Will Marshall has sent us yet another update of his latest APC40 DJ Template. This template has been pretty popular over the years- its staying power a testament its usefulness. Highly recommended for DJs using the APC40 on stage.
The walkthrough can be seen in the video above. If you need help with installation go to: https://vimeo.com/37932482
To download the template, visit WillMarshall.me
Link: Producer Q&A with Kraddy
Get in while you can! Join the GlitchHopForum and pose questions directly to the one and only Kraddy. Interested in honing your production techniques? Get tips from one of the best. These Q&As won’t stay live forever so hurry up.
“Known as a pioneer of electronic music, Kraddy is one of the most innovative and remarkable artists of his day. He stands as a visionary in his field, a fresh voice that spans genres and artistic style. Hybridizing hip hop, dubstep and dancehall with digital edits and cuts, Kraddy’s music is a voice from the future awakening our ears and minds to what is yet to come.
Originally from NY, Kraddy (born Matthew Kratz) began his musical career in San Francisco releasing his debut album, Truth Has No Path, in 2003. With the release of the single “Faux Show” (a remix of The Old Dirty Bastard’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ya”,) Kraddy became an underground favorite in the electronic music world. After a handful of vinyl breakbeat releases, Kraddy changed the game once again with his sophomore effort, The Illegal Album. Fueled by fierce beats and searing edits, The Illegal Album was a radical fusion of Kraddy’s unique production chops with classic hip hop and dancehall acapellas.” [source]
Interested in reading a Q&A with one of the most influential and elusive experimental electronic music producers? How about having questions posed by the likes of Plus 2, S.P.E.C.T.R.E, Ill Gates, Figgy, and Dewey dB? Bil Bless a.k.a The Disciple Grin or Son of the Electric Ghost answers all. Thanks to the Glitch Hop Forum for making this happen!
Bil Bless Q&A: http://glitchhopforum.com/glitchhop-production/producer-part-bil-bless-t4840.html
And this is a taste of Bil Bless’ latest album “the life mechanism 2″ just out earlier this month. Get it from bandcamp and don’t forget to donate!
http://bilbless.bandcamp.com/album/the-life-mechanism-2
UPDATE 03/19/2012: Check out the latest version of the video and template here.
Will Marshall was kind enough to give us a heads up on his updated APC40 DJ template for Ableton Live. The tutorial video, which has also been updated, is an excellent guide if you interested in mastering or tweaking his work.
You can visit the project’s homepage at http://marshall-law.co.nz/dj-template/
You can download the project file at http://github.com/willrjmarshall/AbletonDJTemplate
Thavius Beck does an excellent job of breaking down the various aspects of Ableton’s Beat Repeat. This is a wonderful tool to be utilized both while producing or while DJing live. The beat repeat is the absolute cornerstone of my live audio manipulation.
Via Dubspot
Want to start cutting up some beats and begin DJing but don’t know where to start? Then Sugarpill has an excellent introductory gear guide for you. From controllers to soundcards, this is a quick and dirty list that may save you a lot of time spent on research.
Head over to InTheMix with Sugarpill for the review.
And here’s a little bit of my own input:
As far controllers go, the now discontinued M-Audio Trigger Finger is a staple. There’s a reason why you see almost every VJ/controllerist/DJ with one. It’s highly customizable but sacrifices on durability. I love the hell out of Trigger Finger, had it for a few years now, but you’ve just got to accept that it isn’t built to last. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t a fantastic device. There are many people out there who are on their fifth one and are always hunting for a back up.
Sugarpill recommends the MDR-V700 headphones and although they are the standard, I found them to be only adequate. I had a pair and went through them in about a year. After that I got the Sennheiser HD 25-SP II and I’m never looking back. Shell out the extra $50 and you will not be disappointed! Plus all parts are user replaceable. The only caution is that you should try them out and see how they feel. Some people complain about tightness around the ears, but I found them to loosen up after a few months. Plus, the tight fit provides a little bit of sound isolation as well.
Finally, Sugarpill is absolutely right about notebook and midi controller stands. This trend is catching on and it makes for much more interaction between performer and audience.
“Go to your local office supply store or online DJ store and get something to set your laptop on or your back will hurt after a 45 minute session. Equally important is the Midi Controller stand, as an Ableton DJ it is really important that people can see what you are doing on the pads. It drives me crazy when someone sets their trigger finger up behind their raised computer and the extent of their stage show is something that looks like occasionally checking your email and then dancing around about what you’ve seen on it.”
-Sugarpill
Looks like Eskmo’s remix of Amon Tobin’s “Sister, you have got to listen“ has led to some more fruitful collaborations. The two have combined forces as Eskamon and released their first single titled “Fine Objects”, to be released on Eskmo’s “Ancestor.”
If that wasn’t cool enough, the notorious Illiam a.k.a Ill.Gates created a 10 minute tutorial video that accompanies a free Ableton Live sample pack using material from the original “Fine Objects” track. Head over the Eskamon for the goodies and see the Ill. Gates Tutorial below. What a great way to learn how to start messing around with music!
That’s Moldover above, the guy credited with coming up with the term “controllerism“. Although I’m more of an admire and enthusiast of controllerism than an expert, I somehow was persuaded (my well-being was indeed threatened) to do a talk on the subject. The workshop will take place in NOD (above Prague’s Roxy) on the 11th of March from 9 PM. I’ll speak about everything controllerism, including its background, software, hardware, innovators, musical affiliations, and its future. I’ll also do a demonstration and a short set afterwards.
UPDATE: The presentation on controllerism will take place at 9 PM. Afterwards, I’ll be DJing to the visuals made by the workshop attendees from earlier that day. And don’t miss out on Secondhand Sureshots at 8:30 PM!
-14:00–19:00 – Ilan Katin workshop
- 20:30 – Projection: Secondhand Sureshots
- 21:00 – RBMA info session + přednáška controllerism s Ingtzi
- 22:00 – Ingtzi vs. visual vytvořený účastníky workshopu
Thanks to the Lunchmeat Festival for making this happen!
Although the Launchpad can certainly hold it’s own as a controller in session mode for live, many music makers out there were hoping for a more accessible and cheaper version of the Monome. I think it’s still too early to judge how well the Launchpad accomplishes this goal, however there are already many Monome emulators available. If you have Max or Max4Live, you’ll be able to run an emulator such as Nonome, Nomepad, or Monolive. There are various monome patches out there and each emulator can handle some patches better than others. The ability of the Launchpad to emulate the Monome is somewhat dependent on the capabilities of the emulator.
From my experience, the most challenging patch to emulate has been MLR-V. Of course, I’ve got pretty high demands. I’m not looking for just any old MLR patch, but one that will draw its clips from Ableton Live. For over a month, members of the Monome forums have been hard at work. Check out the MLR-style chopping if Live Clips for the patch that does so. I’m sure the input of additional Max programmers would be greatly appreciated in the effort to perfect the patch.
In the meantime, and even if you don’t have Max4Live there’s a work around, albeit a slightly clumsy one, to get MLR style mixing in Live. Edison, a recent guest on DJTechTools shows how he used follows actions to get a similar kind of control. Take a look at 3:50 of the YouTube video for his explanation. If you decide to take the follow action route, make sure you’ve got your quantization set to the right mode.
UPDATE 03/19/2012: Check out the latest version of the video and template here.
An open-source template for DJing with Ableton Live 8, what more could you ask for? How about a tutorial on the ins and outs of the setup? Although you can map these controls to any midi controller, it will work best with the APC40 and the soon to be released APC20.
Download Will Marshall’s template at GitHub.
