I am playing at a goth/industrial Halloween party in a couple of weeks. Since I don’t play at goth/industrial parties so often, I emailed the rest of the DJs there with a demo and asked them what I though… As I usually do in my mixes, I cut a lot of the songs short (this is 18 tracks in 45 minutes). I asked “Is that going to be an issue (ie are people going to be sad that I mix out before “the best part”)?” Here is what one of them said in response:
I’ve been Djing in the goth/industrial scene for over 15 years off and on, and I’ve never seen it succeed very well. Now, in other DJ gigs I’ve done […] (in other pop genres such as brit/indie pop) I’ve had much better luck with it. But in this scene, most dancers on the floor are deeply passionate about the songs they hear, they want them straight up. You have to be sparing with zealous mixing and with playing cover songs. I once tried to fade out the end of a 7 minute Cruxshadows song that I firmly believe is at least 3 minutes too long- I had a great beat match with another song that I brought in.. but no, I’m still trying to live that one down. I got feedback the rest of the night from offended dancers that ‘ending that song early was sacrilegious’! blah
I’ve seen many a DJ clear the floor with overzealous mixing, in this scene. It can be a high risk move. But I do also agree with Tony- you don’t have to play by any rules. It’s YOUR night and I am a supporter of making it what you want and showcasing your skills. Good luck =)
“overzealous mixing”? 
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