Another Intro Question

[llcooljoe 0]

As you may have gathered I'm new to all this! I can't say I'm an expert at this mixing but I'm trying my hardest! My next question is do you cut out the slow intros to dance tracks like Cascada's "Everytime We Touch" infact most dance tracks have that slow intro. Sometimes I've managed to mix it with the end of another track but often it doesn't work to well.

 

If you leave the intro on does it clear the floor in that 30/40 seconds before the song gets going?

 

[bigMCben 0]

Probably not thhe answer you want to hear, but it really depends on the song and your audience.

[Norfolk DJ 0]

As above, for cascada, I would cut it out and it leads on from sandstorm, always goes down a storm.

[NRG Roadshow 0]

I allways cut Everytime we touch to the first "everytime we touch" line in the song.......

Sugababes - About you now (spencer Hill).....allways cut this to the first vocal too......

 

I cut many others too, but it really depends on the song, some intros are that strong and that well known that the crowd would hate it if you chopped the intro, just depends on the song!

 

IMO Queen - Dont stop me now is a good example of a song which should never have the intro chopped, they may stop dancing as such during the intro but they all join in singing instead so its just as good as them dancing.....

Edited January 23, 2008 by NRG Roadshow

[Norfolk DJ 0]

 

IMO Queen - Dont stop me now is a good example of a song which should never have the intro chopped, they may stop dancing as such during the intro but they all join in singing instead so its just as good as them dancing.....

 

Never play the intro on this track, i'm straight into it, keeping the dancers moving.

[Reverandfunk 0]

I play this fairly often and have never cut it, never lost the floor to it either as its usually been requested.

 

To me songs are produced in the way they are meant to be played, its slow at the start for a reason and to when the chorus kicks in is 29 seconds.

 

 

[NRG Roadshow 0]

Never play the intro on this track, i'm straight into it, keeping the dancers moving.

 

Fair enough, I can understand your reason for doing that.

 

I should have said before, but I normally play DSMN at the end of the night, and during the quiet bits when freddie aint singing it give me a chance to do a bit of "almost out of time folks, one last song for you etc" on the back of the preceding track, then slip in a quick "Goodnight" before it fires up with "having a good time, having a good time".

 

If I was playing DSMN in the middle of the evening I would cut it to where it kicks in with "Having a good time, having a good time"

[Gary 0]

Play it? or Don't Play it?

 

There's two other options for troublesome (beatless) intros, as long as the intro is sung at the same, or sympathetic speed as the rest of the track.

 

1) Start playing the intro vocals of the track in question, over the top of the ending beats (or instrumental breakdown) of the preceding track.

 

2) Start the troublesome track off at a "beaty" part (so it mixes in well with the previous track), then Start playing the intro vocals of the track in question, over the top of a suitable set of beats in the track. This has worked well for me on tracks like DJ Sammys "Heaven", as well as Cascada.

 

You'll need either two Hot Starts, or one Hot Start and one Cue point to achieve suggestion 2.

 

This doesnt work well on tracks where the beginning vocals are unique - eg: Not repeated over and over again later in the song - as people realise you've "restarted" the track. For example the vocals at the beginning of "I've had the time of my life" are pretty unique.

 

Lots of different makes of gear have Hot Starts etc, but some makes call them other names, like Hot Cues etc.

[DJ Marky Marc 0]

do you cut out the slow intros to dance tracks like Cascada's "Everytime We Touch"

 

 

two answers to this..

 

first of all the intro is at the same BPM as the main track so you could use it in a mix..

 

secondly you could use a 12" mix or a remix that does not have the intro part..

 

very few dance tunes have a BPM change , yes i can list some major exceptions to the rule but 95% of it is the same BPM from start to finish...

 

 

[llcooljoe 0]

I play this fairly often and have never cut it, never lost the floor to it either as its usually been requested.

 

To me songs are produced in the way they are meant to be played, its slow at the start for a reason and to when the chorus kicks in is 29 seconds.

 

 

Reverandfunk, I actually agree with you. I like the slow start too, and it adds some interest, but I just feel that it could clear the floor. I'm interested to know when you say you've "never lost the floor to it" what do people do when the slow bit starts? I'm not being funny, I genuinely want to know. I did play it at a young teenager party I did once and they kind of all stood there shuffling from foot to foot waiting for the song to get going. Had there been seats for the kids to go and sit on I'm sure they would have. I'd rather have the intros on songs like "Heaven", "What Hurts the Most" etc. but not if it causes people who've I've taken long enough to get dancing in the first place, to go and sit back down again!

 

Nick I agree with you with "Don't Stop Me Now" I've found people kind of stand there swaying arms in the air and singing along to the intro, which makes the whole song a bit more special somehow. That hasn't happened with any Cascada song yet though!

 

Thanks for all your suggestions, I need to go and practice!!

Edited January 23, 2008 by llcooljoe

[Danno13 0]

I always play the intro, and put the lights full on white as its a real hands in the air moment. Similar to N-Trance - Set U Free and Baby D - Let me be your fantasy, I never loose the floor to any of these by playing the intro.

[jamesmurphy 0]

To me there are some songs I would never cut the intro to. DSMN is one of them and 'Somebody else's guy' by Jocelyn Brown is another. Have tried cutting them before and it seems to change the feel of the song, so for those, I leave well alone.

[Dave80s 0]

There is a shorter version of 'Somebody else's guy' if you felt it was too long. The 7" mix I suppose you would call it!

 

Intro wise I just talk over if it is a long one.

[UKHero 0]

To me there are some songs I would never cut the intro to. DSMN is one of them and 'Somebody else's guy' by Jocelyn Brown is another. Have tried cutting them before and it seems to change the feel of the song, so for those, I leave well alone.

 

I agree... Some songs are iconic as is DSMN. People expect to hear this dependant of cause on the age group of the crowd... And Jocelyn Brown what an intro, It should be made illegal to cut the intro on that tune lol

 

Anthemic classics like things can only get better played to the right crowd should have there intros left on IMHO but this is where selecting the right time to play the track comes in and a DJs skill is needed to guide the audience from track to track. Assuming they want to go on the journey with you that is....

 

Nik

 

[Reverandfunk 0]

Hi Joe, with cascada I find that there is a bit of shuffling and people getting to the floor but . Personally I feel that there are quite a few songs with slow starts, Livin on a prayer immediately springs to mind. If you start skipping intros and going straight in at the chorus or when the song picks up where does it all end??

 

I just play them as they are and if its a bit slow starting doin a bit of mic work

[Corabar Steve 0]

I usually start LIOP where the drums kick in, no probs with rhe long fade in then.