First off I think ndru and Dani rock it in Albany; if anybody’s ever in upstate NY you should definitely check out their night.
I think mixing is awesome but this scene just doesn't know what to do about it or how to integrate it very well. With a traditional (not industrial) electronic night, techno, dnb or whatever, you have DJs that go out and select their tracks very carefully and deliberately to deliver a style like "such-and-such club has a house night I'm spinning second at so I spent my day at Halcyon picking out a good house vibe with a lower tempo." They don't do requests, and while it might be an ego thing, it’s also about trying to craft a night’s vibe a bit too – another factor is mixing requires two tracks that are at least a little similar.
A darker electronic club night basically runs on requests and playing the hits. It doesn’t lend itself to mixing unless it’s paired with a good track (and let’s face it, the clientele want their requests played and that’s important; but they’re going to request Ministry and then VNV Nation). The music itself follows more of a rock or pop structure – meaning a song has a verse, bridge, chorus, verse, chorus, coda while the traditional trance, house or dnb song has a start, buildup, payoff and then mixout.
I've DJ'd at a few industrial nights and sometimes I've rocked it with my mixing and sometimes I've completely cleared the floor. It’s tough to find the balance – no, it’s really tough – especially when the requests are flying in. It always seems like you can’t ever have enough music. Either somebody will request something you didn’t bring or bring a CD to be played you’ve never heard before and therefore have no hope of mixing properly in a club environment…you’re best bet if you’re going to be DJing an industrial night is to be ready for anything.
