Daniel Sokolovskiy’s Blog: posts tagged Gigs

DJs: hire photographers for your gigs

Wed, 20 Jan 2021 11:48:04 +0100

A few thoughts on the pictures from DJs’ gigs and advice based on my own failure

First of all, the most obvious: photos are a good thing. They’re personal memories that feel good to revisit and share with others. Who doesn’t love pictures?

Now the slightly less obvious: Pictures of DJs’ gigs are your work assets. If a DJ has good pictures from his gigs, it’s easier for promoters to work with him: to run an advertising campaign for the upcoming event, to sell tickets. Also, photos from performances help to remove fears of potential promoters: when you see a DJ behind the club gear in front of live people, you know that at least he has such experience, which means less chance that he will screw up (remember that decent DJs are pretty rare). And, of course, photos are great content for visual communication for your blogs and social media.

Read what about social media John Fleming and Ace Ventura

Finally, something that would seem unobvious or even wrong to many at first glance: making sure that a DJ gets photos of the gigs is the DJ’s own job. I’m not talking about how to get those gigs (that’s a big separate topic), but about the photos from them.

It’s the DJ’s job to get pictures of his gigs

When I was young and inexperienced, I used to think something like this: “Since the organizer is doing the event, he most likely hires a photographer. And since there’s going to be a photographer at the event, that means I, as the DJ, will have some great shots from there, especially when I’m an international artist in the lineup. Right?”.

With these thoughts in mind, I flew to my first international gigs in Switzerland in 2014, then to Hungary in 2015, then to Switzerland again in 2017, and soon to Greece. Events in different countries with big lineups of international artists; big clubs and festivals. Guess how many pictures of me are from there? The answer is zero. None. At least I’ve kept the posters, or else it was like there were none. Wonder how that’s possible?

See all my posts about the shows: posters, photos, mixes and other snippets from the tour

Well, the thing is, when organizers hire photographers, they do this for a very different reason. For the organizer, the main goal of the photos is to make people want to come to their next events. To do that, they usually try to show a good mood, people, vibe, location, deco, and all that that typically catches people’s eyes. And that’s not necessarily DJs at all.

For example, this is what one of such shots can look like:

Shankra Festival, Lostallo, Switzerland, 2017. The photo is cool, but not about me

I ended up having great gigs, but there’s not a single shot of me from there to use as my asset. Don’t be like me.

After realizing it was a complete failure, I’ve since made it a rule to hire photographers myself — not for the entire events, but specifically for my sets.

When you hire a photographer, you can explain to him what angles to shoot and from what not to; he certainly will not be late for your set; you probably won’t have to wait for the photos for weeks; the files will be in high resolution and thus they can be used even for posters, or anywhere. With this approach, I now have several hundred good pictures that I use for promotional needs, social media, podcast covers, and other uses.

I add the best shots in high resolution to a special page for promoters and press

Of course, I’m not the first to think of this. I remember in 2018 noticing that Boris Brejcha is touring the world, yet almost all the photos on his Instagram are signed by only a few photographers. In other words, Brejcha doesn’t rely on local photographers from the organizers (who, of course, are certainly present and take photos of Brejcha anyway), but he flies with his own, trusted guys.

Boris Brejcha on Instagram

Boris Brejcha in Moscow, 2018. Photo: Ruben Schmitz. The pictures like this “sell” well very

At the time, I thought it was a great idea and started doing the same thing. As an artist, I don’t gather stadiums of people like Brejcha, but even if there are only a hundred people on the dance floor, you can still ask the photographer to take at least a few close-up shots of the DJ — shots like that are useful and important too.

Me at a gig at Gorod Club, Moscow, 2018. Photo: Pavel Tzimisce. A nice, working shot even without the stadium of people

All in all, DJs, a word of advice: don’t rely on the luck of the draw, but hire photographers yourself. These investments are worth it.

Laptop clock

Sun, 02 Aug 2020 12:53:40 +0100

During my DJ sets, I try to put a laptop next to the decks when possible. But it’s not there to run a DJ program like many people think whether it’s Traktor or Rekordbox or something, but for a clock. A big and bold clock on a dark screen that shows the current time:

For me, the clock is a kind of anchor to reality, a reference point in time and space, which helps me to better plan the tracks during a set.

I don’t pre-plan my sets in advance, but once I get in the DJ booth, I kind of understand how I’m going to build a set: which track I’m going to put next, what vibe I want to come to in half an hour and on which note I want to finish my performance.

With standard shorter sets, it’s relatively easy. You just play a dozen tracks, and it gives you an indicator that half of the set has already passed. Although, I still worry ‘Do I have time to drop that awesome tracks before my set time ends?’. But playing 5-6-hour open-to-close sets without clocks seems impossible to me at all.

Of course, there’s a clock on the phone, but I don’t like staring at the phone during the set. It doesn’t seem to be very respectful of people on the dance floor, as if I was checking my email or social media there. Wristwatches do not fit either because you need to twist the wrist, which is almost always busy on the deck or mixer, and on the small screen is not so clear. The big screen of the notebook on the side but in a constant field of view is ideal in this regard.

Also, the clock helps to finish the set on time. I’ve never had a problem with it, but I know a lot of times when the next DJ comes for a switch-over and the other DJ says, “YEAH, SURE! JUST ONE MORE TRACK!”. And then there’s more. In the end, the next DJ starts ten minutes later and gets nervous, the timeline of the event shifts, and it’s not good. Sometimes there is the promoter or a special stage manager who watches over strict timings, but I think that’s the DJ’s area of responsibility to respect the timing.

Anyway, DJs, please watch the clock.

Ready check

Wed, 12 Feb 2020 10:43:42 +0100

At Skazka Festival two hours prior to the doors opening. Photo: Schneider Family

No matter when my set time is, at 1 or 4 AM, I always try to arrive at the venue prior to the doors opening, especially if it’s the first time.

Is all the equipment functioning properly? Is the volume of the DJ monitors controlled by the Booth Monitor knob? Does it have sufficient overall volume, or should I ask the sound engineer to turn it up? How does the acoustics sound in this room? Won’t that spotlight over there hit my eyes?

Does LINK work? Is the USB port for the USB stick broken, or should I play from my SD card today? Is this the right deck model for me, or is it better to get a controller out of the backpack? Is there room on the table for a laptop, and if it isn’t enough, how can I move everything to make other artists feel comfortable too? Where should I put the recorder?

Are sound guy and stage manager here? What do they look like, and where to find them in the middle of the night if necessary?

What’s the audience like tonight and what’s they up to? What tracks do other DJs play? How do people react to them?

And it is only a tiny part of the technical and organisational questions. Of course, you can’t think of everything, but if you know at least these moments in advance and not five minutes before your set in the middle of the night, chances for a successful performance slightly increase.

Interview for Shankra Festival

Fri, 27 Apr 2018 12:12:30 +0100

I spoke with Giulia from Shankra Festival organization about my first festival experience, latest works, features of my tracks, and some aspects of Trance music I dislike.

Give us an overview of your latest works (releases, EP, other projects): is there something you’re particularly excited about?
My release schedule was quite busy lately: I have released a new single on Digital Om Productions a few months back, followed by a very unusual release on Iono Music, and just in a few weeks from now my collaboration with Mechanimal will be out too which I’m really excited about. Also, my radio show hit the 7th year anniversary last month, quite a milestone!

Could you describe to us your first festival experience?
If we are talking about the festivals specifically and not indoor raves, I think my first experience was in 2005 at a festival in the Crimean Mountains. It was something totally different to me comparing to the club parties I used to attend to a lot these days, and I still love that almost a surreal feeling that you are in a parallel reality.

Which would be your advice for young people that would like to start your profession?
I would advise to lower down expectations and research the industry. I’ve seen a lot of young producers expecting to make a living on a debut album release, or start touring worldwide as soon as they get signed to a record label. Sorry, but this is not how things work, success won’t happen overnight. Also, it is your job, as an artist, to work with the audience and to grow your fan base, music alone is just not enough.

Lower down your expectations and research the industry

What are the most characteristic features of your tracks?
I’m a huge fan of cosmic exploration, science fiction, and technologies, and I’m trying to implement these features in my production. You won’t hear a yet another speech sample about LSD in my tracks, but rather a robotic vox, space-themed leads, and Trance atmosphere. I also like to build some storyline behind each track, some deeper meaning.

What aspects of the Trance scene you prefer/dislike?
To me, Psytrance is much more than just music. It’s a culture that unites people despite their age, occupation, skin colour, and faith. I love it.
However, with the growing popularity of the genre, we now hear a lot of ‘copy-paste’ producers who make nothing but cliches, like triplets pattern is being an example. It’s now much harder to filter out that ‘noise’, otherwise you just end up listening to 200 new arrivals on Beatport which sound all the same, sometimes even DJ sets sound the same.
Talking about the scene in general, I like how the production of the events keeps getting better each year, thanks to the festivals like Shankra.

You got a totally free afternoon. What would you do?
I would probably dig some new music or work with my media library to add tags, organise them into playlists etc. I’m kind of a freak when it comes to that!

Organising some music on my way to the airport

Do you have something that you always bring with you during your travels?
As a DJ and producer, I can’t go without the laptop. Whether I have a spare hour on the plane, in the airport, hotel, car, or even at the backstage, I’m always trying to use this opportunity to get some work done: organise music library, listen to demos, reply to emails, write a blog or edit a vlog.

You won’t hear a yet another speech sample about LSD in my tracks, but rather a robotic vox, space-themed leads, and Trance atmosphere

What did you enjoy the most during your time at Shankra Festival?
I have two points of view on that. From the artist’s perspective, I absolutely enjoyed the professionalism of the Shankra team: it was a top-notch organisation which I appreciate and respect a lot. And from the dancefloor perspective, music is certainly what I enjoyed the most because this is my biggest passion and this why I do what I do in the first place.

What do you think about the festival’s location?
Shankra location is breathtaking! I think it contributes to the overall perception of the festival a lot. The music, the deco, the people and nature come together in a mesmerising experience.

The Alps and the landscape are breathtaking

A special message to the Shankra Family!
Thanks for keeping the spirit alive, you’re awesome!

Link to the original post
Text — Giulia Buonarrivo

Photos from my talk @ Audio School, 05.12.2017

Wed, 06 Dec 2017 11:29:52 +0100

My master class yesterday at Audio School was great: a full class of enthusiastic people and some good questions at the QA session. I’ve got a ton of amazing feedback and I’m glad that my talk was useful.

Here are a few shots, I’ll add some more when available:

Photo credit © Daniel Gladyshev

What’s in your DJ bag

Wed, 19 Jul 2017 18:40:55 +0100

Hi Daniel, I’m curious what do you put in your DJ bag for gigs? How to be sure you don’t forget anything? The reason I ask this is that I’ve got lucky to get my first international gig, don’t have much experience yet. Any tips on this?

Jared

Hey Jared, congrats on your first gig :-)

The things DJs put in their bags vary depending on their setup, event type, travel destination, and habits. I’ll show what I typically put in my bag, but before I’d like to give some tips that might help.

Essentials first

First things first, put whatever is essential for your performance. Whether you are a laptop DJ or playing on CDs, USBs or vinyl, put this first.

For USB sticks, be sure it’s not formatted as NTFS because Pioneer players won’t read flash drives with that file system.

For a laptop, be sure it runs your DJ software nice and smooth. Clean it from unnecessary apps that might be running in the background and slow down the performance. Don’t forget the charger with an appropriate plug and the cables.

Always have a plan B

Shit happens. I think none will argue with this. A software can crash, CDs can get scratched, the USB stick can get lost. With that in mind, I highly suggest having a plan B and get some alternative source of music.

Let’s say, you perform on CDJ2000s with a USB stick, but entering the DJ booth you see CDJ1000 which doesn’t have a USB port. As being said, shit happens. You can start yelling to the organiser that he didn’t fulfil your tech rider but it probably won’t help. What would help, however, is a CD wallet that you’ve prepared in advance.

Hopefully, none of these will happen, but for those rare case when it actually does happen, this might save your performance. I don’t DJ with the CDs anymore but still, keep several discs in my bag.

Spare pairs

Continuing the previous point, I also suggest having extra pairs of some basic things. Get a spare USB cable, get an extra charging adapter, get another USB stick. Just in case.

Again, you’ll probably (and hopefully) won’t need any of those things, but it’s better safe than sorry. And it doesn’t occupy much space either.

Travel

Once you packed everything needed for your performance, time to get ready for the travel. Take your international passport and be sure it has at least six months before expiring date and at least one page for the stamp. Don’t forget your visa if you need it.

If you’re planning to have a carry-on bag only, be sure its weight and measurements fit the airline’s terms. Otherwise, you’ll be asked to put your bag in the baggage, which might end up not quite well for the equipment.

If you’re an iOS user, I would also advise adding your boarding passes to the built-in Wallet app. It works offline and shows your passes in a very convenient way. Just make sure to have nice and easy access to your flight info, especially when you have multiple flights.

As for the question what’s in my bag, I thought it would be boring to simply list all the things, so here is a picture I took for you:

Stuff that I typically put in my DJ bag. Cloth not included since it depends on the destination point weather and travel time

Fellow DJs, what you guys put in your bags? More cables? A travel pillow? I’m not a very frequent flyer either, so would love to hear some tips from more experienced colleagues too.

UDG Producer Bag

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 22:00:00 +0100

I’ve got myself a new touring companion: UDG Ultimate Producer Bag. Amazing backpack and the production quality is just amazing.

Added in 2017: after all those years, I have not a single scratch or any defect on this bag.

Added in 2019: still the same!