For 404Error, DJ of deep technique in vinyl in Madrid since 1995. I've opened many nights and it's the hole I like best.
A good warm-up of techno prepares the room without exhausting it: it starts below the tempo of the cartel head, increases the density little by little and delivers a full track and with desire, not tired. Your job is not to look, it's to make the night work.
What does the warm-up do
The open gets an empty room or almost, with the sound still cold and the public coming. In two or three hours you have to create an environment, give reasons to stay on the track and leave the next DJ a clear starting point. If he goes up too soon, the sign head has nowhere to go.
Five rules that work
- Time below the next DJ. If the central schedule goes to 130-135 BPM, open between 120 and 126 leaves room to climb.
- Density before intensity. Percussion and layers can be added without touching the tempo. Energy grows equally and without burning resources.
- No sign-head stuff. Not his records or his known favorites.
- Long mixtures. In a full room, transitions of two or three minutes maintain continuity better than cuts.
- Look at the track, not the cabin. If people stay in the bar, you have to give them a reason to go in, not to raise the volume.
Why deep techno works so well opening
The deep techno, the dub techno and the progressive deep have just what a warm-up asks: tempo content, much space in sound and slow development. They allow the room to fill without a sense of vacuum and leave the energy intact for what comes. If you're not clear on the differences, read deep, hypnotic, dub and hard techno: how they differ and What is the techno dub.
Common errors
- Paint the set you'd like to do at a rush hour.
- Up the tempo every half hour «so it won't stop».
- Close the warm-up with a peak: the next DJ has to start down.
- Don't talk to the rest of the sign first about tempo and style.
What the promoter should ask for
If you organize the night, ask the DJ to open a recorded session of warm-up, not a peak; agree on the time of delivery and the approximate tempo with which it should end, and give it at least two hours. If you mix styles in the poster, look also how to program deep techno, hypnotic, breaks and EBM in the same night. More details in the guide to hire a DJ of techno.
Listen to him.
Several of my sets are raised as opening: deep techno and progressive deep in vinyl, without haste. You have them in the file sets. If you're looking for who opens your night, write from booking.
