There is a reason we never press play and lean back. A playlist is a list — made behind a desk, without an audience, without energy. A set is something different.
A set is a conversation with the room. You read faces. You see when the energy drops and when you can push it. You feel when a classic makes the difference and when you need to move to something no one expected but everyone wants to hear.
At Last Night Group, Marcel has been spinning for over 15 years. Not because he plays playlists, but because he understands the floor. Every event is different. The wedding of 80 people at a castle requires something different than the corporate gala of 500 at the MECC.
The first half of the evening is crucial. Start too hard and you have an empty floor after an hour. Too soft and nobody gets up. It is all in the timing. In knowing when to shift from lounge-like grooves to the first real dance tracks. In catching the moment when dinner ends and the atmosphere shifts.
You cannot programme that into a playlist. That is craftsmanship.
We do create a music plan in advance. We ask about favourites, no-go's and the vibe you are looking for. But that plan is a compass, not a script. On the evening itself we read the room and adjust in real-time.
That is the difference between a DJ and someone who presses play.