I have never seen any footage of the Chems behind the turntables. I really enjoy their DJ sound and want to know more about it.

Do Tom and Ed spin together on several turntables or take extended turns one at a time? How many turntables do they typically use: two, three or four? Do they still exclusively use vinyl or is there a healthy dose of CDs thrown in there these days? Do they incorporate any digital mixing in their live sets?

Also, does anybody have any recommendations on specific DJ sets that I should look for? I prefer the style of Live At The Social Vol. 1, Brothers Gonna Work It Out / Anti-Nazi Mix and the newer Hot Mix as compared to Confront Your Demons, In Glint and the Essential Mix from '95. I realize that most of these are studio mixes, but I just want to give an idea of the sound I am looking for.

Thanks for any help.

They take it in turns, usually do 2 records each, vinyl, CD and a sampler for looping (some of the more tech knoledged forumers will know which one). There not over fancy DJ's the music/tune choice is the most important thing in there sets.

Try getting hold of the NYC Bar Centro Set, it's recorded live from the 93-03 promo tour.

Thanks. That's exactly the type of info I'm looking for.

Keep them coming.

me, mips and our little crew have been going since the social/jukebox days....

as ace as the live sets are I have to admit some of my fondest memories are often from going to see them dj over the years. standouts being the heavenly sessions at turnmills (our honeymoon of raving), bugged out @ cream, the bugged out weekender in prestatyn, the soundshaft at heaven for the glint nights and various festivals (Emmanuel Top @ a very muddy Glastonbury late 90's?!?! bit of a moment!!!!!)

they've always seemed to work a "couple on, a couple off" basis

they use the CDJ's more now but as far as I can remember those synthy drones/build-ups fx squiggles were always thrown in from dubplates....I think

as far as I know they're still using a fair bit of vinyl and I don't think they're using more than 2 turntables. they're not really the 4 deck mixing types.....to me what makes tom and ed stand out is the ability to find (or make in a lot of cases) these mental sounding records which send everyone into delirium when heard loud in a small dark basement...proper trippy gubbins.

it's not like yer average dj set is it?...really dynamic shifting stuff..

esp when they've had the time (long set) to start off slow and chuggy and build it up....acres of lfo squiggle and fx, some hip-hop and breaks bits, some prince, build the tempo up, an hour of thrumming techno and really rattling acid gubbins stuff, a few classics and a nice jolly one at the end - happy mondays?....the nightwriters?.....bowie 'sound and vision maybe?

I remember a great party at turnmills that ended with sydney youngblood - 'if only I could' - massive smiles....

we sang that all the way home on the train.

chebbers rant over

xxx

seen pretty much every chems dj set they have played over the last four years except the secret last min scala dj set last year and a few dj sets in italy and one in spain, as chebbers said some of the best chemical gigs are dj sets, will never forget the second music response kicked in sankey soaps and the place erupted, both recent sets in fabric have been great and summercase last summer was wicked,

Man oh man, Chebbers what a great post. To have seen the Chems Dj so many times...

I've seen them DJ twice. Like Chebbers, irishfan and london_dust_explosion - I can also add that the Chemical Brothers sets are varied. Both sets I saw were alike in the sense they werre varied, but both extremely different in terms of songs played and the crowds played to. The first time I saw them DJ, I believe they stuck with vinyl though I could be wrong. That was in 2000. When I saw them again in 2003, they used primarily vinyl as well as a cdj. And that little mixing fx dealie-oh's they use.

The Chemical Brothers have admitted they are not the world's most technically gifted DJ's. They are good, but they are human - bless his heart I saw Tom trainwreck it once but I must say he did an expert job of gracefully backing out of the goof slowly so as to sort of disguise what happened!

What sets them apart as Chebbers mentioned isn't so much the technical skill of the sets, but the selection of tunes that go on during a DJ set. One show I saw they played mostly other peoples' tunes, the other show I saw was about 85-90% their own material (they were out promoting Singles, so that makes sense). I may have only seen them twice, but I know exactly what Chebbers means when he talks about mixing it up. It's not unusual to hear the Chems mix it up and play a Happy Mondays tune next to the Beatles next to the Chems remix of Fatboy's Song For Shelter. And this is largely in part due to the Chemical Brothers being able to read the crowd like a book and pick up on the vibe in a room. One thing I was talking with Jeanie about after her first time at Turnmills (first time seeing them DJ) was how Tom and Ed scan a crowd looking for a response. She noticed it as I had noticed it twice before. Being able to read a crowd shows the Chems' genuine interest in a crowd's response to what they do. So if it's 3am and everyone's on their 2nd and 3rd wind and pushing their ears and bodies to the limit, Tom and Ed will pick up from that and put on something completely mental or mind fucking. Anything - and this has been said by the Chemicals - anything can happen during a DJ set. And that's what makes their sets so cool and different from other acts you hear.

m'chebne that was incredible

Sorry to sound like a twat, but here the chemical gigs ive been to.....

-Portsmouth March 2002 (live) - CWU tour, amazing set 5/5

-Winchester Homelands May 2003 (dj) 3/5

-London Turnmills Sep 2003 (dj) - Launch of Singles 93-03, really good night 4/5

-Wolvehampton June 2004 (live) - Tim Burgess live on stage, amazing 5/5

-Glasto June 2004 (live) 2/5

-London Brixton March 2005 (live) 3/5

-Brighton May 2005 (Live) 2/5

-Glasto June 2005 (dj) - top notch dj set 5/5

-London Brixton Dec 2005 (live) - Bearnard from new order guest 4/5

-London Turnmills Dec 2005 (dj) 4/5

-Fabric July 2006 (dj) - loads of great bootlegs played 4/5

-Barcelona Summercase July 2006 (dj) 4/5

-Turnmills Dec 2006 (dj) 3/5

-Fabric May 2007 (dj) 4/5

-London Roundhouse May 2007 (live) - Best show ive seen 5/5

-Barcelona Summercase July 2007 (live) 3/5

-Isle of White Bestival Sep 2007 (live) 4/5

-London Trafalgar Square Sep 2007 (live) 3/5

-London Brixton Dec 2007 (live)

You get the idea of how ive graded them, dj sets at Glasto, Summercase and the singles lauch oarty were very good nights.

I remember around 1999 listening to chems play at homelands on radio 1, it sounded so so great.

I wouldnt say the chems are technical djs like Hawtin or Zabiela, but really eclectic djs moving from hip hop to bangin acid techno! I love the bootlegs and re-edits they play out. Glasto was cool hereing slow and beatles tracks.

Because I'm anal...

When you're talking about where you are, you're --here--. When you're talking about what you listen to, it's what you --hear--.

I was at the NY Centro Fly set back in 2003, and it was amaaaaazing. And then seeing them at Summercase in 2005 was awwwwwesome.

I apologise for my poor spelling and punctuation, I am dyslexic and do not have the time to check my spelling when posting on this forum.

Because I’m anal…

Please can you make use of standard English in your comments, especially when you are commenting on other user’s poor use of the English language. This would help dyslexic people to read the forum.

Sentences do not begin with the conjunction ‘And’, this is poor use of English, you have also spelt the adjectives; ‘amaaaaazing’ and ‘awwwwwesome’ incorrectly.

Thank you for reading my post, I hope in future users of this forum such as Madpooter can all make use of standard English.

The 5 hour plus Gint sets at Turnmills are life changing experiences. A mates girlfriend, now wife, turned to me and said half way through one it sounds like machinery, to which I said yeh amazing.

There are so many moments in those sets you loose yourself.

Another memory of 'Gurnmill', is coming out of the toilet thinking this can't get any better and then hearing Happy Mondays 'WFL' being dropped, I fell backwards with a big stupid smile on my face, the security just laughed.

Bloody hell you've set me off now, flash back, flash back!

Yes that night was one of the best I have been to. I remember them playing the Dj milo/Inpuslion bootleg and the club going mad! I was at the very fron the the speakers watching the brothers all night long.

visnadi - racing tracks always makes me think of tom and ed.

esp the rising synth at the start - they've made good use of that!

oohh and "in thee dark we live"

them dropping sender loops at nye last year sent shivers down my spine, and obv them playing nude night at gurnmills

Ah the Glint party at Turnmills mentioned above, if I remember UR "transistions" was played before the sydney youngblood, was a top night.

Another great Glint was the Bugged Out/Bountique at Heaven back at the beginning of 2002 when the Brothers hosted the Soundshaft. The other rooms were rocking as well wiht Fatboy upstairs and DJ Hell showcasing his label in the main room not that I saw any of that!

The Chems were listed as playing a 3 hour set with Vegetable Vision doing warm up and Nathan Detroit closing. Nice hip hop and dub from Veg Vision leading nicely into the Chems building from those style's sounds into the mad techno acid house we associate with their dj sets. Come half 3 (schedule set end for them) instead of leaving Nathan joined them and another 2 hours was played back 2 back 2 bcak, which was nice :) Even noticed a queue to get into the Soundshaft.

Oh and for an idea of the early Social (Albany) dj sets pick up a copy of the latest Illistrated Ape magazine which celebrates Heavenly and includes memories of the Social from those involved including Ed, Justin Robertson and Robin Turner (Heavenly co-founder).

Ah the Heaven night :) I was desperatly searching for them in Heaven, I walked past a door which opened and Africacaca came out.

A dark back room just a big strobe and the brothers. When they played Emanual Top I was sat on a speaker, it was like a helicopter landing.

Would love to hear the Brothers drop Emmanuel Top!! (I take it its Lobotomie people are talking about?)

Pretty impressive list of live sets 'experienced' Acidchildren!! I've only been to two, Turnmills NYE 05/06, fucking awesome and Summercase 06, not as good (very 'thud thud' I thought) but still some brilliant moments, mainly their own stuff, EBW 6 and Leave Home being 2.

I hate you all. :P

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I kid.