Tag: mixing

How to DJ with the Pacemaker device and a real mixer

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cubicgarden/36014782610/in/datetaken-public/

I love mixing with my Pacemaker but I have to admit there are some limitations like the crossfader and effects are a little tricky to do at the same time. So when I bought another pacemaker off ebay cheap and upgraded the battery and HDD to a SSD, I also upgraded that Pacemaker firmware, to include other features like beat-aware loops. That firmware can’t record mixes in the same way unfortunately.

So I’ve always thought maybe I could use the pacemaker with a mixer and record the mix over analogue means. Si gave me one of his old mixers a while ago, so for ages I thought about it but done little about it.

Till now!

Here’s the mix I messed with around earlier.

Ok its not great but I was tweaking the setup while I was recording.

Mixing with the pacemaker device

So how did I do it…

The pacemaker has two outputs, so I pushed deck A to the main output and deck B to the headphone output. This means the pacemaker crossfader can never be used or touched while mixing. You only use the deck selection to choose the track you want to adjust or play with.

Mixing with the pacemaker device

Deck A the main output is cabled to the Channel 1 on my mixer, while Deck B the headphone deck is output to Channel 3 on the mixer. (Channel 2 is mainly for the microphone and other things on the mixer)

Mixing with the pacemaker device

I had to adjust the volume and gain on each channel and the pacemaker its self but generally I got it right with some tweaking. I hooked up the output of the mixer to my amp and speakers, while the monitor went out to my laptop with a splitter as its a combined mic/headphone jack.

Mixing with the pacemaker device

I recorded everything with Audacity and checked the levels on the laptop.

The results are not bad… It does feel really weird to be using the Pacemaker device and not using the crossfader on the device. In actual fact I messed up a few times earlier on, by using the devices crossfader. I also decided I needed some kind of stand for the device and used a box to mount it half way through the test set.

It was odd but worked, more experimentation is needed…

Dark and disturbing on Berlin’s ring the mix

I made reference to a mix I did while in Berlin’s S-bahn ring line (like the old circle line in London). Its also quite a dark mix and you can get a sense of the tunes which made up the shorter mix.

Its a long mix and lasts about 96mins or through 37.5 kms. The mix is a little rough in parts due to shifting positions and moving for people to get on and off. I took the ring from Prenzlauer Allee clockwise (S41).

  1. Flash (timo maas remix) – Green Velvet
  2. Riff – Sander Van Doorn
  3. Energy Flash – Joey Beltram
  4. My Beat (Ambassador remix) – Blaze
  5. Intruder – Armin vs Mike
  6. One night in New York city (chris liebing mix) – The Horrorist
  7. One for you – Oliver klien
  8. Dj culture – Joey beltram
  9. Jelly Tracks (Rippin and Drippin) – Oliver Klein
  10. My Beat (Jan Driver mix) – Blaze
  11. Nasty (Electric mix) – Re Locate Vs Jonas Steur
  12. Grasshopper (raw version) – Sander Van Doorn
  13. Interstate Emperors – Jeffed
  14. The Redlight (album version) – Green Velvet
  15. Blood Angels (chris liebing mix) –  John Startlight
  16. Nackling (tomcraft mix) – Duse
  17. Paperjet – John Tejada
  18. Red Purple – Thomas Schumacher
  19. Ubik (the break) – Timo Maas
  20. Rage Chemistry (Cold Blank’s WMC 2013 Mashup) – Knife Party vs Svidden
  21. Switch (oliver klein & peter jürgens remix) – Beckers
  22. Watch Out (lee coombs back to the phuture remix) – Ferry Corsten

The alternative classic trance set

I mentioned in my trance set from July, that I had recorded two trance sets; and was deciding which one I preferred. The full’on classic trance set won out but I wanted to share the alternative one too. It pretty raw and short but I quite like it, especially since I love out of the blue by system F so much that it was played twice!

Enjoy and remember sharing is caring!

  1. Communication 2 (armin remix) – Armin Van Buuren
  2. Pearl River (vocal mix) – Johney Shaker
  3. Love Stimulation (Pvd Love Club mix) – Humate
  4. Please Save me (Push remix) – Sunscream vs Push
  5. Seven Cities (V-One’s Living Cities Remix) – Solarstone
  6. Out of the Blue – System F
  7. Avenue – Paul van dyk
  8. I can’t help myself – Lucid
  9. Sunrise (Here I am) (Ratty mix) – Tenshi
  10. Grooveline (Matt Darey) – Blockster
  11. Gamemaster (Matt Darey 1999 Remix) – Matt Darey Presents Lost Tribe
  12. 1999 (Gouryella mix) – Binary Finary
  13. I’m in Love – Star Party
  14. Out of the Blue – System F

Photo credit comes from lneprz.

The berlin airspace mix

berlin tv tower

Another mix, this time recorded mid-flight on the way back from Berlin yesterday. It actually lasts about the time of the whole flight. Its a mix of some tech-house with tech-trance. Straight out of the Pacemaker, not even normalised or anything. Its a odd bunch of tunes but mixed up and enjoyable to listen to.

  1. Afro-ride – Leftfield
  2. Flutes (Sasha remix) – Hot Chip
  3. Watch out (deep south remix) – Ferry Corsten
  4. Switch (Oliver Klein & Peter Jurgens remix) – Beckers
  5. Higher state of consciousness – Josh Wink
  6. Answering machine (album version) – Green Velvet
  7. Special K (timo maas mix) – Placebo
  8. Paper Jet – John Tajada
  9. Shoreside – Streetcleaner
  10. Jelly Tracks (Rippin & Drippin mix) – Oliver Klein
  11. Revolving Doors (club mix) – Ronski Speed
  12. Blood Angels (Chris Leibing mix) – John Starlight
  13. Rewind (Mikkas Remix) – Emma Hewitt
  14. Nine ways – JDS
  15. My Beat (Jan Driver mix) – Blaze
  16. Brush Strokes – Simon Patterson
  17. Whites of her eyes – Simon Patterson
  18. Out of the blue (progressive trance mix) – Future Breeze
  19. Suru (Marin Roth Electrance remix) – Super8 & Tab
  20. Moments – Dimension

Djing with insights

Speech bubbles at Erg

Si Lumb came up with the interesting term yesterday.

Djing with insights

Presenting strings of ideas/concepts in a non-linear method like a dj?

We had a brief chat about it today and concluded the software was the thing holding back the concept. I did suggest mindmaps but I agree its more like a making music with by live coding.

Interestingly I think the DJing with insights concept will be tested by myself during my online dating talk in November. No laptop, no slides, just me thoughts and a geeky passion for online dating.

It also reminds me of Jason Silva’s shots of awe, which is a kind of existential jazz. Not that un-similar from djing with insights or even mixing with concepts?

Jason Silva every week as he freestyles his way into the complex systems of society, technology and human existence and discusses the truth and beauty of science in a form of existential jazz

Showers & Thunderstorms, my latest Pacemaker Mix

Showers and thunderstorms mix by Cubicgarden on Mixcloud

Its been ages since I have published a Pacemaker Device Mix.

This one I have been listening to on and off for the last few weeks on my phone as I wonder around Manchester. Lots of new tunes and a less hectic pace of about 135bpm, but plenty of hands in the air moments and smooth mixing.

I also added chapter marks to give you can idea of what was influencing my tune selections.

Enjoy!

  1. Perpetual Motion – Protoculture
  2. Hold that sucker down (Jerome Isma-Ae’s 10 year anniversary mix) – Jerome Isma-Ae
  3. Running up the hill – (Jerome Isma-Ae bootleg) – Placebo
  4. Humming the lights – Armin van Buuren pres. Gaia
  5. Shelter (Photographer remix) – Dash Berlin feat. Roxanne Emery
  6. Hello (Jerome Isma-Ae Remix) – Above & Beyond
  7. Whites Of Her Eyes – Simon Patterson
  8. Stellar  – Driftmoon
  9. Brush Strokes  – Simon Patterson
  10. Imagineer (Alex M.O.R.P.H remix) – Lange
  11. Seven Cities (V-One’s Living Cities remix) – Solar Stone
  12. Higher State – Above & Beyond
  13. Intruder – Armin vs MIKE
  14. Hystereo (KhoMha Remix) – Armin van Buuren
  15. The Evil ID – Max Graham
  16. Shenanigans – Orjan Nilsen
  17. Dissolve – Simon Patterson feat. Sarah Howells
  18. Timebomb – David Gravell
  19. Anahera (extended mix) – Ferry Corsten presents Gouryella

Stem mixing, what you waiting for?

John-Digweed-Panama-6720

Joel alerted me to a interview with John Digweed, Mr Bedrock.

There’s been much talk recently about STEMS. Does Bedrock have any plans to release some of their catalogue this way?

Not at the moment just waiting to see how it works out.

To which I instantly thought…  Why the heck would you wait? Get in early…  I mean you can’t start the interview with…

Bedrock is always about pushing the music first and foremost?

…and say we’ll wait and see how it shakes out…!

Talked about stems so many times, its time now and Bedrock is one of those people who could pioneer this whole thing.

Stem based mixing again

Si Lumb sent me a link to a BBC News piece about Stem based music mixing. Always something interesting, especially since 8trk

Of course I sent LJ Rich and Si a few links to 8Trk which we developed at Mozfest 3 years ago as part of Dj Hackday. Of course Native instruments has been mentioned by me before but it seems to be getting some traction?

 

Software ahead of the curve: Virtual Turntables

VTT virtualturntables

I was reflecting on my move to digital music after the on the beat conference. I’m sure I mentioned it elsewhere before.

The speed and progress of digital djing has been reasonable but frankly it could be better. Yes its the perfect setup for a DJ Hackday, but regardless. I was talking to somebody about the Pacemaker device and started to reminisce about Digital Djing. Now I know I’m going to sound like grandad but I think its interesting to remember where we came from.

I was saying I remember VTT (Virtual TurnTables) which from my memory was the first commercially available Dj software I was aware of. I had a copy and installed it on my 200 MMX desktop computer. It ran ok but frankly it was super basic, no auto BPM, very laggy pitch control and the cross-fader slow to react.

However I have to say it did support multiple sound cards and configurations which would make it actually usable in a real DJ environment. It would play Mp3’s, Wav’s and Aiff’s. Unlimited playback (which on a 200MMX is about 2 songs max). Special effects, very basic sampling and looping.

The thing to remember is this is about 1997, this is 2 years before the height of Napster. The advancement in Digital Djing was CDj’s at the time. For Carrot Innovations to rock up with a DJ application so early and for it to look like something the Djs was use to was mind blowing. Heck Mp3’s wasn’t even legally available outside the darknets! So we had to rip CDs using one of the darknet dodge tools. It was only recently you could do it legally in the UK.

Crazy times…! But thank you Carrot Innovation for creating VTT.

Beta certainly means beta on the Pacemaker

pacemaker_sonar_june_2007_10

I’ve had a problem in the past with the recording mixes on the actual  pacemaker using the new but unofficial firmwares.People on the pacemaker forum suggested it might be the fact I’m running Ubuntu and using mainly wine windows emulator or virtual machine technology. I was never really convinced by this argument to tell the truth but couldn’t be sure. So I would use the analogue output to record mixes with my laptop.

Pretty much all the new mixes in the last few years were done this way. I generally would record the mix on the pacemaker along with the output, making the track-listing easier to put in Mixcloud.

I recently bought a second-hand Pacemaker running the last official firmware 1.4. I tried doing a mix and as you can hear, its flawless in recording. This puts me in a bit of dilemma.

The feature I love the most about the new unofficial firmware is the snap loops, meaning you can just loop with no effort. In the very latest, you can even adjust how big the loops are. I will miss that feature but the ability to record on the go is fantastic and I’ve missed it for a long while.

I’m going to look at the differences in the filesystem and SQLlite DB to see if that reveals something obvious.

Little update….

I installed the old firmware on my old pacemaker and did a mix. As you can hear its pretty much working as it should recording the mix (its not perfect as I was walking and on the tram).

http://www.mixcloud.com/cubicgarden/old-pacemaker-firmware-revisited/

The firey drive mix

The firey drive mix by Cubicgarden on Mixcloud

Time for another one of my mixes, done with the Pacemaker Device rather than the Pacemaker App. Still loving the device and this mix is a slower mix at 135bpm over the usual 140. A few brand new tunes mixed with some older classics. Nice beat friendly mix with plenty to keep you going on those long drives in the mountains.
Tracklist is below…
  1. Breathe (Blake Jarrell Remix) by Anna Nalick
  2. Take me away into the night (purple haze remix) by 4 strings
  3. Humming the lights (radio edit) by Armin van Buuren, Gaia
  4. Stella – Ferry Corsten vs Markus Schulz
  5. The Evil ID – Max Graham
  6. The Spring – Ernesto and Alex Fisher
  7. Orbion (Max Graham vs Protoculture Remix) – Armin Van Buuren
  8. 3rd Earth (heatbeat remix) – Solarstone vs Scott Bond
  9. Megalodon – Dash Berlin
  10. Attention – John 00 Fleming Vs Christopher Lawrence
  11. The Storm – Eco
  12. Sundown (Sneijder remix) – Thomas Bronzwaer
  13. Rainmaker – Des mcmahon
  14. Shadow World – Thomas Bronzwaer
  15. Big Sky (Signum vs RAM Remix) – John O’Callaghan feat. Audrey Gallagher
  16. Solarcoaster (protoculture Remix) – Solarstone
  17. Wonder of Life (f & w remix) – Tukan Light
  18. Diss! – Ferry Corsten
  19. RoseGarden 2.0 – JS16

#mixeverything, democratising mixing for everyone?

The all new pacemaker app for ipad

“DEMOCRATIZING DJING WAS SOMETHING WE’VE ALWAYS BEEN STRIVING FOR.“

Two things happened to today…

Those crazy pacemaker guys Jonas, Olof and Willem released a ipad app (one of the worst kept secrets to be honest) but they did some great things to make the whole thing much more simple and usable for the people who just want to play. Those guys have always been excellent at interface design, conveying complexity in quite a unique way. One of the reasons why I love the pacemaker device.

Si Lumb was the first to break it to me on Twitter via The Verge. The interface is different from the Pacemaker app which came on the Blackberry. But the massive difference is the Spotify access. Direct access to mix and screw around with any track on Spotify in real time? Thats almost worth buying a ipad for… Don’t worry I’ll be asking the guys when the Android version is coming. But to be fair I have (well my sister has it but its mine) a blackberry playbook for the sole reason of mixing, so why not a ipad too…?

What got me slightly choked up is the commitment to #mixeverything and ultimately the democratisation of mixing and djing. Yes its not virtualdj or Tracktor but its something you can easily pull out at a party and get people dancing.

It all reminds me of my slide (number 17) from the Dj Hackday  presentation… New rules, new blood, new ideas… I want my first born (male or female) to want to be a DJ not some pop idiot.

I remember the arguments about dedicated cameras vs camera phones. The best camera you have is the one in your pocket or even your hand at the time. Is this true of djing too? Yes if I had my records and decks, but you don’t… And with the app you can pull up virtually most songs, even those stupid request songs.

I’d still like to know how they are doing the twin output, I assume its using the audio out and the HDMI/Lightning port? If not I’m expecting it will change soon.

Secondly those crazy guys released a new firmware update for the Pacemaker device. Seems not many of the usual suspects know much about this, so I’ll be one of the first to give it a run. Which is great because I’ve been playing with the pacemaker device again. My next mix is going to be something special… But now I want to run home and get the firmware updated.

Armin van Buuren and the Philips M1X

Well Armin Van Buuren launches a DJ device with Philips.

Its the M1X and on the face of it, it looks like a reasonable DJ device. 399 euros should mean about 299 pounds, which isn’t bad for a 100 watt boombox, with dj controller.

However, you must run it off an Apple ipad or iphone with lightning connection. This your suddenly talking upwards of 599 euros for something you can actually use (on the beach – as Armin said many times). The lightning connector slams the door on your Android devices. It also seems to only work with Algoriddim djay 2! So even if you invested in Traktor, Virtual DJ or what ever, your screwed? The only interesting feature is the ability to hook up multiple M1x’s to the same thing. How this works in practice is a massive question and I look forward to seeing people messing with this in time.

Armin said again and again, you can use it on the beach, but really? Are you going to carry that whole thing down on to the sand? A boombox with good speakers and amp is a lot cheaper that 399 euros. Plug in a Pacemaker and your laughing. Nope sorry its nice in concept but its not going to carve its way out of a tiny niche. That niche is smaller that the pacemaker and thats saying something!

Thumbs down sorry Armin… Either do something different like the Pacemaker guys or make the whole thing real cheap…

Its seems crazy that no one has a better device than the pacemaker, even with all the progression in memory, cpu speeds, display tech, etc.

Out, back and beyond mixes

Its another one of those pacemaker mixes which I’m specially enjoyed doing…

There’s some real classic tunes and plenty of catchy anthems to get you up and dancing or deep into that code if your doing so.

This time it comes into versions, the standard and the extended version. The versions do have slight different bpm and is a little faster and heavier in the extended version, rather than just cut differently.

Out back and beyond mix by Cubicgarden on Mixcloud

  1. The Truth (David West Remix) – Headstrong feat. Tiff Lacey
  2. Wonder of life (f & w remix) – tukan
  3. Grooveline (Matt Darey Remix) – Blockster
  4. Louder – Jose Amnesia feat Jennifer Rene
  5. Lotus – Shogun
  6. Ecstasy – Eddie Makabi Feat. Einat
  7. Constellation (John’O Callaghan Remix) – Thomas Bronzwaer
  8. Surrender (Sneijder Vs John O’Callaghan Remix) – Full Tilt Feat Deirdre Mclaughlin
  9. Intution (Martin Roth mix) – Marninx vs Ecco
  10. Sinster – Airbase
  11. Shadow world – Thomas Bronzwaer
  12. Nothing else matters – Max Graham feat Ana Criado
  13. Breeze – Ferrin and Low
  14. Out of the blue (2010 remix) – System F
  15. Everything’s been written – 8 Wonders
    -<Extended mix>-
  16. Resurrection (Paul Oakenfold Full On Fluoro Remix) – Planet Perfecto Knights
  17. Skyfire – Shogun
  18. 1998 (Alex M.O.R.P.H remix) – Binary Finary

The Satisfaction Zero mix

Its been a long while since I’ve uploaded a mix to Mixcloud or even Soundcloud. So I decided to throw together a mix on the pacemaker and stick it up. Its a strange mix of some classics and some new tunes. Nothing over thought, just good music mixed together…

I present the Satisfaction zero mix

  1. D.N.A – W&W
  2. Language (Santiago Nino Mix) – Hammer & Bennett
  3. Lift – Sean Tyas
  4. Skyfire (Alex M.O.R.P.H Mix) – Shogun
  5. Everything’s Been Written – 8 Wonders
  6. The Strings Which Bind Us – Arnej
  7. Beautiful Thing (Photon Project Remix) – Andain
  8. Ramazing – Ram
  9. No More Alone (John O’Callaghan Remix) – Giuseppe Ottavian Feat Stephen Pickup
  10. Without You (John O’Callaghan Remix) – Dogzilla
  11. Ultracurve – Cosmic Gate
  12. The Situation (Liquid Life Remix) – A Situation
  13. Ramsterdam (Jornvan Deynhoven Remix) – Ram
  14. Intuition (Original Mix) – Marninx Pres. Ecco
  15. Big Sky (Agneli & Nelson Remix) – John O’Callaghan Feat. Audrey Gallagher
  16. Black Is Back – The Blackmaster
  17. Cream – Blank & Jones