Bedtime Story

When I put on my headphones, the world around me disappears...

It starts with a touch of the first... getting to know her. I want to feel her beat rumbling through my spine. I know her so well already, every groove, every change, every beat. I know just when to bring in the next, the very exact moment because I've studied them so well. I've studied them all...

I listen to the second, its beat much like the first. The keys are in sync and together they are a rhythmic dream, ready to explode inside your ears and drive you to new heights.

So I cue it in, listening to the two of them together, over and over again... knowing that what you will hear is only the finished product... the climax... the ecstasy that is this next mix...

Over and over I hear the two together, like making love they go together so well. I know the second one two, like the back of my hand - I know how it builds, I know how it peaks... I know how easily she'll go in the mix. These two tracks were born to be together, without even knowing it. They were born on different parts of the earth, but now... now it is because of me they come together as one. I am the matchmaker. I am the cupid of music.

Then, when ready I start the track, slowly at first, I ease it in with a slip cue. My hands manhandle the record with authority, knowing that's the only way to get it right. But when I let it go, I make small moves, gently touching the record or working the pitch to get it locked just right. I keep track, headphones get pulled off... my eyes now focusing on both records, the crowd, the lights. I lunge forward... and the mix begins on cue.

I increase the volume, the bass low right now on track two because I don't want to put too much into it too fast. I let them ride out for 32, 64, 96... The second track coming to life as the other one comes to a close.

The crowd knows it. They know that these tracks go. They know how the second one already sounds. Some of them know the words. And as their hands go in the air so do mine, reaching the final pivot point when I switch the bass lines. A brief break... nothing but treble, then... the second. On beat, the second track pumps in full swing. Almost like an orgasm over... and over... and over again each beat stays locked in place. The bass from the new track rumbles the speakers and I dip track one. A bead of sweat drips from my forehead... I pull down track one, almost like the volume slider weighs a thousand pounds I pull slowly, adjusting the trebles and mids.

Another quick break... its time to finish... the bass come back and the new song is in, alone... the first track is gone.

And I start all over again.