New York DJ

In our many years of DJ-ing all kinds of events in and around New York City – from fashion shows to weddings to corporate mixers to private parties – we’ve found that it’s always good to throw in a few playful and fun songs that you can bet guests have not heard before, but can immediately like. The genre really doesn’t matter, just as long as the song matches the mood of the event or the part of the event that’s going on at the moment the song is played, and that there’s something about it that makes the guests feel it – whether that means they dance to it, bounce their head a bit during a cocktail hour, or simply smile at it and wonder what the song is.

A reliable way to get this reaction in crowds at almost any kind of event is to mix something exotic with something familiar, and while this is often done through remixes or mash-ups, another great way to do it is by digging up gems of cover songs from the period from about 1950 to 1975, when it seemed a lot of Europe was madly recording their own versions of American rock and roll singles. While German, Polish, Italian and other foreign languages can sound at times great covering rock classics in that they can give them intriguing new atmospheres of many kinds, and while Spanish-language covers seem to always increase the festiveness of an original song, it seems that French covers, at least from this era, have a lock on pulling out from the original versions an impressive amount of both sexiness and playfulness at the same time, but also rarely go too far as to veer into kitsch or over-cutesiness. (Go here to listen to another great sexy French cover recommendation of ours.)

“Excuse Moi Partenaire”, a French language cover by ’60s French heart-throb Johnny Hallyday of a mid-tempo blues-tinged rock tune (originally recorded in 1963 by Johnny “Guitar” Watson, and called “Cuttin’ In”) is a prefect example of this. It’s somewhat unfamiliar of a melody even to American ears, but has a warm, loose feel that’s easy to find room inside to groove with and when you hear Hallyday smoothly croon the title of the song as its cocky first words (words easy to figure out even though they’re in French: “Excuse me, partner”), you immediately will wonder where you’ve heard it – a Quentin Tarantino film? Some Paris lounge compilation CD? Maybe from your parents’ record collection, but the American version of it? Whatever the case, it’s hard not to be drawn into Hallyday’s version of the song, which, like a lot French covers, conjures a more loungey, and suave mood out of the original (which, in in own right is great, go here to hear it) making it equally perfect for background music to tap your feet to while at the bar having a cocktail or sitting down eating dinner, but also for a sly late-night sway with your partner as a party’s wrapping up.

Johnny Hallyday – Excuse Moi Partenaire

Freddie King – Now I’ve Got A Woman

When we meet to talk with clients about music for their event, often the first thing we notice is that they've already dejectedly decided the music they really like and want to hear won't be able to be played at their event.

It may be a designer in a fashion show thinking that the music she wants to use for her fashion line will be too ethereal a sound to keep the audience interested. Or a couple who loves moody acoustic indie pop but thinks it would be too much of a downer to play a little at their wedding Or an organizer of a corporate party who worries that the employees won’t dance because they tend to like raw Southern hip-hop and their bosses wouldn’t. Whatever the case, whatever the event, it seems this kind of unfortunate premature musical censorship is everywhere.

It often comes from a good place of common sense or consideration, like an organizer at a art opening knowing that prospective buyers might not want to hear his beloved deep cuts of ‘70s classic rock all night long. But some of our clients’ decisions that their favorite songs or genres won’t work comes not from a good place at all, but instead from having met with conventional, unimaginative DJs that tend to work for bigger, more cookie-cutter DJ companies. We’ve heard from these clients that some of these DJs have told them straight up that the only way to get a party movin’ is to play disco all night.

Whatever the reason for clients' doubts in the music they love, one of the first things we tell them – no matter what their event –  is to open up their mind, revisit their CD collection or iPod, and make their “dream list” of songs they want to hear, with no censoring allowed. Put anything in you would love to hear. Not only does it make the process of selecting music easier, but also more fun. It will get you excited about the possibilities of hearing this music, as opposed to nixing songs right away and feeling frustrated that the soundtrack to the event is already not what you would like.

Now, will all these "dream songs" end up making the cut when the event arrives? Sometimes many of them do, sometimes they don't. But what always happens is that when we see these “dream lists” and talk a bit with the client to see what music is most important to them, we can then use our experience in knowing what of these songs will work given the mood that is wanted at the event, as well as what kind of guests will be there, and what kind of structure the event will have. Then we can suggest which songs to keep, which to think about not using. For example, a pair of melancholy indie songs at the more sedate moments in a wedding can feel absolutely right and even moving. So can a set of obscure hardcore punk during the more boisterous moments of a corporate party. And even a little experimental progressive rock can enhance the feeling of an art opening, if played at the right time.

By far, many more of the songs you really want at your event then you ever think you can play are actually able to be fit in, but not only that, they can be made to add to the atmosphere of the event. But to do it, you have to begin by letting the DJ know what you really want to hear. And if that DJ looks at your list, smirks, and says something about how you can't have a party without having "the Y" on your list, well, you know the time has come to find a different DJ.

If you’re rather unfamiliar with the genre, you might think blues music, by definition, wouldn’t be the most suitable for an upbeat event like a cocktail party, wedding reception, fashion show, or other kinds of events where the point of the music is to keep the energy high. While a great blues tune might be full of passion and accomplished musicianship, it’s easy to see why the often slow pace of the songs, or their subject matter – such as hittin’ the booze, there not being any more booze, women who done the singer wrong – would be too much of a downer to add anything to the mood, or could take away from it.

Of course, this will depend on your guests – if they tend to enjoy blues music a bit, you’ll likely be able to get some hips movin’ to some John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, or other classic blues artists and the often downbeat subject matter won’t be as noticed, or will be appreciated. But even if you’re unsure of the crowd’s affinity for blues, you can still often play a little at any event.

This is because, in addition to the biggest theme of blues tunes being, well, having the blues, another, common strain of blues tune is when a bluesman lays down a rollicking rhythm to simply being amazed at a sexy woman in his presence. Whether this blown-away and sometimes even intimidated exhilaration comes from not gettin’ any for awhile, an overactive libido, or simply having some long-needed good fortune, we’ve seen that this kind of blues song adds a dose of vintagey sexiness to any event.

A great example of this kind of a song is by the Mississippi-born blues legend Sunnyland Slim (his real name was Albert Luandrew). To those who aren’t familiar with the blues, his name might not be in the first tier of bluesmen such as Hooker, King, or Muddy Waters, but it’s not for a lack of talent.

With “She Got a Thing Goin’ On” – which likely appeared in its original version on the album Really Chicago’s Blues in the late ‘60s – and many other faster-tempo tunes he recorded during his long life, the longtime Chicago resident creates an infectious mix with his exclamatory vocal lines and his groovin’, backroom-of-the-bar, boogie-woogie piano playing. You’ll find it hard not to tap your toes to the swingin’ rhythm created by a deft mingling of percussion, guitar, piano and harmonica, as well as the joyful vocals. And as a bonus, you can’t go wrong with a song that celebrates a woman’s sexiness – it makes the girls feel good, and when they do, the guys tend to feel good, too.

Sunnyland Slim – She Got a Thing Goin’ On