u/Justan_inkling

Socially anxious, possibly autistic DJ/producer here 🙋‍♀️

I’ve been getting into my local scene more both for the sake of networking, but also just to participate in community around something I enjoy.
Something I’ve been noticing is that a lot of people have made some genuine close friendships within the music circles here, but I’m struggling to figure out how to break into that myself. I’m pretty good at meeting people & making a good first impression but then it kinda just stays surface level. I’ll see people I’ve met at events, we say hi, maybe share what we’ve been up to, and then they move on. It seems especially hard to actually get to know anyone because I’m always seeing them at events where we’re either on a loud dance floor, or chatting outside with a cig for like 5 minutes before going back in.

I’d really like to make some genuine friends but I think there’s something I’m missing here. Would love any insight!

I’m curious how everyone categorizes their music beyond the usual “build” “peak” etc or genre tags. I’ll start (as a deep techno DJ):

- “Intrigue”: tracks that break up the vibe a bit but maintain the energy, maybe they have a rhythm that’s not the standard techno 4-floor, or an interesting melody that cuts through the mix. I reach for this playlist when I want to grab people’s attention without necessarily building up more energy yet.

- “fuck it we ball”: tracks that i love but don’t quite fit the vibe of a typical set id be playing. I often don’t venture into this playlist but sometimes as a set ender, or in random moments when the stars line up, I get the chance to play one of these tracks and it mixes things up in a really fun way.

I’ve been thinking about getting a separate laptop just for DJing so I can travel with it while leaving my main laptop at home since it’s fairly bulky. I wouldn’t need this new laptop to do anything other than run rekordbox and preferably have decent storage to keep music on it. But I also don’t want to spend a bunch of money on a laptop dedicated to one thing. I’m thinking something like a cheap Chromebook, but not sure what to look for. Any recommendations?

Wondering about this for next fest- I saw a video of someone at Bonnaroo camping in a wooded area and it looks 1000x nicer than getting baked alive in a field lol. I didn’t even realize this was an option, how do you get placed in the woods? Is it a separate camping pass option I missed? Is it more expensive?

And, are there different rules for this? Like can you bring your car/canopies out there or no?

I’m not posting this to complain, I’m moreso curious how other people felt. As a big EDM listener I was excited for a lot of the DJ sets. Four tet and skrillex were amazing, as was the B3B, but after that I started noticing so many songs being repeated in other sets. I swear I heard Levels & Cinema in every set, as well as multiple other tracks.

I understand artists want to play the “big bangers” to get the crowd going and that can be fun- but at a festival seeing different sets basically back to back, it started to feel like I was seeing different versions of the same set copy & pasted. Id think artists would maybe acknowledge that Every Time We Touch has been played 5 times already and pick something else instead, but I guess not?

All that’s to say, I’m curious if hearing these songs multiple times during the fest is something other people enjoy, or if I’m not alone in this and & it’s maybe a larger flaw in current festival trends. How was other EDM fans’ experiences this ‘Roo?

I’ve had a chronic issue of mixing with my eyes that I’m finally trying to remedy- learning to beat match by ear primarily by riding the pitch but also nudging the platter as needed.

I’m really struggling with figuring out which way to adjust my incoming track to match. I can hear when they’re in sync or not, but it’s been very hard for me to tell what’s actually happening when they’re not matched. Like, Is it track 1 or 2’s kick that’s hitting first? Or, I can hear it galloping but is it because it’s too slow or too fast? I think it’s extra tricky because I’m mixing mostly minimal/hypnotic techno and two tracks can sound similar to one another when trying to parse out which is which by ear.

I have the most trouble when the two tracks are *almost* playing together but I can still hear the transients drifting. I often end up overcorrecting or moving the track in the wrong direction and having to start over again when I was almost there.

I’m looking for a new vet to take my cat to, hopefully something that’s not too expensive but can also handle more complex cases.
My cat has had ongoing digestive issues that started from living on the streets and having multiple parasites. She’s recovered a lot over the past couple of years but it seems like her current vet (VCA) may be a bit out of their depth & I still haven’t gotten her to a full recovery. So I’m hoping for a place that will be very thorough in testing and take their time to understand what’s going on with her. Would love any recommendations!

I’m a photographer looking for locations for an upcoming portrait shoot. Primarily old/vacant lots with cracked concrete, grass growing through the gaps, etc. but I’m also open to other abandoned looking industrial spaces outdoors.

(Also hoping for spots where we won’t get killed or run off by security lol. I’m not against some UrbEx-ing, but I’d prefer to stay out of trouble)

I’m still working on my crowd-reading skills while playing, I’m curious what others consider clearing the dance floor, and at what point is it a sign to change things up? Is it 90% of the room clearing out, or just a large chunk?

I’ve noticed at other people’s sets I’ve been to, sometimes they’ll be killing it but a large handful of folks still peel out at once to smoke or take a break. When I’m seeing someone else’s set, it’s easy for me to recognize when the dj is not doing anything wrong but the crowd is naturally ebbing and flowing. When I’m playing and people leave though, it’s more difficult for me to gauge if my track selection is bombing or if it’s just that ebb/flow.

I’m trying to decide if I want to buy a portable shower for my camp or just use the festival showers. my main concern is that I don’t want to have to spend a bunch of time at the fest waiting in line for the shower. How long is the wait usually?

I bought it on a whim a couple of weeks ago after seeing it in here a few times and oh my god, for literally the first time in my life I can just wash and go. My hair has never responded well to product and I’ve ALWAYS had to heat style it but now I throw some cream in, give it a scrunch, and that’s it 😭 it smooths everything out and gives me natural waves I didn’t even know I had, without making it look like there’s any product in it at all.

This sounds like a sponsored post or something but I’m just really excited to not have to spend every morning for the rest of my life heat styling my hair lol

I see a lot of people recommending to not worry about key when mixing, prioritize energy and reading the room etc. I definitely feel like staying in key feels really limiting but whenever I do try to select a track that has the “right vibe” but isn’t in the right key, it usually sounds pretty terrible.

Sometimes I’ll use drums only intro/outros, but that often feels like a bit of a drag and slows down the energy too much. I’ve also of course done the classic echo out, but that often feels too sudden, or like a cheap “get out of jail free” card.

How do y’all go about mixing non-harmonic keys? Especially when improvising live?