Dan Mackinnon

I’ve been DJing and teaching students for 15 years, after founding Newcastle University’s DJ Society in 2010. Since then I’ve played a wide range of clubs and festivals across the UK, including Glastonbury, Parklife, Digital, World Headquarters and Lakota.

For the past few years I’ve been working at Lakota in Bristol – playing, promoting and marketing events at the club, while managing The Bus Stop (@thebusstop_uk) – a 400-capacity stage at Stokes Croft Block Party.

I’m now opening availability for a limited number of students, and all levels are welcome – whether you’re completely new to DJing or already play and want to refine your skills. DJing is a powerful creative outlet and a brilliant way to discover new music. We can build your confidence step-by-step, all the way to playing out live, and I can help create those opportunities when you’re ready. Every lesson is bespoke and tailored to your pace, style, and goals.

I offer:

•⁠ ⁠Hands on studio sessions using professional club standard equipment (1 or 2 hours)

•⁠ ⁠Beginner, Intermediate and Development DJ courses

•⁠ ⁠High quality audio set recordings

•⁠ ⁠Live set recordings and edits using 4k multi-cams

•⁠ ⁠Mixer effects, loops, beat matching, sampling

•⁠ ⁠Track selection theory, Rekordbox library organisation, artist branding & marketing

•⁠ ⁠3 deck mixing and advanced techniques

•⁠ ⁠Live set opportunities and guidance

Sessions:

•⁠ ⁠Hands on 1-on-1 studio sessions using professional club standard equipment (1 or 2 hours) £35 / £60

All ages and abilities welcome, each session is planned and tailored to your experience to make sure you get the most out of it.

•⁠ ⁠Beginner Course (10 x 2 hour sessions) 15% discount

In this course you’ll go from zero experience to learning the essentials – beat matching, creating playlists and preparing tracks with cue points. You’ll grasp EQ basics and learn how to make a clean mix. By the end of the course you’ll have built a 30min – 1hr set and be able to play it independently.

•⁠ ⁠Intermediate Course (10 x 2 hour sessions) 15% discount

You’ve played a few times and want to build on what you already know by learning more complex mixing – using effects and loops, vocal sampling, mixing in key. You’ll fully organise your Rekordbox library, build a story in your sets through track selection and create unique mixes that define your style as an artist.

•⁠ ⁠Development Course (10 x 2 hour sessions) 15% discount

You’re a capable DJ who wants to prepare for live sets. In this course you’ll learn technical transitions, 3-deck mixing and advanced looping – while gaining performance confidence. You’ll learn how to handle to unexpected changes during sets and recover from mistakes smoothly. You’ll have the opportunity to record live sets in a professional studio with high quality audio and 4k video. Take high quality artist press shots in a professional photography studio, create an EPK and brand yourself as an artist. This course is bespoke and can be fully adapted to take you where you want to go next as a DJ.

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Sessions can be at my home studio or your own home (depending on your location, there may be an additional travel cost)

If you’re ready to start DJing or level up your existing skills – get in touch. It would be great to meet you and help you progress.