Duzmoore #2: What are the chances….

In the long, messy summer of 2008 I worked as a steward for Oxfam at Glade festival (a great way to get to festivals on a budget). It was an arguably interesting experience, as for the whole week I was posted side-stage at the aptly named Overkill tent. 3, 8-hour shifts of Japanese Gabba courtesy of The Osaka Invasion, Breakcore from the Bangface takeover and Dubstep that was wrenched from the belly of Satan took its toll; but there was a diamond in the rough. It was Daedelus.

http://www.myspace.com/daedelusdarling

Ever since, it has always struck me as a strange booking for such a stage. He looked like the scarlett pimpernell amongst the riff-raff of messed up ravers, head-to-toe in velvet with a ruff shirt. The reception he received as he came on stage was immense, so from that alone I was expecting more of the same, ‘great’, i thought as my earplugs began fusing with my eardrums. He fired up his setup, and it was like when you first watched Susan Boyle on TV. He dived straight into fresh, funky rhythms with wobbling basslines and owned the stage and the crowd for a solid, captivating hour-long set.

Why am I sharing this “those were the days” moment with you? Well, from my fortunate side-stage vantage point, I could see what he was doing; It was simple, and very, very effective. He was using a launchpad-style controller, running ableton through a [hidden] laptop. Essentially the man was tapping lights on a table and sending a tent of 2,000 crooked ravers through the canvas.

It was clear that he knew all of his loops, rhythms, melodies, basslines (of which there where s**tloads) and controller inside out, eliminating the need to bury his head in a laptop, reading ableton like it were the Matrix. After his set I asked him how he makes all the material that is used in a set, as there seemed to be such a vast pool of beats and pieces; the advice I was given, I shall take to the grave, and use it as i grow as an electronic musician. Enough of the nostalgic crap, lets look at some stuff to save the pennies for…

So, looking for an ableton controller, the obvious first choice is a launchpad. Developed by novation a few years ago, it has become the ipod of the ableton controllers; simple to use, good to look at and quite cool to own. As a drummer, what I like about the launchpad is the way that it is percussive in the way that the user can interract with it; you can chop up loops with taps and control effects whilst doing what blokes (boys and men alike) like doing most; pressing buttons. laid out in a 8x8 matrix of control pads, an interface is created that formats the on-screen workings of ableton into a manageable, clear and easy to personalise grid.
 
http://www.novationmusic.com/products/launchpad?option=1
 
As I look at equipment to establish my digital musicianship, I consider Daedelus’ advice and really start to think about how I might work best with creating a live set from a bank of samples, loops and indeed my own performance. I like the use of layering and manipulating layered rhythms and basslines, after all, you can draw a graph of the layers used in dance tunes, and 85% will turn-out looking like your standard bell-curve. I want to build up contrapuntal rhythms and basslines, and then destroy them, paving the way for a new melody or rhythm to take over and drive a live set forward. A master of the live-layering technique is the legendary Beardyman, seen here at Cargo in 2008, just watch and be amazed:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwweTmR3ZoU&feature=player_embedded#! 

I have watched many demos, reviews and live performances of a launchpad (used on its own, with a laptop). As impressive as the launchpad is, and indeed the skill and ingenuity of the people using it, one thing struck me: You need a seperate effects/mixing unit: Mainly to draw the most out of ableton itself, and really get down to the nitty-gritty with the effects, as in my mind, the easiest and most satisfying way to mash up a sound is either with a fader or control-knob. As my research widens and i [hopefully] manage to blag myself a go on a variety of ableton controllers and varying setups, I will need to look at the pros and cons of as many of the options on the market as possible (If anyone knows where I can try out any launchpad/ableton setups, get in touch; Westend DJ, surprise surprise, have not been very helpful). However, while on the topic of Ableton… 
 
As a Serato user, my one concern was the compatibility of Serato with other digital audio tech; Traktor, I thought, was beginning to leave Serato behind, what with all its loop and effects wizardry and compatibility with external units such as Allen-Heath’s Xone#D range, as highlighted by Hatesy earlier this week. Then, serato treat us with a software update (free!) that gives a wealth of internal effects. Among them, a precise (and very handy) LFO, and a high-pass filter that is almost indistinguishable from that on an Allen-Heath Xone mixer. On top of that, we have been gifted with a sample function. It sounds simple, but it is exciting for me as it now means I can add personal touches to a DJ set in the form of samples and sound-bites etc, without compromising a virtual deck to play them on. The sample-player has all the loop and cue functions of a normal serato deck channel, so you can chop, cut and loop your samples as if they were just another track on Serato… genius, and from what I can gather, a whole lot more easier to use than on Traktor’s counterparts. 
 
“Amazing!” I thought, “what else have those crazy Kiwis been up to?!?” Well, this is where the Ableton topic-link comes in; and all I can say is that for once, my timing is perfect. Watch and be amazed, my friends…    

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7TSyE66q70&feature=player_embedded
 
The Ableton/Serato bridge will be free, only for owners of both ScratchLive (SL1 or SL3) and Ableton Live, and you will not need any more hardware; however it opens up even more possibilites for a DJ-Producer. Mixing an Ableton project on serato? Recording Serato sets on Ableton? The mind boggles. 
So… it looks like the forces of fate are drawing me ever closer to working with Serato, Ableton, my old Midi drum-pads and keyboard to create live electronic music - I just need to weigh up my options for a controlling system… and find someone who will let me loose on one; Seriously, you’d think people would want you to buy stuff from their shop… 
 
Duzmoore x