“Should I do music homework before going to a club?” — gets asked a lot. Optional, but a small amount of prep multiplies enjoyment for most people. Here’s the actual playbook.
SoundCloud and Mixcloud
The two essentials:
SoundCloud (free, app and web)
- Search DJ name → public mixes appear
- 30-90 minute mixes, can stream casually
- Tags like “Recorded Live at [venue]” pull up actual club recordings
Mixcloud (also free)
- Radio-show DJs favor it
- Longer mixes than typical SoundCloud
- Genre-curated tags are easy to browse
A flyer with five DJ names → five minutes each → 25 minutes of prep total. That’s enough.
What to listen for
Don’t overthink it. While listening:
- BPM (tempo) — techno 125-135, house 120-125, DnB 170-180
- Mood — dark / mellow / happy / psychedelic
- Whether your body wants to move to it
If a mix actively turns you off, that night might not be for you — and that’s a useful signal. If a mix grabs you, you’ll arrive at the door warmed up.
Anikura and vocaloid prep is non-negotiable
Anime DJ parties (anikura) and Vocaloid DJ parties have a different rule:
The joy of these scenes is participation — singing along, calling out chants, mirroring choreography, knowing every song.
Going to anikura without knowing the originals means standing still while the entire floor erupts at a chorus you don’t recognize. Awkward.
Prep:
- Spotify “anime hits” playlist — 30 min
- Vocaloid hits playlist — 30 min
- Check what’s been big in the last 1-2 years (the recent stuff matters most)
This prep is worth far more than DJ-name research for these specific genres.
No-prep is a valid choice
Some people prefer to go in blind:
- Cold discovery is more exciting
- Familiar tracks are predictable
- They want no preset judgments
This isn’t wrong. Clubs are improvisational; the discovery is part of the format.
My personal split — heavy prep on the headline DJ, zero prep on everyone else. Balance, not all or nothing.
Too much prep backfires
Heads-up: overprepping turns the night into “check this off my list”:
“Oh that’s the prep track. Oh that’s the obvious flow. Oh I expected this drop.”
The floor flattens. You stop feeling the music and start grading it.
My rule: max one DJ deep-prepped per night. The rest are light skim or zero.
Genre prep separately
If you want to learn a genre rather than a specific DJ:
- YouTube “[genre] essential mix” — landmark mixes appear
- Spotify “[genre] essentials” playlist
- Beatport top 100 by genre
Once or twice a year, refreshing a genre map helps with floor recognition. “Oh, this is the deep-house lineage.”
My standard routine
Night before:
- Re-check the flyer, confirm the lineup
- 20-30 min of the headline DJ’s most recent mix
- 5 min each on a few of the supports
- Skip unknown names entirely
Same day:
- Listen to the headline DJ again briefly an hour before leaving — for vibe lift
- Forget the prep on the way in; let the floor be the floor
This is enough to walk in warm but not over-conditioned.
At least once, try going in blind
Especially when you’re new, try one night with zero prep:
“I see an interesting venue, I’ll just go.”
You’ll learn what music you respond to in its naked form — not filtered through any prep.
This is also a privilege of being newer to the scene — once you know many DJs, true blind discovery is harder. Use the window.
Bottom line
Prep is optional and tunable:
15-30 min SoundCloud per night is plenty.
Anikura / vocaloid — original-song prep is essential, the scene is participatory.
No-prep is a real choice, not a failure.
Over-prep turns the floor into a checklist — keep it light.
Mix prep levels to taste, adjust as you go.