“The only thing you’ve gotta do as a DJ is to press that button at the same beat as the other track” – Steve Angello
Steve Angello felt the need to clarify on record just how easy it is to DJ without headphones, or DJ at all for that matter. According to Angello…
“If you’re a guitarist, you can play tight,” he tells the camera in a quiet moment. “If you’re a drummer, you play tight. The only thing you’ve gotta do as a DJ is to press that button at the same beat as the other track, which is not the hardest thing in the world, because people do it every day. You just gotta be synched. The CD player tells you which BPM your record is. If you know that one track is 125 and the other is 128, you just put the pitch three BPMs up. Then you’re good to go. It’s not that hard if you know your records, and it’s definitely not hard if you re-edit all your records so you know the exact timing of things.”
In a time of ugly feuds about the “press play” issue, Angello doesn’t seem to have a problem admitting his lack of creativity on the stage. His 11 hour sets he’s become famous for playing in Brazil now make a lot more sense. If Deadmau5 isn’t still preoccupied with Afrojack, he is probably stretching out his fingers for another twitter rant. Some may say, this is what the industry has come to. They may say it’s really no surprise and there is nothing wrong with it. I am not one of those people. We still have artists that are brilliant producers, performers, and overall musicians in general. Call me old fashioned, but I think the music is about more than just beat matching and making a quick profit. I had the pleasure this past weekend of sitting down with two artists, Cosmic Gate and Caspa, who would rather end their career than play a set with this mindset. Angello went on to add…
“If you think about it, people don’t even dance anymore. They’re jumping. And that’s awesome. But there’s a gap where [funkier music] used to be.”
I guess he feels it’s as simple as capitalizing on a new wave of fans that do not expect much depth in the sets they pay to see. There’s a lack of funkier music, so why not just feed the wallet with mainstream and predictable performances. From my perspective, it’s rather disappointing.
Watch Steve Angello’s comments in the Size Matters Ep 6 Video Below
