Behind the Music

You’ve seen the results:  If we’ve done our job, we end up with a CRAZY show.  Thousands of people, all on the same page musically; dirty beats, a couple of deep drops; maybe some throwbacks or curveballs.  After a headline set, the lights come up, you’re sweaty and fatigued (emotionally and physically), and you’re ready to go pass out.  THAT is the face-rocking experience.  It takes a LOT of music to get it just right.  Our DJs get to create the most visceral set possible, and we typically end up with over 200 artist and producers represented in a 90-minute headline set.

So how do we get there?

One question we get a lot is “where did you find that track!? It was PERFECT.”  Well let’s take a look under the hood, to see the process that brought that track into the mix, as part of the GrooveBoston experience.

1. The Search

One thing that’s a little different about our approach is that we are NOT music producers; we are event producers.  We didn’t build the speakers, and we didn’t make the music.  In our humble opinion, the DJ/producer line is one that’s best left intact.  We’d rather put our energy into finding the best possible versions of the best possible tracks out there, and add them to the pipeline.  It’s our job to find it, and deliver it like no one else can; we’re not the chefs, but we’re the best damn waiters you ever had.

Our music manager (aka “the Oracle”) scours the interwebs, finding new releases and up-and-coming tracks.  He’s watching the charts, dipping into record pools, monitoring SoundCloud, and interacting directly with producers all over the world. DJs and crew members also submit tracks for consideration, and we send GB reps to lots of shows to stay connected to the scene.  We may end up with ten different remixes of the same song.  With the intricacies of post-production these days, the original track often seems unfinished by comparison, and the final, remixed results may fit several different roles within the context of a GB performance.

2. Test Drive

Once there’s a new batch of music, the music manager issues new collections to the DJs for review throughout the week.  Through constant, daily exposure to new tracks, our DJs know the structure and flow of each one inside-out.  This is critical when you’re on-stage with one track blasting into the crowd and another one blasting into your in-ear monitors, and you need to be able to glance at track names three and four songs ahead, and hear each one in your mind.  After reviewing the new batch, adjustments are made, and the final approved list moves on to the next stage.

3. Processing

Next, we add the tracks to our library:

• Each track is scanned and tagged with data to allow the DJs to judge track compatibility on the fly.  Measured in beats per minute (BPM), the tempo is the basis for speed compatibility, for smooth overlaps on the mix.
  
• The key is even more important, as it summarizes a track’s overall tonal composition.  Each track fits one or two regions in the “Camelot” scale, pictured at the right, and there are rules to how you can safely shift between keys, and how these moves will affect the listeners.  That’s how we’re able to make a set deep and progressive.
• Tracks are also normalized in this stage to eliminate variance in volume, which can be jarring during a performance.
• Next, we tag each track at key locations, including “Intro, Drop, Bridge, and Outro.”  These cue points give us instant access to key moments in each track, allowing the DJs to re-structure the playback and maximize crowd impact, by removing the limitation of a concrete, hard-wired structure built into each track.
• Finally, we add each track to “crates” based on the structure we use onstage.  We find that the most useful basis for organization appeals to the emotional qualities of the song, rather than typical genres, artists, or time periods.  Our crates have names like “FIRE,” “electro-happy,” “dirty dub,” and “surprise aggression.”

4. Prep

With a fully-updated library in place, the Music Manager hands it off to the Program Manager, who sits down with the DJs before each show to create a “prep crate,” which is essentially an ordered list, based on the team’s best guess as to how the night will go (given our understanding of the crowd, reactions from recent performances, and the role of the new tracks in the flow of the night).  This becomes the baseline for the performing DJs, and enables them to deliver a deeply prepared, yet fully reactive performance.

5. Warm Up

Once on-site, after the show is built, and the system has been line-checked, the DJs finally get their hands on the gadgets. That’s where GB Labs comes in. We built one of the most iconic DJ interfaces in the game…four times. Meet… the “Battlestation”:

Each artist warms up individually, focused on two areas:

• The technical warm-up typically consists of a TON of songs, aggressively mashed together as quickly as possible.  This exercise awakens the DJ’s “performance mode,” and identifies any issues or adjustments that need to be addressed with the gear or the monitoring system.  Rather than headphones, GB uses wireless in-ear monitors, sending a custom sub-mix directly to each DJ’s inner ear.  Besides push-ups and yoga, this is the most important phase of the show, musically.
• Next, the headline artists do a tag-team warm-up, experimenting with some of the new tracks, and field-testing the prep crate.  This is the first time the new tracks are fully realized in context, and final adjustments can be made to the prep crate as needed.

6. Rage

You KNOW this is the fun part.  The house is packed, the opener DJ just teed them up… now it’s time to rock some faces.  The headliners take the stage for the legendary “drop” moment, and after that, there’s no turning back.  The DJs perform, rage, observe, and react (yes, all at the same time).  They’ll drop songs, shift keys, re-cut song structure, and add effects to create a one-of-a-kind, fully customized musical performance.  Skittles, water, and Red Bull go in, and the PARTY OF THE YEAR comes out.  After all that prep work, it really is as simple as that.

7. Review

After load-out and hibernation, the music team reviews the history, looking at which songs were used, and for how long.  Based on the results, some further adjustments are made to the crates, and the process starts over.

Rage, Rinse, Repeat. (indefinitely)