To The Silent Disco And Seven Tips For DJing One By Jules Little Based in the Czech Republic, but regularly returning to the UK for gigs, Jules Little is a DJ with over 30 years of experience. Having done everything from mobile to club DJing, radio presenting to stadium announcing, he’s currently resident DJ at the Butlins Absolute ‘80s weekends as well as one of Mastermix DJ’s in-house producers. As this is my first time contributing to this fantastic publication for our profession, I thought that I would begin by giving you a brief introduction to myself and how I got here.
I have been a DJ since my first mobile gig in 1985 at the roller skating rink in Coventry, where the bug that bit us all sunk its teeth firmly into my skin and I became a slave to the rhythm. Since then I have also played extensively in bars and nightclubs all around the UK, been a stage MC, a football stadium announcer, media sports commentator and, more recently, I’m proud to add my role as one of the in-house production team for Mastermix. Basically, if it involves microphones or music (preferably both), I’ve done it.
So, with all of this experience, you would think that nothing would surprise me. Wrong! 2009, a music festival, a huge marquee, lights flashing, smoke cascading from cannons, people singing their heads off, but to what? There’s no music playing!
Instead everyone is wearing headphones; most people are singing ‘Kids In America’ (WO HOOO) but I can hear a few singing along to ‘Heaven Is A Place On Earth’ . In the middle are TWO DJs, the Eureka moment, penny drops, it’s a silent disco! I have to admit being fascinated by the concept. I stood there for perhaps 30 minutes trying to guess the songs that were being played, and especially captivated by people dancing in groups of friends together but singing different songs at the same time, it was quite voyeuristic.
Definitely a moment that is etched into my memory. My first experience of playing one came a few years later in 2014. Amongst the gigs that I play now are the fantastic Live Music Weekends at Butlins sites, which usually involve around 6,000 people up for a party. It was my first ever weekend gig with them, and my debut was in a huge marquee playing a silent disco against another DJ for three hours.
No rules, no instructions, carte blanche, go for it! I quickly learned that this is different to just playing a normal gig, whether it be a pub, club, wedding, 18th or whatever else we normally encounter. Firstly, this is a battle, you vs another DJ, playing to people with headphones that have two or three different channels (each channel lights the headphone casing a different colour, so that you can tell who is listening to you). If they don’t like what you’re playing, they can switch to a different channel; it’s like the live DJing equivalent of radio, there’s choice!
You survive through success. This first experience taught me a lot, and changed my approach to the next one massively, it also crossed over into my performances on standard gigs (which I believe improved), and if I had to describe this change in a single word it would be PREPARATION! Previously, all of my music was divided into crates in Serato and rekordbox segmented by decades only. Now I have an assortment of different sub-genres within these, including one called ‘SILENT DISCO’ .
In there are all of the tunes that are my ‘bankers’ for beating my worthy DJ opponent. This folder itself has sub-crates, which help me to very quickly be able to pull out the perfect track for any given moment. This is one of the tips that I’d offer to any DJ taking on a silent disco for the first time. I’ve compiled a few others on the following page, should you ever find yourself asked to become a ‘silent DJ’ (unless of course you’re playing against me, in which case - skip to the next article, I’m a sore loser!) 1.
Read Your Crowd I know that this reads like I am teaching you to suck eggs, but never before have I had to look at a crowd with such intent and try to second guess their triggers for fun. There’s another DJ stood next to you, doing exactly the same, so it’s a great incentive to up your game! 2. Big Hitters Have that folder (or those CDs) ready with your big tunes, if you see the lights on the headphones in front of you changing to your opponent’s colour, you need to pull out your BIG tracks to win them back.
3. Think Differently This is NOT just about a dancefloor, this is a DJ battle and a customer experience. Surprise your crowd by turning left when they expect you to turn right, play a power ballad in the middle of a party set; it sounds wrong, but trust me, it really works! (Also, play a Christmas song in the middle of summer – the results can be amazing!) 4. Singalong One of the most powerful weapons in your armoury when playing a silent disco is the singalong, something that will get the crowd bellowing out every word (mostly out of tune as they can’t hear themselves) as if their lives depended on it.
Those on the other channel will notice everyone else singing in unison and be curious, usually resulting in them switching to your channel! 5. Visual & Action Songs If somebody is on the other channel, they need a cue of curiosity. Whilst the singing in unison above is great, nothing beats visual movement: Conga, YMCA, Macarena, Agadoo.
Cheesy I know, but they are certainly fair game at the type of events I play. If everyone around them is doing something that they’re not, human nature will make people switch channel to find out what is going on. 6. Work Together This sounds like backwards advice, but be aware of what your DJ opponent is playing and try not to cross tracks too often.
Possibly agree different genres beforehand, but as a minimum work together to give the crowd the best experience possible. This also exposes you to another DJ’s thinking. You will learn from it; believe me, we are all wired differently. 7.
The Big Finish Again, for best effect, this means working together with your fellow DJ. Talk to your opponent and agree on an anthem track to finish on. Press play in unison (make sure you are both at the same pitch before you do) and get both channels playing the same song at the same time, have the whole crowd together as one for the final track. It works a treat!
So there you have it. There’s no doubt that more and more organisers are offering silent discos at their events nowadays, as people look for something different to mark their special occasion. From that first time in think that I have now done more than 100 of these at my events, each time performing to a different crowd. I have also played against a variety of fellow DJs, including celebrities such as Pat Sharp.
That was a battle and a half I can tell you! Playing at silent discos has undoubtedly made me a better DJ in terms of planning and preparation, but more importantly it is also a lot of fun! Try it – trust me – you’ll love it! The RCF
