Heavy Hits Members, check out the playlist below for some of the assets you may want to use for the contest (must be logged in to access):

SIGN UP for only $5 using promo code ‘PEPPER’ (*DJs Only)
*Heavy Hits is for DJs, producers & music professionals only. Verification of this is required before access can be granted.

News
Upcoming Pioneer Gear
Jan 2023

Pioneer leaked some details regarding their plans for the next few years. This is unofficial, and very early information, similar to when I broke the existence of the DJM S11 6 months before it was announced. Many of these units, especially the 2024 and 2025 releases, are still in the development stage, and details may change, but at the moment, this is what is allegedly in the works. Take this with a few grains of salt… it could be real, it could be fake, it could all change. That said, it’s interesting, and worth discussing.

2023

Pioneer DDJ FLX2 – $159
[to replace the DDJ 200]
2 channel controller with no smart functions
Looks very similar to the DDJ 200

Pioneer DDJ FLX8 – $1249
[to replace the DDJ 800)
4 channels
Same smart functions as FLX6
Sleeker body
Metal faceplate
Updated 48kHz soundcard
HighDPI displays on jogwheels
Phono preamps updated
Replaceable input faders
Crossfader cut in
Start/stop time adjust knob

2024

Pioneer DDJ FLX10 – $1899
[to replace the DDJ 1000)
4 channels
Smart funcions
Sleeker body
Metal faceplate
Updated 96 kHz soundcard
HighDPI display on jogwheels, more information displayed
Phono preamps updated
Replaceable high quality input faders
Crossfader cut in
Curve adjust knobs
Input fader cross switch
Start/stop time adjust knob
Color FX parameter knob
Link cue track preview
6 effects mixer
Rekordbox stems control

RMX 2000 – $899
Totally redesigned body
Support for Rekordbox

2025

XDJ XZ MKII
4 channels
Inherits all the body changes and features of the FLX10
Brighter display
Jogwheel mechanisms same as the CDJ 3000

XDJ-RX3 discontinued

XDJ RR discontinued

Unnamed standalone controller – $7000
Described as “2 CDJs 3000 and a DJM-900NXS2 fused together”
The main feature is the Infinity display, a big, touch-sensitive, sapphire display that goes from start to end points of the controller
Designed to keep pace with the trend of controllers replacing CDJs in clubs


News
Burna Boy #LASTLASTDJCHALLENGE – Enter to win $1000 & an annual subscription to Heavy Hits!
Jul 2022

Heavy Hits Record Pool & Atlantic Records present a DJ challenge for Burna Boy and his smash record “Last Last.” DJs from around the world are welcome to enter the “Last Last DJ Challenge” for a chance to win $1000 and an annual subscription to Heavy Hits Record Pool. DJ Poizon Ivy and Burna Boy’s Tour DJ, Spaceship Billy along with the Heavy Hits crew will host and help judge the competition. Don’t forget to check out Burna Boy’s new album “Love, Damini” on all music platforms.

Prizes

• Grand Prize: $1000 and an annual subscription to Heavy Hits Record Pool.
• 2nd Place: $500 and an 6 month subscription to Heavy Hits Record Pool.
• 3rd Place: $250 and a 3 month subscription to Heavy Hits Record Pool.
• 4th/5th Place: 1 month subscription to Heavy Hits Record Pool.

How to Enter

• 1. Record a (60 second or less) video routine of yourself DJing using Burna Boy’s single “Last Last” and any other of his other hit singles listed in the playlist below. You can use original and remixes of the records in your routines as well as samples of other songs from Burna Boy’s catalog on Atlantic Records.
• 2. Upload your video routine as an Instagram feed post (before Sunday, August 7th at 11:59pm EST). Make sure to use the hashtag #LASTLASTDJCHALLENGE as well as tag @heavyhitspool and @burnaboygram in your Instagram post.

Routines will be judged on the following criteria.

a. 35 Points – Creativity and originality – use of wordplay, toneplay, or drumming.
b. 35 Points – Technical Skills – Demonstration of proficient turntablist techniques, overall flow, and execution of routine.
c. 30 Points – Charisma – Their DJ presence with their gestures, body language, body tricks, and online swag.
The top submissions will be announced on August 17th. Winner will be chosen by Burna Boy’s DJ – Spaceship Billy and our Afrobeats connoisseur, DJ Poizon Ivy along with the Heavy Hits crew.

Rules & Additional Details

– Contest is open to participants worldwide (no purchase necessary to enter). All videos must be submitted before Sunday, August 7th at 11:59pm EST and will be judged by the Heavy Hits crew based on creativity, charisma, technical skill, and originality along with consideration from follower feedback (comments, likes, etc).
– Mandatory Hashtags to enter the contest #LastLastDJChallenge @burnaboygram @HeavyHitsPool
– Instagram videos must predominantly use the song “Last Last” and any other of his other hit singles listed in the playlist below. You can use original and remixes of the records in your routines as well as samples of other songs from Burna Boy’s catalog on Atlantic Records.
– Videos must be no more than 60 seconds in length and posted on entrants Instagram timeline

Heavy Hits Members, check out the playlist below for some of the assets you may want to use for the contest (must be logged in to access):
Not a member? SIGN UP (DJs Only*)
*Heavy Hits is for DJs, producers & music professionals only. Verification of this is required before access can be granted.


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News
DJ Tech News – August 2021!
Aug 2021

Its been a little while since the last round-up of DJ Tech News, so lets take a look at the most interesting tidbits of tech news!

Rekordbox Professional Plan – Unlimited Cloud Storage!

This one is a doozy – I’ve long been an advocate of storing your whole music library in the cloud, as I explained in this article. I use Serato, and favour Dropbox for this task.

Rekordbox has taken this to the next level, and their latest pro plan update means you can save and access your library, with up to 8 devices allowed access! The plan features unlimited storage, Dropbox smart sync, automatic device library backup, and it supports PC, Mac, iOS and Android devices.

Its not cheap – $29.99 paid monthly, or $299.99 per year, but I am a firm believer that if you are a professional DJ then you should spend a little money safeguarding the most important tool you have – your music library.

Rane Seventy A-Trak signature edition

This one came as a bit of a surprise when A-Trak teased a picture of the mixer online. But it actually makes a lot of sense that one of the most influential and talented DJs of our time should collaborate with Rane, makers of many legendary DJ mixers. The Seventy was already regarded as a hell of a mixer, but A-Trak has made a few interesting tweaks to it, creating his own spin on the battle mixer.

DJ Soo has put together this great review here, and here’s a video of A-Trak himself showing off what the mixer can do! As a special bonus from DJ Soo, check out his interview with A-Trak here!

Ableton Live 11 Lite

Ableton is now a solid fixture on the laptops of many DJs and producers, and has long been my go-to tool for making tracks, edits, mash-ups, and editing mixes. Its an incredibly versatile, remarkably powerful piece of software, and arguably the most popular one out there in its class.

Many pieces of hardware come with Ableton Live Lite bundled in, introducing people to that universe, and version 11 is out now, and free to those who want to upgrade to it. I’ve been using the full version of 11, and it is great – if you are eligible for the upgrade, I highly recommend you accept it with open arms!

Mixxx – 2.3.0 version update to the free software

While working on a project with some friends a couple of years ago, I had to get familiar with a tiny Numark controller, and found that it worked best with a completely free piece of software called Mixxx. I was blown away by the level of functionality and ease of use for something that cost zero dollars and zero cents, and they have recently updated to version 2.3.0.

For a full breakdown of the new features, you can head here. Hotcue colors & labels, mark intro/outro sections, add track colours to help navigate your library, and much more!

While this software might not be something that the sort of pro DJs who use Heavy Hits need, it is a brilliant, free way to introduce friends and family to DJing.



 

So that’s all for this round up, so head over to the Heavy Hits pool to get the best new music, and head over to our socials on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and give us a follow!


News
2021 So Far!
Aug 2021

One day I will be able to write a blog post without commenting on what a strange time it has been for DJs. But today is not that day!

Depending on where you are reading this from, you’ve most likely had some form of lockdown for at least some of this year, or at the very least have been limited in what sort of social activities you can take part in – with nightclubs and festivals a pipedream for most of us for most of 2021.

In some ways this led to an interesting phenomenon amongst DJs playing in online streams – without the procession of requesters to ask for whatever is hot, and without owners and managers there to put pressure on to play the hits, a lot of DJs were able to explore and express their own tastes in ways that were almost impossible in normal times.

Obviously, it would be great if a decent chunk of that individuality and self-expression made its way to venues as countries re-open. But there is also a practical reality – venues need punters, and punters tend to want “the hits”. As a gigging DJ, it pays to at least be familiar with what is hot, even if you don’t play all of it, so that you can bend your sets towards what will keep the dancefloor full and the people paying you happy!

Well – as always, the Heavy Hits record pool has got your back! We tasked our brilliant playlist compilers to come up with the best of various genres in 2021 so far, featuring all the biggest hits and hottest dancefloor heat! So if you’re like me and spent the first half of 2021 listening to weird techno b-sides and suddenly have to deal with people asking for the latest drill sensation, you are in luck! Like I say – nobody is saying you have to play these songs, and every DJ should be encouraged to express themselves in their sets where appropriate, but it is extremely good practice to know what is popping off in tha clurrrrb.

Electronic/Dance

We’ve got the electronic/dance selection here, taking in some brilliant remixers from the Heavy Hits crew (including this phenomenal JEKEY flip) as well as originals from heavyweights such as Afrojack, David Guetta and Joel Corry (who I am actually DJing with later tonight in London!).

Latin

Current Latin music is something I am always in a battle to stay on top of for a couple of venues I play at – and here’s the ultimate cheat sheet for DJs like me! There’s a lot of familiar names – Daddy Yankee, Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Karol G etc – and a fair few that I don’t recognise as well. I will be making sure all these tunes are in a folder ready to go, for when I’m playing at venues that have a big latin clientele!

Hip-Hop/R&B

Hip-Hop/R&B is probably the most popular genre on Heavy Hits, so maybe you are already on top of this one – but maybe there’s a few gems you missed out on, or maybe you spent the first half of the year blasting 1991-93 New York boom bap on Twitch, and now have to work out who Lil Who-the-hell-is-that and Lil Wotsisname are. Well – here you go! A comprehensive round up of the biggest new rap tracks – everything from Migos to Moneybagg Yo.

Pop/Top 40

Gonna be playing to a pop/top 40 crowd, but not been paying attention to the charts this year? No problem! Here’s a comprehensive selection of the major hits of 2021 to date – from the K-Pop of BTS to the alt-pop of Billie Eilish, and all sorts of points inbetween. Some real pop heavyweights in this playlist.

International

The International playlist is always a fascinating smorgasbord of goodies from all sorts of regions and styles, and this 2021 So Far playlist is no exception. Burna Boy – Kilometre is one of the anthems of the year in London, and this playlist takes off from that excellent launch point! French, German, even Swiss with the absolute banger Oh Digga by Loredana!

Dancehall/Reggae

And finally we have the Dancehalll/Reggae playlist. I’m always pleased to see playlists on Heavy Hits for this genre – I love playing it, but don’t follow the scene closely enough to know what’s what, and its very tempting to fall back on the same old hits from 10+ years ago. Keep it fresh! There’s the familiar names you’ll definitely know if you have a passing interest in the genre, but then a whole host of music that will quite possibly be new to you – check it out!

So there we go – plenty of music to get stuck into, and maybe some of it will make it into your sets!

In the meantime, follow Heavy Hits on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook!

 


News
808 Day!
Aug 2021

One of the most significant dates in the DJ calendar (along with the 12th of October, or the 10th of December, depending on how you do your calendar for 1210…) is the 8th of August – 8/08

Why is that? Because one of the foundational instruments of modern music is the Roland TR-808 drum machine, famous for its huge, booming kick drum. The basis of electro, hip hop, house, techno – music as we know it simply wouldn’t exist without the influence of this instrument.

First released in 1980, this drum machine was initially not much loved due to the unrealistic representations of drum sounds. But pioneering use by the likes of Afrika Bambaata and Marvin Gaye broke the sound out to the masses, and before too long the distinctive sounds were everywhere. Now it is reckoned to be on more hits than any other drum machine, and still features prominently in a huge number of genres and styles.

And this being Heavy Hits, we’ve compiled some of the best of those many, many hits into one brilliant playlist, which you can find here.

If you want to take your DJing to the next level, how about this insane Pioneer controller, the DJ-808! Skratch Bastid really puts it through its paces here!

Of course you could always buy an original unit, but they are a little bit pricey these days…  if you don’t have $5000 sitting around to drop on an original vintage unit, but want to have a play around with the sounds of an 808, check out this awesome online emulator here.

In the meantime, follow Heavy Hits on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook!


News
DJ Tech News – May 2021!
May 2021

We have some fantastic new things to talk about today, so lets get right to it!

Mixed In Key 10

First up, the respected Mixed In Key software has released a v10 update, promising even more accurate key detection. Users of this software (which includes me) will be well aware that it is more accurate than rival key detection provided by Serato etc, and with key detection, accuracy is everything. It claims to be at least 10% better than its nearest rival, and 95% as accurate as a pitch perfect musician, even with difficult songs. I don’t know exactly how they reached those numbers, but I do know that it has long been my preferred key detection software, and I have already paid for the upgrade. The cost is $58 for first time users, or $39 as an upgrade

Beyond this important aspect, it now supports exporting cue points to Rekordbox, marks the energy levels of tracks from 1-10, and has a remodelled user interface. It also has metatagging functionality, for tidying up the tags on your collection.

I also highly recommend their (now relatively old) Platinum Notes software for evening out volumes on your music collection – especially if you DJ using Rekordbox/USBs.

Algoriddim DJ AI

We’ve talked about Algoriddim on previous Tech News updates, but this time we have the kind of news DJs might not be entirely comfortable with… They have released an update for iPhone and iPod which claims to have significantly improved Automix AI and Neural Mix AI – the former having been totally rebuilt. By combining the two, it enables your computer to “deconstruct two songs into their original components, and easily apply effects and filters to each, like adding a reverb to wash out vocals, as if it were being reconstructed by a professional sound engineer.”

Smart DJs will have known that this sort of thing arriving on the scene was just as inevitable as the sun coming up in the morning – the key here is to find ways to use this technology to your advantage, and bring human qualities in your DJ performances that an AI like this can’t replicate!

Bitwig Studio 4

The exciting music production software Bitwig has releaves v4, promising some really cool features! They have a new thing called “Comping”, which is all about taking the best bits of your performances from multiple takes to create the ideal final composition, plus “Operators”, which allows you to insert randomness into your programming, leading to fascinating and unexpected creations!

Bitwig isn’t as well known as some of its competitors, but is very highly rated by many reviewers – it may be worth checking it out.

Denon LC6000

Denon have been working hard to make inroads on Pioneer’s dominance of this corner of the market, and their latest product looks set to continue that challenge. The LC6000 looks to add extra layers to your DJ setups – there is a handy infographic on the page I just linked explaining the various different ways it can be used, both alongside Denon’s existing controllers, and alongside compatible DJ software programmes, including Serato, Virtual DJ and djaypro. You can control multiple software decks with just one controller unit, which will be extremely useful for DJs who want to build a pro-quality set-up, but don’t have the budget to do it all in one go, up front.

Virtual DJ Summer 2021

The growth of what used to be consider the budget end of DJ software continues apace, with this latest version of Virtual DJ including some juicy features! You can now add effects to the individual stems that the software allows you to create from original tracks, and even scratch individual sections (for instance the vocals) while the rest of the track plays! Truly, we are living in the future!

It also features the ability to export to USB for use on CDJs, including the ability to export stems – opening up the possibility of live mashups on CDJ sets in ways that were previously far harder to achieve. It also introduces a hashtags feature, for categorising and searching for songs.

That’s everything for today – in the meantime, head over to the Heavy Hits record pool to check out the best music online, and head over to our socials at Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.


News
Keep It 100!
May 2021

Well damn, the time just flies by!

Feels like yesterday that the Heavy Hits Podcasts mix series kicked off, and now here we are – with the incredible DJ Perly dropping an awesome 100th HHP.

DJ Perly is a member of the world famous Heavy Hitters DJ crew, and in 2017 became the first female DJ to win the USA DMC championship. She has dropped a superb open format mix, featuring tracks from Crooklyn Clan (we recently interviewed DJ Riz right here), Eve, Eric B & Rakim, Kaytranada, Stardust and more. Check it out below, and give the Mixcloud a follow!

There have been some incredible mixes along the way, and a whole host of great new ones coming up.

I thoroughly enjoyed doing one of the early podcasts (#16), and indlgging my cheesy pop side with what we called the “Ultimate Office Party”! Check that out below!


Lots of the Heavy Hits team have contributed mixes, and we’ve had DJs from all over the world – Brazil’s Nedu Lopes, Scotland’s DJ Big Al, Germany’s DJ Say Whaat, Jamaica’s DJ Chemics, and many more, giving a truly global flavour to the podcast series!

Keep your eyes peeled for the next 100, there’s some great DJs involved, and I will be adding a new one before too long…

But we want to take a moment to say a huge thank you to all the DJs who have contributed to this incredible selection of mixes, showcasing their amazing talents, as well as the great music available on the Heavy Hits pool. We couldn’t have done this without their time, skills and creativity – so to every single DJ that was featured, we salute you, and we appreciate you!

Until then, make sure you stay on top of the latest music with the Heavy Hits pool, and follow us over on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Catch me streaming regularly on Twitch.