Controllerism continues to take small leaps forward as the software and techniques improve but the giant steps are going to happen in the realm of performance interfaces. Without a solid controller surface that has been designed to play like an instrument we wont be able to leave the realm of noodling and enter the fabled land of flow.
The Otto interface brings us one large step closer in that direction. This remarkable research product is the brain child of Luca De Rosso at the IUAV (University of Venice). Luca created a single prototype interface and matching loop slicer software for his thesis project while he studied interactive design. Continue reading ‘OTTO - Controllerism Instrument’
This past weekend I asked a rhetorical question to a friend of mine (that happens to be a girl). ” I wonder if I was a woman- would I be willing to be a stripper?”. She didn’t hesitate, “you probably would, aren’t you already kind of the male version?” Whoa!!! I said, just as she attempted to pull the words back into her mouth. But it was too late, the horse was long out of the stable and I was left to contemplate the possibility of her less than flattering suggestion that was revealed in a moment of rare honesty.
As I am sure many of would also agree, most djs are music fans, aficionados, and slightly geeky guys (or girls) that found a fun way to fit into parties. Strippers we are not! Unfortunately this was not a question of how we see ourselves. This was a question of how the opposite sex views a dj. Is it possible that djs are plagued by the same bad cliches as strippers? If so, it it possible that we may also be discriminated against because of it? Continue reading ‘Dj Discrimination’
The VCI-100 from has inspired a lot of people to modify the simple layout into other forms that fit their particular style of ding. First came the original arcade mod and then many others followed in my footsteps, creating their own interpretations and individual creations. The most adventurous by far has to be this brand new 3 deck VCI-100 mod by Anthony More.
If your anything like me then you probably think that all USB cables are created equal. Just grab any old cable out of the giant pile, throw it into your dj bag and no worries right? Well thats what I thought until I started showing up to gigs and finding that certain cables would not work with my sound card at all.
There are now dozens of “things” you can apply to a track inside today’s powerful dj software.The problem lies in calling up and remembering those different effect settings that you liked, and having access to them in an intuitive and fun way that encourages wonderful accidents. The answer to this may be creating modular software and possible hardware that can be easily manipulated to create endless possibilities in the moment.
After years of experimental music and new control paradigms, Jean Michel Jarre (or “Mj” as he is now known on the European club circuit) has shifted gears and taken Ibiza by storm with his brand new Wi-mote routine. The AP press quotes him as saying ” Yeah, the groupies are just so much better when your a dj- I really cant ever go back to creating ground breaking music after I discovered the joys of triggering quantized clips in Ableton”
Any good musician will tell you that to truly get your timing tight, you need to sit down with a metronome for at least one hour per day. No amount of live performance or “jamming” will replace training against the clock. The same is true certainly true in controllerism, especially if your aim is to get really tight cue point juggling or button mashing. I can almost hear the groans all the way across the world now, “uhhh a metronome? what is this 1686?” Yeah, metronomes can get a little boring so I frequently employ the next best thing: Guitar Hero! Guitar hero trains the left hand, improves button timing and tracks your performance in a much more exciting way than a metronome. Plus- they have some pretty cool songs that some how never seem to get old.
Speaking of dj battles- I will be traveling with B33son, the winner of our first dj battle, to Bali in July. Although the grand prize might not be so extravagant, we are about roll out monthly versions of the contest with some great prizes so brush off your controller and start practicing!
Do you want to grab a loop from a deck and keep it running without using 4 decks? Have you ever thought about sampling a beat juggle live in Traktor Pro? Then you sir need to get up to speed with the one click sampling trick we discovered a few months back. Check out the video bellow that walks you through how it is done on our VCI-100 mapping. Then to learn how you to set this up your self, read on after the break.
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