Well said Liam
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Category Archives: Music
FollowDanny Tenaglia’s Loft – Wow!
Seemed apt on the recent retirement of techno/progressive DJ and producer Danny Tenaglia do the photos of his rather unique and expensive loft from 2010 rise again online.
Included are images of over 20,000 vinyls, a 1 ton dub plate machine and many other quirky bits and pieces.
Also posted on the original Deep Absurdum are comments from Danny himself which are worth a chuckle or two.
“Welcome to the headquarters of DTour Inc., Be Yourself Int. and Stay Tuned Productions. We have been here since 2001 & I am finally sharing my very private happy space with all of my friends, peers, mentors, colleagues, and fans as well.”
Although I do still have all six stacks from the original Shelter, Vinyl, Body & Soul system, I only have four on because 6 would BE way too much! :-0 I can almost hear the Perfect Thunder of The Bass just by looking at this photo! It truly sounds phenomenal. Imagine me preparing my sets here …. and how spoiled I must BE? :-/ ji ji”
Copyright Bullshit demistified – The $8 Billion Dollar iPod!
I often wonder when the big wigs at these giant media companies will realise that quoting ridiculously high numbers about their massive financial losses due to piracy – no one believes them, and then we all just ignore them like the weird guy at a party.
The worlds biggest record collection
Absolutely touching story here about the guy with the worlds larest record collection. He’s now trying to sell it – but not having much luck. He estimates it’s worth $50m but cannot get even $3m for it.
The World’s Most Important 6 Second Drum Loop
This is an old one but but defintiely worth dragging up in case you have not heard it. If you are interested in music, especially anything to do with Breakbreat, Rap, Jungle or many styles of electronic music like techno – this is essential viewing. This fascinating 20-minute video narrates the history of the “Amen Break,” a six-second drum sample from the b-side of a chart-topping single from 1969. This sample was used extensively in early hiphop and sample-based music, and became the basis for drum-and-bass and jungle music — a six-second clip that spawned several entire subcultures.
12 Extremely Disappointing Facts About Popular Music
1. Creed has sold more records in the US than Jimi Hendrix
2. Led Zeppelin, REM, and Depeche Mode have never had a number one single, Rihanna has 10
3. Ke$ha’s “Tik-Tok” sold more copies than ANY Beatles single
4. Flo Rida’s “Low” has sold 8 million copies – the same as The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”
5. The Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” is more popular than any Elvis or Simon & Garfunkel song
6. Celine Dion’s “Falling Into You” sold more copies than any Queen, Nirvana, or Bruce Springsteen record
7. Same with Shania Twain’s “Come On Over”
8. Katy Perry holds the same record as Michael Jackson for most number one singles from an album
9. Barbra Streisand has sold more records (140 million) than Pearl Jam, Johnny Cash, and Tom Petty combined
10. People actually bought Billy Ray Cyrus’ album “Some Gave All…” 20 million people. More than any Bob Marley album
11. The cast of “Glee” has had more songs chart than the Beatles
12. Justin Bieber’s song “Baby” is the most viewed video ever on YouTube, with over 650,000,000 views.
What is the best Controller Setup for Traktor Pro
There are a multitude of different ways you can use Traktor wit different setups – it will work with any Midi controller – so really its down to personal preference:
The M-Audio Evolution UC33e is a solid reliable controller with loads of Faders, Knobs and Buttons to which you can assign loads of different things to Traktor. As far as value goes for multi use Midi Controllers, this seems to be the best. Comes very highly recommended from Kid Handsome too! 
If you want a more DJ-Specific all in one controller, one of the most popular setups is the Vestax VCI-100 – I also believe this to be a good all round safe choice for a setup using Traktor.
Both the VCI-100 and the UC33 are just MIDI controller’s – they do not contain Soundcards (The Xponent and the Vestax VCI-300 Do however). So, to Monitor with Headphones you will need a soundcard. The Native Instruments Audio 2 DJ seems to be a good choice.
What i like about the Vestax VCI-100 is is DJ specific and not just a generaic controller that can be mapped for use with Traktor etc. This may not matter to some but I’m just used to all in one DJ controllers so its my preference. It has the basic’s laid out as you’d expect and it if you are used to using CDJ’s and a mixer etc, with a few extras on there too – some which are assignable for multi use. It also has platters which many say are pointless in Traktor but again, its a personal thing as some people still like to use them on occasion.
The other thing I like about it is that it has a very solid userbase and a dedicated following. From my background of working in the software industry I know how advantageous this can be. www.djtechtools.com is one of the leading websites for digital DJ’s and they have their own custom version of the VCI-100 that they have made a custom mapping for, and then applied an overlay on the actual unit itself. It can be bought from here ($600 including shipping, works out at €400).
What I plan to do, is use both the VCI-100 and the UC33 together. The Vestax will do the normal stuff and I’ll map the UC33 for some effects and other features I might want to use in Traktor. I’d live to give some of the more advanced features that Traktor has to offer – I’m looking forward to seeing how it works out and I’ll let you know more in a few weeks.
Collection of Traktor Pro Tutorials, Tips & Tricks
I’ve recently started Using Traktor Pro – I got together a collection of videos & links that would be of help to many so I thought I’d share them here:
Native Instruments Tutorials:
Part 1 – User Interface: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXOZlK4veR4
Part 2 – Looping: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl21UN5XuEY
Part 3 – FX Setup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTd3i79-QFU
Part 4 – FX Demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQX0DoQNVpU
Part 5 – Crate Flick http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiIV4qdHTmw
Part 6 – 4 Decks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4P9KTmPC68
Richie Hawtin on his Traktor (3) Setup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1H9W_iLff0
MrCuss
Midi Mapping Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQjJs…eature=related
Midi Mapping Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw9Y5gikiKc
Ean Golden – DJ Tech Tools:
VCI-100SE Walkthrough: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWl79ae6fkM
Traktor Audio/Setup Guide: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znUwbqczWIg
Cue Points: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLQuukGhgxI
Beatgrids: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAW8X9RSt7A
Assigning Effects: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsbMJTTGDGo
Dynamic Buildups: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMP7yMvNja8
Dafer FX Theory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjjA0xPkXMs
Live Loop Recording: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgKt-2Sik48
Create Drumroll: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xuu0IKP-yE
Links:
Traktor 3 DVD Tutorials : http://www.dv247.com/computer-music-software/native-instruments-traktor-3-tutorial-dvd–48172 – its a ripoff – I don’t think its wroth buying as the tutorials above will cover most of it.
Traktor Pro Bible: http://www.traktorbible.com – proper softcover book by an expert covering all aspects of Traktor pro. Also expensive but I have ordered it – I’ll let you know what its like.
Traktor World: http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/home/?pwfilter=dj&page=djworld&content=966 – hardware guide, compatible controllers, DJ Interviews etc.
Can’t think of too much more but any links I’ve missed please post here. Please check out my house & techno mixes here: http://www.colly.tv
Music Tastes vs Intelligence
Interesting study done here showing a correlation between your intelligence and the music you listen to. He charted a couple of thousand students SAT Scores with what they said were their favourite music.
Shazam! Find out the name of any song
Ok I had a huge amount of text here about how great this thing is, but this vide pretty much sums it up as well as I ever could. Watch it:
House Music – Yes We Can…
Usually I just cringe when i hear that someone has done a house/techno remix featuring a speech of some sort, but I have to say I was incredibly surprised by this track. A group known as “House Music United” have taken President Elect Barack Obama’s “Yes We Can” speech and very nicely added a very smooth house track to it.
I don’t think its going to top the remix of Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” speech, but I think its pretty nice anyway…
Resell your old Mp3’s!
I thought this was a joke, but no apparently there is no a site where you can upload your unwanted Mp3’s and resell them to to others. The site is: http://www.bopaboo.com – Read more here:
Now I assume after you upload your song you probably have to tick a box confirming you have then deleted it off your computer, but seriously do they think everyone is going to be that honest? What stops someone spending all day downloading music illegally, then reselling it for half the price on this site. I’d say you could make a fortune! I’d do it myself but I wouldn’t last long in jail….
What happens if you download a song from someone, assuming it was bought legally, but it turns out it was pirated. Are they going to chase you too for handling stolen goods? Pffft….
It won’t be long until the music industry set their bulldog lawyers on this, and you never know if they throw enough money at it they might just be successful and get the site shit down. But I’m sure there will be 10 more sites just like it by that time. They can keep trying to fight, but they are fighting a loosing battle. The music industry should get with the times and change their business model and stop swimming against the tide.
Irish DJ Mixes Blog
I’ve finally got around to another little project I have been thinking about. I started a Blog for Irish DJ’s. I really enjoy listening to mixes from DJ’s I know or know of through websites and message boards ect – I actually prefer it to listening to big name DJ’s. Nothing quite like a bit of home grown talent.
Please take a look, download some mixes and leave some comments!
The ‘Super Trendy’ new sound of Electronica
I’ve been into electronic music for about 10 years now. Before that I was into metal and rock, but as soon as the rhythm of house got into my blood, there was really very little for anything else. I’ve always been pretty close minded compared to others when it comes to the variance of music styles. I like what I like, but no much else… Electronica is absolutely vast when it comes to sub-division of different genre’s, but really I’ve always been pretty much into the same stuff; mainly ‘House’ and it’s many variants. Funky, Deep, Progressive, Disco, Electro, Tech and Tribal have always been there, and there was almost no need to go anywhere else… Until now.
The most recent and significant progression of my musical tastes, is my recent exploration into the realms of Minimal. “Minimal Techno” or “Microhouse” as it is sometimes known, is a more recent spin off from the well known Techno genre, focusing on the more basic and stripped down repetition of rhythms and beats, somewhat lacking in the melodies tha are moreso found in House and Electro. The thing is that only about 18-24 months ago, being the big music snob that I am, I hated anything of the such, but have more recently grown to be listening to very little else!
There was a very interesting article in The Guardian a few weeks back:
The sound that has been filling those clubs and distributed on those labels, and which has exploded across the continent, is broadly known as “Minimal”. Over the past five or so years, it’s grown from an arcane subdivision of techno into an ubiquitous buzzword on the dance scene. Even two years ago, minimal techno was still the preserve of the so-hip-it-hurts sunglasses-at-night set. Its trendiness was endearingly encapsulated in the ubercoolische.com website, a charming soap opera written about the adventures of minimal figureheads Ricardo Villalobos, Magda and Richie Hawtin. In 2006, minimal finally crossed over, though, when Gabriel Ananda’s 10-minute percussive epic Doppelwhipper exploded across Ibiza.
Minimal is not exacltly going to burst onto the Irish Club Scene any time soon. It is much more suited to dark and dirty underground Berlin clubs at 5am, but it has grown so much on me that I listen to it most mornings on the way into work…