ES feat. Nic Fanciulli & Reset Robot - Sat 13th June @ 02 Academy

[discodown]

Would you be able to define "proper DJing" to me then please?

I can give it a go.

 

Proper DJing is the manipulation of records in order to emotionally connect, direct and react to and with a crowd in front of you. Djing involves playing records (or to a point) music in such a way as to illicit a response from the dancers which in turn you should be able to acknowledge and respond to thus illiciting further reaction from the dancers.

 

Where the line becomes blurred is when traditional tracks and music are manipulated to such a point that the original record may not be what it once was. There is a point where DJing becomes mixology and a further point where mixology becomes a live performance and an even further point which we are yet to reach (as far as I know) where you are creating new, original music live on stage kind of like freeform jazz.

[WYEXILE]

Ableton does take time to make preparations but there is far more sound manipulation you can do 'on the fly' than Traktor; not just effects but looping, EQ's and all manner of editing. If you were creating a whole set at home then bringing the laptop along and playing it to a crowd of people passively then that is clearly not 'proper DJing' but if all you are doing is beatmarking then doing everything else live it can be much more intricate than anything else available.

 

This is all entirely irrelevant anyway; as I mentioned above, there is no point discussing the medium when the end product is the important thing.

 

Err other than this discussion is providing a viable alternative to work. In your opinion it's irrelevant. I think it's perfectly relevant.

[WYEXILE]

I can give it a go.

 

Proper DJing is the manipulation of records in order to emotionally connect, direct and react to and with a crowd in front of you. Djing involves playing records (or to a point) music in such a way as to illicit a response from the dancers which in turn you should be able to acknowledge and respond to thus illiciting further reaction from the dancers.

 

Where the line becomes blurred is when traditional tracks and music are manipulated to such a point that the original record may not be what it once was. There is a point where DJing becomes mixology and a further point where mixology becomes a live performance and an even further point which we are yet to reach (as far as I know) where you are creating new, original music live on stage kind of like freeform jazz.

 

Good point well made.

 

Leave the freeform jazz to the chinstrokers though.

[Dufrain]

Err other than this discussion is providing a viable alternative to work. In your opinion it's irrelevant. I think it's perfectly relevant.

 

Discussion about who is the better DJ is relevant, discussing which is the better medium is absurd, its like discussing whether mathematical results are better based upon whether a calculator or a spreadsheet were used rather than checking the results themselves.

 

As a final point, people can play bad and talentless Ableton sets but so can people playing with CD's, vinyl or Traktor.

[discodown]

Good point well made.

 

Leave the freeform jazz to the chinstrokers though.

The day we see it isn't far away. As technology makes mixing and the basic dynamics of DJing easier and more accessable then the DJ's who can innovate more and be more creative will reign

[WYEXILE]

Discussion about who is the better DJ is relevant, discussing which is the better medium is absurd, its like discussing whether mathematical results are better based upon whether a calculator or a spreadsheet were used rather than checking the results themselves.

 

As a final point, people can play bad and talentless Ableton sets but so can people playing with CD's, vinyl or Traktor.

 

Medium discussion is perfectly relevant. You are right, it's like using mathematical tools. A mathematical tool gives a finite answer which is either right or wrong. On the same hand playing music gives a finite result (sound from speaker). So I'm with you there. The difference is, if you are a maths genius you would far rather see someone like Einstein or Hawkin prove one of their theories with a blackboard and a piece of chalk to see how they tested and developed the theory as they went along. Same for DJ'ing. I'd far rather experience a DJ set which develops with the crowds expectation rather than someone rock up with a shed full of loops and sequences and press 'go'.

[Dufrain]

Medium discussion is perfectly relevant. You are right, it's like using mathematical tools. A mathematical tool gives a finite answer which is either right or wrong. On the same hand playing music gives a finite result (sound from speaker). So I'm with you there. The difference is, if you are a maths genius you would far rather see someone like Einstein or Hawkin prove one of their theories with a blackboard and a piece of chalk to see how they tested and developed the theory as they went along. Same for DJ'ing. I'd far rather experience a DJ set which develops with the crowds expectation rather than someone rock up with a shed full of loops and sequences and press 'go'.

 

But if they don't connect with the audience then the end result wont be as good so it all comes back to the end result, unless you believe it is impossible to connect with the audience using Ableton?

 

Have you seen someone turn up to a gig with a sequence of loops and press play? When was this?

[WYEXILE]

For me it's tougher to connect with the audience using ableton as I think it is a restricted medium in terms of how it can be manipulated in real time. Its not as simple as pulling a record out of a box, or creating a loop as you see fit and dropping an acapella of choice at a moments notice.

 

In answer to your second question, yes I have (although they appeared to do more). I'm not going to name names though.

[Dufrain]

For me it's tougher to connect with the audience using ableton as I think it is a restricted medium in terms of how it can be manipulated in real time. Its not as simple as pulling a record out of a box, or creating a loop as you see fit and dropping an acapella of choice at a moments notice.

 

In answer to your second question, yes I have (although they appeared to do more). I'm not going to name names though.

 

Pulling a record from a box: Ableton is simpler, just drag and drop.

 

Creating a loop: There are hotkeys for that or you can use midi controllers/the mouse to create a loop at any point in the track then make edits and use effects on that loop live.

 

Dropping an accapella: same as playing a tune, except you can use as many accapellas as you like and can use either the same effects or specify effects per accapella.

 

This does sound very geeky but I use Ableton a lot for production and I'm quite aware of it's functions now. I personally prefer to use CD's because my mixing style does not befit Ableton and I can see your point about connecting with an audience but I think if done properly it can create incredible DJ sets.

[WYEXILE]

It's all about preference. My point was that it is a relevant discussion, as has been proven.