How do I pull off a live performance? Please help.

Vaelency

New member
I've produced an album, put tracks together into a continuous track, but don't know what to do about my first show. I'm not a DJ, and trying to pull off an entire performance on my own is giving me anxiety and leaving me frustrated. I might just need to take the time, but what do you think is the best way to perform? Using Ableton Live to go from one track to the next? Figure out a way to mash them all together using a turntable? Just press play? Those are my ideas, what can I do to be most comfortable and professional?
 
What does your music sound like? What do you play? (Or, what and how do you use to create it?)


GJ
 
It’s all electronic. I just use a computer to make it, and I have digital turntables and Ableton that can be used to go live. I’m not a Dj and spent so long writing my music that I grew out of the party lifestyle too.
 
Well, you have to have _some_ kind of act to have a... “live act.” If you use Ableton, and can even use the digital TT controllers in a rudimentary way, you could come up with a way to re-mix/present your material live while not just standing there pressing “play” and then waiting for the song to end. If you can incorporate some keys, and a sampler, you might be on to something.

Could you post one of your pieces, or a link to one, so we get an idea of what you’re doing and what it sounds like?


GJ
 
Alright. Your elevator pitch says “DJ...ready for the stage.” So you’d better be both, or change the explanation of who you are and what you do!

My suggestion would be to consider mixing/remixing your material live using Ableton or some other daw that suits your approach. Looping and relooping and muting and unmuting can give you a range of choices in itself. You wrote “frontman turned DJ.” Do you play any instruments (non virtual) that you could add to the performance?

One of my favorite DJ/live producers is Kink. Check him out. His performances might give you some ideas. Brilliant.


GJ
 
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What’s an elevator pitch? Thanks for pointing that out! Unfortunately, all my time has been going towards writing EDM, and I’m not the “rock star” I used to be, but thanks for the tip. What do I have to do to find someone able to make a video track like most of the best dj’s do nowadays? Do you think my music is good enough to begin “marketing myself?”
 
It doesn’t matter what I think. It matters what you think. There are a lot of video production people here (but mostly rap). Say hello.

An “elevator pitch” is your short form introduction/blurb. Like you have posted at Reverb. So-called because if you had 60-seconds or less on an elevator with a record exec or tastemaker dude, what would you say?

GJ
 
Rather than the 'big bang' why not see if you could support at a gig/ party/ do a slot rather than be the main act? Or some sort of collaboration so that there's 2 (or more) of you up there?
Whatever, remember that for any kind of act what people remember most is how you start and how you finish, so make sure you use the best bits there.
Plus if it was me I'd try to resist the temptation to try to reduce anxiety with too much alcohol (but we're all different so maybe that would help:-))
 
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