Its officially week 2 of my quarantine and although the time hasn’t moved as slowly as I anticipated, I’m not exactly excited to spend another month like this. I’ve managed to keep “busy” around the house for the most part, but obviously am pretty stagnant in terms of work. I decided to pay my bills early this month just to get the stress out of the way, but with zero income coming in, I’ll definitely be needing to get back to work sooner than later. Although there is truly no way to tell at this point, I’d like to think I could be back to work somewhat by May. I know that may sound a bit ambitious, but I’m keeping an open mind. It’s going to be interesting to see how the next few weeks pan out to say the least. I did manage to complete a couple things that I’m proud of during my quarantine though, and for the most part, as long as I can keep creating I know I’ll be okay.
One of the things that I’m proud of is my “Social Deep Mix”, that I recorded on a whim mid last week. When I get invited to do a guest mix for a large platform I usually put way too much thought into it and ending up having to start over numerous times. What I like about this mix is that I was recoding it for myself and didn’t quite have the intention of posting it. Since I ended up being happy with it, I decided to self-release on Soundcloud- overall there was no pressure. I also didn’t make any sort of playlist for this mix, which is something I typically do. I just searched through my drive, selected from various “deep” folders and went with it. Deep is pretty much the sound I do best, and definitely my favorite style of dance music. I know the term “deep house” had gotten pretty over saturated and lame at one point, but either you know the real shit or you don’t. There’s a lot of good deep house out there that gets overlooked, or just simply not played…I guess thats where my job comes in. The mix has been doing great though, and is almost at 1K plays after a week. I’m sharing the track list below since some have inquired. Thank you for the support, and big ups to all the artists included!
**Keep scrolling for links to a guide on creating your own DJ live stream and monetizing your Twitch account through Soundcloud!**
Tracklist:
Baaz- Glim
Patrice Scott- Motions
Kai Alce- Closer
Make Yells, Black Loops- The Greatest (Kian T Remix)
Fred P.- Lush Life
Larry Heard- Guidance
Fred Everything- Winter Tones
Chaos in the CBD- Similar Stories
DJ Aakmael- Jazz Piece 2
DJ Aakmael- Beautiful
Delano Smith- Xscape
The It- Somebody Somewhere
Vincent Floyd- I Dream You
Stefan Ringer- Do U?
Ron Trent, Robert Owens- Deep Down (Ron Trent Dub)
I’ve been starting to see the social media critics giving their unnecessary two cents on the DJ Live Stream surge thats currently happening. I must admit, I was a little weirded out myself in the beginning. I’m not a fan of deejaying on camera because it really can be quite awkward, and with everyone and their mamma doing it, what would make mine special? I went back and forth with the idea until I came to the conclusion that if I do one, it would be in the most professional way possible. RA published a great guide last week covering all the basics you need to get your set-up up and running. I won’t lie, I’m not the most technical person out there, but this guide was very direct and easy to follow. I had things up and running properly in no time.
I decided to do my first live set yesterday from 2-4PM, and it went pretty well! A shame I was still somewhat nervous deejaying in my living room (hence the camera), but overall I truly enjoyed it. It was a great way to connect with the people who follow my work. I’m grateful to those who donated and tuned in live. I also now realize that doing a live- steamed, in home DJ set is basically a DJ “working from home”. If you can make a couple hundred bucks off of it, I truly don’t see a problem. I understand not everyone is comfortable or interested in doing one, but I’m dropping the link below just in case you are. I’m also open to answer any questions about the experience if you have any, just reach out! Also, Soundcloud recently partnered with Twitch to help DJ’s monetize their stream content, which is another way to make some extra cash. I’ll include the link to the information on that as well, the process is pretty simple.
How To Set Up A Livestream: https://www.residentadvisor.net/features/3647
Soundcloud x Twitch: https://djmag.com/news/soundcloud-and-twitch-team-help-artists-monetize-live-streams
Other than that, not too much is going on, just staying safe and trying to keep my head up out here, I hope you all are doing the same.
See you soon.
Ash ❤
Underground & Black 