This is an issue of continuing interest, because I tend to let tracks play out and mix in late. At the very beginning it was because my mixing skills weren't so good and I just needed more time to select the next track and get things ready. But after a while I preferred it, although I like the quick-in-and-out approach of other DJs quite a bit.
To some degree this issue is influenced by the content. Vocal house tracks tend to be fairly short and designed for a very consistent mix-in/break/central section/break/mix-out-quick approach. You have to be careful because you don't want the vocals stepping on each other. Mixing in key or at least not clashing really matters with those tracks. Trackier house provides more flexibility, but I've noticed fairly quick mixing continues as the dominant style for a lot of the pro DJs. Whether this is because they don't want to get bored with their current crate or they don't want the floor to lose focus, or both, is sometimes hard to say. Also, a lot of house (well, a lot of *all* styles) is pretty nondescript, not to say mediocre, and there isn't enough variation to play out an entire track. The same goes for a lot of the standard techno, particularly the "drier" European style, but on the other hand I hear a lot of long mixing with those tracks, and even moreso with "epic" or "progressive" house, not to mention trance. I know there is a lot of variation among Detroit DJs, but if I were to characterize the Detroit style, I'd say it's quick-mixing; I'm sure this goes back to hip hop and the influence of Jeff Mills on a generation of radio listeners. This reaches to the limits with techno-bass-electro-booty, and even I play that much more limited sections of tracks in that style, although I definitely don't have the skills of the good Detroit booty movers :) It's interesting to see how different DJs approach the same records. I found this out again when K.J. put together an impromptu set out of my record bag at the last 313 party at Detroit Science. Gave my stuff a whole new life! I tend to play one particular way because of my tastes, limits as a technical DJ, and the records I've gotten by luck or hard work (sometimes both), but I am *motivated* by DJs with many different styles. The reason why house and techno persist and have longevity that other styles don't seem to is, in part, because of the flexibility of these bodies of music when it comes to "presentation". I could go on about how vinyl is an important factor in this, but I better not oughtta... phred
