Music
DJing is not just playing records – it is creating parties. Anyone can play records to a crowd, but to get people on a dance floor and keep them there, you need to understand what they are feeling. You need to know where they want to go and how to take them there. My experience of DJing to all ages and all sorts of people means I know how to read a dance floor and build the perfect party for you.
I have DJd 70s disco on tour with Carwash, followed Judge Jules playing house to 1000 people in London, headlined the 80s-themed 20th birthday party for the British Snowboarding Championships and once had 10,000 singing power ballads behind the Barclays-sponsored float at Brighton’s Gay Pride parade! This means I have a deep understanding of how to make many different groups of people enjoy themselves together, at a range of different events.
It’s hard to define my music, because everyone wants different tunes for their party, so every event and every crowd is different. So I play what a crowd wants to hear! DJing is like playing chess; every tune has at least five tracks that fit beautifully with it, and each one of those tracks will then have five different tunes that fit. So I’m always thinking 10, 15, 20 tracks ahead. But my experience means I know which tunes are right for your guests and for the time of night. I can take your music choices and use them as the basis for creating a great party.
A good DJ should never think they are above your guests, playing only what they want to hear. They should also have something in common with you and your guests so they understand the music that everybody loves. Both you and your guests should be the focus of your party, not the DJ. I believe a good DJ should be the catalyst of a party, igniting the event and keeping it alive. From a purely selfish point of view, I play for people I feel I can have a great party with, as then I enjoy myself and want to keep it going too. If not, then I’m just playing records.
‘Getting people up on a dance floor is easy; keeping them there is a different story. That’s why we chose Mitch for our after party at the Royal Albert Hall. During the evening Tom Jones set them up, but Mitch knocked them down! What a dj, what a night – I was so impressed I booked him again the next year and for my own wedding.’
Dominic Margetson: executive producer for BBC2 televised Tickled Pink at the Royal Albert Hall.