not a good blend of sounds for me.

11:20 Transition: Pretty good, really enjoying this track

12:230 Transitition: Two good tracks that needed a bit more eq work, outgoing track needed a little more softening for me.

There were some really weird sounds coming around the 22 min mark.....


The Decision...

My philosophy when it comes to submitting mixes is that they should be pre-listened before submission and once they're uploaded, glitches and errors are part of the mix. It's a tough decision for me between mix 1 and mix 2 as I said earlier, mix 2 risked a little more whereas mix one was a safe mix done well...

My vote goes to Mix 1 - Just....

There is so much that can be learned from mix 2, if you guys can incorporate some of that longer style blends and loops demonstrated by mix 2, I think you'll be creating some wicked mixes.

[DJ Difficult]

Thanks for listening & voting!
Would rep you but "you must spread.." bullshit prevented it.
I already listened #1 on your battle and will listen rest of them tomorrow so stay tuned.

[kyle133]

Vernski, thanks for voting man! Glad you liked the mixes!

[Vernski]

Vernski, thanks for voting man! Glad you liked the mixes!

No problem :tup:

[Vernski]

Vernski, thanks for voting man! Glad you liked the mixes!

Need to spread some rep for your feedback & voting....

[jz416]

Vernksi, thanks so much for the voting and detailed critique.. .Really is useful.

Unfortunately, i have a massive essay worth 15 percent of my grade due on friday, so i really dont have time to listen to battles at the moment, but come saturday im free from school for 2 weeks and will definetely give it a listen, and a vote.

Again, thanks for voting.

[oddnumber]

is it really deep house battle or that new electro house that gets labeled as "deep" :D
just want to make sure so I don't waste anyone's time lol

[jz416]

is it really deep house battle or that new electro house that gets labeled as "deep" :D
just want to make sure so I don't waste anyone's time lol

I really dont know what your talking about, but i dont think anyone would call any of the sets electro house.

[Vernski]

Vernksi, thanks so much for the voting and detailed critique.. .Really is useful.

Unfortunately, i have a massive essay worth 15 percent of my grade due on friday, so i really dont have time to listen to battles at the moment, but come saturday im free from school for 2 weeks and will definetely give it a listen, and a vote.

Again, thanks for voting.

You're welcome, I've really found that battles are a great way to learn, push yourself and improve.

No worries, nail that essay, then you can enjoy some guilt free listening. :D

Interesting to see how the deadlock will go.....

[oddnumber]

I really dont know what your talking about, but i dont think anyone would call any of the sets electro house.

referring to an earlier battle where things were labeled progressive house when in reality they were trance

[oddnumber]

mix 2 what happen

mix 3 23 min?

no one was was sticking to the deep house genre so I cant judge you to that. Mix 2 had obvious technical difficulties so it comes down to mix 1 and 3. 3 had that hiccup around 23 min. I haven't noticed any issues with 1 but mix 3 did kept me more interesting so my vote goes to 3.


wait!? I dont see voting option. Is it too late? :confused::confused:

[DJ Difficult]

Yep, poll is closed but I think that we can accept your vote and with that, you break the tie and mix #3 is winner!
And that wasn't me, I was #1.
Nice mixes guys. Both were great mixes. BTW, what are odds that same songs will end up in two battle mixes? Expecially when it's not that new song. I think that I will put a few rows of lottery this weekend :lol:

[kyle133]

It still blew my mind that DJ difficult and jz416 are half a world away from each other, but still played the same track almost in the same spot of the mix.

For the record, I dug through beatport and grabbed 7 tracks I liked before this battle. I have never mixed a deep house set before this. Odd number, thanks for your vote!

I was mix #3

Anyone who wants a tracklist, PM me!

About the skipping around 22 min in my mix. This was a Dropbox problem. My mix was clean when I sent it out :shrug:

[jz416]

I was mix 2... I took a risk by mixing attempting to do a 3 deck mix, I had never mixed with 3 decks before until that week, but i wanted to bring something special to the table.

Unfortunately, my technical skills were challenged immensely, and honestly, i bit off more than i could chew, but i learned a lot and developed my skills immensely from re recording that mix like 15 times.

Nice mixers guys,Im trying to figure out who voted for mine... i certainly wouldnt of.

[Vernski]

I was mix 2... I took a risk by mixing attempting to do a 3 deck mix, I had never mixed with 3 decks before until that week, but i wanted to bring something special to the table.

Unfortunately, my technical skills were challenged immensely, and honestly, i bit off more than i could chew, but i learned a lot and developed my skills immensely from re recording that mix like 15 times.

Nice mixers guys,Im trying to figure out who voted for mine... i certainly wouldnt of.

Like I said in my review, your mix was very close to mix 1 in my book. Had mix one made some errors in his mix I would have gone with yours as you risked more.

The spot where it really gets away from you probably needed one of the tracks to be faded down gradually before that point, along with some eq work to soften another track and have the third track being the slightly more dominant one. If you did want to revisit it, I would just play around with different ways to get out of that tricky spot. I would be happy to listen to a 3 or 4 minute recording of that tricky spot.

[Vernski]

I was mix 2... I took a risk by mixing attempting to do a 3 deck mix, I had never mixed with 3 decks before until that week, but i wanted to bring something special to the table.

Unfortunately, my technical skills were challenged immensely, and honestly, i bit off more than i could chew, but i learned a lot and developed my skills immensely from re recording that mix like 15 times.

Nice mixers guys,Im trying to figure out who voted for mine... i certainly wouldnt of.

Like I said in my review, your mix was very close to mix 1 in my book. Had mix one made some errors in his mix I would have gone with yours as you risked more.

The spot(18min 30sec) where it really gets away from you probably needed one of the tracks to be faded down gradually before that point, along with some eq work to soften another track and have the third track being the slightly more dominant one. If you did want to revisit it, I would just play around with different ways to get out of that tricky spot. I would be happy to listen to a 3 or 4 minute recording of that tricky spot.

[jz416]

Like I said in my review, your mix was very close to mix 1 in my book. Had mix one made some errors in his mix I would have gone with yours as you risked more.

The spot(18min 30sec) where it really gets away from you probably needed one of the tracks to be faded down gradually before that point, along with some eq work to soften another track and have the third track being the slightly more dominant one. If you did want to revisit it, I would just play around with different ways to get out of that tricky spot. I would be happy to listen to a 3 or 4 minute recording of that tricky spot.

Honestlly, I think it would have been as simple as cutting out all the tracks but the hihats from the one track, and then introducing a kick fro m a new track followed by by the mids from the hihat track.

Another strategy one could use is loops, but i find that without a computer, loops never work out well for me.

I likely wont re record this mix because i find that when i mix the same settings over and over, it really burns me out and i end up not practising for 2 days after as a result, however, i will continue to experiment with 3 deck ( and likely 4 deck in the future) deep house mixing, as really, i find that by actually layering tracks in order to create something more along the lines of one long mashup, rather than just going from one to another, it allows me to be constantly working, always doing something creative, and if you think about it, id suspect that my beatmatching will improve at least 1.5x as fast as it would with regular mixing.

Of course, there is something to be said for the benfits of simple A, B mixing, but i think that layering tracks, and pretty much always having something going on is deffinetely the direction in which my djing is going.

Im very happy that i have two weeks without school, allowing me to get some quality practise time for the first time in a while, and i definetely intend on crafting a deep house mix over the break.

I also will listen and vote on the trance battle at some point tomorrow and if not on sunday.

[kyle133]

Jz416, you had some great ideas going on in your mix. Keep it up man! I like seeing guys push themselves.

[jz416]

Jz416, you had some great ideas going on in your mix. Keep it up man! I like seeing guys push themselves.

Thanks kyle.

Your mix is currently on my subway mix rotation.

[M!TCH]

mix 2 what happen

mix 3 23 min?

no one was was sticking to the deep house genre so I cant judge you to that. Mix 2 had obvious technical difficulties so it comes down to mix 1 and 3. 3 had that hiccup around 23 min. I haven't noticed any issues with 1 but mix 3 did kept me more interesting so my vote goes to 3.


wait!? I dont see voting option. Is it too late? :confused::confused:

With how subjective genres are in this day and age, getting super critical in a voting battle just because your personal opinion is that the set isn't dead set on one genre is childish. People should be voting on technical competency and set structure as opposed to, "oh my god, you played that Justin Bieber track I love more than anything and even though your transitions were garbage, I'm voting for you."