Written by 404Error, DJ de techno en vinyl in Madrid since 1995. I've been on the other side of these emails for years: this is what makes a contract work.
To hire a DJ of techno with guarantees you have to close five things before talking about money: the sound you are looking for, the time and duration of the set, the cabin equipment, the conditions (cache, travel, cancellation) and the materials to promote the date. If one of them is left in the air, the problem appears on the night of the event.
1. Start with the sound, not the name
Before you write to anyone, listen to a full DJ session, not an Instagram fragment. An hour of recording tells you how to build, if it keeps track and if it fits your audience. A deep or hypnotic techno DJ is not the option for a peak of 150 BPM, and one hard techno is not going to make a long and content warm-up.
Also check the format: if you click on vinyl, digital or hybrid, and if that fits your cabin.
2. Define the hole you want to cover
| Hollow | What do you want? | Usual duration |
|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | Prepare the room without burning it; tempo and density contained | 2-3 hours |
| Central time | Keep track full with the sound of the night | 1.5-3 hours |
| Closing | Lower or overcome the night with criterion | 2-3 hours |
| All night long | Build all night, from opening to closing | 5 hours or more |
Deep techno and hyphnotic techno need time: in 60 minutes of festival it does not give to develop a session. If you doubt which strip each style goes in, you have the guide to how to program deep techno, hypnotic, breaks and EBM on a club night. I explain it in more detail in where deep, hypnotic, dub and hard techno are different.
3. What to include in the first post
- Date, city and name of the room.
- Event type: club, collective cycle, festival, after, private.
- Planned schedule and set duration.
- Approximate capacity.
- The rest of the cartel and the action order.
- Cabin equipment available.
- Budget or at least if you cover travel and accommodation.
A mail with these data receives a specific response in hours. One that only asks «How much do you charge?» opens a day conversation.
4. What the agreement should collect
- Cache and form of payment: a deposit is usual when confirming and the rest before or on the day of the performance.
- Travel and accommodation outside the city of the DJ: who reserves and what is covered.
- Exact time start and end of set, and time of sound test if there is.
- Cancellation: what if it is cancelled early on either side.
- Recording: if the session can be recorded or retransmitted.
- Hospitals: access, guests and consumptions, if applicable.
5. The cabin rider, especially if it's vinyl
A vinyl set is more demanding with the cabin than a digital one. At least:
- Two SL-1200 or SL-1210 (or equivalent) Technics swivels calibrated, with needles in good condition.
- A professional mixer, for example Allen & Heath Xone: 92 or Pioneer DJM-900NXS2.
- Independent cabin monitors with sufficient volume.
- A stable, vibration-isolated table: if the pump in the room reaches the needle, the disc jumps.
Check the rider with the room technician before closing the date, not the same day.
6. Reasonable time
For a club in your city, two to four weeks in advance is usually enough. For festivals or dates with travel, better between one and three months: you have to square transport, accommodation and promotion.
7. Materials to promote the date
Ask for presskit: short biography in English and Spanish, high-resolution press photos, logo and links to sets to share. With that the sign and the networks are prepared without going after the artist.
If you're looking for a DJ of vinyl techno
404Error pincha deep techno, hypnotic techno and deep progressive techno, in addition to sets of breaks and EBM, exclusively in vinyl, in Madrid and outside, for warm-ups, closures and all night long. Before writing, listen to the file sets; for dates, rider and conditions, go to booking.
