Yes, gang! Lawrence here! Summer is well and truly active, which means a few changes to my working DJ lifestyle and mindset.
First of all, my ‘student’ gigs have come to an end for the season. In the UK, the student season lasts around nine months, and then there is a break for the summer.
Summer = Festivals, outdoor gigs, daytime parties and travelling abroad to the party islands, and it started playing a late-night set in an ICE CREAM TRUCK that had decks in. 
Now I am not as active as I was a few years ago, and that is completely by design and where I’m at with life, I do, however, have two gigs in Ibiza at the iconic Ibiza Rocks, two festivals and a few shows with BIG artists. So it should be fun.
Planning Is Key!!
I always structure my DJ sets according to the venue. We dove deep into this on this episode of the OFF THE RECORD podcast a couple of weeks ago, but here’s what I do when planning a set…
STEP 1. Research the venue
My set at 5 pm Ibiza Rocks pool party will be very different from my 1 am set warming up for a big artist. For my pool party set, I have playlists like ‘Summer Vibes, Summer R&B, Beach Mood, Pool Party House.’
I’m not going to overly plan this set, as I’m just going to go with the flow. However, I’m prepared for anything. For the 1 a.m. set, I am going way more specific. The artist is big in the UK House and UK Bass scene, so I’m getting playlists of about 40-50 tracks that are big bangers from that scene.
The artist isn’t a DJ, so I’m not concerned about playing something they produced or going in too hard.
STEP 2. Find out who is playing
Like I said, for my 1 am set, I know I’m on before the headline artist. What I would then do, is try to connect with the warm-up DJ before me and check what kind of set they are planning on playing.
Now a good warm-up DJ should know to scale it back a bit, but I just like to get ahead of it. With the festival sets I’m playing, I know there is a Drum n Bass DJ on before me, so I’m going to plan to switch it up from that genre.
HOWEVER, I am also prepared enough to start with DnB if it’s still poppin’ off! Finding out who is playing is great for networking; I sometimes drop a DJ a message, just saying that I’m looking forward to meeting them and connecting.
Trust me; it goes a long way!
STEP 3. Vibe with the promoter
For most gigs, the promoter wants me because I can put on a high-energy show. I get on the mic, cause mosh pits and all that good stuff. But for some (like the pool party), the promoter is looking for a totally different energy. Not to mention genre, many brands I work with have a specific audience, for example, I’m doing a 90s R&B event in August, and the promoter specifically asked, “Can you play this?” So I’m always trying to get total clarity with a promoter before and after taking a gig. Building these types of relationships is integral to getting yourself booked again and again.
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