BRAND NEW: Wedding Dance Mix Vol. I

I've been way behind in showcasing my DJ skills & music tastes.

I must admit, I'm late to the party showcasing my turntable abilities and music tastes to newly engaged couples and wedding industry friends alike. Despite only ever releasing a handful of mixes publicly (and sending many more privately to clients), I've managed to build a solid DJ reputation and wedding brand on what I claim to be an impeccable taste in “only good music” for weddings, receiving most of my clients through word of mouth.

But what does “good music” really mean?

It's subjective. Some clients of mine “just get it” when I say it, and some don't. Some need clarification, and I decided instead of explaining it, why not showcase it in mix form? Even if they didn't initially get it, they'll usually get it completely after seeing me perform live, experiencing me in action and in my element. After collaborating on music ideas, vibe suggestions, pre-wedding song requests from guests, and deeply curated playlist building, it tends to come together like magic on the day-of in almost every single wedding.

With all the amazing genres of music I've been immersed in, exposed to, and discovered in recent years…

It's time to share what I consider GOOD MUSIC for weddings.

Straying away from the “vanilla” wedding DJ mix tropes…

With all the recent chaos shaking up our lives, people are turning to musicians, DJs, and performers for a bit of musical escapism. I've recently been listening to a lot of “wedding DJ” mixes from all over the U.S., live and pre-made, and while there are surely a few great ones, I've come to the conclusion that many mixes suffer from:

1. Relatively milquetoast song selection. Sticking only with the familiar. Pushing few creative bounds.

2. A general lack of musicality, such as clever rhythm blends, matching song keys, playing with energy levels, sweeping across many genres (like you'd have in a real wedding scenario), or cultural insider “nods”.

3. Being pieced together in programs like Ableton, not live-mixed at all on a DJ system (like turntables, controllers, etc), but rather created sitting down at a computer and editing. You can spot these by being perfectly robotic sounding, without any mistakes. Real humans make genuine mistakes while beatmatching, scratching (unless you're DJ Jazzy Jeff), and even in song selection during a dance party. It's all about context.

I get it, though. It's hard to feel confident enough in your DJ abilities to be willing to share any sense of imperfection with prospective audiences. That's human. It's also hard to release many live wedding dance mixes for all of the vagaries that happen during an event. Each celebration is completely different in terms of energy, awesomeness of the guests, slight (or occasionally even big) performance mistakes, interruptions to the dance party flow (to cut the cake, throw flowers, or make boring announcements), and even song choices that are polarizing to some and enjoyable to others. It seems a lot of wedding DJs don't emit any defined “style”, and it translates through in the mixes they share with us.

Ultimately, I've realized my own artistic style, music tastes, repertoire, clientele, and preferred levels partying are different than about 99% of other wedding DJs. I'm a niche DJ, for couples who really value good music taste and a live performance akin to a band's energy.

Introducing: A Live, 2020 Wedding DJ Dance Mix Series for the Musically Inclined

I'm hoping this mix series will be a good foray into my technical abilities on the 1s and 2s, as well as a showcase of all the hundreds of artists my couples love partying to in every fashion (from drunken sing-alongs, to dance battles, to levels of bliss hardly seen outside of rolling at a festival).

It's uncensored, raw, and ever-fresh. You'll hear all kinds of music, even some you'd never expect to be played “at a wedding”. It's brand new and classic coming together in pure dance energy. It's (hopefully) great selections from rock, electronic, house, soul, indie, alternative, hip hop, trap, tropical, latin, international, punk, disco, funk, new wave, or really whatever fun, danceable vibes I can conjure up behind the decks for rad clients.

Check out this 30 minute dance mix here:

If you enjoyed this post, or have something respectful and cool to add to this discussion, please leave a comment below! And if you're on Mixcloud and enjoyed this mix, please support me by following me & ❤️the mix! Cheers.

SONGSTRUCK DJ is a San Diego-based turntable artist available internationally for weddings & exclusive parties.