Mixing.
Traditionally only bar & club DJs mixed the music they played. Mobile DJs in the main, for reasons known only to themselves have refused to acknowledge that mixing music they play is just another tool they can use to bring new levels of excitement to their dancefloors.
I remember tuning to Radio 1 on a Friday night back in 1988, not long before I started DJing (but still a long time before I DJ'd a wedding!) & hearing a track I really liked. I went on to listen more & to my amazement the track I really liked morphed into another track I liked even more - with no DJ talking between them! This was an utter revelation.
Back in those days of course the only way to play recorded music was from records or tape - and only records really lent themselves to mixing.
A lot of saving up later & I had myself a pair of Technics SL1210 turntables (with Ortofon DJ cartridges I might add) & I spent most of my wages on new records. I'd practice mixing relentlessly in my bedroom & recorded tapes for my mates to listen to. It wasn't too long before I was applying my self-taught skills to a crowd in a small local club every Saturday night.
Spin the clock forward a good few years & I'm a mobile DJ - and I STILL mix. Why?
Continuity
Continuity of the music is important for all kinds of reasons but the main one is similarity. If you're enjoying one style of music you reasonably expect the next tune to be similar enough don't you? A good DJ will take the crowd on a musical journey. Too much chopping & changing of speeds & styles will just confuse & annoy a crowd. Very few people like that big a cross section of music, so if a DJ changes too abruptly between say Motown & 90s dance music they'll lose the people who danced to Motown & might not yet succeed in attracting people who like 90s. The result would be an empty dancefloor.
Life is too short
Unless the DJ is an amazing raconteur (very very few are) nobody is going to want to listen to a DJ tell them about the chart history of the song they just played or are about to play. Well, certainly not at a party anyway.
Because I can!
I can mix, and whenever it's appropriate I use mixing to maintain the flow of music. I still appreciate that sometimes the music (and dancers) need to 'breathe'.
It's not lazy
It's all too easy these days just to drag & drop a list of tunes into a window & have a program play them all in a row, fading (badly) between them as it goes. There's really no skill involved in that & for all you know they could just be regurgitating a playlist they've used hundreds of times before. Tried & tested it may be, but bespoke & personal? Nope!
All the best DJs use controllers
A controller is either a standalone bit of a equipment that can play music, or else it's a box of tricks that plugs into a computer or tablet. Why do all the best DJs use controllers? One simple reason: So they can BE IN CONTROL of the music. Any DJ who doesn't use a controller really isn't driving the music.
So if you're looking for a superb, professional DJ who cares about their customers choose one who A) can mix and B) uses a controller. Simple.
Wanna listen to a mix I recorded at a 90s night recently?
While I'm on the subject of mixing.. If you'd like something out of the ordinary for your celebration like a custom mash-up of songs get in touch