:: useful tips :: Mix compilations ::

[System.S]

Author: Stuart Patterson

So how do you get involved in DJ mix compilations? To be honest, as a bedroom DJ you don’t: unless you have friends in the industry and are marketable (let’s not forget that DJ mix compilations have the lion’s share of the dance market), these are for the DJs who are at the top of their profession. Record labels approach most DJs and only a handful could approach labels with success. A contract is drawn up, with the DJ being given an advance of anything between £1K and £10K (depending on the ‘pull’ of the DJ), and two to four points royalties on sales.

‘DJs Take Control’ on Keep Digging is my third DJ mix compilation. The first one I did was ‘Soulsonic Volume 1’ on Barely Breaking Even; as well as putting on club nights with them, they are friends from way back and we had spoken about the project for some time beforehand. The second was the Heavenly Social – they approached me completely out of the blue! I was playing at the Social Bar and liked the guys at Heavenly so I did it. Both those were concept compilations, ie, revolving around club nights, so they were pretty easy to compile since many tracks picked themselves, as they were crowd favourites.

Track selection, to me, is the most important aspect of the compilation. Far too much emphasis can be placed on the DJ who is mixing it rather than the records. The record company should not dictate any of the record selection, as this compromises the sound of the DJ – you need the flexibility to express yourself. ‘DJs Take Control’ for Keep Digging was more difficult to put together because I wanted to do a house-based mix of some of my favourite underground records which hadn’t had a lot of exposure. I didn’t want the big tracks on there as I thought I’d leave that to the mass-market compilations.

Cramming ’em in
You also have to consider the time factor – you only get 74 or 80 minutes per CD which is very limiting, and with some records being twelve minutes long, you can only fit so many on unless you do edits. I chose ten tracks and decided to play the tracks in their entirety – a record is a record after all, and that is how they were produced to be played.

Depending on the compilation, I usually do two or three mix tapes at home and give them to the record company to confirm we have the same goals. Otherwise, I provide a wish list to the record company’s A&R man and then after a few months, see which records can be licensed on the compilation. For the mass-market compilations, DJs may submit a list of 50-plus records; then a list is drawn up, and it’s up to the DJ to mix it, either at home or in the studio.

It can take up to a year from the embryonic idea of the compilation to the product hitting the shops. This obviously affects the track selection, as I think compilations need to be as upfront as possible. It’s also vital that the compilation flows well and is representative of my DJ sets. If you’ve selected records with BPMs which range from 88 to 135, you have to plan the set to perfection.

But sometimes you do not get what you want. It can be very frustrating not getting a key record licensed, but that is part of the challenge. For example, for ‘DJs Take Control’ I wanted the Blaze mix of Mondo Grosso as the last mix-out track. Sometimes the DJ may have to wield his influence with the record companies concerned, especially if you have been supporting their releases. It’s not uncommon for me to speak to some of my contacts, tell them what I am doing and hopefully strike a deal and get that key record on. The personal touch works wonders sometimes, especially if a record company is asking too much for the track!

Then, closer to the release date, I’ll do a final mix I’m happy with at my home studio and I’ll look at adding a couple of upfront records that are relevant now. The final list of licensed records is then ready to go and I’ll determine the order of the tracks, then mix it live on two decks and record it onto DAT or CD-R.
I am not a fan of computer generated mixes as they sound cold – I think that if a DJ is putting his or her name to something, they should do it themselves!

Some DJs add sound effects, acapellas and the like in post-production but I did not feel that was necessary for ‘DJs Take Control’. It also saves money in studio time! The record company will then clean it up (ie, take out the crackles) and it will be ready to be packaged and marketed. I usually have some say in the packaging, but after that it’s up to the label.


Stuart Patterson is one of the most widely respected house DJs in the UK. His Soulsonic and Faith nights are legendary in London, and he also holds a residency at the Bomb in Nottingham. He recently supported the Avalanches on their UK tour, and runs the record label Transfusion.