Share your digital crate digging tips

Christopher J Schneider

I do alot of my digging on Beatport. I also follow a few producers on Bandcamp, Mixcloud, SoundCloud. I do alot of 'needle dropping' when looking for new tracks. I don't listen to the whole tracks unless I hear something that catches my interest. Sometimes I also find stuff that apple music suggests for me. I tend to look for more unique tracks and not just stuff that is in the charts.

cgm6066

I've been rediscovering my decades of collected vinyl, sample CDs/DVDs and hard drives. What's old is new again! With terabytes of ripped audio, I just need to spend some quality time cleaning house.

Royal Tee

I'm an old crate digger and usually look where no one else is lookin. I don't play trends or hot tracks unless it's necessary on the DF. (Insta songs etc)

The irony, I released my 1st release in 1990 and have never played my releases.

I like catching grooves on some college stations here in NY... the underground still exists. I'll stay there :)

Kater

I used to try to find the latest gems via Beatport but lately I don’t like much I hear in the top 100’s so I’ll search through the labels I like and don’t mind if the track is 10 years old. Also Bandcamp is something I have overlooked too long, there you’ll find the niche and support the artists directly.

Jonathan Blake

Streaming platforms like Spotify, Deezer and (Apple) Music are an auditory wasteland. I keep going back to those defining moments of the 'mix CD' era when labels like Global Underground, Renaissance, fabric, Bedrock and Balance (etc) thrilled us with defining moments in music. Some of these mixes have not aged well, whilst others have but, they still encapsulate the art of curating, compiling and then mixing. There is so much to learn from the 'journey' that so many DJs and producers envisioned. Pick up the thread of a journey and run with it and let it lead you into your favourite DJ, producer, label and genre but, don't be blinded by them as they sometimes drop the ball. Take the paths less travelled, be it a new label, DJ or producer - but keep the thread. Availability makes it too easy to over-buy - less is more. It's not how big your crate is, but how much of your crate you use. Make notes of what excites you musically and go back to them to pick up the thread. Lastly - purge - keep your crate lean and mean.

thefunkyboulevards

For me, the old school way of going to a vinyl store to discover new stuff is a must. I always know something new on these adventures, and this is the first step to my crate diggin'.

On the digital, sites like sound cloud and mix cloud are a gold mine. Need some time to find some material, but ALWAYS have good stuff. Spotify for me is a big no, because I see the algorithms talking more than the actual artists, and for my process is kinda poisonous those ambients.

But I like to spend a lot of time on online stores like Traxsource, BeatPort, Juno, iTunes Store and specially BANDCAMP. This last is by far my favourite, because I always find some good deals and exclusive contents. I like too because I see a fair market for producers where they don't loose too much to sell their work. I really like to support them.

The charts on those stores is a good way to feel what is fresh, with this in mind, is more easy to shape my research and buy my tracks.

A daily routine is important to keep up with everything.

stefan.caerts

Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music, iTunes, Beatport, SoundCloud, Mixcloud, …

Qjames

Like others here: soundcloud, beatport are useful. I have a great local FM station - Radio Free FM (in Ulm, Germany), which by design showcases all genres that are not from 'bog' artists or charting.

Like Percivale above, I use lots of older tracks, files and samples, to mash up new textures (in particular, I have an extensive collection of late 80s acid house/soul, early 90s house/garage/progressive house). I would encourage anyone to dig through the old vinyl box/digital files and rework some classic tracks/riffs/breaks.

Keep on keeping on.

blancodisco

Pop over to Juno.co.uk while at work and then pop up the last 8 weeks of releases (multiple electronic genres or choose just a few) and then let that player run through the needle drops. If something catches my ear, I add it to my want list. Then.. make an order.

I also scan sellers on discogs.com for releases I'm looking for and if the price is right, I'll try to order multiple pieces in addition to get that shipping savings. Do this a few times a year.

Current / Active artists releasing new things, I'll go through band camp like many others have mentioned.

Facebook groups for certain styles/labels off offer leads on new things to checkout.

Tons of music focused blogs across electronic genres out there posting reviews on records are a great source too. (https://blog.casablancasunset.com/ just one site out of many).

Soundcloud is great for finding remixes of things as well hearing cool tracks of posted DJ mixes.

The only thing I don't do these days hardly is visit an actual record store. They've largely vanished in my area and I use to work in them.

Tunaiters

I check the weekly charts for the genres and artists of my taste at main digital platforms (Beatport and the likes). Also, once in a while, I check Shazam's most listened/popular tracks.

Other than that, following my favorite artists on SoundCloud or Spotify and liking tracks, also helps train the platforms' algorithm to suggest me similar artists/tracks that otherwise I may not come across with.

Startiel

personally I use soundcloud too: the AI generated playlists that the site makes for me are accurate and most of that music is free download 👌

hypeddit hot or not is another free and fun tool that is like dating… but with music.

McFeud

Hate to say this, but TikTok. Some strange movies or series. SoundCoud, YouTube and Spotify - just need to try to break promoted and algorithms

George Espinosa

I'm an open format DJ. Soundcloud and Twitch are great for music discovery, especially for music I really like. I use Tidal top charts to discover music everyone else might like to hear at an event.

Oxy

Mostly through https://www.discogs.com/ searching artists that I like and then getting lost in everything that connects.

djdood

I spend a lot of my non-spinning time listening to other DJs play on Twitch, while I'm working my day job, driving, etc. I pick up new songs pretty frequently from others (who are often kind enough to have running playlists on their streams).

Beyond that, I also use Beatports charts from reporting DJs quite a bit, to find tracks that aren't in the main Top10 and Top100 listings. I'm always drawn to tracks a bit off the beaten path, since I don't need to monetize my DJ sets and worry about pleasing promoters, etc.