DJ Led Worship

A blog dedicated to equipping Christian DJs with the skills and tools to be able to lead worship.

[djledworship]

Me, @chipkendall and @happimusic_ at The Way event in Coventry tonight. It was great working with you guys!!! #Numinous #ChipK #Happi #Possers

[djledworship]

3 places where I can learn to DJ online?

So it’s probably about time to post about places on the web where there are resources to learn to can DJ. Deckledworship is a DJ based blog but it’s not intended to teach how to beatmatch, key mix or how a mixer works etc. Instead this blog is going to outline 3 places on the web where there are resources to learn to DJ.

DJ TUTOR: www.djtutor.com

Johnathan Lewis is the guy to go to when wanting to learn to DJ. Johnathan first creating YouTube video in his spare time on how to DJ and now everyone will refer to Ellaskins (his YouTube channel name) at some point. Johnathan has a wealth of knowledge and keeps his video in gauging with humour. This is the place to go if you want to learn to DJ.

DJ Tech Tools: www.djtechtools.com

DJ Tech Tools was founded by Ean Golden in 2007 to share new ideas in DJing. This has now rapidly grown over the years to a full on website with tutorials, shop and forum. Ean Golden and the team focus mainly on laptop DJ using programs such as traktor and when it comes to DJ they push the boundaries of technology. If your interest in being unique when DJing check this place out.

Digital DJ Tips: www.digitaldjtips.com

Phil Morse is a Ibiza resident DJing in lounges and clubs in Ibiza for many years. When it comes down to knowledge on gigs and equipment there’s not many people who know more about it then this guy. Phil answers questions which people ask and then open it up to the Digital DJ tips for there opinion and knowledge meaning it’s a pool of knowledge aswell as having a strong DJ community. This is great place for information on equipment and DJ problems.

I hope this blog post helps you find some suitable resources to allow you to take your DJing deeper if you have already started or start DJing if you haven’t.

As the DJ tutor would say Practice and Enjoy!!!!

[djledworship]

How EDM is changing the church on a global scale?

So EDM (Electronic Dance Music) has become massive in the last couple of years on a global scale and has turned into a commercial product. EDM music is constantly hitting the Top 10 tracks in the pop music charts. Artist are having there music remixed into EDM bangers to get there music played in clubs/festivals. Never before have DJs been able to headline festivals and pack out stadiums. All this boom has also had an impact on the church and I am going to analyse this in a church context.

[djledworship]

Sometimes the confusion it's hard to see God, but all you have to do is look and see he is always there. #pray #god #seeing #more #clear #inspiring #Connecting

[djledworship]

How Do I Lead Worship From Behind The Decks? (Beginners Guide) VLOG

Vlog 1 : How Do I Lead Worship From Behind The Decks? (Beginners Guide)

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L-8R5J1ces

So I thought I should start equipping people to lead worship by DJing. So this blog outlines some ideas on how you could lead worship from behind the decks for the first. In the video I give three ideas that you could which as follows:

1. Use Christian songs and mix them together.

2. Use worship songs people know and mix them with instrumental secular tracks.

3. Use spoken word of christian preachers/spoken word/scripture mixed with secular instrumental tracks.

Reference to my deep house mix I did with the spoken word: LINK!!!

These are some basic idea they you could use and implement without to much hard work.

Hope this helps as always if you want more info or help message in the ‘Ask Question’ feature above or comment below in the answer section.

God Bless

Josh

[djledworship]

WAVES Worship

WAVES worship is a Electronic Worship Event based out of Rising Brook Baptist Church in Stafford, England. It has been running for a year and has had four events throughout 2014. The events are an all consuming time of Electronic worship which give people the freedom to worship God however they want and  allow freedom just to be able to hangout with God. The worship is made up of multiple genres mixed together with some secular and worship music. The events tend to last for 2 hours and are held on a Friday night at 21:00 within the church itself. This is to fit in with the club culture of going out on Friday. If you are unable to attend the events the team are planning to stream the events so it can outreach to the world in 2015.

There blog: wavesworship.org

Follow WAVES: @wavesworship (https://twitter.com/wavesworship)

Instagram: @wavesworship (http://www.oninstagram.com/profile/wavesworship)

Mixes from the past events: https://www.mixcloud.com/WavesWorship/

[djledworship]

Misunderstood?

This has happened to me loads and in fact still does and more often than I thought.

What I am taking about is people not clearly understanding what you doing in forms of leading worship by DJing. I have fallen into a couple of traps before and I am now going to share them with you so your are aware of these.

1. Your asked to DJ at an event (that could be a youth gathering or a Sunday morning at church depending on your church or some other event.) The words the person uses to persuade you are ‘DJing’ ‘Worship’. Now at the event this translates to ‘can you put on some music on at the beginning as people arrive and at the end when there chatting’ (Now before I go on I am honored their asking me to be involved) but I don’t class this as worship. I class this as using me as a highly advanced ipod and all the effort I go to moving my gear around and setting up. They may as well just put an ipod at the back. 

Solution: I would simply say to the person organizing the event, I am sorry but I was asked to lead worship and all I have done is play music as people arrive and leaving - My personal idea of worship is for people to engage with God and they weren’t able to do that as they were arriving/chatting/leaving and I just felt sort of an ipod at the front. Is there a possibility if I could lead SOME worship next time during the event? If it happens again just bring the loud music and get on the mic and try and get them engaged and make them have a good time.

2. So you again have been asked to lead worship at an event and the person who has asked to lead worship comes up to you while drinking some water, with a sheet of songs and timing ‘for you’ and says can you leave a bit of space between these last two songs for the spirit to work. I then spit water on the floor in horror and instantly think ‘Ow no, what am I going to do?’

Solution: Being me and a professional christian I just say okay that’s fine but I don’t have all those songs so can I play something similar. If they say yes that’s great if not play the original track from the album the track is off and grit your teeth and have a word with the organizer at the end and say (in this order) Thanks for letting me DJ and lead worship I really enjoyed it. Just to say when I was asked to lead worship you asked me if I could lead worship and you gave me a list of songs? I am sorry if I misunderstood but do I not to select to the songs for the worship. (If they say NO say okay Thanks and walk off, If they say YES just ask them nicely why the songs where selected for you.)

With these two situations remember say Christian and honouring to God and the person as well as professional cause you want asked back. In my experience if people book me and are willing to pay me they are a lot more relaxed and let you do what you do.

Hope this helps. Remember say Christian and honour God and say professional about it

I would love to hear from you if you have had a similar situation to me, Answer Below.

God Bless :)

Josh

[djledworship]

It's like baking a cake.

Okay, hang on with this. I was baking a cake last night for a family gathering and I had this thought that baking a cake is like DJing. I'll coming to outline the processes and then will explain each one of them. Preparation, measurement, mixing, baking, icing and EATING!!! On I ll now go on and explain and unpack this idea. Preparation: that's normally getting all the things together. Shopping for ingredients, getting the equipment together. For a DJ that's finding out about the gig, finding new music, sorting out transport,riders,gear and where to stay the night of the gig. This is an essential thing which needs to be under taken before any other stage is sorted. Measurement: This is where you measure out the ingredients of baking a cake. For a DJ, this is sitting down and making notes on music genres, timings, keys etc. and getting a general idea for the set your going to do. Mixing: Mixing is a universal thing for a baker or DJ it's about taking little parts of different things and mixing together to make something which 'tastes good'. This is practice at home, making sure what your going to play is going to work. Going through transitions of tracks, practicing effects tricks. Baking: is where all the stages before hand are met for the first time in creating a solid thing (The cake). Being a DJ this is when your DJing at the gig joining all the stages pervious together and creating a mix which is dynamic and works (Solid structure - you get me?) Icing: is decorating the cake and making it look nice and giving it more flavour. When DJing this is the processing of using all the things you have been practicing that's EQ, Effects, scratching etc. This makes the mix exciting and adds favour. (Use favour in moderation, remember to much of one thing can destroy a cake. Fine balance!!!) EATING: as this is my first time baking a cake, my favourite part of the baking a cake process it's EATING the final finished cake ( I haven't eaten the cake I baked last night yet, I ll update it after I have tasted it). That is the same been a DJ this is where the dance floor is rammed, you have the crowd in the palm of your hand. Every track you play they love!!! (This doesn't always happen, cake can taste terrible after all the hard work of making it and that's the same with DJing some times it flops and the crowd 'taste buds' aren't liking it. Hopeful this is useful. God Bless Josh

[djledworship]

Which headphones should I use for DJing?

So this might seem a stupid question to ask but which headphones are good for monitoring/cueing when DJing? Well I thought I would give three opinions of 3 headphones in three different price brackets which I have used in a real DJ environment.

£20 - £50:

Behringer HPX4000

  I used to own these headphones for quite some time. I think these headphones copy the sennheiser HD-25ii which are much more expensive than these headphones. I would say these headphones are great for DJing in your bedroom or in low level enviromnets such as a house party but as they don't have great isolation I wouldn't use them in a club to monitor off. These headphones have good frequency response with clear mids, but I found the bass to be muddy sometimes and hard to distinguish kick drums when mixing.

£50 - £100:

Urban Ears Zinken headphones:

So these headphones are my current headphones which I use for DJing and in fact producing with when I am not in the studio. These headphones are great for the price, they have excellent isolation. Good frequency with lots of bottom end for phase locking those kick drums. The headphones also come with a cable which has both a 3.5mm headphones and 1/4 inch jack meaning you don't have to carry a jack adapter for when your DJing. You just switch the cable around.

£100+

Sennheiser HD 25-1 II

I said in the introduction that I was only going to review headphones that I have used to DJ with. I haven't DJied with this headphones but once my Zinken break or I have spare cash, I will be defiantly investing in a pair of these. 

The HD 25's are pretty much industry standard DJs headphones (if there was one), these were originally used for broadcasting and then was adopted by DJs because of the insanely good isolation that the HD 25s can offer when DJing in noisy clubs and a loud crowds at festivals. This headphones as well as been durable there also extreme lightweight meaning it won't hurt your head or neck after a long DJ session. 

The HD 25s come in version, Basic and Studio. Basic is basically as it says just the headphones, with the studio version you get extra ear pads which you can change and a carry bag. Personal I would just buy the basic edition useless you have the extra cash or desire to have a carry bag for them.

Hope this clears up some confusion and I hope that this will help in your pursuit of finding your prefect DJ headphone. 

Josh

[djledworship]

3 Platforms Where I Can Get My Music Legally?

So I thought I should probably give you 3 platforms where you can get music from legally and which is good quality. I ll shall start with the obvious one.

Itunes:

This is kinda obvious, Itunes is great if your wanting to buy anything in the charts or buy an album whether that's a LP (Long Play) or Compilation album (eg. Ministry of sound mix CD). I don't really use Itunes anymore as I am starting to become more niche in what I play out. which brings me onto the next platform.

Beatport:

Beatport is the platform where all the professional DJs search for music. This is because of a few useful services they provide such as BPM read out on each individual track, each track also comes with a key analysis which is really useful if your into harmonic mixing. Beatport also provides a service which means you can change the quality of your MP3 to a WAV (For extra charge of course) this is useful if your an audiophile and want the best quality tracks. For all these services you have to pay a premium price which is about 30p more than itunes but for the variety of tracks beatport is it worth it?

So your probably wondering where do I go for some real gems which no other DJ will be playing?

My Answer is...

Soundcloud:

Soundcloud is great if your looking for tracks which no other DJ is playing mainly because the majority of the database of free tracks are mash ups which are two or more tracks chopped up and re-edited in a different way compared to the original track. These tracks are great if your trying to win a crowd over who doesn't like a certain genre because the vocal could be from there favorite pop song which could make them love you or hate you. Soundcloud is also full of bootleg remixes which can be awesome and somethings these tracks are better than the original or the remixes you pay for on Itunes/Beatport. 

Hope this helps you try to find some decide quality music as well as keeping it legal at the same time.

Josh

[djledworship]

Christian Electronic Dance Artists Part 1.

So I have had a lot of asks about which christian artist do I play when I DJ or listen to generally so I decided I would make a very long list with their soundcloud page links so you can have a listen.

David Thulin (EDM, Progressive) https://soundcloud.com/david-thulin

Numinous (EDM) https://soundcloud.com/dj_numinous

More than conquerors (Matthew J Bentley, J Hill and Benny K) https://soundcloud.com/mtccedm 

Transform DJs (House, Dance)                               https://soundcloud.com/transformdjs

Matthew Parker (Electro, Dubstep) https://soundcloud.com/eyesontheking

Jesus Love Electro (Electro, EDM, House)       https://soundcloud.com/jesusloveselectro

Sonarzone (Trance, Progressive)                      https://soundcloud.com/sonarzone

Alchemist Saints (EDM, Electro) https://soundcloud.com/alchemist-saints

Kevin Aleksander (Progressive, EDM)https://soundcloud.com/kevin-aleksander

I will blog part 2. later on this week, in the mean time enjoy listening and buying this artists music.

Josh

[djledworship]

What is the best DJ software money can buy?

As with the 'which controller should I start Djing with?' blog there is no right answer. It totally depends on what you want for the software and how much you have to spent. I am going to review the three pieces of software that I have used in my DJ career so far and give three pros and cons to each one.

Traktor:

Pros:

The software is completely midi mappable and has a great system for midi mapping controls.

The ability to create crazy effects combos in Traktor which could match the sound of a top end pioneer mixers effects.

Traktor in the last couple of years have added remix decks allowing the user to build tracks on the fly in DJ sets. Pretty cool.

Cons:

There's no video plug in.

In my past experience of DJing live with traktor, sometimes a track won't load which means finding it in finder and having to load it in again.

There's no mixed in key function which is fine unless your sasha (He does use Traktor and uses the separate mixed in key app)

Serato DJ:

Pros:

It's the best software hands down if your a vinyl DJ or use turntables and are looking for a good DVS system.

It has a very good video plug in and has great effects aswell.

For all this you have play a big price tag.

Cons:

It has limited support for controllers and only allows Rane soundcards to be used. 

No midi mapping.

Effects are pretty standard.

Cross DJ:

Pros:

It's Cheap.

Mixed in key.

Supports any Soundcards.

Cons:

No midi out.

Video crashes.

Effects are very poor compared to it's rival.

As you can see each piece of software has it's own pros and cons and each piece of software is very good at something very practical. This means depending on what you want to get out of your software is all down to personal choice.

Please feel free to share your preference of software below and comment on my post

Josh

[djledworship]

What Controller Should I Start DJing With?

To be honest with you, there isn't a right answer.

It totally depends on what you plan on doing and how much money you have to spend. I would say DJ using a controller is the easiest way of DJing and the most accessible, The controller basically controls a piece of software on a computer and the controller acts like a giant mouse and lets you do 'multiple mouse moves' at once without feeling restricted.

Here are 3 controllers in three prices brackets:

£100-£200:

Numark Mixtrack Pro 2 with 2 channel soundcard

This is what I started on, It's really reliable it's completely midi mappable if you feel restricted by how Numark have mapped it and it's got a build in soundcard allowing you to cue up a track without the crowd hearing. It comes bundled with serato DJ intro aswell.

It's a great price and I think it's one of the best controllers on the market.

£200-£500:

Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol S2 MK2

This controller is the little sister of the S4 which is a phenomena piece of equipment. It has a built in soundcard to be able to cue tracks like the Numark Mixtrack Pro 2 . It has pre-mapped effects meaning there is no need for hours of mapping controls for your favorite effects and it's a comes with Native Instruments flagship software Traktor.

£500+

Pioneer DDJ-SX

This controller is a 4 channel controller which gives you 2 channels more than what the other two controllers have above. This controller runs serato DJ and this controller has multiple features such as a slicer feature aswell as a roll function and sampler built in. This is a controller which you want be needing to upgrade any time soon as you could quite happily play a club gig with it.

For more information on any of these controllers I have mentioned either drop me and message below or you can email and I will be happy to help your search for your prefect controller.

Josh

[liveforothers]

Bless: Introduce yourself JG: I am Josh / DJ Numinous, 19. Currently studying Creative Music Technology at university as well as Producing/DJing Christ Centered Dance Music to the masses – Okay no quite the masses yet but there’s hope.

Bless: What are you up to at the moment?

JG: I am currently in the process of planning the second ‘Waves’ event, which is an exciting new worship experiment. This is a loud, all-consuming hour of electronic worship and time to spend worshipping Jesus in a slightly different way compared to a normal Sunday morning. I am also currently in the process of writing some content for a blog called ‘WavesWorship’ as well which is focused around giving people the tools and resources to make electronic music more accessible in church and how that can be used in conjunction with visuals, prayer and art to connect with God. So it’s all exciting!!!

Bless: Describe Bless in 3 words?

JG: Creativity, Prayer and Food.

Bless: What is your experience of being a part of the Bless movement?

JG: So back in 2011, I did a short term mission in Lisieux which was great. I spent a week training at Bethaine, learning about mission and focusing on God as individuals, before going out in the second week to work on an estate; playing football with the local kids and just spending time with them. I was great fun but all I can remember is coming home very sun-burnt and full of useful French phrases, which are only really useful on a football pitch.

Bless: What are your dreams for the next 12 months (or so)?

JG: I would love to have residence in a secular nightclub where I am able to go and spread the love of Jesus to the clubbers and I would love Waves to grow in number so we have to relocate to a bigger venue.

Bless: How can we pray for you?

JG: Pray for scope and guidance on how I can use this style of music/worship to impact on people lives that don’t know Jesus and pray for me to be able to have doors open for me to gig in places that are impossible to get into at the moment i.e Nightclubs.

check out waves worship

listen to DJ numinous music/mixes