Laptops and dubplates

Slothrop

Slothrop

Tight but Polite
There's been a lot of technology coming out recently that makes the concept of 'live' electronic music seem less like a contradiction in terms. In particular, software like Ableton Live and (in a less high profile way) EnergyXT allow you to really blur the lines between a DJ set, a mash up, and a live performance - you can trigger preset loops, tweak equipment, play in new phrases, layer, reorder and remix your tunes on the fly.

Since one of the things that's traditionally made dubplate cultures so exciting is the very rapid feedback loop of dubplate -> club -> audience reaction -> studio -> dubplate, is it possible that laptop performances / DJ sets could accelerate that even further? You don't have to wait for a week or a month for a succesful meme to spread through the scene, it can happen in the course of a single set. Meanwhile, the absence of records means that people don't need to have the means to press up dubplates of a new tune or a new version, but can just render it.

Until recently, this hasn't been much of an issue, since the sort of software that made this possible was well into hardcore geek territory, but the new stuff isn't much more effort than using a conventional sequencer.

Is this actually quite an exciting prospect? Or is it just a pipe dream: the whole thing's actually going to remain a novelty with no real impact...
 
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shudder

Well-known member
oh, and I'm sure you've heard of the devices like Final Scratch and Miss Pinky that allow to you use turntables to control computers... Miss Pinky is particularly cool, since it outputs directly into a Max patch, with which you can control absolutely anything!
 
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gek-opel

entered apprentice
I'm sure this stuff will slowly make inroads- I've seen it in bars, people throwing together completed tracks in the mix with their own jammed together bits on Ableton-- the only problem is the lack of a gestural element (the physical pluck of a guitar, the DJ hunched over the deck spinning the record into position etc)-- asides from obviously the mouse swipe and finger-button click- is that in itself a problem? Creatively it offers great potential, to fuck with tunes on the fly rather than merely re-arranging pre-existing tracks into new contexts... that alone ought to intensify the cultural feedback loop!
 
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hurricane run

Well-known member
none

The luddite speaks... Tapes (both compact and reel to reel), cds, outboard effects, drum machines, synths - they've all been used by DJs in the last 30 years to augment records, so why not computers?
 
nomos

nomos

Administrator
Logan Sama said:
Using computers isnt DJing.

It is a performance of some sort, but it is not DJing.
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Is that what you tell Geeneus, Darkside and Plasticman when you see them use Serrato? ;)
 
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T

the undisputed truth

Banned
all the mixer you'll ever need


General Description

The TTM 57SL combines the best Rane and Serato have to offer in a single, high performance mixer. Finally a mixer that fully integrates mixer hardware, software and software controls in one powerful package. The TTM 57SL combines all the performance and features of the Rane TTM 56 with Serato Scratch LIVE software. We didn't stop there -- we also included internal effects with six stereo insert points.
ttm57slo.gif


http://www.rane.com/ttm57sl.html
 
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shudder

Well-known member
yeah, the lemur does look incredible. abso-fucking-lutely incredible. However, I'd imagine it would take a lot of computer power to run and would require some pretty complicated programming know-how to create yr own applications. The exciting thing about the Monome 40h is that the order of difficulty involved in programming it is similar to the level knowledge you already need for whatever environment you're working in.. In other words, *I* could actually create stuff for it :). (not to mention the minimalist what-nots that always seem to get certain people all excited)

but yeah, the lemur is defos next level ish.
 
E

elgato

I just dont know
gek-opel said:
the only problem is the lack of a gestural element (the physical pluck of a guitar, the DJ hunched over the deck spinning the record into position etc)-- asides from obviously the mouse swipe and finger-button click- is that in itself a problem?
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It would be, but i think that this element can be present if enough time is put into preparation...ive seen many live laptop sets incorporating midi keyboards and outboard midi controllers (faders/knobs assigned to various midi functions), thereby re-incorporating the physical element. In fact, a number of performers ive seen have had more of a physical presence than much of what I have seen from other formats of performance. I saw Tim Exile a while back, and he had a particularly interesting approach, utilising a strapped on mic/headphone combo, he would talk and skit, then sample his words as they came out, twist them, loop them, stretch them, pitch shift them, effect them and build a track around them. It was phenomenal, the feeling of interaction and live, real-time excitement was incredible. It obviously helps that he's an obvious extrovert with a good sense of humour, but the way that was brought together with his technical mastery...twisted cabaret for the 21st century!

With technology nowadays, a generic 8 fader 8 knob board can turn into a whole studio of madness, both re-assignable in a live setting and manipulable in real time, with all the physicality of djing/musical performing to boot. There is still a massive place for vinyl and dubplate culture for me, not least due to the depth of sound offered, but the possibilities in electronic performance make for exciting times if you ask me.
 
S

shudder

Well-known member
elgato said:
There is still a massive place for vinyl and dubplate culture for me, not least due to the depth of sound offered, but the possibilities in electronic performance make for exciting times if you ask me.
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yup yup!
 
L

Logan Sama

BestThereIsAtWhatIDo
autonomicforthepeople said:
Is that what you tell Geeneus, Darkside and Plasticman when you see them use Serrato? ;)
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Serrato still necessitates 2 decks and a mixer and simply replaces the audio signal.

It's still a bit dodgy in my eyes though.
 
T

tate

Brown Sugar
Logan Sama said:
Serrato still necessitates 2 decks and a mixer and simply replaces the audio signal. It's still a bit dodgy in my eyes though.
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Why dodgy? I use Serrato regularly, but I also play entire sets with vinyl only. Often play one deck from Serrato and one from vinyl, alternating back and forth from my computer and my bag for long stretches.
 
A

adverb

Well-known member
either use vinyl or don't use vinyl, or both - whatever you prefer. people that aren't dj's don't really give a shit (after the novelty wears off anyway).

also, as far as most club music goes, the whole dubplates thing died when cd decks became popular quite a few years back!
 
C

captain easychord

Guest
serato/final scratch makes everything sound like shit IMO, all compressed and ugly.
 
Grievous Angel

Grievous Angel

Beast of Burden
captain easychord said:
serato/final scratch makes everything sound like shit IMO, all compressed and ugly.
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That's usually because people use mp3s, or don't have a good enough sound card in their laptop. And a mash-up in Live won't have the kind of mastering expertise lavished on something like a Transition plate.

I think there is something good about the way Live and similar tools let you more intimately react to the crowd. For example, I'm told that when T-Power saw how well my No Sunshine tune went down in Ottowa, he dropped a load of old soul and funk tunes over his breaks when he played, doing it on the fly.

But great DJs have always clocked the crowd reaction; the only difference is that Live means they potentially have a wider pallete to work from.
 
D

DJL

i'm joking
I don't think it matters what you use. Its more to do with what you need to create your sound whether it is 2 decks and a mixer or some hybrid technology system or whatever.

There has always been the dj-ing stigma of "just playing other peoples' records" which obviously misses the point of (IMO) genuine djing. New technology helps to remove this stigma and makes the process look more like the performance it actually is which is a good thing.


Youtube is great for videos of people demonstrating different technologies, for example:

DJ2tall using 2 turntables, mpc, loopstation @ Cargo, London -
Sasha & Digweed in Buenos Aires -
Some mad handeld iPod prototype mixer -

But, straight turntables and mixer will always impress in the hands of the right person still:

Jeff Mills: The Exhibitionist Mix -

Part 1 -
Part 2 -
Part 3 -
 
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