You have said you can play, so what happens next?
If you are reading this it means you have elected to, or are interested in being a part of djtechdirect.com and The Rainbow's Guinness World Record attempt to break 'The Longest Club DJ Relay Session'. An event we are hosting in aid of raising money and awarness of the Balls To Cancer charity and all the hard work they do.
We are astounded at the number of emails we have been receiving from across the globe from people wanting to take part and would like to thank everyone for their eagerness to take part, not just to get to play at one of the worlds most renowned venues, but to do so for such a worthy cause. From these emails there seem to be a few recurring questions so we thought we would put all the info in this one place to make sure you know what, when and where you need to be.
If you have not signed up yet please do so here before continuing
If you didn't get them in a previous email or have just signed up to take part you can find download link to the promotional media by clicking here
Info below includes:
- Where is it?
- Can i just turn up and play?
- How long does it go on for?
- How long am I playing for?
- What time will I be playing?
- Can I bring my own equipment/What equipment will there be?
- How is the record attempt judged?
- What do I do once I've played?
- When will we know if we have broken the record?
- How can I help raise money for 'Balls To Cancer'
1. Where is it?
The event will be taking place at The Rainbow Venus in Birmingham. This is easy to access via car or public transport as it is walking distance from Digbeth coach station (Birmingham’s main coach station) a 10 minute walk down one single road from the Bullring shopping centre and 15-20 min walk from New Street Station. There is FREE car parking in the Rainbow Arena.
Full address and a map can be found below:
The Rainbow
Digbeth160 Digbeth High Street
Birmingham
B12 0LD
For more detailed directions on how to find the venue click here.
2. Can I just turn up and play?
You are welcome to turn up on the day and join us and even take part. However, in the interest of fairness and efficiency, those who have registered in advance will take priority. We require EVERYONE looking to take part to get down to the venue for 11am to make sure you are all registered, set-up and we can allocate you with your number and place in the running order.
Once registered you will be able to relax and enjoy a great and varied selection of music from DJs from every corner of the country. Don’t forget to show your support for your fellow DJs - we are all in this together!
On another note this is a fantastic chance for you to network with other DJs or promoters and just have a good time.
The only thing we ask is that you don’t venture to far away and then not make it back in time for your slot and result in a potential ‘bodge’ of the record attempt.
3. How long does it go on for?
Well the current record is 119 DJ’s and it took them between 4 & 5 hours to do. We intend to break that record by a substantial number (fingers crossed!) and so are allowing up to 6-7pm in the evening to enable us to do this. This also allows us to do a restart should there be a mistake in the first hour or so (lets hope that does not happen!).
If everyone is still enjoying it and we still have DJ’s willing to carry on then we will carry on until everyone has played!
4. How long am I playing for?
Each DJ will only be playing 1 track, as per the official Guinness World Record regulations. The record is 'Longest Club DJ Session Relay' - so its back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back etc… This is a joint effort and so each and every DJ is as important as the next. No egos or bravado, just tune after tune after tune, mixed in time.
Please look at the bigger picture here too! You might only be playing one tune, but you are helping to raise awareness of a worthy cause as well as getting to play in one of the worlds most prestigious venues in front of lots of music lovers and DJ’s not least to mention breaking a Guinness World Record!
5. What time will I be playing?
Due to not knowing exactly how many DJs will actually show up (every event organisers worst fear!) we will not be able to give you an accurate running order or time slot until the day itself. We plan on making the day entertaining enough so that you will not be left moping around getting board. It’s a party too after all folks and the bar will be open too!
6. Can I bring my own equipment?
Unfortunately as stipulated in Guinness World Record guidelines for this event, we are confined to just the use of 2 decks and one mixer. These will be as follows:
2 x Pioneer CDJ 2000 Nexus
1 x Pioneer DJM 900 Nexus
1 x Pioneer HDJ 1500 Headphones (you can use your own headphones)
For those of you who are not familiar with these decks, they will play CDs and also allow you to play from USB or SD devices
We highly recommend using Pioneer's Rekordbox software to analyse your chosen tracks in advance. We also recommend loading them USB or SD prior to getting down here. This may seem a little confusing so if you bring your track on one of these devices we can do this for you in store prior to you playing.
Via Rekordbox, your track will have an accurate waveform displayed on the CDJ 2000 NEXUS and a precise BPM - this isn't cheating but will make the mix easier and more accurate! Let's try and avoid any mistakes!
7. How is the record attempt judged?
These are the fine details that must be observed for the record to be attempted:
1. Each DJ is allowed one record each and apart from the first DJ, each track must be mixed into the next.
2. There must be no pauses between tunes; music must be continuous, with one tune mixed into the next.
3. Mixes must be beat-matched and in time. As part of the regulations, there will be a professional DJ in attendance to all mixes are synchronous.
4. No premixing (ie: pre-recorded sections on CD) or 'mastermixes' are allowed.
5. No more than two decks may be used. (A third deck will be kept in reserve but may be used only in the event of mechanical failure of either of the other two decks.)
6. No individual disc, and no piece of music, may be repeated in performance
within four hours. A list of all the tunes played must be maintained - hence us recommending you select a choice of 3 tracks to ensure you get to play at least one!
7. The event should take place on stage in a club or similar venue, open to
members of the public, and not in a recording studio.
8. A logbook must be kept with the details of the participating DJs and the records
that they played.
Although we'll know on the day, official confirmation will be provided independently adjudication by Guinness World. This is the official noting of the record and could therefore take a few weeks or even months. Either way, we can celebrate on the day and then again when official confirmation comes through!
10. How can I help raise awareness of what this is all in aid of?
Just in case you didn’t get the previous media pack, we have a selection of art work that you can use to promote your involvement in this monumental event and help raise awareness among your peers about the event and what it is all in aid of. If you can bring your mates or fellow DJ’s along to join you and see also if any friends or family mind making a small donation to this hard working charity here:
https://www.justgiving.com/GWR-ballstocancer