Steve Parry is one of the unsung heroes of the UK’s electronic music scene. With over two decades of experience under his belt, he is without doubt one of the industry’s most respected figures not to mention one of the World’s most underrated DJs. A working DJ since the age of 15, Steve has amassed a wealth of musical knowledge and honed some serious DJ skills from managing the world famous 3 Beat records, a 3 year residency at Cream in Liverpool and a host of headlining gigs across the globe. He launched Selador Recordings in 2013 with Dave Seaman; the label’s success so far is mainly down to their passion and utter devotion to quality over quantity.
Celebrating the release of the ‘Selected Reworks’ EP via Selador Recordings, Steve Parry shares his top tips for a warm-up set.
1. Don’t play any music of the DJ who is coming on after you
It may sound like you are paying them a compliment in your head – but often DJs and producers love to play their own tracks in their sets – so this is a good one to avoid.
2. Don’t play anthems!
If you are warming up a gig, then warm it up – you don’t need to and shouldn’t play tracks that are big when the club has just opened, it confuses people. Clubbers generally like to get to a venue and buy a drink and chat with friends, while the vibe is getting them in the mood – they don’t need a banger blasting at them when they haven’t even got a drink yet. Also if you play an anthem early, it probably won’t get played again when the club is full – so you’re actually making clubbers miss out hearing that track at its correct time slot. Much in the same way, the lighting engineer won’t have strobes, lasers, and smoke filling the club as soon as it opens – they will patiently wait for the right time, in harmony with the DJ’s choices.
3. Slowly build the vibe
Obviously every gig and musical styled event are different, but have patience – take it slow – it’s the counterpoint to what I mentioned in the previous point; you are slowly setting the vibe, so think about the order that you are playing your tracks. If you want to slowly build, think about which tracks would sound better later in your warmup set, compared to your first few tracks when nobody is really in the venue yet. Prepare your tracks this way – think ‘I’ll play this really early on… but this one I’ll play later on in my set’
4. Don’t keep it too deep
Yes, you are on first, but you are also there to do a job – to have the dance floor ready for the rest of the night. Wake the club up, but not too awake haha! Think about the structure of the night, and how the end of your set will affect the flow of the night.
5. Be aware of who is playing after you, and what they are playing
It’s good to research this before the gig! If there is a house DJ playing after you, be respectful of the next DJ – obviously if there’s a techno DJ on after you, you can play tougher and more energetic. But always leave some musical headroom for the DJ to come on after you and still be able to take it up in musical intensity.
Steve Parry’s ‘Selected Reworks’ is now available via Selador Recordings. Grab your copy here.
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