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House music maestro Danny Howells was recently in Australia for the first time in over two years, sweeping across the country for a series of intimate club shows to promote of his new mix out on Renaissance. But, before making it even halfway through the tour, Howells ignited a roaring debate on ‘warmup ethics’ – what exactly is appropriate conduct on the part of a warmup DJ who’s been charged with heating up the dancefloor for an international guest? It all went down at his first gig in Perth.
Danny writes on his blog...
"Only two days in, yet wondering what I'm doing here. It's not the crowds or the venues that's wrong, but I'm just curious as to what my purpose is.
I'm supposed to be promoting my Renaissance cd - if anyone's heard it, it's quite deep, and the tempo ranges from about 120 to 127 bpm. I don't know how I'm supposed to promote it or play remotely in that style when opening djs decide to play techno/trance at 132 bpm right before I go on.
Last night in Perth was a great example of a lost opportunity. Really cool, intimate club with a nice crowd. However, as I was walking in, the first track I heard was "The Man With The Red Face" being blasted at 132 bpm. This is not just ignorance, this is downright rude. If you're playing a support slot, you really need to have at least the vaguest idea of what the headline dj is going to play. After the promoter told this dj to "bring it down a bit", he brought the tempo down a notch. The music, however, was the kind of driving prog/trance that I imagine Armin Van Buuren plays. As a result I played a shorter set than I was supposed to. It was impossible to hold onto the energy that this guy had created, and so there was very little I could do musically.
I don't come down under very often, so it's a kick in the teeth when I'm forced into either banging the shit out of it all night thanks to the opener, or am forced into playing a reduced set time. I come here to do my best, and if I'm not being given the platform to do that, then I'm very sorry.
I'm talking to my agent about ensuring the rest of the tour goes to plan - if this means I have to do all the opening slots myself, then that's what I'll do.
Sorry to sound so grumpy, but I wanted to air this. Keeping my fingers crossed for the rest of the trip!
Danny x
Howells post to fans on his website, was quickly removed following a case of blogger’s remorse but we don't really see why. I've first hand seen this situation many times with opening / support DJ's trying to make their mark by whipping up the crowd. Opening DJ's are supposed to help build the energy and tone throughout the night, not set the pace. We've also been fortunate enough to have Danny out to play many times. He's a great guy and easy to get along with so we can surely simpthathize with him on this one.
What are your thoughts?
dannyhowells.com
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