Technology has surely advanced its roots. Due to this, there are many entertaining ways by which you can learn about the skill, technique, and how the business of DJ works. But nothing can be compared to the learning a book provides. So, if you are an astonishing DJ or someone who wants to be in that field here are some essential books that every DJ should read:
- How to DJ Right: The Art and Science of Playing Records
Author: Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton
For beginners, the book gives an initial boost. It gives them a practical picture of the artist alongside scientific aspects of the actuality of a DJ. It gives you a closure look diagram throughout to illustrate phrases, beat timing, and song structure with no reliance on music theory. It also tells you about some history.
- Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey
Author: Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton
This is one of the earliest written and documented books about disc jockeys. It tells you about the life of DJs in detail along with their life happenings. It also tells how DJs have shaped their way through various struggles and outgrown their venture. Furthermore, it elaborates on the tradition of DJ and how clubs responded to that.
- On the Record: The Scratch DJ Academy Guide
Author: Phil White, Luke Crisell, and Rob Principe
On the record is a technical DJ book. You should read it. It tells you about the technical, cultural along business side of DJing. This tells you how to get gigs and create a name for yourself. Moreover, the scratch academy was the first-ever DJ academy all over the US. It’s a guidebook very well bought by the authors and answers all questions starting with “how”.
- No sleep: NYC Nightlife Flyers 1988-1999
Authors: DJ Stretch Armstrong, Evan Auerbach
No Sleep by Evan & Stretch is one of the most inspirational books written about DJs. It’s a coffee time book for some motivation and ideas. In such an artistic field inspiration is always very important. It tells you about how it’s like being a DJ in New York City and the club lives through the ’90s. How it evolved and the response of the people to that.
- Life and Def: Sex, Drugs, Money, +God
Author: Russell Simmons
This is the autobiography of Russell Simmons. In this, he elaborates about his popular invented hip hop culture and some other popular cultures like pop. He also informs about how global force changed the way people talk, dress, their taste of music, and the choice of their heroes to hang on walls. The book mainly talks regarding people and the advancement of cultural diversity that happened over time.
- The Hacienda: How Not To Run A Club
Author: Peter Hook
This book is about one of the well-known clubs in England ‘The Hacienda’. It tells you the club’s story of how music, gangsters, drugs, and violence led the most successful club to failures. It also talks about famous people who used to perform their gigs at the nightclub. It also laid the tracks of rave culture and today’s electronic dance music that changed the face and sound of modern music.
- Groove Music: The Art and Culture of the Hip-Hop DJ
Author: Mark Katz
This book is an exclusive masterpiece written by Mark Katz, the award holder historian. It emphasizes how today’s hip-hop culture initiated on the streets of New York and raised from there. It also elaborated on the perspective of people who discovered the genre and the stimuli of the masses to it. You should read this book.
- The Record Players: DJ Revolutionaries
Author: Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton
It is the first-hand journal of the vibrant record of the growth of the DJ culture and includes song lists, discographies, and photos of every DJ as a young firebrand. It also talks about how in the sixties radio tastemakers bought these tracks to the masses. Furthermore, it contains interviews of famous DJs of that time which gives a lot of food for thought and certainly is the most wonderful part.
- Dance Music Manual: Tools, Toys and Techniques
Author: Rick Snoman
The guidebook informs you about upbeat music production. Whether it's designing sounds, adding effects, or mixing tracks. It is packed with scientific and practical tips to help you achieve your professional results. It also elaborates on aspects like layering kicks, rhythm fundamentals, dubstep production, song structure, etc. This also informs regarding the newest techniques of production.
- DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing
Author: Eliot Wilder
The book is a collaborative masterpiece between a turn-tablist Josh Davis and a master sampler. It is a very inspiring and motivating book that tells us about the broken dreams and the difficulties faced by him. It also emphasizes his initial days in California and his mentors and friends who helped him along the way. This long conversation also emphasizes the genesis and formation of his widely popular book ‘Endtroducing’.
- Rock the Dance Floor: The proven Five-Step Formula for Total DJing Success
Author: Phil Morse
Whether beginner or sophomore, everyone should read the previously mentioned book. It will enlighten you on what to do to get packed dance floors each night. It provides you a transparent and real guide to enhance your game. It will increase your understanding of the latest DJ gear. It will teach you to assemble the best music collection to perform like a pro and receive better payment eventually.
- Electrochoc
Author: Laurent Garnier and David Brun-Lambert
This book is one of the bestsellers written by the world-famous Laurent Garnier, a French DJ who is an award-winning recording artist and owner of a label. It includes a captivating record of a dance scenario and his autobiography. It elaborates on famous clubs, influential festivals, and key memories of the history of dance music. Laurent Garnier's story of rags to riches is also very inspiring. He tells about how he felt and dealt with every situation which came in front of him.