Comments on: A Good Editorial About Deejaying

By: bassline

bassline — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 01:54:26 +0000

Actually I see what he’s aiming at but it’s constructed on a false premise. While the greater flexiblity/ control of digital platforms might allow you to be more trigger happy in your approach, there’s nothing in a digital setup that prevents you from “letting the records breathe” as he puts it.

In fact most of the times I’ve DJed with Ableton my approach has simply been to sync up the tracks and mix them in their entirety just as I would with turntables, not to chop them up into a million little loops. Arguing whether turntables or digital is better is like arguing whether a paintbrush is better than clay (or a mouse).

By: kenny

kenny — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:54:02 +0000

Sometimes turnablism can be really good fun, and I’d disagree that it goes over other Djs heads. We know what they are at, but too often the actual outcome just comes out sounding silly.

By: jason fine

jason fine — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:21:17 +0000

yeah, turntablists alway get a bad rep because it really is a “by the maker, for the maker” art form. most people aren’t even going to understand it, and the real complex shit will go right over a “mix-only” dj’s head.

although ill never forget a rave i was at where oddly enough Qbert and Dstyles played. all the fucking E heads were loving it. adam x also played that night and he was fucking LOVING the shit they were doing.

i guess it probably helps that Q and D are probably the 2 best scratch dj’s out there.

By: anthony

anthony — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:22:45 +0000

I read the article and thought it was spot on. I’ve always felt a dj’s role is to play the right record at the right time and mixed nicely.

Although, I play mostly cd’s, I always play them in a linear fashion. Unless I’m reworking one of my own cuts or remixing someone’s tune that I’m working with, I never edit anyone’s work. 9 times out of 9, editing a tune down to loops won’t make it better and it’s disrespectful. As the article stated, what’s the point of putting hours and hours of time in the studio if someone’s going to deconstruct your tune?

Personally, I think if you feel you need to cut songs into loops to play in ableton, you NEED to be making your own loops to play. Not coping someone else’s style.

By: pipecock

pipecock — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:05:05 +0000

hi. you must be new here.

did you bother to actually read the fucking article? the artist went though the decision process in writing for everyone to see. obviously plenty of people gave enough of a shit to read it and then comment.

also, this is our shit. we can promote and discuss anything we fucking want to. step the fuck back.

By: theubiq

theubiq — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:03:05 +0000

Surely it’s possible to allow a track to play out when using ableton or traktor? Isn’t Costellos article actually inconsequential bullshit? What exactly is the point of telling everyone that you are considering switching from MP3\Wav to Vinyl? Does anyone actually give a shit? As for promoting discussion of said article… Was it a slow news day?

By: pipecock

pipecock — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:06:30 +0000

i look at it this way: deejaying is a mixture of function and form, with the function part of the equation being the most important on the dancefloor. both house/techno and hiphop style deejaying is about pleasing the dancefloor in their most basic terms. Ableton and turbtablism are both about taking the form to higher levels while sacrificing the function for dancing.

while the specific techniques are different for each style, either one can be overdone with the results being “noodly”. the use of the computer only makes it easier for this to be done in house/techno music, though it is obviously not the only culprit since the turntablists did it with just wax and a whole lot of effort. this is really what i was getting at, i should have been a bit more clear in the comparison.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:01:28 +0000

Great response except I was a little confused by this: “I was never into crazy trick deejaying like the DMC cats or whatever, it suffers from the exact same problem that the Ableton guys have.”

Turntablism has never been about inducing trance-like states of euphoria/dancing which seems to be the holy grail for most techno/house/disco/trance(…right) DJs. It is very much about the skill of the person behind the turntables, showing off a lot of training and meticulous planning. In the same way, a hip-hop party is very different from a house party; I mean at a hip-hop party you want the DJ to scratch, beat-juggle and slam in the next record to keep the vibe going. Another kind of “happy” from the house/techno party.

Apples, oranges?