....I'm also a DJ!

DanClarke · Wed 22/02/2006 11:31:48

Well, as mentioned a while back on the podcast amongst other things i like to DJ! Had turntables for about 5 y-6 years and played in a few clubs, and in the last 6 months i converted completely to digital (using a laprtop, Ableton Live, a midi mixer and an external soundard). This is one of my recent mixes, it's about an hour long. Probably not to the tastes of most here, but it's there for all if you want to give it a go. It's a country mile from any commercial crap dance music, if that's any conselation:

EDIT: I've hosted a different mix as there's been a few technical faults with this one:

http://www.yeki.co.uk/danabletonmix.mp3

The Scorposer · Wed 22/02/2006 16:52:18

Excellent! I've just listened through the whole 60 minutes while working and I really enjoyed it

DanClarke · Wed 22/02/2006 17:47:00

Thanks, it's quite mellow stuff, so i guess it's ideal to accompany work. Here's the set that broke, now fixed!

http://www.yeki.co.uk/dansnewset2.mp3

InCreator · Wed 22/02/2006 17:53:22

Wha- what do you mean by crappy dance music??
Even worst newbie at any kind on synthetic music would recognize this cool ambient trance chillout as quality sound!

And I love the mix!

DanClarke · Wed 22/02/2006 18:02:22

Quote from: InCreator on Wed 22/02/2006 17:53:22
Wha- what do you mean by crappy dance music??
Even worst newbie at any kind on synthetic music would recongize this cool ambient trance chillout as quality sound!

And I love the mix!

By crap i mean countless covers of 80's tracks with a dance beat, tracks with no depth or layering at all, just cheesy stuff.

iamus · Wed 22/02/2006 21:13:05

Very nice indeed.

I'll no doubt be putting this into listening rotation for a wee while yet.

ManicMatt · Wed 22/02/2006 21:17:43

Been playing it whilst I browse here..

I kinda like it, and you've mixed quite nicely here, although I can't really comment on it too much 'cos it's not my scene.

SpacePirateCaine · Wed 22/02/2006 21:23:21

This is indeed some pretty groovy stuff. I'm listening to it as I type, but so far I'm enjoying what I'm hearing. I'm a big fan of ambient dance music like this. I may even venture to burn it to CD to listen to while driving.

I wasn't so sure at first about the track during the intro, but once it got into the first actual track, I was hooked. How long did it take you to compose all of this? I'm working on a set, myself, but it's taking me ages to get anything really decent. Yet another composer on the boards to make me feel inadequate as a musician.

Helm · Wed 22/02/2006 21:43:15

I haven't listened, but I guess he said DJ as in a person who mixes music together for shows? Does it imply he also composed it?

SpacePirateCaine · Wed 22/02/2006 21:51:55

I wasn't sure exactly whether he meant that he'd composed the music himself or not. A jealous and sore-loser part of me is hoping he didn't, but I've heard a number of digital music composers refer to themselves as DJs in the past, so I assumed as much. It also stands to reason that it would be his music since he didn't mention names of other artists, and is offering it for free download here.

I also don't recognize any of it - though that's not saying much, since I mostly listen to the commercial dance music he's referring to.

Helm · Wed 22/02/2006 21:53:07

I don't know... I've never heard of an electronic musician that respects himself refer to his status as 'DJ', I've heard musicians saying that they've done DJing, but not many say they're predominantly a DJ.

SpacePirateCaine · Wed 22/02/2006 21:59:34

That is a good point. I don't refer to myself as a DJ either, though I've never actually done any Disc Jockeying myself - Can barely work a pair of turntables properly, and create all of my music digitally, so don't really think I am entitled to the title anyway. If it isn't Dan's work, I'd definitely like to know the track names/composers that are featured in these sets.

biothlebop · Wed 22/02/2006 22:27:41

In sound collage-type music, many artists have the DJ prefix in front of their name.
Examples: Dj Vadim, Dj Cam, Dj Spooky, Dj Krush etc. In some cases the music doesn't even rely on sampled material.
Otherwise, nice mix, airy/minimalist feel, maybe a little slow and even. Did you jam the whole thing out in Ableton or just fade between complete songs?
Got a turntable myself, have mostly used it for listening/sampling. Loads of people have old crappy records they want to get rid of, unfortunately they are almost always overpriced (around 1-2 euros/piece).

DanClarke · Wed 22/02/2006 23:06:09

Wow thanks for all the feedback, im shocked so many took it on!No i didnt compose the tracks, these are tracks ive purchased.

In ableton ive put them together and mixed them all 'seamlessly', in the way that with 2 turntalbes and a mixer you would get the BPMs of tracks set then beat match t get the tracks in time, trying to make the step from one track to the next s smooth and seamless as possible. It's also important how you build a set as a whole, looking at things like the time you're playing, crowd reaction etc.

I dont put DJ in front of my own name btw, the scene i play doesnt really suit that kind of thing.

BOYD1981 · Fri 24/02/2006 12:33:09

any chance you could put together a track list? i'd like to hear the originals of a few of them.
i'm gonna burn it so my dad can listen to it

i've tried mixing in the past (the hard way using cooledit pro), after hearing this i want to give it another go...

Adamski · Fri 24/02/2006 14:37:09

Ableton live is a very awesome piece of software, although I haven't completely gotten to grips with it yet. I much prefer using Traktor for pure mixing though, mainly for spontenuity reasons, although using a laptop for DJing feels so stangant to me no matter what control surfaces I've tried (even Final Cut seems a bit creepy). The physical connection between hand and vinyl feels much more fluid to me, and much quicker to beatmatch than jibbling the usually incorrectly determined tempo with Traktor

Although the creative possibilities that digital DJing opens up much outweights the negative points, which is why I sold my decks years ago.

Edit: Nice mixes by the way. The music veers slightly too close to DJ Tiesto terratory for my liking, but they're technically solid

Did I spot a John Tejada track in there somewhere?

BOYD1981 · Fri 24/02/2006 15:58:23

i'd try ableton but i find the price tag to be rather on the hefty side.
if i had the money i'd invest in that final scratch thing (two physical decks used to spin virtual vinyl), http://www.stantondj.com/v2/index.asp
mind you, if i was going to make music it would actually be making music with synths rather than just mixing.

Adamski · Fri 24/02/2006 16:11:27

I'm getting my names mixed up, Final Scratch is what I meant, not the Apple DVD authoring software

I haven't tried this: http://www.mspinky.com/WreckedSystem_RecordSignal.html but i've been reliably informed it's more robust than Final Scratch.

biothlebop · Fri 24/02/2006 23:26:13

Quote from: BOYD1981 on Fri 24/02/2006 15:58:23
i'd try ableton but i find the price tag to be rather on the hefty side.
if i had the money i'd invest in that final scratch thing (two physical decks used to spin virtual vinyl), http://www.stantondj.com/v2/index.asp
mind you, if i was going to make music it would actually be making music with synths rather than just mixing.

I recently bought a EMU Xboard 49, and it came with a slimmed down version of Ableton live, as well as a coupon that allows you to purchase it for half the price.
As what comes to Final Scratch, the setup takes up shitloads of room, costs lots, and with Traktor being able to mimic quite well scratch effects I'd rather go for a Behringer BCD2000, unless you want to look cool with a pair of Technics in a booth. http://www.behringer.com/BCD2000/index.cfm?lang=ENG

DanClarke · Sat 25/02/2006 00:49:10

Quote from: Adamski on Fri 24/02/2006 14:37:09
Ableton live is a very awesome piece of software, although I haven't completely gotten to grips with it yet. I much prefer using Traktor for pure mixing though, mainly for spontenuity reasons, although using a laptop for DJing feels so stangant to me no matter what control surfaces I've tried (even Final Cut seems a bit creepy). The physical connection between hand and vinyl feels much more fluid to me, and much quicker to beatmatch than jibbling the usually incorrectly determined tempo with Traktor

Although the creative possibilities that digital DJing opens up much outweights the negative points, which is why I sold my decks years ago.

Edit: Nice mixes by the way. The music veers slightly too close to DJ Tiesto terratory for my liking, but they're technically solid Did I spot a John Tejada track in there somewhere?

I've looked at using traktor, but it just doesn't have the depth that ableton allows. I use an external mixer so it doesnt feel too far detatched from the traditional set up, here's my rig:

P.S: No John Tejada in there, but i do have a couple of his tracks, really decent stuff! And i can't beleive you compared me to Tiesto, i'm disgusted!