Forums > Social Chat > trance music length problems....

AnonymousPLATINUM Member

Posted: 12th Mar 2001
Well, bro, my first thought is for songs that are too long for a spin on one tool, use two tools in sequence. If you don't have two tools, try adding wicks to you poi or, if you're using white gas, use lamp oil or lamp oil blended with white to get a longer burn, or both. There are a lot of ideas you can play with as far as building up your piece. Start slow and end fast. Start with a loose rhythm and end very tight. Start small circles and end with big circles. Start with small body movements and end with big ones. All these can be used in reverse as well depending on what kind of effect you want to make. Hope this helps. Diana

Posted: 12th Mar 2001
Di-you must be online right now, i just posted that. and your answers definitely help. anyway, when you say two tools, are you suggesting i have another set of poi waiting, or a staff, and i switch mid-song? and as far as your second comment, i think i do a fair job of building up the piece and causing drama as i speed up or the moves get more complex and dramatic, but then...i just stop. you know? it'd be alright to just *stop* like that if the music did. but since it doesn't, i feel like i'm giving my audience blue balls(forgive the expression) i build it up and build it up and build it up, then i stop and put my poi out while the music plays on. what do you think?i read an earlier thread you posted about a wrist wrap and catching the poi in your hands(that *was* you, wasn't it), but i don't think my hands are ready to extinguish a burning poi. thoughts on anything?

Posted: 12th Mar 2001
i really like endorphin from australia for trancy type music which is not too long and does come to an end. try 'free' or 'solar flare' which are usually available on napster if it still works.for other techno maybe try starting the song further into it, after the big techno-build up? too long songs work well with a partner because then you can swap off when one person goes out. I am listening to halcyon +on +on by orbital right now which is a kick ass song and is not too long and it sounds like this would start off great with a fire wand or sparkler which could dramatically light the poi and start swinging when the beat comes in which leaves enough time for a good twirl....and some people tell me that when the poi go out it still looks neat and different if you continue to spin the embers....much more subtle. dont know if kevlar wicks do this (we use towel)...good twirling!Peregrine

Posted: 12th Mar 2001
Everything Diana said sounds good to me, especially about fuel. It's also possible that a different wick design or different wick construction will give you more time. Wicks that are too tight don't seem to absorb as much fuel, or don't let it wick out as readily, or something.I've also been thinking a lot about tempo changes, and this relates to flame duration. Twirling slow once your flames start going down will help prolong the burn. My current inclination is to start slow, build up speed, and when I notice the flames getting thready, slow down again.

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy

Posted: 12th Mar 2001
ya know what, i used to have the very same problem with running out of fire before the track ran out,,,, so i switched to towel wicks (wicked arnt they peregrine !).with my latest wick design and some normal cheap lamp parrafin, im gettin burns of 15-20 minutes, well enough to last through even the lengthiest of my choons. as regards to ending, i like to do a 3 beat weave, with some over the head beats while spinning 360' continuously. i get faster and faster as the choon reaches a climtic/damatic end. hope i helped :P

Posted: 12th Mar 2001
yep. towel and lamp oil. all about the long burn. have yet to use anything else besides towel because im so attached to my chains. Pere

AnonymousPLATINUM Member

Posted: 12th Mar 2001
Heph,Yes, you could have two sets of poi, poi and staff, whatever works for you. It makes more visual variety to use two different toys if you're working in sequence. If you going to use poi and poi, think about starting with a poi with a smaller wick and then picking up the poi with a bigger flame or starting with one poi and moving to two, or two poi to three or four. As far as a dramatic end move, I know some kids who build up their routine and when they've hit the peak, they switch into forward circles and whack their wicks on the ground. Enough force will shock the poi enough to go out. Is that the kind of thing you're looking for?And if you're going to use towel for wick, spin them out extra good. They tend to throw fuel more than kevlar. Also, watch them as you burn down. Towel wicks burn up worse than kevlar once fuel as burned out, send sparks flying, and give off an extra special stink. Diana

Posted: 12th Mar 2001
going to change the topic in the middle...yes towel wicks will spark more and smell funny...have found that you really need to check that you have 100% cotton towelling and make sure to remove tags and the like or you get nasty burning synthetic polyester fumes...have had this problem with goodwill towels so now we either buy them cheap from walmart, yardsales, or use the stash we got from a friend who was moving but only the used ones if they still have tags to tell you what theyre made of...the questionable towels get used to put things out.Pere

Posted: 12th Mar 2001
True... many trance anthems are long as mess.So are a lot of the remixes by various DJ's.I've only used glowsticks so far, so "burning-out" isn't a problem for me ^__^... yet! ------------------"Happiness is not a destination, but a method for life"- Burton Hills

The reason communism doesn't work is because people like to own stuff

Posted: 13th Mar 2001
I'm trying to perfect extinguishing the poi in a butterfly move by hitting them together at the top or behind my back. I have had this happen so many times by accident and can get it to work some of the time if I spin the flames down a lot.

Posted: 19th Mar 2001
try Salmonella Dub, from NZ. they're dub (duh!) and their "Killervision" album was my favourite for dancing to all last summer - nice length and good sounds.blessed bemeg

Posted: 19th Mar 2001
thanx for all the advice everyone...-i tried the "whack the wick into the ground move", and it didn't work. instead i had two flaming balls coming towards me in weird paths. it also made me feel a bit out of control, which i guess would change with practice. but it seems like it would never be completely reliable to put them both out. I'm trying to think of a really cool way to do some kind of magic trick, turning, and putting them out in my shirt or something(sounds intelligent, huh?), then turning back for a bow. -i don't think my poi are poorly constructed, they got a massive amount of kevlar wick, loosely wrapped. and i use lamp oil. so i don't think that's much of an issue. i can get a reliable 5 or 6 minute burn(sometimes more) which i think is fairly average. But that means if i want to finish the routine with music, the track can be only 4 or 5 minutes long(or i risk burning out early).-i have a general towel wick question, but i'll save that for a separate post...but here's one for here: do you ENJOY spinning for upwards of 7 to 10 minutes? do you have enough moves that you're not worried your audience would get bored with repetitions? I feel like i could do 5 minutes of solid, ever-changing moves, but anything past that involves a bunch of repetition where i get bored(and i assume that means they'd get bored). i feel like some of the drama of it passes if you just keep going on and on and on. just a thought. anyone else?-thanx for all the music recommendations, im checking them out as we speak. happy swinging,-heph

Posted: 20th Mar 2001
Heph--I've thought about whether I'm getting boring myself. Sometimes I think I am. Sometimes, though, I feel like I'm really in a groove, and could go quite a bit longer than the fuel holds out for and still be interesting--I think it depends on the music and my mood. The more I learn about pacing, tempo changes, and other stuff at a more macro level, the more I feel like I could go longer without getting boring.There are some moves I like to save until near the end, when the flame's getting a little thready (perhaps because I'm still a little intimidated and feel more comfortable with a smaller flame), and would like to be able to control the taper rate, so to speak.

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy