Mix Competition - Back to Back
Concept
Back to back (B2B) DJing has been around almost as long as the history of DJing itself. Being able to share the booth with a colleague not only elevates the live set, but also allows the DJs to push each other to perfect their skill. It takes practice and skill to be on the same page during a B2B set, but when it’s good, it makes the night even more worthwhile. So, this month’s mix competition is all about going back to back.
This is admittedly not the easiest comp. This was done on r/trance in 2021 and I can tell you that people struggled with this one at times. You need a lot of tracks and knowledge about them to pull this off. If you don't have a lot of tracks from the artists, reach out to others on the forum or the mods for help here. Consider the stlyle of the artists, and the breadth of their word. Odd style fits will sound... odd. Who would you want to see play together? Do they make sense? Is the B2B cohesive? All good questions you should consider. Keys and tempo will be challenging too as some artists stay in narrow lanes in that regard. Good luck!
Rules:
- Each alternating track in your set has to be from only two, separate individuals or groups, going back to back. Each track must switch from the previously chosen artist or group to the others.
- Tracks must comply with sub rules for classic trance of 2008 or older, with the exceptions noted below.
- Artist qualifiers: You are picking two distinct artists or groups. Example: Nu NRG as a pick instead of Giuseppe Ottaviani. If you do Giuseppe Ottaviani, you get Nu NRG, Pure NRG, as well as any other group he was in, as well as his personal alias'. If you pick Nu NRG, you get Giuseppe Ottaviani, Andrea Ribeca, as well as anything they were involved with as well. So choose accordingly which gives you more options!
- Remixes: A remix by an artist or group of another artist's track counts for that artist, as does a remix of an artists track by another group.
- Overlap: Do not pick two groups that have the same artists. There cannot be overlap between the two. For example, if your two artists are Armin and Above & Beyond, you could not use Show Me Love (a track from both) or Oceanlab - Sky Falls Down (Armin van Buuren Remix).
- Overlap alternating: Similar to above, if both artists are featured in some way, like with remixes from eachother, that would not count as alternating per the rules.
- Drunk DJ Exception: In real B2B's the alternating doesn't always go as planned. You get two exceptions for repeating an artist in this mix. Hopefully this helps where one artist is stronger than the other or if you get in to a tough spot in your mix.
- Modern Track Exception: You can use one post 2008 track from either artist in this mix, but only one. So if your artist has modern production you want to leverage, choose wisely.
Other Rules
- Mixes should be a maximum of 60 minutes long. There will be some discretion here (e.g. if the final track starts at 55' and ends at 63' that is acceptable, but starting the final track at 59' and ending at 66' would not be ok)
- Mixes should be predominantly trance (i.e. > 50%). Trance-adjacent is also ok (e.g. prog house, breaks, etc.)
- Your mix should have been created for this competition (i.e. do not submit a mix you have created previously)
- Like the last few comps, this will be an anonymous mix format so please do not publicly post your entries anywhere until the competition is over
- Mixes must be submitted by 6th July, 2026 after which a reviewing/voting period of one month immediately follows. Mixes will be posted on a rolling basis as usual.
- Submit here: Form Link
- Winner will get to pick & plan the next mix competition
- Discogs release links are not required for submission. Eligibility of the winning mix will be checked before results are announced. Please check yourselves before submitting
Feel free to comment below if you want clarification on any of the rules.
Good luck everyone!