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Project Tango DJ Resource:
What is the Project Tango DJ Resource?
This on-line resource is meant to inform, educate, and help bridge the gap between traditional and alternative forms of tango dj'ing.
Project Tango DJ Discussion Board is temporarily disabled because of high spam traffic!
Cellspace DJ contact list (as of 02/01/05):
- Sabrina Cook (DJ Coordinator)
- Homer Ladas (assistant DJ Coordinator)
- Bernhard Kohlhaas (email Homer to request contact info)
- John Chang
- Muliono Tan (ex Video Jockey & now the cellspace Phantom DJ)
- Demetrius Gonzalez
- Daniel Peters (Vinyl & Victrola Master)
- Jesse Homchand
- Sean Dockery
- Tayfun
- Rina aka Malajunta
- Emily Pierce
- Leslie Gordo
- Randy Fisher (dj & resident vj)
- Gordo Oliver
- Ben Thoma
- Alex Allende
Additional DJ's include(d) Greg Lindburg (SF), Mayumi Fugiomorrow (SF), Hung-Yut Chen (SF), Roberto Riobo (SF), Ben Boggart (RI), Thomas Rieser (Germany), Dave R. (Minneapolis)
If you have an interest in dj'ing at Cellspace please contact Homer!
Traditional Tango Music Links:
Alternative Tango Music Links:
Various Techniques & philosophies on traditional & alternative tango dj'ing
Homer's Current Alt DJ Philosophy:
- Only let one or two less-traditional tandas go by, before returning to something more traditional or contemporary.
- Change the texture of each tanda from one to the next (no monochrome feeling).
- In the non-traditional tandas make an eclectic but congruent mix of several artists.
- Inject Milonga (or Milonga like) and Vals (or Vals like) tandas at regular intervals - every third tanda will usually be a Vals or Milonga type set (whether they're traditional, or non-traditional, or a mix).
- Use one cortina, as a common thread, to help stabilize things.
- Sometimes play with multiple cortinas or don't use them, especially if the song provides a built in one!
The Cellspace DJ Creed:
(Keep, Listen, Watch, Respect, Critique, Support, Encourage, Train)
- Keep Most of the people dancing most of the time!
- Listen & Watch your Audience.
- Respect each DJ’s Stylistic & Creative Differences.
- Provide Constructive Criticism at “appropriate” times, or when asked.
- Always Support Your Fellow Cellspace DJ (go down w/the ship).
- Encourage & help Train new DJ’s
Play lists of alternative & mixed tango events:
Washington DC Tango Marathon 2004
Denver Memorial Day Marathon - Sunday, May 30th, 2004
The Monthly Beat All-Nighter (Berkeley, CA) - A great traditional night with a peppering of alternative...especially at the end!
Seattle Weekly Alternative Milonga - This list is for Edna and Larry - thanks guys for letting me dj!!!
Seattle Tango Magic Friday Alt Milonga (I subbed for Robin Thomas whose flight was delayed...)
Sabrina's DJ Manuscript: To be read and used as a guideline by all current and prospective cellspace dj's...
1. DJ ING IS A SERVICE AND A PRIVILEGE*
Keeping our community happy and dancing is our job.
Helping them grow and enjoy growing is part of our job.
Therefore, we need to select mixes that serve our community needs, not just ourselves.
2. BE THERE FOR SET-UP (7:00 pm) and CLEAN-UP (12:30 am)*
One or both of the DJs needs to be there for set-up and clean-up.
You can split it up how you like.
If you're DJing solo, you need to be there for both set-up and clean-up.
If you can't do this, you are responsible for finding a substitute.
3. PLAY 1/3 to 2/3 CLASSIC TANGOS.*
Because cellspace is a milonga and many people start at cellspace and never dance anywhere else, we need to make sure that we play a reasonable amount of classic tangos.
Besides, they are also often easier to dance to for our large beginner population.
Now, by classic I don't mean Gotan Project, Nacrotango, Hugo Diez, jazzy tangos, or even Piazolla - those are not classic.
[Oh yeah, try and pick really good classic stuff so we can brainwash our beginners and community into actually *liking* to dance to classic tangos! ;-)]
4. PLAY 1/3 to 2/3 ALTERNATIVE MUSIC.*
This is *the* alternative milonga.
If people want just all classic tangos, there are plenty of other places to go dancing at for that.
We need to make sure we play a reasonable amount of good, danceable alternative music.
Alternative music DOES include, Gotan Project, Narcotango, all nuevo/electronic tangos, all jazzy tangos, etc.
It also includes blues, the Who, salsas, and other non-tangos.
Note: If you're only going to target about 1/3 classic tangos, I would suggest that another 1/3 be non-classic tangos and not have 2/3's of the mix completely non-tangos.
5. ALTERNATE BEWTEEN TANGO TANDAS AND ALTERNATIVE MUSIC*
DO NOT let more than one or two tandas go by w/o switching genres!
6. PLAY DANCEABLE MUSIC
Try and pick alternatives that are danceable by beginners - not all cool stuff is easily danceable.
Not all stuff we can dance to are easily danceable.
If you're trying something new/different, watch and see if it works.
There are lots of classic alternatives that people love and can dance to; putting some of those into the mix makes people happy and gets them dancing.
It's our job to help make people happy and get them dancing :-)
7. CHALLENGE THE COMMUNITY EVERY ONCE IN AWHILE
That said (#6), even though most of our sets should be highly danceable, we need to challenge folks every once in a while, so throw in some challenging songs - but no more than a couple or so.
People need to feel comfortable learning and growing - lots of comfort food along with a hint of the spicey stuff ;-)
It's our job to help grow the community and that means expanding their horizons and exposing them to new things/challenges too.
8. CHANGE THE ENERGY - NO MONOTONE MIXES/TANDAS!!!!*
Pretty, melodic music is nice - unless it goes on too long.
High energy intense music is nice - unless it goes on too long.
Club music is nice - unless it goes on too long.
Try and strive for variety - beat, style, intensity, energy, feel, etc.; within tandas and between tandas; within alternatives and tangos.
9. PAY ATTENTION TO THE DANCERS/NON-DANCING PEOPLE*
Who's sitting out?
Can you play something to get them dancing?
Did that song work?
Look at their faces, not just numbers of bodys - we have lots of people that will dance to anything, even if they don't like it ;-)
Are people doing more talking on the floor or dancing?
Is that because the music is boring or is the volume down too low?
Are they actually dancing or just moving around on the floor?
This can be hard to do when you, yourself, are dancing.
At the same time, being a part of the dance crowd can provide for a great feel for how things are going - if you pay attention and don't just delve into your own world of dance.
Stay aware.
10. BE ADAPTABLE/FLEXIBLE
Be ready to change your mix if things aren't working or if you need to change the energy of the room; pay attention to what your partner is playing/has played and work with that (e.g., if your partner ended with a milonga set, don't start with a milonga set); change your set around if necessary and you're running out of play time; if there's a demo that doesn't work with what you had planned next, change what you planned to something that does work; etc..
11. VARIETY IS A GOOD THING*
We have lots of DJs with different styles - which is good because we have a diverse community of dancers we are serving.
Many DJs tend to have a different set of music they draw from for their mixes; these will change the flavor of the night.
That is a Good Thing.
That said, please keep in mind the other 10 guidelines when selecting your songs and making your mixes - we are serving the community and DJing is a privilege; we need to pay attention and try and do a good job to serve them, not ourselves.
11. NO MUSIC AFTER 12:00 MIDNIGHT*
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*Not just good ideas, but the rules and guidelines determined by Homer, summarized above on this webpage, and from the outcome of several DJ meetings!
OTHER STUFF:
USE TANDAS - it's nice to string together music that flows in long sets, but the tandas make it easier to start and stop dancing with different people.
[I like 2-3 song tandas - they allow for more variety while remaining internally consistent; they make it easier on beginners (I know my brain can't handle leading 4 whole songs in a row!); and, they make it easier for experienced people to dance with beginners.
Two-song tandas are nice for long songs without much internal variety (e.g., Gotan Project) or blues/swing; three-song tandas are nice for the rest - maybe 4 for the end of the night.]
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Of course, all that said, there will be times where general guidelines are not as applicable and DJ creativity requires deviation from these guidelines (no deviations allowed on the showing up on time and ending on time, though!).
Be aware, though, that if experiments don't work out so well it may be a while before you are cycled in again ;-)
(hey, we have a lot of DJs to cycle around!)
Also, I've been working on partnering up people with different styles to increase nightly variety and long term consistency.
This has been a message from:
Sabrina Cook, your Cellspace DJ Coordiantor
