Hi everyone,

I have just finished a new mix and it has been a long time since I have done one! It would be great to hear anyone's thoughts on it as your opinions are very much valued :)

Click on the link to go to my site and leave some feedback on the feedback page when you can.

Happy listening

www.adamjamessound.com

AJ

I'll do a deal with you Adam, I'll listen to yours if you listen to mine matey,because I have a lot of trouble with people paying attention to me on BOA ! Check this :

soundcloud.com

my tracks are @:
profile.myspace.com

Done mate! Will let you know what I thought later today :)

Post your tracklistings and you might cunjure up more interest, otherwise I am going on previous associations which may now be invalid.

Perhaps I might be overstepping the mark on honesty here and should keep my mouth shut but...

Robbo, I associate you with electro-house. I cannot stand electro-house. My association may well be invalid but until I have something to challenge it then I have no interest in listening to your mix.

Adam, I associate you with, well I'm not quite sure how to describe it, but the last time I heard you at Gifted it was almost like hard-trance, I really didn't like it. So again, my association may well be invalid but I currently have no interest in listening.

Feel free to up my interest of course!

Please don't take offence, I have nearly 1000 tunes that I have downloaded recently that I want to listen to, and loads and loads of mixes/albums from people that I know or suspect I am going to enjoy, or at least have offered me something challenging or new that I want to try out - and I cannot justify spending time listening to something that I suspect I won't like over something I suspect I will.

Does that make sense?!

Adam, I associate you with, well I'm not quite sure how to describe it, but the last time I heard you at Gifted it was almost like hard-trance, I really didn't like it. So again, my association may well be invalid but I currently have no interest in listening.

Feel free to up my interest of course!

Interesting, your style has clearly changed since the tech house days of Mode Adam?

Click on the link and go to my site and see if that changes your mind to download the mix. The track listing is on there.

James I do not think you should assume to know a DJs style just by the last time you saw them play. Last time I played at Mango I played to the crowd that was in there (Apart from your self obviously) If I remember rightly I had a packed dance floor for the whole of my set and many people after said how they enjoyed what I played.

As a electronic music lover for many years now I have acquired a taste for many type of music styles and as a DJ that is relatively small time I have come learn that you can not always play exactly what you truly feel and Mango is a classic example of that. I played to that particular crowd that night and if I had played any deep techno or minimal techno it would not of worked as a main set and I would of lost crowd and inevitably would made the promoter of night not book me again.

The mix above I believe Is good depiction of what I'm personally feeling right now - but saying that on Saturday when I'm warming up for Giles at Gifted I will play what the night needs me to play (Most likely deep house and house) because as DJ that's my job.

I would very much like you to download my mix as your opinion is also highly valued as I know you are also a big music lover. But just don't always judge a book cover dude :)

AJ

It is more an association than an assumption.

As you have challenged me and the tracklisting looks interesting, I have downloaded. Is it possible to upload it to Soundcloud so I can listen at work? It can be quite hard to find the time at home to sit down and listen to something, there is always too much that I want to do at home!!

The mix above I believe Is good depiction of what I'm personally feeling right now - but saying that on Saturday when I'm warming up for Giles at Gifted I will play what the night needs me to play (Most likely deep house and house) because as DJ that's my job.

Not selling out I hope?

I'm not trying to defend anyone or take sides in this discussion because you are both my close friends but Hard Trance??? Huh?? Where did u get that from James? Are you sure it was on planet earth that you heard Adam play Hard Trance and not on one of your trips to Pluto? :)

It quite surprises me that someone with your musical knowledge would say such thing.. I can remember that night quite well and I even think I have the recording from it and I'm pretty sure it was tech-house and techno that Adam was playing..

And i think if any dj even attempted to play 10mins of hard trance at Gifted he would be booted off the decks straight away.. :P

Well I'm pretty sure it was tech-house but it sounded really pitched up, to the point where it was sounding like hard-trance

If to you it sounded like hard trance then that's your opinion and I can't say it's right or wrong but to me tech-house would never sound like hard-trance. It's like deep-house sounding like hard-house

What does a deep house track sound like at 140bpm? I am curious, you have the technology to answer my question, please tell me!!

Pick a track and ill do it

and hard house is normally between 145-155bpm as is hard trance

DJ Koze - I Want To Sleep

Just Listened to Adams mix. Emotional Techno, very deep, melodic well-rounded and precise. Gave me twitching tear ducts and left me feeling sad. I want to cry. I felt a lot of soul here, the kind that I couldn’t put my finger on.

Well done, I felt like I was at a Techno Opera, had visions of the techno telling a story.. loving, losing and then mourning… I’m weird I know. =)

James – did you feel the same or was it just me?

Robbo I listened to 2 of your mixes on Soundcloud and first thoughts were that I like how diverse you are with the records. I got the impression you don't seem to conform to any sound in particular and more go with the flow to how your mixing at the time. I respect that and I think its great if you can pull it off (which you seem to do :)

I have to to be honest a lot of the tracks were not to my personal taste, but that takes nothing away from the mixes them self. I bet with the right crowd your music goes down a treat. So fairplay fella keep pushing you music and keep producing mixes that are good. :)

James - I'm not sure if you really remember what I played but It was not Hard Trance LOL. I do like tracks with melodic break downs and I played a few that night, so maybe that's what you remember hearing. I do think James that you have a particular sound you like and an expectation of what you want to hear from a DJ and if that's not delivered you disregard them because they did not impress you. But I think not being a DJ your self you don't understand the ethos of playing to people, and that to be more impress with DJ is to understand why they played what they did because of the situation that they were placed in front of when stepping up in front of a crowd. Just because it's not your taste doesn't mean it's not any good - I think you should give people a bit of break sometimes and hold off being so critical as that doesn't help anyone.

Rolfy!! It made you want to cry!!! That was not really the aim hahaha but still if you felt the music that's all good. The idea of the mix was to take it through a number of tracks with various energy and emotions. I didn't really take a conscious decision of what I wanted to portray but I just pieced together tracks that I really felt and that worked well together.

Massive thanks for the feedback in general - I want to put another one out before the end of the year and maybe my creative side will take another twist and hopefully draw out some other emotions!!

AJ

I wouldn’t take what James has to say to heart, he still call’s my night Electro, but you see that is not a bad thing opinions vary so much on what style fits where in house music, you like what you like that’s fine. You have to admire James’s honesty. Sometimes though the things he says are not constructive and can hurt people’s feelings, and it takes guts and courage to do what you guys do.
Unfortunately Labels stick, perhaps both of you should next time title you mixes, tech trance, tech house or House Mash before publicising them that way pre judgement could be eradicated?
Robbo, you still need work but you are definitely going in the right direction, work on your field and instead of trying to mash styles together work on the flow a little more.
Adam, I like this. It didn’t make me cry though, perhaps I need to get a little more emotional before I listen to it again.
To be a true house lover you must love all house except Gabba that’s pwoppa pants LOL
Whoops, Is that a contradiction in terms?

I do always try to be constructive, because if someone wants my opinion, especially when it is a friend asking, then I want to give an opinion which will help. Far too many people just give platitudes to people, when actually they are looking for ways to improve what they are doing.

If you do feel I am not being constructive then please tell me as I am far from perfect in my reviewing abilities and always want to improve!


Sorry but I have to disagree with you here, and also defend myself. You are right that there are particular sounds that I prefer, but I can still appreciate whether or not a DJ is performing well even if they are not playing to my tastes. But if I go to a night with expectations of hearing a certain sound (expectations built up from previous experiences of this night) and hear something I feel is completely different to what I was expecting - am I not entitled to be disappointed?

Also, I don't criticise people for the sake of it, I do it because I feel they can do better and I want them to do better.

And finally, I don't think that the fact that I have not DJ'd in a club environment means that I cannot understand the ethos of playing to people - I am one of the people being played to, and I have experienced so many DJs being able to play the crowd, and so many who are just clueless (I am not putting you in the clueless bracket by the way!), so I would like to think that I do have a good idea of what it takes to be a DJ. Though I guess that will only be proved if I ever get around to saving up for some CDJs and giving it a go of course...one day perhaps ;-)

Yes James can seem a bit harsh in his responses and written words are always taken in a more sensitive light than spoken words, thats just basic communication theory.

I take all James' notes for exactly what they are and that is good, well educated and constructive comments and any negative emotion gained from them is probably an over reaction especially if you think how the comments would be taken if received face to face.

Many DJ's who post mixes on here (DSI as a whole rather than just our little lovely group) are searching for compliments from fellow DJ's, not to say that you are Adam but I know that is what I used to do until that wet haddock of reason slapped my bonny face and taught me that the opinion of the crowd is far and away the most important whether that be the 1st time clubber or the lifelong dance fan.

DJs who play for DJs are just limiting their chances of progress. If the crowd likes you and wants to hear you then the promotors will book you.

Feel the love guys and girls :-)