Here's the best advices from DJs to new aspiring producers

Throughout 2016, we asked DJs what their best advice was for aspiring producers. Here's what they had to say.

It's been one of the recurring questions in all the artist interviews we did this year: What's your advice for upcoming producers? As we have loads of undiscovered talent in Spinnin's Talent Pool, it made sense to ask this question - and it led to quite some interesting answers from some of the most well known artists out there. Here's a selection:

Armand van Helden
"When making a track, keep it simple, all classics are simple, almost childlike and it should only take a few hours to complete, unmixed of course. Lastly, don’t fight it, if its not hitting you in the first hour or so, move on! Drag it to a 'folder of possibilities' and start fresh."

Bob Sinclar
"Be yourself and not someone else. If you copy someone you are behind already. But when you are original and innovative, you will become the one who has created this sound and be respected for that." 

Lucas & Steve
"Try to be original! It can be helpful to try to re-create the sound of well-known producers, not to release, but just as a study-project. You can learn a lot by doing this. But, for tracks you want to release, it’s best to really put some effort into being original: there are no rules in originality, as long as it sounds good."

Mike Williams
"Of course I have some technical tricks for producers. In almost all my projects I layer a lot of sounds; separately they sound really bad but combined they sound exactly how I want them. So layering helps me a lot! Also, there are some people that come up with really complex theories about producing, but my opinion is: If it sounds good, it sounds good, no matter how you did it!"

Bolier
"Don’t spam artist and label channels with your soundcloud links, it works contra productive, really."

Curbi
"Just relax with making music, don't get so fixated on a certain style or certain sound, enjoy making music and you will find your own sound." 

Michael Calfan
"The most important is doing your music and not copy others because it works. Of course it will take some time or maybe you’ll get lucky, but you have to do what you love and not do what people are expecting."

Blasterjaxx
"This is a tip we give to every other producer who wants to make it in the scene: make original music, music which is interesting for other DJs to play and don’t try to copy your favorite tune. Copying might work for your sound design process but when it comes to creating a strong and unique tune, you absolutely need to come up with something all on your own."

Mike Mago
"My biggest advice is to be patient and don’t do it to become famous. Don’t get fooled by the stories that you hear about young producers that get big quick. The most DJ's get big on a later age. In average, you have to have spent more than at least 10.000 hours in the studio (that's like five years full-time producing!!) before you might start getting to a level to get by. If you don’t love making music, you will never make those hours. So don’t do it just to get big. Do it because you love doing it." 

Dastic
“The best tip I can give: make the music you like and try to do something different than what others do. I know it's difficult to find your own style, take your time and try things out. Failure doesn’t exist in music, be creative.”

TV Noise
"We think it’s really important to stay close to yourself when you are making music. When you actually like what you produce and you put everything into a song, your audience is able to hear this."   

Ummet Ozcan
"The most important thing, it has to be your passion, also sound design is very important.  These are the building blocks of making music and will help you to make your own signature sound. It’s a tough road, but keep believing in yourself!"

Redondo
"Promotional: Find the right balance between being modest and getting yourself heard. It's bad press if you paste your track in someone else's Facebook posts. Try to find out which DJs are likely to support your stuff and write them something personal. We always try to get back when something is sent not spam-ish and we even ended up collaborating on a track with someone."

"Technical: Maybe this advise makes you say 'DUH OF COURSE', but: be careful selecting the right samples. Sometimes you don't need 15 drum channels but just a very great kick hat and a clap. Also when you have a setup done of say four bars, try to fool around with the 1/16 timing of the groove or notes. Many unique tracks started with a copy/paste error when a grooved moved 1/16 place."

"Also something useful to do, for yourself, is to recreate a track you love. You always hear: try to be unique etc etc, of course that is true. But you can learn many things from listening super carefully to tracks you love."

Deepend
"Our advice for upcoming producers would be: make sure that you’re passionate about your music. Don’t follow a trend, but follow your own taste. Spend as much time as possible in the studio in order to develop your signature sound and productions skills. Ask your friends and family for feedback and keep continuing! It took us years to get to a certain production level, so have fun in the studio and keep on producing tracks!"

Curtis Alto
"The best advice we ever got was not to quantize everything perfectly, so the track sounds more natural!"

Julian Jordan
"On technique: one thing I think is really important, that you are 100% satisfied with your track. So give it all you got, the best mixdown, the best sounds and the best master. And don't forget that it's music, so there's no rules. When you think your track is perfect, it is perfect! There are no rules so there is no perfect master or perfect track."

"When it comes to sound: try to be original and try to make something you think is cool! Don't follow the hype, create it! Just create what's inside your head."

"And when it comes to promotion: this is important, so it's good to make an account on every social media platform. Try to look professional, even if you just started you can try to look like a 'big deal'. Make good press pics and invest in music videos/artworks etc. Good luck!"

Son Of 8
"We love Spinnin’s Talent Pool, it’s such a good platform. The remix competitions are excellent and a great way to break into the industry. We would say try and find new sounds that you don’t always hear on tracks as that can make the difference. There is nothing that makes people sit up and take notice of a track more than if it contains a new style or sound. Never stop learning and try and get into a studio with as many people as you can. It is also important these days to have a social media presence and use music sharing sites like SoundCloud and Mixcloud to get your music out there."

Pierce
“The main thing I would give as advice is to BE YOURSELF! Make whatever you like and make it better than anyone else, and you will succeed. if you put your head down, work countless hours, and take care of yourself (physically and mentally) then there’s nothing stopping you! Also, advice on how to make a track: always start with the drop, then the break/hook, then the structure, and finally the last details. Build the most important part and expand, helps tons!”