Walk your own path, define your own sound
Lesson time: (3min 26sec)
DJ Deep shares how to stop cloning your favourite DJs and producers and start discovering your own sound and style.
Course preview
This lesson is part of the course Find Your Own Path in House & Techno with DJ Deep
Watch a preview of the full course below.
Lesson transcript:
Embracing Your Musical Identity
When you're learning about a style, a form of music, or an artist you really admire, it's common to feel a tendency to clone them. You might try to:
- Be like them
- Play like them
- Use the equipment they use
This experience happens to everyone. One of the key things to keep in mind is:
- Learn the roots
- Walk your own path
The Journey of Influence
After being under the influence of such artists or obsessing over a specific machine they used, it's essential to define what works for you.
In order to discover what resonates with you, consider the following:
- Understand the processes:
- Where did it start?
- How did the sound evolve?
- Identify techniques:
- What drum machine was used?
- What DJ techniques were employed?
Reflect on these questions:
- What does it all mean?
- What am I getting out of this?
- Where do I want to go?
- What do I love about this?
- How can I mix or invent something new?
Personal Reflection
I was working recently on a book about my T-shirt collection. My dear friend Alex from Tokyo mentioned something memorable:
"I will never forget, you were playing garage New York house vocal sounds, wearing a Jeff Mills Axis T-shirt."
To me, that encapsulates my identity. I play soulful New York songs in an Axis T-shirt because:
- It's the same music.
- It's the same family.
- I want to explore and present it all without being locked into one style.
Understanding the Craft
That being said, I know my craft. I've worked hard to understand the nuances between various artists, like:
- Kerry Chandler
- Swing
- Mixing Techniques
The beauty of it all lies in getting to the core and then translating your own version.
Sharing Your Perspective
As a DJ, I believe it's my responsibility to provide my perspective to the audience. I'm not claiming to have the best perspective or the ultimate truth. Instead, I'm offering something real that I've worked hard on:
- This is my vision.
- This is my sensibility.
I share it with you, and that's what really matters in the end.
The Spectrum of Artistic Expression
Some artists stick to a strong sound or vision, and I respect that deeply. Others, like the genius Liluis, can seamlessly transition between genres, creating:
- Hardcore acid tracks
- Beautiful orchestrated songs
I admire both kinds of artists equally. It's all part of the vibrant tapestry that makes up our musical journey.
About the instructor

DJ Deep is a French house and techno producer and DJ, and the man behind the Deeply Rooted label (formerly Deeply Rooted House). Across more than 20 years he has been one of dance music's great curators - and that ear for what makes a record really work is exactly what makes him a guide worth learning from. 'I see my job as being a big filter,' he says, rather underplaying the role the Frenchman has had in the development of house music. 'As a vinyl junkie, I am in the record stores chasing jams almost every day. Sharing what I think are the greatest records of the moment or the most timeless personal classics is something that has motivated me throughout the years.' Cyril Etienne emerged from the Paris scene to make a real impact on the world stage. He started out playing for Laurent Garnier at parties such as Oz and Zoo at club Palace, then became a regular at the Rex Club and established his unique sense of taste with his 'A Deep Groove' shows on pirate station Radio FG and later Radio Nova. He quickly graduated to playing worldwide, always taking with him a sense of history informed by a love of Chicago, New York and Detroit. Blurring the lines between house and techno, he also joins the dots between classic and contemporary cuts with his own sense of storytelling - not only as a DJ and producer, but also a label boss and party curator. Since 2003 he has headed up his own forward-looking Deeply Rooted label, synonymous with classy, true-to-its-roots house and techno from new and established greats like Kerri Chandler, Ben Klock, Francois X, Ben Sims and Roman Poncet, as well as rising French star and Concrete Paris regular Marina Trench. His own Raw Cuts series bridges the heartfelt emotion of house and the direct impact of techno. Beyond his own label he has released on Rekids, Kaoz Theory and Tresor, and as a remixer has reworked the likes of Carl Craig, St Germain, DJ Honesty, Scan 7, Borderland (Juan Atkins) and Point G, always bringing his uniquely warm atmospheres to whatever he turns out. He also makes music under various other aliases: Rebeval, with rawer-sounding material on L.I.E.S.; Sergie Rezza, a collaborative project and label of the same name alongside Roman Poncet that explores more experimental, ambient-laced house and techno in both EP and LP format; Fang, for contemporary house; and Adventice, for driving, classically-rooted techno, with outings on Tresor and live shows at the likes of Berlin Atonal. His more eclectic side comes out in his Open Library radio shows on Worldwide FM - two-hour windows of jazz, soul, dub, funk and ambient that make for very special, immersive soundtracks. Whatever he is playing or producing, DJ Deep always has something worth hearing. In Find Your Own Path in House & Techno, he shares how he selects, arranges and shapes tracks so that, instead of chasing trends, you can build a sound and a taste that are unmistakably your own. read more




