Flying is great, isn't it? You print off a sheet of A4 paper and before you know it you're sat there sucking on a boiled sweet with popped ears in a metal tub 8 miles above earth travelling through the sky at unfathomably terrifying speeds. What a thrill. What a buzz. What a world.Thing is, flying gets boring sometimes. You might find yourself stuck next to a chatterbox couple from Chester, or wedged between a teething toddler and his, or her's terribly tired mother or father. Sure, you can read that terrible novel you picked up in Smiths at an extortinate price, or stare longingly at the aftershave section of the inflight brochure. You might even get lucky and have the choice of a few films to watch — because, as we all know, cinema is a medium best consumed on a tiny screen in an uncomfortable chair while you worry all the while about DVT. Your best bet? Get a mix or six on.
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One man who knows all about the joys of zipping round the world with an immaculate selection sinking into your brain is Le Visitieur, a mixmaster of some renown. He's recently been asked by BA to contribute to their series of airbound mixes, so we thought it was a great time to chat to him about the all important art of the mix. Oh, and he's keeping his identity a secret so you'll have to look at the very nice artwork for the mix rather than at a picture of a DJ.
THUMP:Let's start with the Travelogue series. How did it come about? Who approached who? Le Visiteur: I've been putting mixtapes together for as long as I can remember for friends, to hustle gigs, to promote gigs and just for fun. Pretty much if I'm awake there's music on. As Le Visiteur I started off with my Numbered mix series Le Premier etc on Soundcloud as a way to get my name around and they picked up thousands of listens. Those mixes were mainly Nu Disco and disco with a smattering of house and were mostly for home listening. As I started to get my own releases organised I launched my Travelogue series as a more club focused selection of tracks fusing various genres of house from deep to jacking to tech with some favourite disco cuts. It's much more representative of what you are likely to hear on my dancefloors.The BA tie up came about after I sent in a couple of mixes to the guys who run their in-flight entertainment and thankfully they liked what they heard and wanted to get me on board so to speak, so I'm very excited to have my mixes programmed on their flights alongside the likes of Carl Cox.
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Are mixes the perfect way to kill time on long journeys?
Definitely, I love travel (hence the name) and always have a pile of mixes ready to listen to along with a good pair of headphones and a Bluetooth speaker. It's half the fun of going away for me getting my playlists ready. I go as far as putting together playlists for different aspects of travel, be it the journey, the beach, getting ready to go out. A perfect mix can envelope you in sound and set the mood for your upcoming experience, they can help the time fly on the flights, help you relax or get you right up for a big night out.Is this idea of the mix as a narrative, or a journey, something that deserves to be held in such high esteem?
I really appreciate DJ mixes where they have gone the extra distance on the concept rather than just stinging 12 club bangers together so for me yes definitely. The Travelogue mixes are a microcosm of what a full club night is like with me behind the decks, they can start of slow and funky with soulful vocals before getting deeper and groovier then building into jacking house before arriving at the peak time with more tech oriented tracks. I have no problems with sticking in classic tracks right next to unreleased promos and percussive disco next to tech house.What's the average process for you in terms of putting a mix together?
I start by going through all my promos which is a mission in itself as I get hundreds a week since I launched my blog, before hitting the big download sites like Traxsource, Juno and Beatport. Then I'll go back through playlists from my recent shows. Once I have done this I usually have a pile of around 150 tracks which I go through thoroughly whittling the list down to around 60 whilst breaking them up into the different genres and making sure they are tagged by key; once all that is done then the mixing process begins. This can all take a few days to be honest, my first rough mix will usually take a day or so then I go back and listen to it to make sure it flows well before revising it, swapping tracks around changing ones that aren't working or the mastering lets them down against the others and making sure it's properly EQ'd etc. Once they are finished and before I upload them or send them out I always like to get a couple of listens to make sure I am fully happy with it.
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Is the market oversaturated? Are there too many mixes out there?
There are a ridiculous amount of mixes out there since the big sites like Soundcloud and Mixcloud came around but putting mixes together is a brilliant way to learn your trade as a DJ. I'd definitely advise up and coming DJs to spend some proper time on their mixes, not just stick the top 15 Beatport chart in your mix, it's lazy and won't get noticed by anyone. Get your own sound, make sure the mixes flow well and once they are online tag your friends and get feedback. It's a brilliant way to learn to produce as well if you listen to mixes by established DJ's and pick out the best bits, the sounds, effects and where to leave space rather than pack with sounds.Top 5 favourite mixes ever?
At home I listen to a massive variety of music and genres not just house and disco, I always try and listen to Radio 1's essential mix, it's now an incredible body of music and I also like to track down older mixes by my favourite DJs and producers. I like to learn from the legends of DJing on how they have put their mixes together and the sounds they have used. I have a mountain of favourite mixes for various reasons and for different times but here are 5 that really stand out for incredible tune selection, mixes which have really broken the mould or encapsulate a sound and moment perfectly:Nicolas Jaar - Essential MixColdcut - Journeys By DJ: Coldcut - 70 Minutes Of MadnessHenrik Schwarz, AME, Dixon - The Grandfather ParadoxGreg Wilson - Essential MixClapton - Essential MixFollow Le Visiteur on Facebook // SoundCloud // Twitter
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