Musical ADD?

Posted By: Shagz
Date:

This Maclean's article was rather interesting. It talks about how a new generation of clubbers and djs are preferring a faster mixing style, playing songs no longer than a chorus-verse-chorus sequence before getting on to the next thing.

While not necessarily a new trend or technique (hip hop-style djing has a tradition of fast cuts & mixing for a long time), I believe it's something that's been made worse by technology.

On one hand iPods have made the search for "musical highs" instant thanks to massive playlists and instant skipping to your track of choice, reducing attention spans. On the other, tools like Abelton Live have made it easier for djs to play 10 tracks in 5 mins.

As a dancer, I hate the trend. Just when you're getting into the groove of your fave track, the dj yanks you hard back in another direction or drops in a song that you hate.

But as a dj, I understand it. It's a showy skill, one that impresses and keeps people kind of engaged, but I believe it's one that needs to be balanced. Sometimes you just gotta sit on a track and let it breath, insert a valley in your set instead of constantly hitting people with peaks.

What are your thoughts?

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Double header for the final Free Mix Friday

Posted By: Shagz
Date:

The snow is starting to fall here in Toronto, finally, and it is a bitterly cold night out there tonight. Tomorrow doesn't look much better, with a -14 wind chill. That's why I've put some beats together to warm you up!

And since it's Christmas time, and since next week is going to ridiculously busy, and because I'm almost done this experiment, and because I'm crazy, and "who needs sleep anyways?!", I have a *double header* presentation! :)

Up first is Free Mix Friday 7, a short burst of jazzy latin swing...or something like that. I didn't really have a theme in mind, just sort've took a bunch of tracks that sounded good 'n mixed 'em together. For lack of a better title, I'll call it "Get A Move On" after the swing-tastic Mr. Scruff track of the same name. You'll also find Smoove, Kokolo, Ben Westbeech, Mo' Horizons, Justin Timberlake (yes, Justin Timberlake) and some Can Con in the form of hip hop star K-Os and Toronto remixer/producer Allister Johnson.

http://www.drop.io/freemixfriday7

Free Mix Friday 8 is the Christmas mix of course! And rather than wait until next week to get it into your hands, you're getting it now.

http://www.drop.io/freemixfriday8

This is not a dance mix. It probably won't suit your iPod on the subway. It might suit your place of work. This is a mix for wrapping presents, writing Christmas cards, hanging out with your family and friends, or curling up with a loved one by the fire.

Classics by Stevie Wonder, Peggy Lee, Sammy Davis Jr & Carmen McRae, Nat King Cole, Kay Starr, Lou Rawls, Dean Martin, The Impressions, The Ron Davis Trio w/ The Shimmering Rhythm Ensemble, Holly Cole, Diana Krall, remixes by Ohmega Watts, A. Skillz, the equivalent of a classical music/Christmas mashup & plenty more.

(Note: you might find portions of this mix quiet in some parts. This is because of lot of the tracks were produced at a time when they didn't compress the hell out of everything and people knew that the opposite of "loud" was "quiet", not "louder still". :P I tried to normalize things as best I could without violating the original recording, so you're not constantly reaching for your volume control, but you'll probably get a few surprises here and there.)

I hope the warmth & memories that I have found in these classic Christmas tunes is carried over to you and yours this holiday season. Now go call your loved ones and tell 'em you miss 'em. :)

If you still want last week's bootlegs and unreleased remixes mix (featuring Hard Fi, Jimi Hendrix, The Hives, NIN, Prince, Katy Perry, Gnarls Barkley and a host of unknown remixers), you can still grab it here until Saturday night:

http://www.drop.io/freemixfriday6

And that, my friends, brings us to the conclusion of the Free Mix Friday experiment-challenge-thingy. I suppose I should say something enlightening, but truth be told, it's 3am and I gotta get up in the morning. :P I hope you've enjoyed the journey as much as I've enjoyed making these mixes for you. I've learned a lot of the course of the past two months, not just more about my own gear and djing but also about the nature of creativity, and some time over the break or in the new year I'll make a post sharing some of the lessons.

For now I say good night. Peace by with you during the holidays, I wish you a blessed Christmas, stay safe and have an awesome New Year.

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MIDI Fighter arcade controller from DJ Tech Tools

Posted By: Shagz
Date:

Check out the very sweet looking MIDI controller with Sanwa arcade buttons from the DJ Tech Tools crew, available for purchase as a DIY kit. Fire off your "hadoken" samples with this for the ultimate in ironic humour.

Reminder for djs/videogamers: it's a midi-controller, not an SF2 fighting stick. Don't get confused get when you head out for a gig!

MIDI controllerism is something I haven't really gotten into much, and admittedly, with Serato as my platform of choice, it's not entirely essential like it might be with Traktor. But lately I've been doing a lot more playing around in Serato with loops, cue points and the built-in effects on the Rane TTM57SL mixer. The problem with the hardware interface for the Rane is that you have to toggle through multiple config "pages" to get access to all the functions you want, which can be troublesome if you need access to the effects & the internal-mode cue/nudge/pitch controls at the same time. I've ended up using the hardware and the default laptop keyboard short cuts at the same time to achieve certain things; less than ideal. :P

A MIDI controller might solve those problems by off loading the play, cue and loop controls to the external device, and leave the RANE hardware in effects mode. Then again, it will increase my gear footprint. Decisions...

Update: If you want a controller with your Midi Fighter, expect to see a DIY add-on tutorial in the future from djtechtools.com.

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Dirty samples, bootlegs & illegal beats...

Posted By: Shagz
Date:

When I first started this, I think I had it in my head that I would be happy if I made it to 3 mixes, and here I am, 2am yet again, uploading mix six!

http://drop.io/freemixfriday6

This week...all bootlegs, unreleased remixes and blogger mashups. Let's call it "Under Cover". A lot of these are on vinyl, I think I only used two mp3s, so you'll hear a few pops and clicks here and there. And they're mostly old-ish tracks too, but I guarantee you've never heard him like this.

Man, I really, *really* wanna tell you about who's on this mix, but honestly, I think you'll enjoy it way more if you know nothing going in. The only two I'll highlight is the Katty Perry and Hard Fi bootlegs, as they're both done by the very excellent, very dope indie remixer & producer Andy Dunproofin'. (www.dunproofin.com) For me, his remixes can be hit 'n miss, but they when they hit, he's rollin' all natch twenties. (yes, I know only some of you will get that)

BTW, I did have to make a slight edit on the Katy Perry track. Although I probably would have done it anyways, I did it in particular because I learned this past week that I a few younger fans tuning into the mixes, and I don't want to be a bad influence. :)

Last bit of news before I crash into my bed, I just wanted to thank everybody who sponsored me in Movember this year. Because of you, I was able to raise over $600 for prostate cancer research! The moustache is gone now, I'm now clean shaven. You can see the final mo' here: http://ca.movember.com/mospace/250804

Thanks again for your support!

Ok, last last piece: What do you prefer, to receive emails from the mailing list? Or would you rather join a DJ Shagz Facebook group or something, and have news delivered there? If you have a preference, email me.

Hope you're enjoying the tunes!

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Deep House beats for Free Mix Friday

Posted By: Shagz
Date:

G'morning music lovers!

I had today off, and I *just* woke up 10 mins ago, so that's why today's mix is a little late in getting to you. Also, having just woken up, I'm feeling pretty laconic, so let's just get down to business:

http://drop.io/freemixfriday5

We have a deep house/tech-house mix this week, perfect for your saturday morning brunch or the late night dance floor: smooth grooves that are easy on the ears but have the energy to keep your feet moving and your head nodding. If you like Plej, Parov Stelar, A:xus, Jimpster, Alex Gopher, Joe Dukie, Herbert and others, you'll dig this. I call it...I dunno, "Northern Comfort". (I dunno, sounds good, and a number of the tracks in the list are from Toronto, Austria, Sweden and other northern countries/cities)

You can also grab last week's Quantic spotlight mix here, but only until saturday night. Don't sleep!

http://drop.io/freemixfriday4

Enjoy!

PS - so there's 5 free mixes that have gone out. Have you been listening since the first one? Got a favourite? Leave a comment 'n let me know!

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