Rock On Moldover Roll On Remix Decks

Transcription

1 DJWORX DJ Technology news, reviews and opinion HOME News Reviews MIDI Controllers Media Players Mixers Turntables Headphones Audio Interfaces Accessories Carts and Needles Computers Luggage Software Articles Opinion Features Interview FORUMS NOTICE BOARD COMMUNITY HARDWARE SOFTWARE HOW TO MODS AND REPAIRS MAP STORE DJBAY April 20, 2012 Rock On Moldover Roll On Remix Decks April 16, 2012 By Mark Settle 9 Comments 1 of 12 4/20/12 12:10 AM

2 Strap in DJs, because you re about to be dragged kicking and screaming into the brave new world envisioned by Native Instruments. And holding your hand through the potential head wrecker that are Traktor v2.5 s Remix Decks and the Traktor Kontrol F1 is Moldover, the Godfather of the controllerist movement. 2 of 12 4/20/12 12:10 AM

3 This is all about live controllerism in its purest form manipulating loops and individual sounds and instrument samples, which Moldover does effortlessly and seems immediately at home with this new NI gear. I like this video partly because it s perhaps a more suitable method for showing the remix decks, but also because it offers practical examples, and also shows the little utilised live sampler on the S4. I still struggled with just how punch mode works (I get it now), but there s still a lot of explaining to do of this new workflow. 3 of 12 4/20/12 12:10 AM

4 Unless I m very much mistaken, DJ isn t mentioned once. I don t know if it s deliberate, but for me it underlines the differences in mindsets when approaching the Remix Decks. Controllerist is a term bandied around and is more often than not generically tagged onto DJs who use controllers for DJing, rather than musicians and producers who use controllers for live performance. But this inspiring demo shows us that DJs can be performers too. While Moldover uses the F1s and S4 as instruments rather than players to make a clever live performance, DJs can take cues from this type of thing and incorporate more performance elements into their sets too. My concern right from seeing it back in January was that it s a very complex proposition to get across to DJs. The Serato/Ableton Bridge mashup has suffered because of the simple fact that DJs don t get Ableton Live. It s not so much a learning curve as a learning wall that has to be scaled for DJs, who are used to working largely in a simple 2 deck setup. 4 of 12 4/20/12 12:10 AM

5 The success of this way of working will be down entirely to explaining it properly. Technology is moving at a breathtaking speed right now, and it s easy to forget that there a a lot of DJs out there who are still getting used to using loops in their sets, let alone cramming a semi-daw into their headspace. Generally, we know deck A and deck B playing long tracks, and to be confronted with a 4 4 pad doing so much more than we re used to is daunting to say the least. So software vendors please do not expect us to run towards an entirely new way of working without showing us the way first. And use music we recognise too that ll bring understanding on leaps and bounds. Dig deep for that sample clearance for your promo videos and you ll reap the benefit later. Thus I urge NI to break the Remix Decks down idiot style so that people can see the real potential. It would be a shame to see a possible game changer fall by the wayside because the potential audience simply didn t get it. Incidentally, Moldover has a full free album to download grab it here. Like Send article as PDF Enter address Send Tweet Share Stum5 5 of 12 4/20/12 12:10 AM

6 Filed Under: News Tagged With: Kontrol F1, Moldover, Native instruments, Remix Decks, Traktor About Mark Settle Dragging DJing and web stuff into one place, Mark Settle created skratchworx 9 years ago and laid down the online blueprint for DJ gear reporting. Now he's about to do it all over again with DJWORX. Enjoy the ride. People left comments 1. Ryan Supak said this:: April 16, 2012 at 2:03 pm To me this is great but it isn t what I d call DJing. To me DJing is primarily about presenting songs to people. This has some technical similarities to DJing, but this is more about playing loops. That the loops happened to come from existing songs is incidental. (If anything it s more like a DMC routine, but personally I can handle about 5-7 minutes of DMC routine. I wouldn t go dancing to a spot where they were performing DMC routines all night.) But I m OK, you re OK, and all that, of course. rs Ryan Supak said this:: April 16, 2012 at 2:10 pm Oh, and just to stave off any hair-splitting, I know it s possible for a DJ to do a miniroutine during an otherwise conventional set, and I know turntable mashups have existed since at least the 70 s. But I m talking about the general traits of a thing, not the exceptional parts of it. rs Jared Helfer said this:: 6 of 12 4/20/12 12:10 AM

7 April 16, 2012 at 6:14 pm I think it s a valid concern, though. There are DJs and producers who go out and spin/perform these sets where just too much is going on. I don t want to hear the 2 minute intros and outros to songs, but I also want to hear the songs, especially those awesome parts, instead of just hearing them cut in and out and mashed up against other things, for three or four hours. Moderation is key. 2. Loudist said this:: April 17, 2012 at 10:24 am Personally, I couldn t be more excited. Computers and software have finally got to the point where they are both reliable enough for live remixing to become a credible artform. Plus, the possibilities for whole new forms of performance via this sort of set-up are literally staggering. This may not be DJ ing, but (whatever it ends-up being called) we wouldn t have got to that point without DJ ing. Bring it on! Mark Settle said this:: April 17, 2012 at 10:30 am Just to add to this Loudist DJing as a movement came about by people doing things that you weren t supposed to do with music. Records were designed to be listened to end to end, not blended and mixed. Scratching was a complete accident as well. The very foundation of modern DJing has been based on using sections of music, either in isolation of repeating them to extend a break. We re at a time when this foundation is being added to and extended thanks to technology. I for one embrace it wholeheartedly. Carlos Hernandez said this:: April 17, 2012 at 11:22 am Amen! Brother! Experimentalism, accidents, creativity, exploring new frontiers! Remix, 7 of 12 4/20/12 12:10 AM

8 reconstruct, new tools, new paradigms, from the old to the new and the new to the old, embrace the new and mix it up with the old and come out with something that is absolutely just you! Try new tools, new ways to express yourself, use the new tools for what they are meant to be use, or even better, find ways to use those tools on ways they were not meant to be use! There is no rules written on stone when it comes to Djing. The world of the Musician, the Producer and The Dj is merging more and more everyday thanks to new technology! Embrace it and make it yours, give it your own flavor and be the next person that bring something new and fresh to the world of Djing and music in general! 3. GroovinDJ said this:: April 17, 2012 at 11:45 pm I don t see how this can really work well, especially for those who aren t used to using loops and samples, unless this new Traktor software has onboard Ableton Live style warping. All these bits and bobs of tracks that need to be kept in sync. Unless you ve spent ages preparing it all and making sure it s all at one tempo, the potential for it to get messy very quickly is enormous. I d love to see DJ software with warping. It d save having to run stuff through Live first. 4. KLH said this:: April 18, 2012 at 3:34 pm What we re seeing (IMHO) is the embodiment of a minimal setup to do Live Remixing, a la DJ Enferno ( NI does this with Traktor v2.5 and Serato+Ableton do it with Scratch Live, the Bridge, and Live 8. Is this the future of DJing? Time will tell. So far, crowds don t seem to be dazzled by the increased skills required to do this type of performance -KLH DJ Koopa said this:: April 18, 2012 at 6:09 pm 8 of 12 4/20/12 12:10 AM

9 Agree with the crowds don t seem to be dazzled by the increased skills required to do this type of performance point especially not in the clubs I play at anyway. A lot of the younger crowds (18-21) these days seem to stop dancing if you play a slightly different version of a song they like, let alone a mad self made mash-up. I m sure the crowds for these types of performances are out there, and I long for the day they start taking over the dancefloors, but as far as mainstream clubbing goes I don t think they are ready for this sort of thing yet. Got something to add? The House Rules: Be polite, respectful and treat others as you would expect to be treated. Keep it constructive and on-topic. If you must go off-topic, post it in the forum. Importantly, you must be logged in to comment. Speak in your own voice, and be accountable for your opinion. Login Username: Password: Remember me Login» Register Lost your password? Connect with: Powered by OneAll Social Login SEARCH THE BLOG AND FORUMS Search this website Search GET SOCIAL 9 of 12 4/20/12 12:10 AM

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11 What is DJWORX? DJWORX is totally focussed on all types of DJ gear and the associated technologies. Built upon the solid foundation laid down by SKRATCHWORX, this new site more accurately represents the way the scene has developed over the last 5-10 years. But it's so much more than a much needed name change - this is a demolish and rebuild moment. With the new site comes new focus, dedicated to bringing you the latest often exclusive news, industry respected reviews, as well as a liberal 11 of 12 4/20/12 12:10 AM

12 dose of editorial opinion. We aim to deliver this when you need it, and have a new team of writers ready to pounce on the new shiny and write all about it in a timely manner. And so much more as well. On top of this, we want to build a community around DJWORX - one where every corner of the industry - regardless of style, genre or technology - can come together in the comments and in the integrated forum too. It's seamless - register, and you're logged on to comment on stories as well as post in the forum. This is the start of a new era. I class this as v1, with a regularly updated roadmap to make DJWORX the only place you'll ever need to come for anything related to DJ technology. Thanks for stopping by. The journey begins. Mark Settle NAVIGATION Home News Reviews Articles Forums Back to top djshdkjads Return to top of page Copyright Log in 12 of 12 4/20/12 12:10 AM