The Story Behind #SMD

Rewind back to the beginning of 1993, and the two biggest years of Rave for me so far had just passed… ’91 and ’92 were a rollercoaster ride of continuously travelling up, down and across the UK performing DJ sets and SL2 shows with occasional trips to the USA, Japan and various European destinations thrown in the mix to boot. That’s not to say things never got busier, because they did and probably still are, but there was a massive change happening deep within the roots of our music. By the beginning of 1993 the bright lights of Rave and the spotlights on the music that had taken the pop charts and commercial radio by storm were starting to dim down and darkness was gently falling over the Hardcore Generation. Jungle and The Darkside had suddenly replaced the uplifting techno riffs and piano heaven of Rave, snowballs had replaced doves, and there was a whole new attitude emerging. This was the major start of all the genre splits that we have experienced over the past 20 years within our scene.

By 1993 Rave music wasn’t really hitting the pop charts anymore so myself and Lime decided to go back to releasing our own music on our own label ‘Awesome Records’. XL recordings who released our SL2 tracks weren’t really interested anymore anyway which was understandable, and we were happy to keep things real and go back underground with our beats from whence we came. I was really in to the Jungle sound and did also enjoy the solemn strings of the latest darkness fad, but there was an unstoppable urge inside of me that needed to escape. I made a few tracks with Lime under the artist name T.H.C. but deep down I knew I had to go off and make some music on my own to satisfy my desire for a different, more solid and uplifting sound.

So the time had come to take the plunge and I went and bought my own fully expanded Atari ST1040 computer and a top of the range Akai S1000 sampler and then set them up in a bedroom at my parent’s house in Chigwell Row. I was off! Lime did most of the computer programming with the SL2 tracks so it took me a few days to get to grips with the computer but once I had sussed out a few of the basics there was no stopping me… and my new personal sound was taking shape very quickly! One of the biggest tunes that had inspired me up to this point was ‘Edge#1 – Compounded’. For anyone who knows this stomper of a track as well as SMD#1 I’m sure you will be able to hear the connection. Actually, the whole reason for producing the first SMD tracks was purely to have some of my own, more uplifting, music to play out and to keep it exclusive to myself. I had cut both sides of the first release on dub plate way before I released them on vinyl in July 1993. It just got to the point where I had so many people bugging me for copies of the 2 tunes that I eventually decided that I would be a fool not to press them as a 12” single.

And that was how the SMD series came about. It was just the simple idea of making a few personal tracks for myself that turned in to what was a major part in the beginning of Happy Hardcore. The name SMD was made up by myself under pressure one day from the cutting engineer, Keith, at JTS Studios in Hackney. He needed the title for SMD#1 there and then or everything would have been delayed. SMD is short for Slip Matt’s Dubs which is what they were originally intended to be, and that’s all I could think of at the time lol.

In all there were only 4 original SMDs pressed on to vinyl across 1993 and 1994 but for some mad reason I thought it would be nice to make a #5 all these years later as a bit of a collector’s item for the Happy Hardcore and Rave fans that still love their music and mixing with vinyl. There are 2 tracks on the AA side that were made in 1996 and 1998 which were only ever cut to dub and released digitally, and I’ve made a brand new track for the A side to keep it nice and fresh at the same time. This is the last ever vinyl release for SMD and it’s strictly limited to 500 signed copies, so if you do want a copy please don’t wait around as they will definitely sell out very quickly, in fact while writing this I can say we’ve already sold over 300 copies in just 3 days so time is running out very quickly!

There are also some t-shirts and hoodies that are exclusive to the vinyl offer and will never be available to purchase separately. Every vinyl will be signed by myself.

You can pre-order or purchase your very own signed copy of SMD#5 here: 

>> CLICK HERE TO BUY THE SMD#5 LIMITED EDITION COLLECTORS VINYL << 

...from just £9.99 +P&P. 

Is A DJ An Artist?

It’s a question that pops up every now and then: Is a DJ an artist? This can be a tricky question for some and there’s nearly always very mixed views on the subject. Of course, DJing is a skill that needs to be learned one way or another as is painting a good picture. Some artists are self-taught as are some DJs but does that make the DJ an artist? There is certainly skill involved in driving a car but no-one would call driving up the M1 an art-form, well not that I’m aware of any way and especially if you’re keeping to the speed limit lol. Is the same true of DJing?

I do firmly believe that DJing can be a form of art. The purpose of this blog post is to explain why I hold this belief. I put forward the idea that some DJs should be in a similar category with other artists. Musicians, composers, painters, and photographers are all artists that have learned a skill, and they use their skill to conjure up feelings and emotions in other people. They do this by either creating something new, or by capturing a unique scene or moment in time, and then making the result available to an audience. Talented Mix-DJs can be the same. They use their skill to create a mix, even a journey, and in doing so they are capturing something very unique which can be made available to an audience. I believe that if photography is a form of art, then so is DJing.

So… what does a DJ actually do?

At its most basic level a DJ is a selector. He / she will choose a selection of tracks and will play them to an audience. The main goal is to provide music that people can enjoy listening or dancing to. But is this art? Surely an iPod or MP3 player on random shuffle can do this if the correct tracks are loaded but we wouldn't want to call an iPod artistic - especially if it’s set on random. Of course, this is a naive view. An iPod on random shuffle cannot necessarily keep people enthused or dancing all night. If the correct tracks are loaded then there’s a good chance it will be enjoyable, and some people will dance too, but that is pretty much blind chance as we cannot predict the future. It’s a pure guessing game that the vibe will be constant. An iPod is not an artist.

So what does a DJ do that an iPod does not do? Well it’s obvious I know… the two main important aspects to DJing: First, there is the musical selection that can be changed and adapted at any time, and second there’s the mixing, or piecing it all together with imagination to make a set or a show.

1. Mixing

A good club / Rave DJ will mix and blend tracks together in order to create a set or a show, and also create a vibe of music in which he can take the audience on an emotional journey increasing or slowing down the energy as he feels necessary. Not only does this keep a dance floor moving on a constant flow, it can also sound great when elements between two tracks interact. Mixing is a technical skill that many people can learn, but in my mind it can also be a seriously artistic quality of a DJ which can set him way ahead of the rest.

2. Song selection

The most important aspect of DJing in my opinion is the music selection. There’s nothing worse than a DJ who scratches (especially badly) through a whole set or who mixes for too long just to prove that they can beat match. A DJ will generally select a range of tracks that mix well together in order to create a great atmosphere or vibe. When a DJ does their job well and their role is to entertain, the set will start in a certain place and take people through highs and lows, light and shade, through major and minor keys. This is not done randomly. It is done by carefully considering the mood of the people on the dance floor while also considering which songs mix well together. DJ sets often build up and down through peaks of energy. Other DJ sets can start off subtle and continue to build people up, increasing the energy and excitement to a crescendo. Very often a DJ will finish his set at the crescendo.

The most important feature of the DJ set is the journey that it takes its audience on. And it doesn't have to be live. A DJ can mix a set in a studio which will take its audience on just as powerful a journey - though this is sometimes more difficult because usually the best mixes are created in reaction to an audience.

So, how is this art?

Well, it is art insofar as a DJ set is a unique selection of music, which can be considered as a complete unit. It is built out of a range of separate tracks that the DJ has consciously chosen to include in the greater whole. It is not a random selection, as a DJ you choose the next track using your imagination. The DJ has chosen the tracks for a reason which is to generate emotions and feelings. Furthermore, this is not something that anyone can do. DJs are like music filters. There are thousands, if not millions of tracks released every year, and the DJ has to filter through them and decide what is good, and what is not good in their own opinion. The DJ has to decide what to put into his set for people to enjoy.

But is this art or just musical taste?

It is art in the same way that photography is art. Consider a photographer. She will go in search of scenes that she believes have certain qualities. Often the scene a photographer finds can look quite ordinary to other people. In fact, many people might walk by without noticing as we all have our very own unique perception on everything in life. The photographer sees something unique and beautiful in the scene and uses her technical skill with the camera to bring out its best qualities. The resulting picture is then made available as a piece of art. The same is true for a DJ. The DJ finds music that he considers to have certain qualities. The DJ then uses his technical skill to blend his chosen music together in a unique way which brings out the true beauty of the individual pieces and even new sounds when tracks are mixed together in certain ways. In this way the DJ is like a photographer. If a photographer is an artist, then so is the DJ.

Conclusion

My point in bringing you this article has been to show that a DJ is obviously an artist, and the sets he produces are a form of art. There is more to DJing than the mechanical act of mixing which is partly why I am opposed to certain people complaining about digital DJs and the dreaded sync button. Good DJ mixes do not consist of totally random song choices. There is an artistic process at work. Just as a photographer picks scenes that already exist and packages them in a way that makes them appealing to an audience, a DJ picks music that already exists and packages it in a way that makes it appealing to an audience.

Some content was adapted from Brent Silby http://www.scribd.com/doc/3015613/is-the-dj-an-artist

The Vinyl vs. Digital DJ Debate

A while back, in July 2013 actually, I announced on my Facebook Fan Page that I would be making a statement about the evolution of DJs over the years, and more so about the different formats that we DJs have embraced. I did try and put together a post a few times with pictures etc. but it never felt right. I knew that my point would be made but at the same time I didn’t want ravers and fans to think that I was just trying to promote myself as No.1 straight after the Moondance awards. The whole debate is getting a little tiring, even boring some will say, but I just want to write briefly on this subject for my first ever Blog. For the ones who are sick of this subject I promise this will be the last mention of it lol.

So… my thoughts were that, the whole ‘vinyl – digital’ debate is as huge as ever and being an original vinyl DJ myself any mention of Traktor on my pages and there’s always at least a handful (sometimes a bucket full) of Old Skool vinyl enthusiasts who go wild and get infuriated with us digital DJs that have had to move with the times to keep our businesses running and more importantly our creativity flowing. I even get DJs moaning at me for now playing CD. Blimey I started playing CDs in 2003 and stopped all that in early 2011. CDs are out of date… we use USB now… yes a tiny little short stick that weighs a few grams that you can put on your key ring. Now now Matthew… let’s not try and aggravate the situation even more lol. Do these vinyl buffs realise that evolution has to take place. As human beings we are designed to move forward, to progress, to push the boundaries, to better ourselves and our surroundings… My God, we don’t suffer walking 3 miles to go to the shop when we’re in a hurry when we can jump in our motors, and we certainly don’t keep our old black and white TV serviced if we can now watch a nice 50” colour plasma.

My point is: I have been playing vinyl since I was 18 months old. I won 3 best DJ awards around the UK in 1996 as a vinyl DJ. Then… I won the best Old Skool Hardcore DJ Award as a CDJ DJ in 2006/10/11… and then this year 2013 I won the Best Old Skool DJ Award as a Traktor DJ. I am not saying this to brag, not for one second. I am purely saying it as it must prove a point that it’s not about the format, it’s about the DJ and what comes out of the speakers. To add to this, the top 3 runner up Old Skool DJs this year at the EHM Awards were Uncle Dugs (vinyl DJ), Ratpack (CDJ DJ), and Daniel Bunter (Traktor DJ). That’s all the 3 main formats from over the years since Dance Music began!

I could go on for ages but I’m not going to – and please don’t think I'm ranting as to be honest I find the whole debate quite amusing really. Hopefully my point of view has been made and anyone who wants to pipe up in future will be immediately re-directed to this haha, my 1st Blog.

However, I really hope you enjoyed my views there and I would like you to know that I am currently working on an on-line DJ course called ‘Learn To Mix’. The course will be for beginner’s right through to experienced mixers who want to know the best tips without having to waste months or even years with trial and error. It will be very inexpensive, in fact it will save you a lot of wasted time and frustration with a simple program of amazing tutorial videos teaching you how to mix using ALL formats from vinyl right through to the latest controller techniques as well as programming your sets, mega mixing, simple mastering, promotion, social media tips, interviews and demos with other skilled and established famous DJs, top insights from industry leaders, and even some personal development to make sure your thinking is straight before you need to deal with promoters, agents and the big wide world of the clubbing industry.

www.slipmatt.net