- The controller communicates via USB, has 9 endless rotary encoders, 9 push buttons and a joystick. It is USB bus powered for convenience.
- The 9 encoder knobs can also be pressed to select any MIDI channel from 1 to 9, LEDs indicate which MIDI channel is currently active.
- The encoders also 'remember' where they were when they were last used on that channel and display their position on the ring of leds around each knob, so you can change channel without fear of data jumps.
- The self-centering joystick can send information on the currently selected channel, and can be used for bending pitch or modulation control, or any other operation you wish to assign it to.
- The 9 push buttons send data on the selected MIDI channel and can 'remember' their on-off status, which is shown by internal LEDs.
- With the 9 channels available at the push of a knob, you effectively have 81 endless controllers and 81 buttons at your fingertips in a very compact unit.
- The whole unit is attractively styled in a sturdy aluminium box, finished in brushed aluminium and with matching solid aluminium knobs.
Pricing is high, but the build quality looks top notch. There is supposedly a more DJ centric controller on the horizon as well, but it is still a way off as it was going through reconceptualization apparently. Danny Mac, a breaks producer, has put something together that looks like it was picked up by Kenton as well.
The majority of Drexciya's releases were in the style of harsh, dancefloor oriented Electro, punctuated with elements of retro, 1980s Detroit Techno, with occasional excursions into the Ambient and Industrial genres. Drexciya combined a faceless, underground, anti-mainstream media stance with mythological, sci-fi narratives, to help heighten the dramatic effect of their music. In this respect they were similar to artists within and close to the Detroit collective Underground Resistance. Their name referred to a myth comparable to Plato's myth of Atlantis, which the group revealed in the sleeve notes to their 1997 album "The Quest". "Drexciya" was an underwater country populated by the unborn children of pregnant African women thrown off of slave ships that had adapted to breathe underwater in their mother's wombs. Reports of Drexciya's disbanding in 1997 were contradicted two years later when a new Drexciya track appeared on the Underground Resistance compilation Interstellar Fugitives, followed by three more Drexciya albums. It appears that these were the solo work of Stinson.[citation needed] Both he and Gerald Donald continued to be prolific in their respective side projects. Although both members of Drexciya remained completely anonymous throughout their active recording career, James Stinson, was identified posthumously in 2002. The members of Drexciya have never been photographed, although they have given interviews, throughout one of which they wore Star Trek masks to conceal their identity!
On Making Ego free music: Right. Most definitely. And that's the way it should be. Because if you make music for any other purpose, it's not going to come out right. It's not going to feel free, you're not going to be able to create freely like you're supposed to. You'll be making music to survive, you'll be making music for phoney reasons. But if you make music because you love it and because it's in your blood, I think you're going to make some of the most beautiful things that anybody has ever heard. Look at Quincy Jones, look at Stevie Wonder; those guys are still making beautiful music. They do it because they love it, they're not doing it because they want the money. I mean look at Prince now. He's still making music and putting it out because he loves it. He could have went out there and got fat record deals from Warner Brothers and whoever else screwed him, could have got millions and millions of dollars, but he doesn't care about that. He wanted to do his thing. If you don't love it, leave it alone.
A 3 hour mix of only their music found online from Bleep Radio. Very cool.
I was pretty excited about the fact that my Live at Megaton mix had 842 downloads this month until I checked the percentage of total download data it took up relative to the other downloads - only 6.29%. This means that people are clicking on it to see what it sounds like, but not listening to it except for probably the beginning part.
Looks like I'm going to have to step up my game. It might not be a good idea to post every mix I do when I play out as well. Make it a bit more special? It is surprising to see Maven and my tag team set still get the hits it does considering it is a few months old. Definitely not complaining about that!
I can say, without a doubt, that I will post DJ mixes of guests that I have at my events when I can record them. I think it adds some value to the culture having mixes by guest DJs posted so they are captured in a moment of time.
In the end, after two months, John's mix has been downloaded 14,500 times. WOW. Alexi's gained some critical rave reviews as I checked back on linkbacks to see who was downloading and what they had to say about the mix.
So, here is a quote from from Deepsky's J. Scott G. (Giaquinta) who is now leaving the group he founded:
"As rave culture enters its twilight and clubbers become jaded by mountains of listless deep-prog-idm-breakcore tunes, the party-going public has subconsciously clamored for something fresh and exciting," Giaquinta states. "With shrinking event attendance, drooping CD and record sales, and a palpable malaise about club nights once considered massive, enter Summer Channel."
According to Dennis Romero, aka Danceblogga, this was announced over the holiday weekend.
I wish him all the luck in the world in his new endeavor, Summer Channel.
However, I do have an issue with his characterization of dance music via the quote above. Listless tunes are causing the party going public to clamor for something fresh and exciting. I'm not sure what he's been listening to lately, but the tracks being played by good DJs are simply amazing and inspiring (vs. the crap he must be hearing played). Admittedly, crap tunes selected by equally crap DJs is a problem - but it always has been. His indictment of the entire dance culture is way off base.
Shrinking event attendance is due to crappy events, not crappy music. Shrinking record and/or CD sales has to do with different distribution, not because people don't like what they hear (Online, anyone? Er, Beatport. Hello). Doesn't seem like he gets it. There is plenty of amazing music out there and, to be clear, I'm glad he's spreading his artistic wings - we should all do this when it feels right. But don't downgrade the quality of music across the board (based on old notions of what success is supposed to be, like CD sales) and then use it as a way to prop up your new band! (As the answer to his strawman argument, no less!)
I mean, wow.
.02.
p.s. How long has Rave been in its twilight mode? Geez, probably since after the first party ever thrown. There is always someone lamenting its death, it seems.
I've been saddened by not having dBlue's Glitch plugin available for Mac OS X (yet, according to the developer), but an enterprising Ableton Live user created an infinitely customizable framework for glitch-like usage within Live for download (in thread. Go get it there). Using that with Live's intended use - playing live - this should be an invaluable tool. I've downloaded and going to give this thing a go myself for use in my sets.
Pics from Hawtin/Mills | Compression One Year Party @ Avalon
Verdict? Great night. TONS of people in attendance. We had some minor difficulties at the door because the discount and guest lists were so huge, but Avalon staff recovered and got it straight early. Sound on the main floor was bumping and Richie played a technically perfect set to my ears. He was all concentration, no fuss, no distractions.
Richie plays an interesting style. If I could describe it, it is like a hard minimalist, detroit infused banging sound. In no way is it "clicky" or "glitchy" like the plod style minimal can get into. He plays main floor and manipulates crowd effectively.
Jeff Mills? Honestly, there are a few in our crew who have misgivings about the mainstream of L.A. and whether they can hang with a techno sound until the wee hours in the morning. When Jeff came on around 2:30 a.m. there were predictions of people leaving. NOT THE CASE. I left around 4:30 a.m. (due to another impending day gig on Saturday) and that place was banging, still a full dancefloor.
So, how was Jeff's sound? He worked the tables, his 909, and played a seriously paced set of techno that did nothing but cement his earned reputation for track selection, working the mix, and total concentration. I tried taking pictures and video (and I did get some good ones), but it was difficult to get around the stage ... plus, like all great shamans, he really didn't want any photos or videos of him taken. Oh well.
A couple of other points: Increasingly, Drumcell is becoming one of my favorite techno DJs in LA, if not my favorite. Every time I hear him play his track selections build, make sense, and have that slightly on the edge sound that makes you feel like he is going to go over the deep end, and then suddenly, BAM, brings it back in with a solid bassline, drum kicks, and you are off to another level of his mix. (Uses vinyl too. :) ). Unfortunately I didn't get to hear much of Acid Circus' set as I was playing at that time. Heard nothing but great things about their set though.
The pict to the right is Luis and I rocking it in the Terrace. I had a few technical difficulties but managed to survive my set until Berg Nixon (aka Ryan Crosson) got on and proceeded to kill it with his original material.
Kudos to L.A. and much appreciated to the staff of Avalon for putting the show together and having Compression be a part of it.
I'll have to suggest this to the boys back in Sweden. Sex sells you know. Plus, imagine the sound design possibilities!
My apologies to the original owner of this photo. Found on MySpace (of course), but don't have the original link to the profile. If you know, let me in on it and I will post a link back. Always good to see at least some enthusiastic female interest in our software, of course. Chuckle ;)
Reactable: basic demo #1. Interesting and very futuristic demo. Would hate to lose any of those pieces, however. At least a synth has all of its pieces attached.
Mouseless DJ/Juggle Template for Live by the Phat Conductor
Mouseless dj/juggle template for Live
-full MIDI Browser access and navigation with midiStroke -3 kinds of MIDI Beat Juggling with 96 juggle slots -macro mapped filters + custom EQ4s (usable from Live 5 via controlAid) -supatrigga crossfade -macro mapped record stop effect button. -dummy clips on automation channels -4 channels of DJ goodness -intuitive clip slot mapping for making arrangement changes on the fly -tempo scene data entry via MIDI -documentation which clearly explains everything (english only) -free samples programmed onto hard wired juggle slots -free warped, diced + juggled mp3 of my record Ice-9 feat Tasc
Always good to learn new techniques. Thanks Phat. :)
More Info on how to get the template: just send $30 US to thephatconductor at hot mail and I'll send it to you online within 2 days, most likely within 12 hours. If you want an hour of phone support, send $45 and email me to set up a time, i will eat the long distance charges.
I loved Layer Cake and felt Daniel Craig was spot on in that movie. Now that the reviews are coming in that this Bond is like the rejuvenated Batman in Batman Begins, I'm stoked!
UPDATE: Saw it on Sunday, the 19th. Loved it. It was a little weird with a fourth act in the story arc, but I still dug it. Daniel Craig makes an excellent Bond. I thought the opening sequence with the construction chase was blindingly good. Gotta go work out now so I can get pecs like Craig. Note to self: Lots of work to do in this area. ;)
Stuff like this makes me think that video, audio, internet, and human creativity are still evolving to some end point that we can't still yet see. Either way, this is a great video...
Sasha on using Ableton to DJ - lessons learned...Surgeon too.
It is an interesting observation that Sasha makes here in this recent interview with John Digweed:
Much has been made of Sasha ditching his vinyl to perform his DJ sets from the digital medium, and even he admits that he got caught up in the hype and possibilities which the software presented when he first started using it.
"It feels like DJing to me now, when initially it didn't," Sasha explains. "Initially it just felt weird and I lost my sound a lot, in the beginning it took me a good six months to sound like me again. It was almost like I had to teach myself to sound like myself - it was weird!" he laughs.
"Maybe it's my fault, but there's been a little too much focus on what I'm using rather than the music I'm playing," he continues, slightly agitated. "Just because you're using Ableton it doesn't make you a better DJ, just like playing with CDJs doesn't make you a better DJ either.
This is exactly the thought process I had to go through over the last year or so when I dropped vinyl in 2005 and went all Ableton Live*. Sasha hits it squarely on the head with his observation - and it makes me realize that he is, indeed, seriously thinking about his role as a DJ and how to do it well. This is why I like him as I always get that sense that he's not satisfied with the status quo (much like Hawtin, IMO).
As an interesting tangent to this, I saw/heard Surgeon (Discogs | Website] play this weekend at the Droid Interface 17 party. He was using Live with a UC-33e controller. Watching him was boring because he had no presence and his use of Live was very pedestrian. It was full tracks, played out to completion, very little tweaking, etc. I was disappointed as I half expected him to be playing clips of original stuff (loops, rhythms, etc) actively throughout the set. BUT, and this is a big ol' but, just listening to the mix out on the dancefloor was pretty good. If you ignored him and just concentrated on his bangin' set, it was definintely consistent. But as Sasha pointed out above, I think he is still learning how to effectively use the tools like Live, live. This is just a hunch, but that's my guess.
In any case, people tend to underestimate the challenge inherent moving from Vinyl to a Laptop using Live. I'm glad Sasha is pointing this out as it tends to irk me when people think of DJing on a Laptop is the easy way out. I'll save it for another post on my process, but just preparing for a set is 100 times more involved now than it ever was when I just played vinyl...
*Sidenote: Much of my musings on this struggle are spread out all over the web and various boards, so I should probably consolidate these postings here for reference and posterity sake. It would probably be useful to those still weighing the pros and cons of using such a powerful piece of software like Live for DJing.
This is one of the more well written user perspective reviews of Ableton's new instrument, Sampler, in Live 6. I'm particularly juiced about this observation Tarekith makes:
For twisting and tweaking single samples or loops, it's really one of the most intuitive software samplers I've ever used. Especially as it's dead easy to just drag and drop a sample from the session view directly into Sampler, and start tweaking it. You could have an empty Sampler in your live sets or DJ sets, and just drop clips in there as needed. Using a midi controller with the new automap and macros available, you'll always know what you're tweaking too. It's very simple to use on the fly like this, and almost feels more like a synth than a sampler. When you start using clip envelopes to modify parameters, you begin to see how endless the possibilities are.
Someone really needs to create a Glitch DBlue killer plug in. That thing is for Windows only unfortunately, but it is an amazing effect plug. But Audio Damage is stepping up to the plate with a teaser for a new plugin called Replicant. Hopefully this will be it!
Meet Replicant. It should be fairly obvious as to what it does, especially to those of you familiar with Live's built in Beat Repeat. I really like Beat Repeat, but I have a couple problems with it. (A) It's Live only, and I have no intention of switching to Live for my music creation, because it is singularly unsuited to my methodology, and (b) Beat Repeat is fucking annoying to program. I don't mean that as a slight to the Ableton guys, who had an excellent idea with their plug. It just doesn't make sense in that all-important non-Germanic way. How is ours different? Well, it has a much more comprehensive timing mechanism, resonant filters, pan position, bit reduction, and more sophisticated randomization features.
Another competition. 5 minute Ableton Mix? Hm. Not sure how I would approach this. But I think I'm going to get me one of these new stands. Looks extremely functional.
ALDJ/Space-tek CS competition Details
All you have to do to win either CS model is to send us a 5mins mix to our Gmail account, in 192K Mp3 format via yousendit.com - abletonlivedj at gmail.com [please replace the at with @ and remove the spaces, we have done this to stop spiders (little programs that harvest email addresses) from attacking us with Spam].
We will narrow the list down to 10 and then the winner will be chosen by a panel of the ALDJ team and Space-tek. The top 5 will be hosted for everyone to hear on ALDJ.
Rules :-
1) Moderators and relatives of Space-tek & ALDJ may not enter. 2) Any mixes submitted are limited to 5mins with a 30 seconds grace period either side. 3) By submitting a mix you agree for your mix to posted in the top 5 on ALDJ. 4) Please mark all entries in ALDJ/Space-tek Comp in the subject title and add ID3 tags of your name & email to the mp3. 5) The competition is open to residents of any country in the world. 6) All DJ styles and techniques are encouraged. 7) Closing date for competition entries is the 14th of November 2006 8)Only the first place winner will win 1 CS model of their choice. 9) The decision of the judges are final.
Probably won't enter. But maybe some of you will....
Artist: Cosmic Sandwich aka Steve Barnes Label: My Best Friend (MBF), sublabel of Traum Schallplatten, Cologne, Germany Track: Scatter Realm (unreleased, from the forthcoming EP 'Battle Twig') Sponsor: Steinberg (Hamburg, Germany) What to do: Remix the track 'Scatter Realm' by Cosmic Sandwich Timetable: Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2006, three full months
PRIZES:
1st Prize: A release on Cosmic Sandwich's "Battle Twig Remix EP" which will be out in early 2007. (Optional a second or even third track) plus one Traum Schallplatten 'Best Of' vinyl pack plus a Steinberg Cubase T-shirt sent to your house
2nd Prize: A Steinberg 'Cubase Studio 4' software sequencer (click here for detailed information) plus a Traum Schallplatten 'Best of' vinyl pack plus a Steinberg Cubase T-shirt sent to your house
3rd Prize: A Traum Schallplatten 'Best of' vinyl pack plus a Steinberg Cubase T-shirt sent to your house
4th and 5th Prize: A Steinberg Cubase T-shirt
Material: Get all the samples, midi files plus the exclusive unreleased track on www.foem.info . Also a minimix with Steve´s most important works is available
Jury: Jaqueline Klein, Steve Barnes, Riley Reinhold
SO, the above is interesting, but I really think their guidance is more compelling because it is a window into how labels communicate their needs to fit the style of their label. Check it out below:
Remixing the new Cosmic Sandwich track 'Scatter Realm'
This time there are some more specific guidelines (no strict rules) when working with this track, so please bear the following in mind to match MBF's style:
- MBF is a House label. - Your track should have a cool monotony and it should have a cool groove which carries the track. - Plus a certain nervous energy which should derive from the track being based in 16ths. - Very hypnotic. - Very epic. - Long breaks are cool. These long breaks must be exciting, and something must happen in them, they must be strong and dynamic (remember 'Andre Kraml - Safari (James Holden Remix)'). - Minimal and reduced. - Additive structure/arrangement (Don't fire all your guns in the first minute, don't use up all your ideas right off). - Economy. - The sounds really should be more psychedelic rather than hard and aggressive, more of a liquid movement within the track, not simply 'boom boom boom'. - Track should be no longer than 8 minutes if possible (the absolute length permitted is 12 minutes). - Oldschool- elements (sounds, bass lines etc.), are allowed. - And again, MBF is NOT a high-tech label - IT'S ABOUT THE GROOVE! - Not to forget: Your track must work in a club, not a bedroom. It must ROCK. You know what that means.
Not too shabby. Of course, John Tejada's mix really blew me away with the number of downloads in October. Just shy of 12,000! HOLY COW. More than impressive. I like the feeling that there are hundreds of copies of my mixes out there on people's iPods or computers being played. That is a great feeling to.
