The Bridge by Ableton and Serato

When Ableton announced in October 2008 their partnership with Serato I was super excited. I’ve been producing solely in Ableton and I have also tried to DJ with Ableton, controlled by Pioneer DJM-800, but at that point it didn’t feel right, I didn’t feel comfortable with it.

Serato has been in the game of digital DJing for more than 10 years, their Serato Scratch has been a choice of several DJ’s during the years, and especially among hip hop scene, using control vinyls to control music on your laptop, has been “the” way to DJ.

While Serato has been strong name in hip hop, Native Instrument‘s Traktor has quickly risen to be the equivalent to Serato in EDM.

Personally I was expecting a product that would shake Traktor’s current unconfirmed number one place in the contest of digital DJing platforms.

Today the first result of the partnership was revealed as a product called The Bridge.

Their collabration allows DJ/artist/producer to control your Live set in Serato with control vinyls, CDs or with their ITCH controller. The other way to use the product is to use it as a mixtape creation tool. DJ on Serato and the recording can be later brought to Ableton in order to do flexible post production.

When asking for a comment from Håkon Lofthus prior to the launch, he was feeling optimistic:

I’m really excited to see what they will come up with, and if it’s a product that can evolve dj’ing more in to a artistic, innovative and spontaneous direction. For me, that’s the key.

Fellow Innotune member Thomas Sagstad had also a comment:

I don’t see my self using this product! As it would sill require me to look into a computer screen and working a mouse for track selection!

I’d prefer the CDJ 2000 + the Ableton as an EFX rack / Sample library!

I have to admit, I was expecting a lot from Ableton and Serato. Ableton has been under my magnifying glass for years and being a bit of a geek on digital DJing platforms, I was expecting a lot from the coalition.

However, now when The Bridge is finally revealed I have to try to cover for my disappointment.

The biggest question in my mind at the moment is: “is this what I awaited for 15 months?”

I already decided I’d pick up a digital platform I’m going to use from spring 2010 on, and today helped me a lot. With current features of The Bridge, I’m looking for another platform to spend my money on.

The only thing at this point keeping the hope up is the choice of words on the website: “The Bridge—the first result of the partnership announced in October 2008.”

Maybe eventually I’ll see the possibilities of the software. But now I only hope the first result is soon getting company from the second result. In this form, from my point of view, this isn’t anything for my use.

What do you think of The Bridge?

Picture by Chulini under a CC license.

Turntablism is mostly for hiphoppers, right? But the concept of controllerism might fit better into the electronic scene. We have moved into an era where the Mac-lit DJ is more common than the jock playing plastic plates. Since anyone can make flawless beatmixes with cheap gear now, you have to give credit to those digital artists that take more creative use of computers and its controllers.

From Wikipedia: Controllerism is the art and practice of using musical software controllers (e.g. MIDI, OSC, Joystick, etc) to build upon, mix, scratch, remix, effect, modify, or otherwise create music, usually by a Digital DJ or “Controllerist”.

The gear manufacturers are throwing out a lot of controllers for DAWs and digital DJ’ing, but real controllerists create their own equipment. Now you might argue that this extreme use of controllers is relevant only for artists performing live electronic music. But isn’t computer DJ’ing based on pretty much the same?

We expect more from the DJ when a laptop is in front of him or her, don’t we? Should digital DJ acts be more like a set with live remixes, or are we better off without interrupting the tracks? After all, a lot of DJ’s are already making good use of Ableton Live, Traktor, Serato etc. and their suitable USB controllers.

I’ve attached two videos by controllerist Moldover from Brooklyn that explains the deal pretty good. He has wrecked a Novation Remote 25 and use Ableton Live as software. If you would like to change your DJ act into a more live-like experience, maybe you can pick up a couple of tricks. And maybe you’ll smash your controller and rebuild it before your next DJ gig or live performance?

Lesson one:

Lesson two:

When I first started out

Now this got me thinking, has the evolution made the DJ’s lazy? Lets do the math.

Today I have a CD bag holding 320 CD’s. Every cd has roughly 8 tracks on them, meaning my cd bag at all time holds 2560 tracks.

Vinyl. Heavy music.

Now when I first started, if I wanted to bring 2560 tracks to the club on vinyl, I would have to bring roughly 853 vinyls. Let’s say every vinyl has 3 tracks. The biggest UDG record bag can hold 90 records, meaning I would need something like 9,5 UDG bags. And according to Wikipedia an average vinyl weighs approx 100 grams.

853 vinyls x 100 grams = 85 300 GRAMS / 85,3 KG.

And if we add the fact that a UDG bag weighs somewhere around 4 kgs, the bags it self would weigh in at 38 KG making the grand total 123,3 KG. My cd bag weighs 6kg!

We’ll make this even more fun: A usb stick at 128 GB storage room weight 150 grams. If we say every track is approx 10mb you can fit 13 000 tracks on one usb stick or 26 000 tracks on two!

If you want to bring 26 000 tracks on vinyls you would have to bring 8666 vinyls.

8666 vinyls x 100 gram = 866 600 Grams = 866 KG.

Add that you would need roughly 96 UDG bags: 96 bags x 4KG a piece = 384 KG.

The Alfa Romeo T33 stradale. Two of these vs 26 000 tracks on vinyl. You choose.

Total weight: 1250 KG. To put things perspective; that’s the same weight as 2 (!!!) Alfa Romeo T33 Stradale Cars!!!!

Now I’m completely aware no reasonable dj would actually bring 96 vinyl bags to a gig, but then again most dj’s wouldn’t bring 26 000 tracks on USB sticks either.

If I had the choice I would get one USB stick and one Alfa Romeo T33 Stradale and drive off happy into the sunset, over 600 KG’s lighter.

We don’t cover hiphop, but we had to publish this cutie. After all we do write about incredible talent we stumble upon. Check out hiphoppers Dj Sara and Dj Ryusei, age five and eight. Maybe we’ll see more kids like these in the future, as a part of the Dj Hero generation.

Whether you are new to club culture or have been around for ages like Woody van Eyden here, this video is quite entertaining.

If you want to lift your own DJ performance to new heights, you might look at this as a good tutorial in alcohol consumption. Or maybe it’s a hint to stay off the bottle/substance completely when behind the decks. Anyway, Woody sure put on one hell of a show.

What do you think? Funny or just embarrasing?

Sure, flying can be a hassle and it is very a lonely job (unless you are a top 10 dj so you can force the promoters to pay for your agent to come along…). But does it really matter ? You will be doing what you love and you have to sometimes understand that you are one of the lucky once out of the 28347834374637 other djs that tried to make it.

Im sitting hear in my hotel room in Seoul/Korea and im pretty fucked up by the jetlag and the night before. Iv managed to be in Copenhagen, Vienna, Bratislava, Miami, New York, Frankfurt, Beijing, Tampa & Seoul all within 5 days… Should i complain about my flight shedule ? Erhmm i dont think so, i just got paid for traveling the world and to drink a magnum bottle of champagne for free as “thanks” for coming to a club.

Beauty always comes with pain. Im sorry kids, but i only know 1 DJ who fly’s his own private jet around the world (yeah, he just got it and it took hom about 10 years to get it after being nr. 1 x 3 and playing at the Olympics opening). Iv seen superstar djs crying that they have to fly with Ryan Air and then they make a 5000 euro at the gig. Common, does it matter, you will arrive there at the same time anyway? Its not like Brittish Airwaves gives you a blowjob just becuase ur in business class ? I just flew Brittish Airwaves business class and i got eggs & bacon as breakfeats, the economy class got a sandwhich… Big change ? I dont think so. I had 5 centimeters more leg space and the toilet had a small ugly painting from the 80s with.. And this is why you wanted to be business class just becuase you are a fancy DJ ?

When i started to get international gigs 2 years ago i was living in Michalovce (Slovakia). A place god forgot and where the closest airport is Ukraine where the boarding ticket gets written in hand and you can easily see a dog running around on the run way. So, i was always flying out of kosice, which had 3 places it flew to, Bratislava, Vienna or Prague and that was it.  So a normal gig in, lets say Dublin, would take me about 16 hours to get to if i was lucky….. Im gonna admit i cursed the F*CK out of the situation i was put into… but hey ? What could i do ? Tell my girlfriend to fuck off just becuase i had some bad flights ? Nopes, im not that kind of guy. I just made sure to work harder to get the chance the get the fuck out of there as fast as i possibly could.

So later we moved to a little town close to Bratislava called “Galanta”, about 1 hour away from Vienna Airport and 30 minutes away from Bratislava Airport. Now, Bratislava airport is not Heathrow connection wise, but it does its job (unless you were flying with welovetofuckitupskyeeurope….). Iv normally take the flight out of vienna and i love that airport, free wifi, fast staff and iv even managed to get a jumbo jet to Dubai to wait for me 20 minutes after i called the airport management… Vienna airport is lovely.

But would i ever think it would been lovely if i was put into the shit before ? Nopes. Would i ever enjoyd getting paid  very well for playing records around the world if i was born a millionere ? Nopes. Iv been eating pasta with Mr. Sagstad for half a year, living like a homeless student just trying to make it as a producer/DJ and hey i made it, but it didnt came from nothing.

If you ever seen the interview with Tiesto for KLM he says “You are married to your work and you have to give up everything for it”. Very very true. If you want to succed in something you have to focus to 110% to it.  Im sorry to say, but its impossible to have a fulltime job and then also try to become a full time DJ AND having a relation, its mission impossible.

I know alot of you people have the same dream, so my point is: If you get there, dont come and cry about flights, long days, being alone or that your misses is complaining. Instead, enjoy that you made it and for a moment appreciate that your taking a flight to the job and not a local bus full of school kids. Enjoy the fact that you got 15 angry emails to read and respond to becuase you are busy trying Korean food. Enjoy that the kids hate you on the forums becuase you didnt make a uplift trancer they would love back in 1999, before they didnt even have a clue who you were and now they spend time on hating you. LOVELY ! Do i care ? Not really

Remember, always do what you feel is right and when you one day will get there, look back and say “damn, i made it and im gonna enjoy this situation im put into even though it sucks to spend 3 hours in a ryan air flight with a millwall fan next to me smelling like a old pub fired up in bacon on his way for his first vacation in 3 years”. And always always always be greatful to your fans and belivers, becuase without them you wouldnt be anything, not even a hated figur on the forums

Anyway, i think you get my point ! Sometimes when you put things into perspective, things are not as bad as they seem even though it might look like that just for that moment.

Good night from seoul and see you next week !

Cheers,

Marcus Schossow

The Attigo TT

Some people think it’s awkward to use touch screen devices, but when it comes to dj’ing this might be the perfect match actually. Imagine, you could see the waveforms, touch it, tweak it, load in plugins/effects, re-arrange stuff and so on… Lots of possibilities!

Scott Hobbs, a brilliant product designer, has taken this seriously and developed a prototype of something really promising: The Attigo TT.

The Attigo TT is still in the development phase, but it looks really good! Here’s a user scenario Scott Hobbs has for the Attigo TT:

“An electronic music production artist/DJ is doing a live performance act at a dance festival. The artist is performing using a variety of different new and innovative sound tools, such as effects machines and drum machines. One of the acts will be using the ‘Sensing Sounds’ product where there is physical performance. There will also be a display of visuals for the audience that will respond to the movements of the artist and sounds being created.” (www.scotthobbs.co.uk)

And here’s a live demonstration:

What do you reckon, is this the future of dj’ing?