As a Mobile Disco DJ I sometimes get people who come up to me whilst party people are dancing to a genre that the person requesting a track doesn’t like.
They ask that a track must be played NEXT!
For example I could have a dance floor early on in the evening full of people dancing to Motown or doing a jive to some rock and roll and they will come up and say something like play “That Dubstep track “Synking Sand - Syndaesia” NEXT!
Now let’s think about this from a service provider’s point of view.
My job as a mobile disco DJ is to keep as many people as possible happy, to keep the floor as full as possible for as long as possible , if I played that request next in the middle of a set of songs (I will come back to this later) it would almost certainly clear the dance floor of the people I currently have dancing, also I may have had requests made before the “Synking Sand - Syndaesia” next request so they would have priority so.. I can’t play it next.
Also it may have been a song that the party organisers and people whose party it is may have requested not to play so.. I can’t play it next.
Another factor maybe, that I may have been given a strict playlist of songs again by the party organiser so again.. I can’t play it next.
Another reason maybe that while the person requesting this track was late arriving , at the toilet , having a smoke break, talking to friends that i have played that request in the last 20 minutes so again.. I can’t play it next.
But there is also another factor: It won’t mix easily and smoothly and I already have it in the set for later on or I will be playing that track not next but later in a set of songs that will go well together.
And finally the most unlikely, I may not have the track so..I couldn’t play it next.
In private conversations with other DJ’s this is the excuse they most often give to people when they do actually have the track! but they think it will bomb and ruin the atmosphere and clear the dance floor or it is a track that the DJ doesn’t like. Personally if it doesn’t fall foul of any of the scenarios above and I have the track I will play it.
I am a DJ and not a jukebox this means I don’t just randomly pick tracks and play them, I like to take people on a musical journey, flowing different songs and genres, now if this flow is good and seamless you tend to have a full dance floor, if you just chop one track into the next it’s a sure fire way of seeing dancers looking at each other deciding if they like this track and walking off. A good “set “ for the average function will cover most genres and flow through different styles , decades and tempo providing something for everyone. Unless this is was a specified musical genre type event.
I have hosted some events as a mobile DJ where the birthday boy has asked for example only Northern soul and Motown to be played so “Iron maiden - bring your daughters to the slaughter Next !” wouldn’t be played.
Don’t get me wrong I won’t refuse any reasonable request but I reserve the right when to play it, this is not me being awkward but my way of ensuring more people enjoy themselves as possible, when making a request to a DJ please don’t say Next after the request, often there is plenty of time in the night for it to be played , now if it is with the flow of the tracks being played and I know people will carry on dancing then of course I will fit it in sooner or even next.
But demanding NEXT when it is not possible for the reasons detailed above still makes me disappointed that even one person has not been given what they wish, often if the person is patient I will build a small mini set of songs around that request later on and I often get thumbs up and “cheers mate” and “thank you” or affirming nods while they are dancing to their request.
