WINNING WITH THE SOCIAL NETWORK AMERICA’S FIRST MAGAZINE FOR PROFESSIONAL DJs ESTABLISHED 1988
MAY 2011
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INDUSTRY EVENTS…NOTABLES…MILESTONES
NEWS
WMC ’11 GETS DOWN TO BUSINESS Miami Beach, Fla.—It was no surprise that the 26th annual Winter Music Conference didn’t enjoy the same swarm as previous years. Due to its much-publicized calendar break from Ultra Music Festival, the event endured lower expectations than ever. But, for those who made the trip to the Miami Beach Convention Center this past March 8-12, they found a surprisingly upbeat show—and true to its original promise, WMC ’11 got down to business and delivered ideas. Most noticeably, WMC seminars were packed. From Q&A sessions with Beatport CEO Matt Adell and global jocks like Markus Schulz to panel discussions like “Architecture of the DJ Set” and “Postcards from the Industry,” WMC attendees dove deeply into the topics. And the presenters didn’t disappoint. A few tidbits: On the “Architecture of the DJ Set,” Danny Tenaglia quoted legendary DJ David Mancuso when he said, “A great DJ must have one foot on the dancefloor, the other in the DJ booth.” Then, addressing programming and production, he added: “DJs all have the same tunes now, so it’s up to you to get into Ableton, edit it, loop up what you like, put something on top of it and make it your own. Make your personality come out in the music.” At that, Quentin Harris chimed in: “DJing helps you produce, but producing doesn’t help you DJ.” On his Q&A session, Beatport’s Adell offered some rat-a-tat repartee, especially when pondering the state of electronic dance music. In
Hella Int’l: Mayer Hawthorne at the Stone’s Throw party.
Cruisin’: Robert Dietz on the WMC Cadenza Yacht.
table Timmy Regisford. Bare-chested and offering hosannas to the heavens, Regisford dropped a blissfully soulful set of new-school house and oldschool garage. If you closed your
Photos by Nicole Cussell
By Jim Tremayne
eyes, you could easily be transported back to the days of the Vinyl club on Manhattan’s Hudson Street, where Regisford converted much of his flock. Sweet, soulful and satisfying.
discussing dubstep, the genre’s “next big thing,” Adell waxed enthusiastic. “It’s huge with the kids,” he gushed. “It’s huge at frat parties. It’s huge on campuses. The hippie element is really getting into it. Guys like Skrillex are coming out of nowhere.” On the competition side of WMC, Brian Kerr (aka DJ Kerr), a 17-yearold South Florida club and mobile DJ, took the WMC spinoff, winning a Chauvet Scorpion light, a Pioneer CDJ-2000 and a Best Buy gift card. Las Vegas’ DJ Crime won the WMC VJ Challenge. Additionally, WMC handed out its annual International Dance Music Awards, bestowing industry-wide honors. The exhibit hall featured dedicated booths from DJ Times, Pioneer DJ, Virtual DJ, Beamz Interactive, Ilio, Best Buy and Lifebeat, among others. Best Party: Shelter at Shine in the Shelborne Hotel featuring the inimi-
MAY 2011
Detroit—Start your engines, party people, we’re back in the Motor City May 2830 for Movement. The popular Detroit festival drew 95,000 to Hart Plaza in 2010 and, with an ’11 lineup that includes Carl Craig (pictured), it’ll be the launch event for the America’s Best DJ Summer Tour Presented by DJ Times and Pioneer DJ.
DJ TIMES
ScottSpellman.com
ABDJ Tour to Launch at Movement
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VOLUME 24 NUMBER 5
12 And Still Champ…
After Finally Taking the “America’s Best DJ” Title Last Year, Has DJ QBert Fought His Last Battle? Hardly. BY NATE SHERWOOD
18 Grow An Image
Many Mobile DJs Realize the Key to a Successful Business Is Hidden in the Hearts & Minds of their Community. Do You? BY JEFF STILES
20 Play It Loud!
Italian Genre King Marco Carola Gets His Freak On & Takes Techno to New Levels BY JIM TREMAYNE
DEPARTMENTS 7 Feedback
As Always, the Answers to All Your DJ-Related Questions
24 Making Tracks Blue Microphones Spark
26 Sounding Off
Hercules DJ Console 4-Mx
28 Mobile Profile
Louisville’s DeeJay Woody
Nightclub City DJ Rivals
32 Gear
SAMPLINGS
38 Grooves
Phat Tracks from Dirty Vegas, DJ Prinz, Baha Samba & More
DJ TIMES
MAY 2011
New Products from Pioneer, American DJ, Korg & More
40 DJ Times Marketplace
8 J. Rocc
Turntablist Steps Out Front
Shop Here for All Your DJ-Related Supplies
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41 Club Play Chart
The Hottest Records, As Reported by Our Top U.S. Record Pools
10 In The Studio With…
Beats Antique
Cover & Contents Photos by Earl Chon
30 Business Line
FROM THE EDITOR
editor-in-chief Jim Tremayne jtremayne@testa.com editor-at-large Brian O’Connor boconnor@testa.com
The Never-Ending Miami Story
As I write this, I’m sitting in the exit row on Delta Flight 1571, flying from JFK to Miami. Wait a minute—didn’t I just do this? Yep, it’s the same Miami flight, but this time I’m not headed to Winter Music Conference—that was a few weeks ago. This trip is headed for the newly inaugurated and informally tagged—for this year anyway—Miami Music Week. In addition to the freshly expanded Ultra Music Festival, for which DJ Times serves as a media sponsor, the week includes a couple more magazine-associated events, like Robbie Rivera’s 17-hour Juicy Beach party at Nikki Beach. Another round of Collins Avenue craziness. And what of the recently completed Winter Music Conference, which experienced a much publicized break from the rest of the industry’s Miami mania? As its staff maintained for months, WMC 2011 was all about getting down to business and, though its attendance numbers were somewhat shrunken from previous years, those who participated were surprised at the positive responses from the attendees. The seminar rooms were filled. Questions were asked and the presenters offered answers, solutions and, in the case of Beatport CEO Matt Adell, some entertaining repartee. WMC badgeholders got their money’s worth and—surprise, surprise—badges were actually honored at many of the evening events. A positive week, for sure. Nonetheless, here’s hoping that next year’s Miami events—WMC, Ultra Fest and the rest—once again take place during the same calendar week. I don’t mind flying to Miami twice, especially when it’s snowing in NYC, but most of the industry really shouldn’t have to be forced into making such a decision. Fingers crossed for 2012. Now, onto this issue where we re-convene with DJ QBert. After finishing highly in the ’08 and ’09 America’s Best DJ voting, the legendary Bay Area turntablist knocked down the door in 2010, finally taking the title. And it didn’t hurt his feelings that, at the ABDJ closing party in Vegas this past October, he was handed the commemorative golden Pioneer mixer from ’09 champ Z-Trip. It was certainly another moment of validation in a career that’s seen its share of competition titles. So, in his interview with QBert, our Nate Sherwood asks the 2010 ABDJ champ if this was his last battle. On the review side, our New England-based studio scribe Josh Harris checks out Blue Microphones’ unique Spark unit, while Denver DJ Wesley Bryant-King handles the Hercules 4-Mx controller. Musically speaking, Justin Hampton connects with world-electronica trio Beats Antique. Then, in another Sampling entry, David Ma delivers his first piece for DJ Times, interviewing another top turntablist J.Rocc, as he prepped his first artist album. We also revisited Italian techno king Marco Carola, one of the genre’s longtime champions. In the mobile world, we connect with Louisville’s DJ Woody, who explains how he uses The Social Network to his advantage. In his feature, our Jeff Stiles also asks a variety of mobile entertainers how they grew their images within their individual communities. And in our Business Line, we visit with Booyah CEO Keith Lee who explains how he developed top Facebook game, Nightclub City DJ Rivals, and expounds upon its greater implications for the music industry. Enjoy.
DJ TIMES
MAY 2011
Cheers,
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chart coordinator Dan Miller dmiller@testa.com contributors Jody Amos Joe Bermudez Wesley Bryant-King Shawn Christopher Paul Dailey Justin Hampton Josh Harris Russ Harris Robert LaFrance Polly Lavin Michelle Loeb Lily Moayeri Phil Moffa Jonathan Novick Scott Rubin Jennifer Shapiro Nate Sherwood Jeff Stiles Emily Tan Phil Turnipseed Floor Vahn Curtis Zack Stacy Zemon President/Publisher Vincent P. Testa
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operations manager Robin Hazan rhazan@testa.com Editorial and Sales Office: DJ Times, 25 Willowdale Avenue, Port Washington, New York, USA 11050-3779. (516) 767-2500 • FAX (Editorial): (516) 944-8372 • FAX (Sales/all other business): (516) 767-9335 • DJTIMES@TESTA. COM Editorial contributions should be addressed to The Editor, DJ Times, 25 Willowdale Avenue, Port Washington, NY, USA, 110503779. Unsolicited manuscripts will be treated with care an d should be accompanied by return postage. DJ Times (ISSN 1045-9693) (USPS 0004-153) is published monthly for $19.40 (US), $39.99 (Canada), and $59.99 (all other countries), by DJ Publishing, Inc., 25 Willowdale Ave., Port Washington, NY 110503779. Periodicals postage paid at Port Washington, NY, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to DJ Times, PO BOX 1767, LOWELL MA 01853-1767 Design and contents are copyright © 2011 by DJ Publishing, Inc., and must not be reproduced in any manner except by permission of the publisher. Websites: www. May 2011
Jim Tremayne, Editor, DJ Times
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This is Feedback, a monthly feature that fields questions from you, our readers, and funnels them out to in‑ dustry professionals. If you have any questions about DJing – marketing, mixing, equipment or insurance, any at all – drop us a letter at DJ Times, 25 Willowdale Ave, Port Washington, NY 11050, fax us at (516) 944‑8372 or e‑mail us at djtimes@testa.com. If we do use your question, you’ll receive a free DJ Times T‑shirt. And remember, the only dumb question is the question that is not asked. DJ TIMES, I know that y’all must be very busy, but I was wondering if you could help me out with something. I’m currently 15-years old and I have been practic‑ ing to DJ for around three or four years now and I have gotten quite good. When I grow up, it would be my dream to be able to DJ all around the country and, if possible, the world. Music is my most prized possession. The reason why I am e-mailing you is because I wanted your opinion on what it is I could do to get my career going when I turn 18 and after I gradu‑ ate high school. I’m going to keep practicing as much as I can and I have no doubt that I will have improved by then. But I wanted your opinion on what I could do. Thanks, – Ashley Gonzalez, Ft. Worth, Texas
ASHLEY, There seem to be three main activities that most global DJs, in their respec‑ tive paths to success, have pursued. So, in addition to further sharpening your technical skills, these are my recommendations: 1. Market yourself. Get yourself out there. Even if you’re 15-years old and playing in your bedroom, the Internet provides an amazing resource to get your mixes heard. Record a mix, de‑ sign a specialized Facebook/MySpace page, join DJ message forums, and create your own website. Streaming audio and podcasts are also great
FEEDBACK tools that allow you to develop your own “brand” of mixing. 2. Learn to work the room. You need to know how to read a crowd and drop music to drive them crazy. The only way to do this is to play live gigs. Don’t hold out for the best gigs in town. Smaller lounges and bars will often let you spin, which allow you to learn how to work in a live environ‑ ment. Reading the crowd is an invalu‑ able skill that is necessary to make it to the big leagues. And, as your age
will be an issue for many club/lounge environments, don’t turn your nose up to spinning mobile gigs—play‑ ing in front of an audience is always valuable. 3. Produce and/or remix music. Like it or not, most of today’s most popular DJs split their time between the booth and the studio. Download trial ver‑ sions of studio software—like FL Stu‑ dio (aka Fruity Loops), Ableton Live or Propellerhead Reason—and experi‑ ment with production. Online tutorials
make it incredibly easy to quickly learn how to make music. If you know your way around the studio, you will be miles ahead of your competition. The bottom line: You seem very driven and passionate about your music, which is a huge component to suc‑ cess in the DJ arena, so with today’s technology, you don’t need to wait until you’re 18 to kick off your career. Do what you love, believe in yourself, and success will come to you! – Nate Sherwood, DJ Times
SAMPLINGS
DJ TIMES
MAY 2011
J. ROCC STEPS OUT FRONT
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World Famous: J.Rocc founded the Beat Junkies in 1992.
It only took two decades, but J.Rocc is finally getting out front and center as an artist. After forming the all-star DJ crew The World Famous Beat Junkies in 1992, the legendary turntablist has amassed plenty of work as a valuable collaborator. Early Junkies’ releases (The World Famous Beat Junkies Vol. 1, 2 & 3) were highly sought after by fans and deemed influential by DJs. Also, very notably to underground hip-hop fans, J.Rocc performed as the third member of Jaylib, along with Madlib and the late, great beatmaker J.Dilla. And now J.Rocc’s official artist debut, Some Cold Rock Stuf (Stones Throw), is filled with hip-hop variants, but is stylistically wide-ranging. It reflects his huge music collection and technical know-how, both of which were realized in the early ’90s. Global tours and prestigious DJ titles aside, Some Cold Rock Stuf has been a long time in the making. “I left no stone unturned,” says J.Rocc. So here, for old and new listeners alike, we talk with J.Rocc (aka LA’s Jason Jackson) about The World Famous Beat Junkies, his time with Jaylib, his equipment, and his approach to the debut album. DJ Times: Tell me about forming the Beat Junkies. J.Rocc: I used to DJ these clubs called “Junk,” and Rhettmatic, DJ What?! and DJ Curse were the resident DJs. I started to meet the rest of the guys, Melo-D, Icy Ice, Symphony and Havik.We were having so much fun DJing together and practicing that I decided we all needed to be in a crew together. It was all for fun! DJ Times: And the story with those Green Lantern rings? J.Rocc: Those days I worked at this comic book store and one of the promotions for DC Comics was a bag of Green Lantern rings. We decided that the Beat Junkies would all wear them and that would be our symbol for the crew. If you watch any of the old DMC [competitions] with Melo-D or Babu, they all have the ring on a chain around their neck [laughs]. DJ Times: A lot of folks came to know you from your early-decade work with Madlib and the late J.Dilla for the project known as Jaylib. How did that break happen? J.Rocc: In L.A., I had a radio show on Power 106 called “Friday Night Flavors” with the Fantastic 4our—C-Minus, Mr. Choc, Truly OdD and myself. Dilla heard me spin there and loved it. He and Madlib eventually asked me to be
their DJ for live shows. DJ Times: What was it like working with Dilla. J.Rocc: It was a great experience. I was a big fan of his music before I met him, so it took a second to get over that whole thing. It was cool just be apart of the process of listening to records and hearing something that he wanted to make a beat out of. I still laugh hearing a beat that I know I had a small hand in. DJ Times: Any misconceptions that people may have had about him? J . R o c c : I t h i n k p e o p l e m ay think he bought a lot of records. We would go record shopping and he’d walk out with only two records, while Madlib would buy a huge stack [laughs]. He knew what he was looking for. He knew that there wasn’t anything wrong with a cheap record. DJ Times: What do you think is your strongest asset? J.Rocc: My style—the Beat Junkie style. The music I play is across the board. I don’t just play a hip-hop set. It’s maybe influenced by hip-hop, but it’s going to have everything in there. DJ Times: Who are some DJs you look up to? J.Rocc: The DJs of the past like Mix Master Ice from U.T.F.O., DJ Red Alert for his radio show, Dr. Dre from N.W.A for his mixtapes, Grandmixer D.St for “Rockit,” Cash Money, DJ Aladdin, and Jazzy Jeff for their cuts. Also, Mr. Mixx of the 2 Live Crew, DJ Too Tuff from the Tuff Crew and basically every DJ that was scratching on wax. DJ Times: Tell me about the new record and all the elements involved. J.Rocc: I used a lot of records. Listened to a lot of music and just picked stuff out that caught my ear. I used Brazilian records, Krautrock records, everything. DJ Times: For the tech-heads out there—what equipment did you use? J.Rocc: I used two Technics 1210 turntables, a Rane TTM-57 SL mixer, an Akai MPC 3000, a Pioneer CDJ1000, and a Technics CD turntable. I also used Serato and even Ableton, then recorded everything to a Roland VS-1824 or Pro Tools. DJ Times: What’s next for you as an artist and DJ? J.Rocc: Just to keep expanding on my craft. I still have a lot to do. It’s like, I’m only a sophomore in high school and looking at all these other guys as seniors. – David Ma
Scratch EFFE CTS
touch s ensitive
midi
Dd S Car
BRAKE
ke y lock
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EFFE CT
hot cu es
IN THE STUDIO WITH…
BEATS ANTIQUE’S ELECTRONIC FUSION
DJ TIMES
MAY 2011
It’s New Year’s Eve, just a few minutes before midnight, and Beats Antique is onstage at the Sea Of Dreams party in San Francisco, showing the home crowd just how far they’ve come. As longtime members of the Bay Area’s Burning Man culture, Beats Antique is hard-
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Beats Antique: (from left) Satori, Cappel & Jakes.
ly out of step with the garishly clad, BM-themed crowd—in style or music. Nonetheless, it’s a big moment for the world/electronica outfit. The Oakland, Calif.-based crew—David Satori, “Sidecar” Tommy Cappel and tribal belly dancer Zoe Jakes— comes into 2011 on an
upswing. They’re brandishmopolitan. And while Jakes’ ing the album Blind Threshold high exposure in the tribal (Antique Records), an onbelly dance scene can atline hit single, “There Ya Go” tract eyeballs, the group’s (featuring Blues Traveler’s skillful synthesis of modern John Popper on harmonica), tech with live jazz-blues imwhich premiered at No. 2 provisation-based grooves on iTunes’s Electronic Chart, seals the deal. and a residency at Bond, a Says Satori: “One person lounge in Las Vegas’ Cosmentioned it on our iTunes review, ‘Anyone can get a laptop and sample banks.’ Sure, we have [samples], but generally we shy away from those things, because we’ve learned that the actual recordings that we make are more unique and special.” Beats Antique takes specific pride in mixing up acoustic bass alongside synthetic sub-bass. “We want the attack of an acoustic instrument, but the fullness of the sub to really push the sound systems,” says Cappel. With each member using Ableton Live as a sequencer, Beats will often use a Spectrasonics Trilian sub-bass and mix it with a baritone sax for a sawtooth bass. “The bari produces a higher frequency buzz and growl similar to a saw wave,” Cappel explains, “but there is a human dynamic involved.” For a wobble sound, they mix the sax with Operator and then, according to Cappel, “dial in the frequencies that are not covered by the sub and the bari. You get some really thick sounds that way. In the same way, if you pitch down a plucked violin or banjo and add the Trilian sub below it, it sounds like a dirty upright bass.” The group also favors Native Instruments Maschine and Battery for beats, Native Instruments Komplete 7 for synths and Rob Papen SubBoomBass as another bass generator. Additionally, the members have availed themselves of the online resources from the Dubspot website. The Beats Antique members developed many of these techniques from their DJ sets, which taught them much about the sonic impact demanded of their productions by the clubs. For their own sets, the trio will work from Ableton Live with an Akai APC40 performance controller and an Apple iPad, which triggers samples and synths. Cappel will play his own work, while Satori will mix in Afrobeat and affiliated producers like the Glitch Mob, Tipper and Eskmo. “As far as DJing in the [Vegas] gig especially, we’re just having fun experimenting. So, we’re playing a lot of our music, but we’re also just playing a lot of different stuff,” chuckles Satori. “I played like a dirty electro set last night, for example.” Whether it’s Sin City or Black Rock City, the Beats Antique electronic fusion continues to win its share of converts. – Justin Hampton
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For more information contact info@AmericanMusicAndSound.com
AND STILL CHAMP… After Finally Taking the
“America’s Best DJ” Title Last Year, Has DJ QBert Fought His Last Battle? Hardly.
By Nate Sherwood
DJ TIMES
MAY 2011
Since the age of 15, QBert (aka Richard Quitevis, 41) has dedicated his life to using the turntable as a musical instrument. In doing so, he’s become one of the world’s best-known and, more importantly, most-respected practitioners of the art of scratch. QBert’s journey is well-known and oft-told in these pages. Throughout the 1980s and ’90s, he battled his way through the hip-hop ranks to become a two-time recipient of the revered DMC World Championship title. He’s responsible for developing many of today’s contemporary scratch techniques. He’s also an inventor, co-designing DJ products for Vestax and Ortofon. As the digital revolution swept over the early millennium, he continued to rock it old-school style, while maintaining a ubiquitous web presence with his Thud Rumble website. The past couple years have seen the Bay Area jock become an online educator with the unique web school, QBert Skratch University, which he maintains with Artistworks. The battle titles, scratch techniques and jaw-dropping DJ sets built his reputation, but his online efforts have maintained it. So it shouldn’t have been a surprise that he finished in the Top
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DJ TIMES
MAY 2011
3 of the America’s Best DJ voting for the past three years, finally winning the title in 2010. Knowing that the majority of ABDJ votes are cast online at americasbestdj.net, QBert put extra efforts into his social-media platforms and even created special star-studded videos to make his case. The efforts paid off in a big way. At the ABDJ Closing Party held at Ghost Bar in Las Vegas this past October, QBert was honored with accolades and prizes from a past winner and contest sponsors DJ Times and Pioneer DJ. When he was handed the commemorative golden Pioneer DJM-800 mixer from Z-Trip, the 2009 champ, QBert smiled and let the good words come his way.
receive the award from him. I hope that the next guy who wins is someone who scratches, too. I’d love to see someone like Mix Master Mike or Kraze, A-Trak or Jazzy Jeff. They all have history and are great DJs. DJ Times: Do you feel that turntablism has more support now than in the past? QBert: There are more scratchers out there now than ever before. That’s due to software programs like Traktor and Serato. I think both avenues have grown very aggressively over the past couple years and it’s been great for the scratching community. DJ Times: Do you think vinyl will ever go away? QBert: Does the piano or acoustic guitar ever go
“Scratching should rhyme, just like an MC does on
DJ TIMES
MAY 2011
the mic.”
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“He’s one of the greats, and there’s only a few of those,” said Z-Trip, “and it’s so great to hand over the title to a guy I respect.” Even as a guy who has emerged victorious from many a DJ battle, it was hard for QBert not to beam a little bit before he headed over to the Rain nightclub in The Palms to commence his victory set. He’d certainly earned it. Now months after taking the 2010 America’s Best DJ title, DJ Times again caught up with the great DJ QBert to see what battles he has left to fight. DJ Times: After finishing so highly in the voting for DJ Times’ America’s Best DJ contest for many years, how does it feel to finally win? QBert: It feels great! The universe has been good to me. I use the turntable like a musical instrument. It’s an amazing art form, and people recognize that. Other DJs focus on things like mixing, while I focus on manipulating sounds with my hands. It was an absolute honor to win, and I hope it inspires more people to get into scratching. Grabbing a sound with you hands and flipping it around is an amazing feeling. DJ Times: With all the hype behind digital DJing, did you find it surprising that a vinyl purist ended up on top? QBert: Not really. I appreciate and use both platforms, but I think there is a huge audience for true turntablism. I completely love analog! Digital is like the electric guitar, which is great, but there are still tons of people who love the sound of an acoustic guitar. It’s just another way to create and manipulate music. DJ Times: What was it like having that golden Pioneer mixer handed to you from fellow scratcher Z-Trip, the 2009 champ? QBert: It was great! Z-Trip is another one of those DJs who uses both vinyl and digital. It seemed fitting to
away? Does a drum set ever go away? I don’t think so. Vinyl is completely raw and pure and cannot be reproduced. That analog feel is from the roots. The sound is gritty and dirty. I absolutely love it. DJ Times: Did your longtime involvement with various online projects help you gain votes for the America’s Best DJ contests? QBert: Yes, it gave me a lot of leverage against the competition. My web presence really helped me. Plus, I’m an old fogey and people have been hearing my name for a long time! (Laughs) I did a lot of online videos to create hype. I also had a lot of support from mainstream people who are more famous than I am. They would post my videos and lots of people saw them. It created a great awareness, which really helped. DJ Times: What words of wisdom do you have for other DJs trying to push themselves up in the ranks? QBert: The main thing is to focus on the music. People need to have skills, a good musical selection, and just something to offer the world. That needs to be your main drive. You’ve got to practice and learn to create beautiful things for people. Use your skills to make the world a better place. Then you can go out and start marketing yourself, but you need to have those roots in place first. DJ Times: There’s a lot of buzz surrounding the DJ Qbert Skratch University. What can you tell us about that? QBert: The Qbert Skratch University was created in conjuncture with ArtistWorks. It’s an online community with over 1,500 users worldwide.We cater to analog and digital DJs and provide chat rooms, videos, and a ton of online resources about scratching. Most importantly, we allow students to make videos of them scratching and
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send it to me personally. Our instructors, and myself, will give them personalized tips on how to improve their technique. It’s become the Facebook of scratching. DJ Times: Is there a formal curriculum? QBert: Yes, and we spent a long time developing it. We are constantly adding new things to the University. Right now we’re developing a new scratch music theory section that will be laid out like “The 10 Commandments of Scratching.” There are so many things that I am personally learning and I always add these things to the curriculum at the school. DJ Times: What concepts do you strive to teach to your students? QBert: It’s important that students learn to convey
the game. A couple of days later I went to the Activision offices and they put sensors all over my body and filmed me scratching. Those images were uploaded into the game. It was a lot of fun, and a great concept. DJ Times: Do you think it’s good for the art of DJing? QBert: It creates another gateway into DJing. I’m sure it will entice kids to drop the controller and pick up a set of turntables. In fact, my cousin began playing the bass guitar from his exposure to Guitar Hero, so I feel that DJ Hero is a great thing for DJ culture. DJ Times: You seem to have a lot on your plate, how do you still find time to practice scratching? QBert: I am still honing my skills every single day. DJing is like Kung Fu. If you don’t practice for one day,
DJ TIMES
MAY 2011
“DJing is like Kung Fu. If you don't practice one day, you’ll lose two days worth of skills.”
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their emotions through the turntables.You must learn to release an energy that people can’t see, but can feel. They also learn to make their scratches poetic. Scratching should rhyme, just like an MC does on the mic. It’s really a completely personalized experience for each student. The best part is that all of the resources and information is instantly available online. When I started off, I had to discover everything on my own and it took years. Now you can learn every single thing that I know in a very short period of time. The only thing we can’t teach is patience and practice. That’s up to the student. DJ Times: How do you like being a teacher? QBert: Personally, I love it! I am constantly learning and absorbing new things. Everyone does things differently and I love to see how people put their own little twist on their technique. I pick up little nuances and adapt them to my own routines. It really inspires me as an artist. In the end, it’s all about playing music and having fun. That’s how I started out and it has become a rewarding career. I hope that can happen to my students as well! DJ Times: Aside from your students, what other things seem to inspire you? QBert: Art has become a big interest of mine. We’ve developed an art gallery called thudrumblegallery.com where we distribute graffiti and street art. I have a lot of art in my house and I’m very passionate about it. Even classic artists like Picasso intrigue me. Dancing also inspires me, especially dope breakdancers and B-Boys. I see breakdancing as the highest form of street dancing. It originated in the 1970s and 40 years later, nothing can compare to it. Musicians are also very inspirational. I listen to a lot of jazz musicians like Louis Armstrong. I love listening to his swung-style and weird patterns. I really appreciate strange timing and rhythm changes. Horn players like Miles Davis amaze me. They have such intricate small subtleties in their style. DJ Times: You were the face of the DJ Hero 2 video game in 2010. How did that come about? QBert: The guys from DJ Hero came to me. They had a bunch of music that they wanted me to scratch over. They recorded my scratching and infused it into
you will lose two days worth of skills. I remember taking a couple of days off, and then going back on the decks I’d be feeling so rusty! I make a conscious effort to go at it every day. Sometimes I have days when I can’t stop practicing. I am just flowing so freely, and my mind and my hands are completely connected. It’s like the sounds are actually coming from heaven! I’m fortunate to have this free time because I have a great business partner who happens to be my best friend. Yogafrog handles the day-to-day business stuff, which allows me to focus on scratching. DJ Times: What does your practice set-up look like at home? QBert: Pioneer just sponsored me, so I’ve been using the Pioneer DJM-909 mixer. I love it. It has become my main mixer for the Skratch University sessions. I use Vestax PDX turntables because they never skip. Of course, I always have my Technics on hand. I’m also using Traktor at home right now. DJ Times: Why Traktor? QBert: In my experience, Traktor has twice the processing speed of other systems. If you’re a hardcore scratcher, you want it to be as close to vinyl as possible. Audibly, it’s not the exact same, but Traktor is about 99-percent there. And basically, I don’t have time to wait for the computer to catch up to me! Plus, we just developed a new record called Scratchy Seal that contains the Traktor test-tone on one side, and analog scratch sounds on the other. It’s the best of both worlds and it’s going to be a game-changer. DJ Times: Do you use a different setup on the road? QBert: For gigs, it’s pretty basic. I use two Technics and bring my own mixer and records. Right now, I purely play vinyl, but I might start bringing Traktor on the road with this new Scratchy Seal record. I’m really up in the air about it. I still like the idea that I’m one of the last guys out there just using vinyl. DJ Times: A few months ago, Panasonic announced that it was discontinuing the classic Technics turntables. How do you feel about that? (continued on page 42)
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By Jeff Stiles
When Luke Renchan considered how to maintain and grow a positive image for Luke’s DJ Service in Rhode Island, he decided to become as involved as possible in non-profit organizations throughout his community. “The most important thing is to get involved with organizations that actually give back,” explains Renchan. “Sometimes we totally volunteer our services for their events, while at other times we offer a very special rate.” Renchan actively entertains for local chapters of the American Parkinson’s Disease Association, the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Research Foundation
GROW AN Many Mobile DJs Realize the Key to a Successful Business is Hidden in the Hearts and Minds of their Community.
DJ TIMES
MAY 2011
Do You?
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and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and also offers his services to the local Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau—and goes so far as to sponsor a company float in his town’s annual Memorial Day parade. “Sometimes what we do is as simple as playing music to help motivate guests to helping MC festivities, which gives us a wonderful opportunity to shine with our skills through entertaining games or interactions,” he says. “Most importantly, we help a cause out and keep it fun. “It’s just important that we give these gigs the same passion as we would a fully paid event.” In order to find out how DJ business owners throughout the United States are controlling the way their businesses are perceived in their markets—aka “controlling your brand”—we searched for deeper examples than simply “providing excellent customer service” or “exceeding our clients’ expectations.” In August, Mike Wieder will be hosting a DJ Expo session on the simple things mobile DJs can do to enhance how potential clients perceive us . . . and he says that includes both professional and personal perceptions. “Since last year’s convention I’ve lost over 70 pounds, and I’m shooting for 100 pounds by the end of 2011,” says Wieder, who is in the public eye as the owner and operator of Ultimate Sounds DJs in New Jersey. Wieder is literally putting into practice what he preaches. “Seriously, you know you have a problem when a client who has witnessed your work calls a former client and asks if they ever feared I would drop dead at their event,” he says—only half-jokingly. “I actually put it in this customer’s contract that I promised not to drop dead at her party. Hence, the title of my DJ Expo seminar this fall will be ‘Is He Gonna Die?’ “The perception of our client becomes our reality.” Wieder compares this scenario to watching a customer walking into a supermarket looking for chocolate ice cream. Right next to each other are Breyers Churned & Creamy for $5.49 a half-gallon and the store’s generic brand selling for $1.99 a half-gallon. “In a shopper’s mind a few things go through their head,” Wieder says. “First, both products are chocolate—there’s no difference. Secondly, why would there be such a price difference for the same product? And thirdly, why should they pay three times as much for the same product? “This is the same way shoppers typically look at DJ entertainment, though there are ways to change that perception if mobile jocks are willing to be educated.” And “educated” is not a word Wieder himself would describe himself during his younger years in the DJ industry. Even as a founding member of the New Jersey Disc Jockey Network (NJDJN), Wieder admits he once boycotted a meeting when he found out a dress code would be expected. “But when you want to be looked at as a professional, we really need to dress
“Managing our e-reputation has quite literally become a full-time position for our company,” McMichael explains. “We’ve personally invested our time in many of the local non-profit trade associations. I’ve sat on the board of directors for the National Association of Catering Executives (NACE) and the Wedding Industry Professionals Association (WIPA), and currently I’m the vicepresident of Programs and Education for our local International Special Event Society (ISES) chapter. “Being actively involved with our non-profit trade associations has allowed us to not only educate our fellow vendors, but ultimately to reach out to the local public and community—since those non-profit associations continue to strive to be a guiding light for future potential clients.” From formal presentations to local monthly or bi-monthly education programs to articles in the local chapter newsletter—and even press pieces in trade publications such as Special Event Magazine—McMichael claims Denon & Doyle has found that through educating their network of fellow professional vendors they’ve created a way to reach out and control their public image with the most important target, which is their own community. “Nationwide, I think the biggest issue we’ve come across is the stigma that every DJ is a frustrated entertainer, hungry to get on a microphone and lead the YMCA in the first five minutes of a party, but we’ve been able to combat that stigma using a few different methods,” McMichael says. “Again, simply providing education within the trade association sector has been huge, but further than that has been the status that comes with being a member of those different boards of directors. “When speaking at large industry events I’m always humble, I make it a point to thank profusely and graze over self-serving kudos, and this has helped to shape the image of the typical DJ in our market. We’ve reached out to our fellow friendly competitors by encouraging them to refer to themselves as Disc Jockey & Masters of Ceremony. In our marketing material we say that 25-percent of being a good DJ in the special event industry is playing music, while the other 75-percent is having the ability to control the flow of an event with tact and taste.” Seems like “killing with kindness” works after all! Back over in the Northeast, Jerry Bazata in Ogunquit, Maine, agrees that his company’s involvement in non-profit organizations and with community events have become great sources to showcase the talents of DJ Jaz Music & Entertainment.The payback is substantially greater than simply spending money on a bridal show, hawking your DJ business in the same manner as a shady, money-hungry, commission-driven used car salesman. “I actually select two non-profit organizations per year, and then provide them my DJ services free of charge as a way of promoting my company,” Bazata says. “The groups we support need to benefit a wide-range audience with a
MAY 2011
IMAGE
strong marketing promotion that will attract media attention on the local or regional news network. “For example, this spring I worked with the Franny Peabody Foundation for their annual 5K Run/Walk on Ogunquit Beach, which featured strong media participation with a large audience of those who have a propensity to hire top-end talent for their events.” Bazata says he’s also found his local Chamber of Commerce to be a good source of referrals and networking, in which his company can have detailed conversations with local event planners and banquet managers during network events. (The Chambers, he says, tend to hold smaller boutique-type bridal shows with less upfront cost and more qualified referrals.) “Take the Chamber president to lunch, as they can be a strong advocate for you to others in the Chamber community,” Bazata advises. “Also, connect yourself with a theatre company in your area and become a subject matter expert to the production staff on lighting and sound. This will certainly upgrade your status from ‘Human Jukebox’ to a valued member of their adviser group. And if they offer you a board position, take advantage of the opportunity.” Actually, Bazata is a board member of the Ogunquit Playhouse, which has elevated him to the level of “expert” who is recognized by the directors, staff and crew as a subject-matter expert. This has led to this DJ not only performing at cast parties that included Sally Struthers (All in the Family), Eddie Mekka (Laverne and Shirley), Charles Shaughnessy (The Nanny) and Rex Smith, but has also provided him with introductions to many key people on Broadway. “In our town I’ve actually developed a relationship with the local police department and its chief of police,” he says. “With my knowledge of the nightclub industry and running a successful and safe operation, they often refer to my services and point to the nightclub page on my website. “Due to our seasonality, once a year they hold a meeting for all the bar owners to discuss changes in the liquor laws, expectations and steps to protect their investment—thus positioning me as a keynote speaker and subject-matter expert.” Down the coast to Pennsylvania, Huntingdon-based John Horne of Jam Machine Productions says he’s been the sole proprietor of his company for 29 years and therefore keeps in mind that anything he does in the community is reflective on his performances. “Besides having been involved in over 1,700 shows in all types of DJ services from club shows to weddings to fundraising events, over nearly three decades I’ve been involved in many different events in the community,” Horne says. “I’ve been a committee chairperson and the main voice behind our local Relay For Life since 1997, and I’ve donated my time to provide music and announcements for our local Special Olympics since 1998. “We also have a local four-day telethon to benefit PRIDE (a local version of Easter Seals) and I’ve been a part of that since before I was even a DJ. “With all these events and more, my photo and name have been in the local papers and news related to these events, so the perception of the community to the business and myself has always been a positive one. References have always been a strong source of referrals because of my constant positive efforts to provide the best for the community.” Finally, back over on the West Coast, JD “The DJ” Fields of Chase the Beat Entertainment in Snohomish, Wash., says he maintains a positive image in his community by serving on the board of directors for his local Chamber and by helping with his city’s Lions, Rotary, Boys & Girls, Eagles and many other clubs. “Many times I’ll donate my services during the week, but I’m also hired for all the city functions from the Easter parade to the city festival to the car show (attended by 50,000 people over the past 19 years) to the holiday and community events,” Fields explains. “Many times it’s the community organizations that donate money to hire the entertainment, and this keeps my name out there within the community and at all the venues. “More than ever, today people like to hear of companies working with the community or going green, which can cause a DJ business to look great within their community and many times even get written up in the local newspaper.”n
DJ TIMES
the part,” a much-changed Wieder says today. “We’re taught at a young age to never judge a book by its cover, yet that’s exactly what we all do. It starts out when we’re very young: the tallest kid gets chosen first for the basketball team, the nerdy kid is judged to be the smart one—whether true or not, it’s how people see us.” Over on the West Coast, Patrick McMichael (director of business development for Denon & Doyle) says educating their company’s peers in the Bay Area has incredibly helped D&D realize strong support within their community.
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Marco Carola Gets His Freak On & Takes Techno to New Levels
DJ TIMES
MAY 2011
By Jim Tremayne
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Long a fixture on the global techno scene, Italy’s Marco Carola is one of those DJ/producers you might almost take for granted—that is, until the next time you hear him. Case in point: The revelatory moments he provided last year at Movement, Detroit’s electronic music festival. As a withering thunderstorm swiftly swept down on Hart Plaza, the festival’s massive, open-air, main stage saw a fairly dramatic exodus toward shelter in the event’s various DJ tents. Many of the freshly soaked ended up at the nearby Torino Tent where Carola had just kicked off his late-afternoon set. Initially, you could see that most fans were happy just to find a relatively dry space, but within a minute or two, many of them began to get lifted. As Carola’s sexy, hip-swaying techno hammered out its steady groove, one could sense a genuine transformation. The collective mood morphed from wet gloom to bumpin’, thumpin’ tent party. Of course, it’s a feeling that most of the techno-loving world has already experienced. Carola has been flying the genre’s flag for nearly two decades and now he’s back in a big way with Play It Loud! The CD, released on Richie Hawtin’s M_nus imprint, is his first artist album in over eight years and it reflects the changes techno has experienced in that time. Continuously mixed over 18 tracks, Play It Loud! blends deep grooves with plenty of sonic boom—and check the rough-and-ready title cut and the warped and wobbly “Freak On.” As Carola readily admits, groove and minimal subtleties are more apparent in his current productions. He’s certainly come a long way since his early days of playing and creating a more punishing
brand of techno. We caught up with the Naplesbased DJ/artist as he began his world tour, in support of Play It Loud!—one of 2011’s better EDM artist entries. DJ Times: Why has Italy been such a strong market for techno over the years? C a ro l a : I t w a s a l w ay s re a l l y strong—DJs and club culture have always been really, really a strong part of the youth culture. The difference is that in the past it was part of an inner circle. There was not much coming into or leaving Italy, so people outside didn’t know so much about it. Now there’s much more communication, particularly with the Internet. It’s much more global, so people know more about the Italian scene and people in Italy know more about the most important artists from outside Italy. DJ Times: Where do you create your music? Carola: I have two studios in N a p l e s . I a l w ay s wo r k i n t h e re alone. When I feel completely relaxed at home I can do something. The one I like to produce in the most? My bedroom with a big window with a great view and nice monitors. I have another studio with lots of machines and no windows. I don’t always feel like staying there for hours like I can with the one with the windows. DJ Times: What’s in your studio? Carola: In one of the studios, I have all the analog stuff. I’ve collected keyboards since I started to make music. I’ve never sold anything, I probably still have it all. I have valve compressors and effects and everything. The keyboards don’t even fit in the studio anymore. And I have the digital studio with a really powerful computer. DJ Times: What products help you create your favorite sounds?
MAY 2011
DJ TIMES Originally a triple-deck wiz, Carola now spins with Traktor.
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Carola: Many people ask me this—not only in interviews but other DJs, producer and fans—but to be honest I don’t really have an answer. I always try to catch the sounds wherever they come from. I’ve been producing so many years I don’t really search for the sounds from the same synthesizer. It wouldn’t really work because I will have been using the synthesizer a lot of times. So I try to take the sound a little from here, a little from there—I don’t have one machine. Sometimes people can rely too much on the same machine. It’s already going to sound similar because it’s coming from the same musical brain, so then if you use the same machine it’s going to sound too similar. So that’s probably why I try to use different stuff. DJ Times: What was your artistic approach to Play It Loud! Carola: I was trying not to scare myself with something completely strange, something contrary to what I am best at. But at the same time, I was trying to put a different perspective on what I do in an album, which is not always easy to do within an hour—to express yourself 100-percent. My main concept for the album was to represent what I am doing, what I am best at. So that’s why the album is mixed like a DJ set, and why you have to play it loud—so you can
feel the bass. DJ Times: Well, it is club music. Carola: Yes, my music is for clubs, to be played by DJs, so when I made the album it had to represent that. With my last album [2003’s Question 10], I wasn’t as happy with it as there were too many styles together—it didn’t work as one album as well. I think, with this one, the concept is much stronger, and it really represents who I am today. DJ Times: What was DJ scene like when you began spinning? Carola: Well, I was so young when I began. I’m ashamed of saying it—when I was 15, it was the 1990s. It’s not like today where 15-year-old kids know a lot. When I was 15, I didn’t know anything! DJ Times: So then, how has your DJing approach evolved musically over the years? Carola: What hasn’t changed is that I always have done what I liked. When I started, I played a lot harder techno, but I started to feel like there was a saturation in the harder sound. I was trying out different things and I wasn’t enjoying that style so much any more. I always need to try something new so I enjoy it more. I can get bored quickly of tracks and need to find new ones always. DJ Times: Beside musical taste,
any other dramatic changes? Carola: The main change, the biggest difference, is that before I was using three decks and doing fast mixes and short sets. It was more like a compressed few hours of pumping techno. Today, I’m focused on the direction I’m going without the music. Of course, the pitch has slowed down over the years, too. I found it difficult at the beginning of my change, where people expected me to play really hard, but I made the decision to play smaller clubs where the people were more open. But while that was a challenge, I still felt people were following me. Today I’m really happy with the sound I’ve reached and that many people followed me in that change. DJ Times: How has your DJing approach evolved technically over the years? Carola: When I started DJing, I was using three decks. My best friend when I was younger was the son of the owner of Kiss Kiss club in Naples, so I learned about DJing from going there and seeing people play. Their booth had three decks, so it was natural in the beginning to start this way. Over the years I’ve moved from three decks to my setup now, which is Native Instruments Traktor with two-deck vinyl control and my favorite machine, which is
Red Sound C-Loops. DJ Times: Why the change? Carola: The change always happens when you have something that you realize you don’t use anymore. I changed from three decks to two when I started to put the sampler in and I wasn’t using the third turntable so much, or asking for it anymore. And there was about a year when I was taking my record case without ever actually playing a record, so slowly I decided to change to just Traktor. But it was always kid of slow. There was never a day when I thought, “I’ll do this…” DJ Times: What’s your favorite club to play? Carola: I have a few clubs I like to play. I’ve been lucky to be able to choose many of my favorites to play on the world tour. But it’s not easy to name them all because it’s like your kids—it’s not easy to choose a favorite one! I’d have to say in the last year, though, Amnesia in Ibiza is the best experience, for sure. DJ Times: What’s next for you? Carola: Well, of course, right now I am concentrating on this tour, playing some great clubs and parties all over the world. After that, hopefully some more remixes and maybe some EPs later on. But right now it is all about the tour. n
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MAKING TRACKS STUDIO…HARDWARE…SOFTWARE…
cus Button is engaged, the microphone’s frequency response shifts, resulting in a focus on the mid-range and upper frequencies. When the Focus Button is not engaged, Spark picks up more of the lower frequencies. First up was my voice-over session, and I was very happy with how much clarity Spark offered. Even though I usually roll off a bit of low end with a male voice-over, I would rather have too much low end in the recording than too little. Spark has quite a bit of presence and, at times, I felt like it had a hint of the classic Neumann U87 in its sound. As I shifted gears to my male vocal session, I was equally pleased with the results. The top end is nice and clear, and I found the overall sound of the mic to be round, which is a sound that
For the June 2010 issue of DJ Times, I reviewed a terrific new microphone from Blue Microphones, called Yeti. I praised it for being a huge bang for the buck, especially for a USB microphone. But considering the source, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Why? Because I have always believed that Blue Microphones puts quality first into its studio products. Additionally, the Westlake Village, Calif.-based company manages to package its microphones in a very evocative manner. There really aren’t any other microphones on the market that look like those made by Blue. Visually, they certainly stand out from the competition. This year, Blue has added two more microphones to its arsenal—Yeti-Pro and
DJ TIMES
MAY 2011
BLUE MICROPHONES: SQUEEZING OUT SPARKS
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“When the Focus Button is engaged, the mic’s frequency response shifts, resulting in a focus on the mid-range and upper frequencies.”
Spark. This review will focus on Spark, a slick-looking cardioid, solid-state, condenser microphone that might be their best budget-conscious microphone to date. Weighing in at just over one pound, Spark ships in a very cool wooden box. It includes a matchbook-style manual, along with a shock mount, and a small pop filter that screws into the back of the unit. The inclusion of a pop filter was a nice surprise. The manual not only gives users an over view and instructions on how to use Spark, but also includes
some general information of microphone techniques. For this review, I used Spark with an Apogee Duet and a 17-inch MacBook Pro running Pro Tools 9. Interestingly, this might be the only review I’ve ever done where I actually had no idea what the MSRP was for the product I was reviewing (prior to the review). From just opening up Spark and setting it up, I was sure that it fell into the $1,000 price range. I didn’t realize until after I tested it that its MSRP is only $199. Impressive. I decided to use Spark to record a male voice-over session and a male vocal session. The mic’s frequency response is 20Hz – 20Khz, with a maximum SPL of 128 dBS/N Ratio: 84 dB. It does re q u i re p h a n t o m p owe r (+48V) and also includes a nice little feature called the Focus Button. When the Fo-
I prefer. The Focus Button is a great feature and, because this microphone is able to pick up a healthy amount of low end, it will probably work very well with female vocalists also. One of the main things that I look for in a microphone is how I have to EQ the audio after I’ve recorded it. In an ideal world, I prefer to mostly EQ via subtractive EQing, and I was able to do that with Spark. I rolled off some low mid and low frequencies, bumped a little bit in the high end, and then I was good to go. The mic is
By Josh Harris pretty directional, so if you’re looking for that nice presence, get close to the pop filter when you’re recording. Fo r t h o s e o f yo u o u t there who are working with smaller budgets and need a microphone that absolutely sounds like it’s in a price range five times more than its actual cost, Spark should be at the top of your list. There is nothing about this microphone that sounds like it costs $199—and it comes with a three-year manufacturer’s warranty. Blue Microphones continues to release great sounding mics that are very well made, and easy on the wallet. And, like most Blue Microphones, it’s built like a tank. Hats off to the crew at Blue for offering up another winner. Spark it up! If you have any questions for Josh Harris or Making Tracks, please send them to djtimes@ testa.com
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HERCULES’ STEEL-TOUGH CONTROLLER By Wesley Bryant-King
DJ Console 4-Mx: Sturdy with multichannel audio I/O & nice value-adds.
For the past few years, France’s Guillemot has been producing an expanding line of DJ products, marketing them under the Hercules brand name. With both controllers for digital DJs, and multichannel audio interfaces for DJs (including one design for use with Virtual DJ’s time-coded media based “scratch” version), the company (www.hercules.com) has been targeting the entry- and midlevel DJ markets with affordable ways to control the art of digital DJing. One of their most recent controllers to come to market is the DJ Console 4-Mx, which combines the functions of a MIDI control surface with a multichannel audio interface.
DJ TIMES
MAY 2011
First Impressions
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The DJ Console 4-Mx bears a striking resemblance to the DJ Control Steel, a control-only (no audio) console that I had the pleasure of reviewing back in early 2009. With a few additional knobs and buttons, primarily due to the inclusion of audio I/O in the 4-Mx, it shares with the Steel… well, steel— as in heavy, steel construction. Despite its modest footprint (making it easy to find space for in the booth), it has a nice, substantial feel when you pick it up, without being too heavy to cart around to gigs. And when you put it down, it stays put, on its four, fat rubber paws. Speaking of carrying it around, this is one area where I find Hercules a few steps ahead of their competition—by including a nicely-made, padded case, right in the box. With an ample strap, inside pocket, and backpack-style double latches, you can throw it over one shoulder, your laptop on the other, and off to a gig you go. It’s a great value-add for the package. As most DJ controllers do, Hercules bundles DJ software in the box, too—a copy of a special version of Virtual DJ tailored for the Console 4-Mx. Configuration files and PDF instructions for using the Console 4-Mx with Native Instruments’ Traktor Pro are available for free download from the
Hercules support web site. On the back panel, the Console 4-Mx sports RCA inputs for two off-board devices, such as CDJs. Both RCA and ¼-inch outputs are provided, which are normally mapped to monitor and to master outputs. While I prefer to see XLRs on the master out, at least the flexibility of both RCA and ¼-inch is appreciated. XLRs are also missing from the microphone inputs—these are ¼-inch as well.
Set-up & Use
Installation was simple and straightforward. I already had the Hercules universal DJ controller drivers installed on my evaluation system. An upgrade was needed to support the Console 4-Mx, however, but the upgrade was an easy download-and-install from the Hercules support site. And while I tested the unit with Traktor Pro, I did do a quick runthrough of the installer on a spare laptop, which installed both the drivers and the bundled Virtual DJ with ease. The Hercules controller drivers include an applet to configure the audio settings and MIDI settings. There isn’t that much to set. The installer takes care of everything for you when using Virtual DJ. But for Traktor users, a PDF instruction sheet is included with the configuration file download that has details on what to change, and how, as well as an overview of how the controller works with Traktor. Speaking of that PDF—and the printed manual included with the Console 4-Mx—documentation is one area where I’d like to see a bit more attention given at Hercules. The printed manual is solely a quick-start guide; the Traktor configuration PDF has an unpolished, somewhat quirky layout, in my view, which doesn’t really go out of its way than to tell you more than “this-button-does-that” level information. Seasoned digital DJs who’ve used other controllers probably won’t have much trouble (I didn’t), but new users might end up having to deduce more on their own than they’d like.
It seems each manufacturer has its own approach to controls—some go for firm and tight, while others go for loose and easy—and different users have different preferences, too. Hercules leans toward the “firm-and-tight” camp, with sliders having good resistance to movement, buttons being firm and sure in action, and knobs easy to change, but also having definite resistance. Overall, I like the feel of the controls, and I especially liked the big, chunky rotary encoders (jog wheels) that dominate the top surface of the unit. Firing-up Traktor for the first time with the Console 4-Mx connected, it took some fiddling to get things to work initially. A firmware upgrade for the unit was offered automatically, and seemed required before it would actually function. That, in turn, required several plug/unplug cycles before it was fully operational—an upgrade process I found a bit cumbersome. But once done, it was done, and the sailing was reasonably smooth thereafter. On the down side, I did experience a slight digital hum in the master output in my main set-up, and while I’m fairly confident in my configuration, cabling, and so forth, hums and noise can originate from myriad causes. I didn’t spend inordinate amounts of time trying to find and resolve it, as it was only evident when no music was playing, and Hercules assures me that they have no known product problems of this type. Also on the down side is a pet peeve of mine, you could say: There’s no way to disable the crossfader, leaving me with no choice but to gaffer’s tape it into the center position—not ideal for the many DJs, like me, who don’t use one. On the up side, Hercules has made good use of control buttons and knobs provided. With Traktor Pro, looping is easy and fast—which I appreciate, as I use it constantly in my sets—and they’ve done a reasonably good job mapping controls to Traktor’s notoriously complex (but very powerful) effects functionality. The effects were a tad bit cumbersome for a new user to master, but that’s been true of every one of the many controllers I’ve evaluated over the years.With use, it becomes second nature.
Conclusions
With a street price in the neighborhood of $500, the Hercules Console 4-Mx represents a great combination of uses for the digital DJ. It’s a sturdy, functional controller with multichannel audio I/O and support for off-board decks, along with nice value-adds, including the bundled, customized version of Virtual DJ, as well as a sweet carrying case with room for extras. And with its support for both PC and Mac users, all you have to bring to the table is your music collection—and a crowd ready to party. If you have any questions for Sounding Off, please send them to djtimes@testa.com.
MOBILE PROFILE CAREERS…INNOVATIONS…SUCCESS STORIES
LOUISVILLE DJ MAKES ALL THE RIGHT SOCIAL MOVES
DJ TIMES
MAY 2011
By Milo Burke
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Louisville , Ky.—Eric Woodland received the best training a DJ could ever receive: slogging away for a multi-op business, a tutorial behind the console. “It was a great way to learn what not to do,” says
me, and they know they’ll be getting me. I’ll walk through the venue with them, act everything out, write out their agenda and their timeline and execute it exactly as we talked about.” Actually, Woodland will do
Woodland, now the owner of DeeJay Woody Events and Entertainment. “A lot of my experience [with the multi-op] was quantity over quality,” he says. “I realized the things that multiops weren’t able to provide. A lot of what I was doing was, ‘Here’s a wedding—go do it. We’ll have some equipment for you—hopefully, it’s all working—and the clients will have no idea who you are.’ “I could see the frustration in peoples’ eyes. You show up, they don’t know you, and you say, ‘I’m your DJ. I’ve never met you. I hope you like my personality. I hope I’m able to read your crowd and perform the way you want—and I hope that you’ll trust me.’” Now, as an owner, Woodland does one event per day. “Now I do one wedding a day, and the client will meet with
a minimum of three meetings with brides prior to an event. “The three meetings are mandatory,” he says. “At first, it’ll be the when and where and who and what, and we don’t talk pricing. We talk about what they’ve seen and what they liked, a couple months out, we’ll sit down and take their requests, log their timeline in DJ Intelligence, and we’ll incorporate those into their big day.” One thing that Woodland likes to do differently is to steer clients away from tried-and-true songs. “No offense to anyone who likes Frank Sinatra or Boyz II Men, but those songs have been used. So I try and dig deeper and find something that will stick out in people’s minds when they remember your wedding. It’s all about creating or accessing memories.
Eric Woodland learned how not to run a business.
“You can be driving down the street and you’ll hear a song from high school, and you can remember that summer. It’s the same way with wedding tunes, for the ceremony to the reception to the last dance. Most people typically only get to do this once—as with senior proms a n d S we e t 1 6 s — a n d we want to make sure it goes on without a hitch.” Typically, Woodland will listen to his couple, and try to find a common thread. “If they’re a couple that enjoys movies, I’ll dig into something that they have in common,” he says. “I’ll look for common threads. Some couples are night and day, and you’re not going to find a happy medium. Sometimes you’re gonna have to find something that he knows and she’s OK with it, and vice-versa. Or if they’re opposites, we’ll find a medley. There’ll be the bride who wants a choreographed dance, and the groom might be shy, so we’ll play something that he knows and then an upbeat number that they could rehearse to.” Or, Woodland will try to find a song that they grew up to, for a daddy-daughter song especially, and find out if there was an old 33 or 45 that the client would play when they were toddlers, that belonged to the parents. “Or a tape or a CD, at this
point,” he says. “You just dig and listen and take notes, and take a look at what they’ve submitted. Right about now, most couples were born in the late ’80s, so I try to cater the set to those tastes and that time.” Woodland points to a recent couple who were both former counselors at 4H Camp. “They had taught different dances throughout the years with the kids,” he says, “so we started out with a slow number that I had never heard before— DJing is a great way to learn about music from the people you’re working with, by the way—and they took a lot of the numbers that they had learned and taught at 4H and we choreographed that. Everyone at that reception will remember that.” To generate gigs, Woodland focuses on the key to effective Facebooking: establishing and maintaining a place in the news feeds of your fans, or “likes.” But how? “We do New Music Mondays on Facebook,” he says. “We subscribe to Promo Only and TM Studios, and TM Studios provides you your media and a list of everything that’s on the disc. So we’ll go out and post the Top 20 songs that are going Top 30 across the board nationwide, so if people are looking for some
new music, they’ll see that, and hopefully comment on it. We also do Wedding Tip Wednesday, which is typically insight about weddings and whatnot. “And then Friday, we’ll do trivia. Our most recent thing we did was we asked our fans to tell us something that’s interesting, and we’ll come up with a topic. We do that to stay relevant, to stay in people’s threads. And that’s the real key to Facebook, the more popular items, they stay in the news feed, if a status update has 30 comments, that tends to show up more in someone’s feed as opposed to one that just came and went and nobody touched on. “So we did one update where we asked people to tell us about the absolute worst DJ they’ve ever seen. To entice them to comment, we gave away a $10 Starbucks Gift Card.” Did it work? “The girl who won was actually well known in the community and she’s sent several jobs our way, so that’s worked out really well for us.” DJ Woody emphasizes that you don’t want to overwhelm your fans with constant updates, which is why he only posts three updates a week. “Any more than that, I’m annoying.”
2011 Dates Announced
August 8-11 Trump Taj Mahal Atlantic City, NJ
Š Testa Communications
BUSINESS LINE SALES…MARKETING…SOLUTIONS…
DJ TIMES
MAY 2011
By Brian O’Connor
30
San Francisco—Ted Mosby, the central character in the CBS sitcom “How I Met Your Mother,” once said, “Nothing good ever happens after 2 a.m.” Keith Lee thinks otherwise. In 2010, Lee and some friends were walking out of an L.A. nightclub, having been impressed by that night’s DJ lineup, and he thought to himself: “Why don’t we create a gaming app, where, instead of people simulating a restaurant or a zoo on Facebook, why don’t we create a game where you start your own nightclub and choose your own DJs, program your own sets, and you can hire your friends as bouncers or bartenders?” It was a Red Bull-fueled eureka moment. Of course, the fact that Lee had founded a gaming company called Booyah put him in a position to execute the idea—and his CV, which included a stint at Los Angeles-based Blizzard Entertainment, creators of the massively successful online roleplaying game World of Warcraft, enabled him to secure venture capital. “I had been working on some of the best video games of all time over the last couple of years,” says Lee of his time at Blizzard. “World of Warcraft became a cultural phenomenon, and then, because we were into music—I’ve always loved French house, like Daft Punk, French Fries, and Justice—and we used to go to parties a lot, to Vegas clubs like XS and a lot of after-hours parties, I thought nightclub gaming would be tons of fun, and I thought it was an opportunity in the Facebook entertainment space where no one was doing that.” After designing and launching the game, Nightclub City DJs, within six months more than 20 million users had flocked to the Nightclub City Facebook page—currently, 600,000 users are actively engaged every month, and the game has 4.5 million Facebook fans—providing a remarkable marketing opportunity for music labels and DJs, and a revenue model for Booyah equal to that of music ID app Shazam. “I think what resonated with people was that it was really good music that came with a ton of fun,” he says, “and we added a lot of viral chan-
nels in there that got tons of people pulled in to the game right away, and there is nothing like that on Facebook where you were making a game where you actually had real music and cool music.” From the outset, Lee relied on his DJ friends to provide the soundtrack. “We started pretty small,” he says. “I talked to a lot of my friends and DJs and asked if they wanted to put their music on the game for free.We’d promote it and market it in our channel. When we started getting more traction, I started calling more people. And the value propositions we were
Keith Lee devised the web’s biggest music-based social gaming experience.
MEET THE BRAINS BEHIND NIGHTCLUB CITY DJ RIVALS able to offer artists was this: If you put your music in our game, when people are playing it they can actually ‘Like’ your song by pressing a Like button on the song itself; if they don’t like the song, they’ll never click on the Like button; and what happened was, people started liking the songs, they were discovering music through the game and they weren’t incentivized to do it.” And that’s a great value to DJs and artists—and record labels. For DJs and artists, the game’s massive scale enabled their music to reach a wider audience. Suddenly, artists with 10,000 Facebook fans witnessed their numbers balloon to 60,000 and 100,000. “Because we had so many people playing the game, it became a huge value for artists and DJs. In several weeks they got over 100,000 fans, and they were able to potentially get new gigs through their new fans.” Music labels, on the constant hunt for new ways to market their artists in the ever-growing social media space, soon came calling. “It started smaller because we wanted to represent the smaller artists like Kaskade and Deadmau5, but then the bigger labels came across and we started putting Daft Punk in there, and then rock guys like Kiss,
and we promoted Far East Movement before they got big—‘Like a G6’ we promoted before it got big on the radio.” And then Lady Gaga came calling, and then Snoop Dogg, and the real value to the industry— beyond the ability to sell their songs—became clear. “We can launch several of their singles at the same time,” says Lee. “And if they don’t know which one they want to put on the radio, we are essentially doing real-time radio callouts to millions of people, and the artist could put out five singles on our game and they would know within two days which one they should promote.” Snoop Dogg’s recent long-player, Doggumentary, benefited from this aspect of the game: EMI determined that “Sweet” would be a single. But, like any other company in the gaming space, Lee had to look beyond the desktop gaming experience. “We started thinking of the game more broadly,” says Lee. “And we thought Facebook is huge, but mobile is going to be even bigger, so we thought to extend the brand from Facebook to the phone.” (continued on page 42)
SAT. JUNE 4TH 2011 : 2PM-6AM 16 HOURS OF MUSIC : 40+ PERFORMERS : 5 STAGES • FORT ARMISTEAD PARK : BALTIMORE, MD FOR FULL EVENT DETAILS AND TO PURCHASE TICKETS VISIT WWW.STARSCAPEFESTIVAL.COM
SATURDAY, JUNE 4TH 2011 : 2PM-6AM
16 HOURS OF MUSIC : 40+ PERFORMERS : 5 STAGES
VIEW OF THE SUNRISE OVER THE CHESAPEAKE
F O R T A R M I S T E A D P A R K : B A LT I M O R E , M D
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Get Your Advance Tickets at
STARSCAPEFESTIVAL.COM
GEAR AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF
Man in the Mirrorball
Sticking Your Nexus Out
American DJ Supply 6122 S. Eastern Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90040 (800) 322-6337 www.americandj.com
Pioneer 2265 E. 220th Street Long Beach, CA 90810 (310) 952-2000 www.pioneer-usa.com
DJ TIMES
MAY 2011
American DJ’s Spherion TRI LED creates a “mirrorball-type effect” through five high-output, 3-watt TRI LED sources that project through 116 small lenses. The five LED sources are composed of three different color LEDs—red, green and blue. According to the company, this allows RGB mixing to be done inside each lamp. The Spherion TRI LED features 360-degree rotation in controllable speeds, as well as a 270-degree beam angle and onboard strobing and dimming effects. Multiple Spherion TRI LED units can be linked together and run Master/Slave, while individual units can be run in Sound-Active, Master/ Slave and DMX modes.
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The DJM-900nexus is a new DJ mixer from Pioneer with four audio and two mic channels. It comes with a MIDI signal output, which Pioneer says is a first for a mixer, as well as a switchable three-band EQ and three-band Isolator on each channel. Users get a total of 13 beat effects—including two new ones called Spiral and Melodic—plus Space, Dub Echo, Filter, Crush, Noise and Gate/Comp effects. Additional features include a built-in 24bit/96kHz USB soundcard, Traktor functionality and USB connectivity to Mac and PC.
Pad on the Back
Gobos Zoom
Korg 316 South Service Rd Melville, NY 11747 (631) 390-6500 www.korg.com
Chauvet Lighting 3000 N. 29th Court Hollywood, FL 33020 (800) 762-1084 www.chauvetlighting.com
Korg’s Kaoss Pad Quad touchpad-based effect controller can process a variety of audio sources, including instruments, microphones, mixing boards and MP3 players. The unit comes with four effect modules— Looper, Modulation, Filter and Delay/Reverb—each with five options, plus a module kill. Features include a Freeze button that memorizes the position at which the user was last touching the touchpad in each of the four modules, and a Multi-Mode Looper that loops a particular part of the song backwards, forwards or as part of a divided phrase.
Chauvet Lighting has introduced the Gobo Zoom LED. The supercompact gobo projector is, according to the company, an accessory piece perfectly suited to the mobile entertainer, DJ, special event or retail environment. It features a manual zoom function suited for short-throw or long-throw applications. It’s illuminated by one white 10 W LED and, as such, has no duty cycle. The unit comes in four color gels and eight metal gobos to complement a variety of events.
GEAR AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF
Physi Lifting Drink PhysiPop (206) 883-6603 www.physipop.com TraxPad for the iPad is a multitouch mixing app that plugs into a DJ mixer and takes the place of a turntable or CDJ. DJs use their fingers to control
the audio waveform. “Slide two or more fingers to adjust the track speed; then use one finger to nudge the speed temporarily,” said Physipop. According to the company, there is no lag on TraxPad, so it can be used in clubs and other venues.
Taken to TASCAM
Modern Pop from EastWest
TASCAM 7733 Telegraph Rd. Montebello, CA 90640 (323) 726-0303 www.tascam.com
EastWest 6000 W. Sunset Blvd Hollywood, CA 90028 (323) 957-6969 www.soundsonline.com
TASCAM’s DR-05 portable recorder records in both MP3 and WAV formats at up to 96kHz/24-bit resolution. The unit comes with two low-noise, omnidirectional condenser microphones with sensitivity up to 125dB SPL. A speaker is built into the recorder, as are a 1/8-inch stereo mic/line input, 1/8-inch headphone/line output and chromatic tuner. Additional features include loop, repeat playback, peak reduction function, and variable speed playback of 50- to 150-percent that doesn’t change the pitch of the recording.
Virtual Instrument producer/distributor EastWest has made Best Service Modern Pop multi-format sound library available for the American market. With styles that include pop, lounge, chillout and New Age, Modern Pop offers rhythmic elements like percussion loops, drum loops and special grooves, as well as harmonic elements like melodies and chords, which are at times soft and gentle, at other times dynamic and powerful. Modern Pop comes on a 2.2 GB DVD and features 24-Bit / 44.100 kHz content made up of 35 Construction Kits, 800 Wav / Acid Loops, 400 Rex2 Loops, and 1000 Wav One-Shots.
ART 310-A
ART 312-A
ART 315-A
DJ TIMES
RCF announces new prices on the Legendary ART 3 Series.
MAY 2011
The Best. Now for Less.
RCF USA Inc.
Tel: 603 926 4604
Fax: 603 926 4606
Email: info@rcf-usa.com
Web: www.rcf.it
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GEAR AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF
The 700 Club Watch Men FLüD Watches (646) 495-1527 www.fludwatches.com
DJ TIMES
MAY 2011
The Tableturn Roc Raida limited edition watch serves as a tribute to The X-Ecutioners’s Grand Master Roc Raida, a long-time supporter of FLüD Watches founder Doug Cohen. All proceeds from the Tableturn Roc Raida limited edition watch will support the late DJ’s wife and three children. The watch retails for $90 and can be purchased only by e-mailing the FLüD team at RocRaida@FludWatches.com.
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GCI Technologies 1 Mayfield Ave. Edison, NJ 08837 (732) 346-0061 www.gci-technologies.com Gemini released a new line of media players that includes the CDJ-700 tabletop media player, featuring advanced controls such as loop adjust and slip mode; the CDMP-7000, an all-in-one media workstation that Gemini describes as having “the traditional two-decks-and-a-mixer layout DJs are used to, along with two large, touch-sensitive platters with LCD displays;” and the CDMP-2700 dual rackmount media player. All models in the line feature digital outs with 24-bit/192 kHz A/D converters and can be used as MIDI controller with any DJ software.
Native Tongue
I Am Number Four
Native Instruments North America 5631 A Hollywood Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90028 (866) 556-6487 www.native-instruments.com
DVJ Vision 55 Washington Street, Suite 702 Brooklyn, NY 11201 (877) 385-8474 www.dvjvision.com
Native Instruments’ Traktor Audio 6 and Traktor Audio 10 offer two additional channels over the previous Audio 4 and Audio 8 models. With six and 10 analog inputs and outputs respectively, these new models come with a “Direct Thru” bypass function, 24bit/96Khz Cirrus Logic converters, and TRAKTOR LE 2 software, which features two decks and sync, looping and effect functions.
Club Visuals Volume 4 is a dual-layer DVD that features six live video and computer animation clips. The seven-minute clips can play with either 4:3 projectors or 16:9 monitors. There are “major edits” every 16 bars of the 128-bpm tracks. Copyrights have been cleared for each clip, created by VJs and motion-graphics designers Movement, Chris Andrew, Vanessa Ramos Velasquez and Rebel Overlay.
GEAR AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF
Islands in the Stream Dubset www.dubset.com Dubset is a browser-based music platform that uses streams mixes from top DJs around the world. MixSCAN software “recognizes proprietary information to identify each song and in turn accurately tracks and reports songs within DJ mixes for royalty distribution via Sound Exchange, ASCAP, BMI and SESAC,” according to the company. Subscribers can create playlists, customize radio stations, and purchase songs from any mix. Dubset is also available in an iPhone app.
Golly G-Club Gator Cases 18922 N. Dale Mabry Hwy Lutz, FL 33548 (813) 221-4191 www.gatorcases.com The G-Club Controller bag from Gator is a nylon messenger bag designed to hold a laptop-based MIDI controller, laptops up to 17 inches, and headphones. The bag features a padded laptop pocket, zippered headphone pouch, side accessory pocket, adjustable shoulder strap, thick padded carry handle and orange lining. In addition, the controller sections features thick padding on the front and back, plus a rubber foam bottom.
Take 1 Stanton Magnetics 772 S. Military Trail Deerfield Beach, FL 33442 (954) 949-9600 www.stantondj.com The Stanton Control System1 (SCS1) comes with builtin FireWire audio interface, assignable encoders, and four generic presets that allow the SCS.1 to be mapped into most DJ software packages. There are also presets for specific programs, including Native Instruments Traktor Pro application and Ableton Live. The unit also comes with DaRouter software that “implements a better scratching algorithm,” according to the company.
With Every Beatport
DJ TIMES
MAY 2011
Beatport.com 2399 Blake Street, Suite 170 Denver, CO 80205 (720) 974-9500 www.beatport.com
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Twenty-five full-length Moguai tracks are available in Beatport Presents: Moguai Live DJ Setup Bundle, available on beatport.com. The bundle, which also includes a variety of audio samples and loops, comes in a single zip file that’s compatible with Ableton Live, as well as other software programs. In addition to the files—which include Moguai’s recent hit “Optinuum” and the Hey Today! Remix of Tiga’s “You Gonna Want Me”—the bundle also includes a twohour live DJ mix Moguai recently performed in Denver.
AMERICA’S MOST UP-TO-THE-MOMENT NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR PROFESSIONAL DJs AND CLUBBERS.
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GROOVES TRACKS…MIXES…COMPILATIONS
Hervé
Richard Dinsdale
“TOGETHER” u Hervé u 3Beat Originally on Cheap Thrills and now picked up for worldwide domination by 3Beat, this riveting stormer transports you straight back to 1990’s raving days with a piano drop that demands hands in the air. Massive.
– Curtis Zack “GLITTER FEVER” EP
u Richard Dinsdale u Toolroom Records A lively new progressive EP featuring two blistering singles that’ll definitely get some love—both cuts bring their own distinct funkiness. DJs will love the disco-tinged “DJ, You’ve Got My Love,” with its rollicking party groove and insatiable vocal hook. And don’t sleep on the tech-heavy “One Step,” a dirty beat-infested groover. Both tracks should be club staples.
– Phil Turnipseed “TURN IT UP”
DJ Prinz
Ultra Naté
Remixes” and the chunky tech vibe of the “Ruff Loaderz & Scott Giles Dub.” We’re also feeling the crazy “Muthafunkaz Catch A Beatdown Dub.”
– Phil Turnipseed “AWAKE”
u Nelson Grover u Animal Language On this instrumental house track, surprise piano riffs take over the middle of the original mix for winning effect.Though the original definitely leans towards the progressive side, Binman and Mason switch things up with serious electro flavor on their mixes.
– Natalie Raben “ELECTRIC LOVE”
u Dirty Vegas u OM Records A funky throwback with ’80s flavor, this track definitely maintains that distinct Dirty Vegas sound we all remember. The original mix is rockfocused with Paul Harris and Runaway offering housey takes for the remixes.
– Natalie Raben
u Ultra Naté u Deep Sugar Music An absolutely wicked new outing for Ms. Naté, as she brings the intensity up a notch. Several mixes here, like the splashy, progressive “Wawa
“HAVE YOU GOT YOUR BOOTS ON?”
u Bah Samba u Favouritizm
Alice Russell lends her bold, discofied vocal style to the likes of three distinct remixes. DJ Meme bangs out a bouncy house mix with a funky bassline, cool brass and clever percussion. The interpretation from JKriv (of Tortured Soul) is a chuggy, ’80s-flavored, mid-tempo, funk extravaganza. Finally, Steve Luxe’s rendition offers some groovy retro disco—a sweet dancefloor piece with soothing Rhodes and a chillier vibe.
– Shawn Christopher “BASS, DRUMS & HARMONY”
u Yogi & Husky u Salted The Random Soul duo of Yogi & Husky makes another appearance on Miguel Migs’ Salted label— and the quality continues. Funky flecks, boogie bassline and some high-grade synth action all feature to make this one essential. – Curtis Zack “FINISH LINE” u Yasmin u Data Look no further than The Freemasons’ remixes of this latest Yasmin track. Slowing down mid-song for a devastating drop, this one should be massive—both in the clubs and on the airwaves.
– Curtis Zack
Corner Featuring Weekly Mixshows From The World's Leading DJs/Producers, including (but not limited to):
DJ TIMES
MAY 2011
ARMIN VAN BUUREN ❖ TIESTO ❖ STEVE AOKI ❖ ABOVE & BEYOND ❖ ROBBIE RIVERA ❖ PAUL OAKENFOLD ❖ FERRY CORSTEN ❖ BENNY BENASSI ❖ JOHN DIGWEED ❖ CARL COX ❖ SHARAM ...And much more!"
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sirius.com/electricarea xmradio.com/electricarea
Each month in this space, DJ Times digs through the virtual crates to give you a quick sample of the plethora of extraordinary tracks available exclusively on legal download—care of our favorite next-generation “record” stores (e.g. Beatport, iTunes, etc). “Circle of Love feat. Fadila” (Original Mix) by Tale of Us [Visionquest]: This level of musicality could easily find itself in a dark basement jazz club. Instead, the production duo of Karm and Matteo serve up a snappy four-on-the-floor kick, a deep, but melodic bassline, and intricately programmed percussion to accentuate the sultry female vocal. Found at beatport.com. “Around the World” (Original Mix) by DJ Prinz [Push It Records]: The clever use of the Daft Punk sample only provides a subtle hook to keep listeners engaged in this otherwise insistent, big-room-type track. Rolling bass, tribal-style percussion, and a repetitive, filtered synth stab make this a winner! Found at beatport.com. “Gotta Have House” (Original Mix) by BlackWhited [Broken Records]: This Belgian production team takes the original, classic Marshall Jefferson a cappella to a new level for a new era of house music. The familiar vocal chant is laid over a modern peak-hour track with stabs that harkens back to the original’s piano chords. Also, check its hands-in-the-air break— nobody will be able to resist. Found at beatport.com. – Robert LaFrance
Download
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GROOVES TRACKS…MIXES…COMPILATIONS
Tale of Us
Yogi & Husky
SAMPLE MADNESS, VOL. 1
u Souldynamic u Purple Tracks Here are four crate-digging cuts from Souldynamic that all borrow hefty slices from disco classics. But, with their bumpin’ thumpin’ grooves, they’re updated perfectly for today’s clubs.
– Curtis Zack “FATHER FATHER” EP
u Julio Bashmore u Future Boogie Producer/artist Bashmore introduces us to his soothing chill-house groove with this sexy new EP that also features vocalist Javeon McCarthy. The title track delivers a subtle, deep-house feel with a light bounce and an impressive vocal. On “Craboon,” things get a little bit more active with
Souldynamic
some sexy female vocal stabs and a light deephouse production with a little ambience thrown in. Great stuff for your chilled weekend parties.
– Phil Turnipseed “PIECE OF YOU” u Michael Gray u Supatron One half of Full Intention, Michael Gray returns for another solo outing destined for success. It may not have the instant appeal of “Weekend,” but after a few plays you will be hooked.
– Curtis Zack “HARD YARDS”
u Domsko feat. Astral T u Lost My Dog This sexy, new, tech-house vocal cut features a wicked synth hook and some very cool, deep
grooves. With a hard-edged feel, “Hard Yards” is tempered by vocalist Astral T’s soulful performance on the original. On the dub, the vocal stabs are what set off the wicked tech groove, while that synth riff does the rest of the work. A definite floor-burner!
– Phil Turnipseed “IT’S ALRIGHT”
u DJ Kone & Marc Palacios u Gossip The original version of this track is a standard dancefloor fodder. However, as with so many Gossip releases, Hott 22 saves the day with a devastating disco-influenced remix that points straight for the dancefloor. – Curtis Zack
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Compiled As Of April 2,2011
National Crossover Pool Chart 1 Lady Gaga 2 Katy Perry 3 Rihanna 4 Enrique Iglesias F/Ludacris 5 Britney Spears 6 Kimberly Caldwell 7 Taio Cruz 8 Kylie Minogue 9 The Black Eyed Peas 10 Afrojack F/ Eva Simons 11 David Guetta F/ Rihanna 12 Swedish House Mafia 13 J-Lo F/Pitbull 14 Erika Jayne 15 Penny Foster 16 Pixie Lott 17 Katy Perry 18 Daniela 19 Far East Movement 20 Jessie & The Toy Boys 21 Sir Ivan 22 Tino Coury 23 Joey Moe 24 Pink 25 Madison Park 26 La Roux 27 Ke$ha 28 DiddyDirtyMoney 29 Hannah 30 Tinie Tempah 31 Jes 32 Santito Vs. Block + Crown 33 Starshell 34 Good Charlotte 35 Tiffany Dunn 36 Ellie Goulding 37 Negin 38 Oh Land 39 Hot Rod 40 Wendel Kos F/Andrea Holley
Born This Way ET S&M Tonight Hold It Against Me Desperate Girls & Stupid Boys Higher Better Than Today The Time(Dirty Bit) Take Over Control Who’s That Chic Miami 2 Ibiza On The Floor One Hot Pleasure Closer To Love Boys And Girls Firework You & I Like A G-6 Push It Hare Krishna Up Against The Wall Yo - Yo Raise Your Glass I Stumble, I Fall In For The Kill We R Who We R Coming Home Sanity Written In The Stars Awaken Back It Up SuperLuva Like It’s Her Birthday Shut The Front Door Starry Eyed Unexpected Son Of A Gun Dance With Me Dancing On The Lights
National Urban Pool Chart
Interscope Capitol Def Jam Universal Jive Capitol Mercury Astralwerks Interscope Robbins Astralwerks Astralwerks Island Pretty Mess Robbins Interscope Capitol Robbins Interscope Prospect Park Peaceman Eleventh Robbins LaFace BasicLux Interscope RCA Interscope Snowdog Capitol JES Robbins Geffen Capitol Epic Interscope Robbins Epic G Note Robbins
1 The Black Eyed Peas The Time(Dirty Bit) Interscope 2 Wiz Khalifa Black & Yellow Atlantic 3 Kevin Cossom Baby I Like It Jive 4 Chris Brown No BS Jive 5 Rick Ross F Drake & C. Michele Aston Martin Music Island/Def Jam 6 Jamie Foxx F/ Drake Fall For Your Type J Records 7 Lil’ Wayne F/ Cory Gunz 6 Foot 7 Foot Universal 6 Chris Brown Yeah Yeah Yeah Jive 9 Trey Songz Can’t Be Friends Atlantic 10 Desy Yo Blow Out Your Candle Desy Yo 11 Bruno Mars Grenade Universal 12 Snoop Dogg Sweat/Wet D.Guetta Mixes Astralwerks 13 Tony Brikk My Bad Girl High Risk 14 Willow Whip My Hair Columbia 15 Drake F/T.I.&Swizz Beatz Fancy Universal 16 Dr. Dre F/Snoop Dogg & Akon Kush Interscope 17 Sean Kingston Letting Go Epic 18 Rihanna Only Girl (in The World) Island/Def Jam 19 Rihanna S&M Def Jam 20 Nicki Minaj Moment 4 Life Universal 21 Richgirl F/ Fabolous Swagger Right Jive 22 DiddyDirtyMoney Coming Home Interscope 23 Nicki Minaj F/ Drake Moment 4 Life Universal 24 Jazmine Sullivan Holding You Down J Records 25 Trey Songz Love Faces Atlantic 26 Jeremih F/ 50 Cent Down On Me Def Jam 27 Chris Brown Look At Me Now Jive 28 N.E.R.D. Hypnotize U Interscope 29 Kayne All Of The Lights Columbia 30 Mary Mary Walking Columbia 31 M.I.A. Internet Connection Interscope 32 Jennifer Hudson Where You At Jive 33 Kanye West F/ Jay Z H*A*M* Island/Def Jam 34 Keri Hilson Pretty Girl Rock Interscope 35 Waka Flocka Flames Grove St. Party Asylum 36 Keyshia Cole Take Me Away Geffen 37 Darius & Finlay And Shaun Baker Show Me 10 Capp 38 Ace Hood Hustle Hard Island/Def Jam 39 T.I. F/ Christina Aguilera Castle Walls Atlantic 40 XFlow SpaceShip Patron
Most Added Tracks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Wendel Kos F/Andrea Jessie & The Toy Boys F/Yelawolf J-Lo F/Pitbull Rihanna Adele Snoop Dogg Taio Cruz Get Far F/ Vaanya Diva Inner Party System Negin
Dancing On The Lights Push It On The Floor S&M Rolling In The Deep Sweat/Wet D.Guetta Mixes Higher Free American Trash Re-Mixes Unexpected
Most Added Tracks Robbins Prospect Park Island Def Jam Columbia Astralwerks Mercury Next Plateau Red Bull Robbins
1 XFlow 2 Rihanna 3 Keyshia Cole 4 Jennifer Hudson 5 Mary J Blige F/Diddy 6 T.I. F/ Christina Aguilera 7 Dj Khaled F/Rick Ross 8 Lloyd F/Awesome Jones 9 Miss Marie 10 Musiq Soulchild F/Swizz Beats
SpaceShip S&M Take Me Away Where You At Somebody To Love Me Castle Walls Welcome To My Hood Cupid Little Do You Know Anything
Patron Def Jam Geffen Jive Geffen Atlantic Universal Interscope Aires Atlantic
Reporting Pools ✦ Dixie Dance Kings - Alpharetta, GA; Dan Miller ✦ Flamingo - Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Julio ✦ Lets Dance / IRS - Chicago, IL; Lorri Annarella ✦ Next Music Pool - Los Angeles, CA; Bob Ketchter ✦ Masspool - Revere, MA; Gary Canavo ✦ OMAP - Washington, DC; Al Chasen ✦ Central Ohio - Columbus, OH; Fred Dowdy ✦ NW Dance Music - Shoreline, WA; John England ✦ Philly Spinners Assoc. - Cherry Hill, NJ; Fred Kolet ✦ Pittsburgh DJ - Pittsburgh, PA; Jim Kolich ✦ Soundworks - San Francisco, CA; Sam Labelle ✦ New York Music Pool - Levittown, NY; Jackie McCloy ✦ Rickett’s Record Pool - Saddle Brook, NJ; Bill Rickett ✦ Pacific Coast - Long Beach, CA; Steve Tsepelis
Looking for these titles? You can hear them and buy them at www.dancekings.com. Just click on the links in the chart. DDK has limited memberships available for qualified DJs in the US. We service CDs and MP3s in dance and urban formats. Feedback and membership dues required. 770-740-0356
45791
QBert
(continued from page 16)
QBert: I think it has created a great opportunity for other competitor companies. Technics patent has expired and now other manufacturers can make turntables using their magnetic platter technology. That feature gives the decks a weird balance that is unique to the 1200s. I absolutely love that feel. I hope that other companies start to create products with that same feel. DJ Times: What kind of products? QBert: I’d love to see something with a magnetic platter that has a built-in mixer and fader, but plays MP3s. I’d like to see something portable with a smaller footprint, maybe a 10-inch platter. Someone should create an all-in-one machine with an uncompromised feel. You shouldn’t need to have a mixer and turntables and a laptop. It should be all-in-one. That’s going to be the future. DJ Times: Are you forecasting the death of vinyl? QBert: Not at all. There are so many hardcore vinyl collectors out there who are always hunting for records. We love weird music and there is an enormous amount of undiscovered vinyl. There’s an infinite amount of obscure music from the 1960s and 1970s, most of which was recorded with tube amps. The overall sound is so funky! It’s completely impossible to reproduce digitally. Old analog recording equipment was so gritty and warm, no plug-in can replicate it. That’s why vinyl will never die. DJ Times: Do you have a heavy touring schedule these days? QBert: Yes. Right now I play some clubs, but I seem to be doing a lot of big festivals. I do a lot of huge European outdoor events, similar to raves. They have every genre of music from house, techno, hip-hop and even
bands. It’s a huge variety of music and they’re a lot of fun. Right now, I’m actually playing more overseas than I do in the United States. DJ Times: Do you prefer that? QBert: Not necessarily, every place is different. The larger cities are really my favorites, regardless of the country. They seem to have a larger appreciation for urban music and more of a B-Boy crowd. Places that have larger populations seem to know what’s up. They’re already educated to my style of music. Scratching can be an acquired taste and they just get it. DJ Times: You’re frequently involved in conventions, like our DJ Expo in Atlantic City. What types of questions do DJs usually have for you? QBert: The most common scenario is for them to show me a video of themselves scratching and ask for my input. Usually, they don’t grasp the understanding that scratching is a dance, not just going crazy on the decks. They’re usually great with the high-energy parts, but they don’t understand the down parts. There’s a balance. Similar to a wave in the ocean, there is an ebb and flow. It’s tough for people to understand, since there aren’t many music theory classes for scratching. It’s still a primitive musical instrument that we are all still discovering. DJ Times: The DJ scene has changed so much over the years. I remember a time when DJs lived to battle each other. Are there any battles left in you? QBert: Back in the day, everyone was scratching all different styles—it was like apples vs. oranges. At this point, I feel like I am a little more mature in my DJing. Now I’ve recognized that I’m an orange, and I embrace
that. But I am really trying to be an orange. I’m much more focused on being my own individual and battling with myself. I try to keep my own style, but put different spins on it. I’m pushing my individuality, as opposed to competing with other people. I’m competitive with myself and the challenge is out-doing myself every single day. DJ Times: What should people be on the lookout for in 2011? QBert: I’m coming out with a new mix, which is very exciting. I haven’t made an official mix since Demolition Pumpkin Squeeze in 1994. I plan on releasing it on mixcrate.com and djqbert.com. It’s very personal and I want to share with the world. There’s tons of weird scratching styles infused with music that I really dig. And, if people like the beats, I encourage them to just grab the music off the mix and use it in their own sets. Ultimately, this mix is exactly what I like to listen to when I’m out cruising around. I’m also working on a movie, which is a follow up to my first film, “Wave Twisters,” which I did 10 years ago. “Wave Twisters” was the first animated hip-hop movie. It won the People’s Choice Award at the Sundance Film Festival. I have very high hopes for this new film. It’s my biggest endeavor at the moment. DJ Times: What advice do you have for novice DJs? QBert: The number one thing is to be original. There are no formal rules to DJing, so create your own rules. Don’t just be a sheep and follow the herd. Get out there, have fun, and make people happy. That is the secret to success, making everyone happy. It transcends DJing. It’s an ongoing spiritual practice to continually make the world a better place. That’s my advice to all DJs. n
Biz
(continued from page 30) The result, Nightclub City DJ Rivals—using different music than its Facebook version—is a story-driven adventure for anyone who wants to be a virtual DJ or artist. Users can use the touch on the phone or iPad
“Because we had so many people playing the game, it became a huge value for artists and DJs. In several weeks, they got over 100,000 fans, and they were able to potentially get new gigs through their new fans.” – Booyah CEO Keith Lee and develop a character. Launched in March 2011, it was Top 10 seller on the App store (djrivals on app store), and at press time was being downloaded 100,000 times a day. It will be available for Android devices shortly, and an exclusive version for iPad and iPad 2 will be available this spring. Currently, more than 100,000 people play the mobile version daily. As far as startups go, Booyah is well financed—they gobbled up $30 million in rounds of venture capital from, among others, original Google investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers—and a half dozen other products burst from its portfolio. What began as a five-person operation two years ago now hums along in San Francisco with 55 employees. “We’re bullish on location-based gaming,” says Lee, “using the sensors on your phone, which will be ubiquitous.”
DJ TIMES
MAY 2011
Designer Drugs: Just Say No
42
We call ourselves Designer Drugs…
Not because of any bad habits…
But, more for our fuzzy camerawork.
Designer Drugs , next month in DJ Times
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