RANDOMNESS: Wanna Come to My DJ Night? [Portlandia]

Found this on Gogo Craig FaceBook Page, almost made me spill my coffee. Well Played. Now I guess I just need a TV for find out what Portlandia is... or not.

-The Librarian

Other News: TRIBALISTIX IS BACK

Details to follow. Respect.
-The Librarian

UPDATE:
"JUNGLE REVIVAL"
January 28th @ The Carpool in Reston, VA
Main Room: Jungle & Drum & Bass!
Back lounge: Reggae & Dancehall!!!!!

BIG UP ALL INVOLVED & ALL WHO WOULD LIKE TO BE INVOLVED!!!!
- TESTER
- Ken Kaotix
- Dee Jay Edwards
- Edward TheLibrarian
- Eric Bowman
- Junglist Sêrial
- Jessica Finnerty
- Gogo Craig
- Direct Feed
and all others!!!

Spread the word!

RANDOMNESS: WHEN IS A DJ A REAL DJ??

DJ Tutor proposed this question and its been one that I've been tossing around in my head now and again. What I've been able to come up with is if you can keep a dance floor moving regardless of your tools your a DJ. Yes in the beginning Djs used was turntables. Fact. WHO THE FUCK CARES WHAT YOU USE NOW THIS IS THE FUTURE?!?! For fuck sake DJs were using reel to reel, tape decks, drum machines, and what have you long before the "dreaded" CD or MP3.

I personally feel this has all become a hot button issue with the "extinction" of the classic vinyl 12 inch. I put it in quotes because its far from being extinct, sure the 1200's were discontinued and finding vinyl tracks is becoming harder but thats just natural selection.

When vinyl sales were at their lowest that made my job as a DJ the most fun. Traveling all over the DMV hunting for new tunes, on the web, in back rooms or from the back of a car trunk. However this challenge put off a lot of people, so the instant gratification generation downloaded tunes that took me years to collect.

I don't hold a grudge because we are all DJ's, their collection is tangible and fits in their backpack, my collection is slowly taking over my modest studio. But we all love music. Plain. Simple. Done

- The Librarian

RANDOMNESS: “feed the great machine” Internet good or bad?

While reading "I Mix What I Like!" by Jared Ball, I came across this paraphrase quote by Jaron Lanier. Lanier a seminal figure in computer and internet history also one of its largest critics

"…the web, [is] far from being some playing field leveler, is the perfect example of the “post-human society” where people must “feed the great machine” but only those who own or run that machine – not the people who create or who are themselves content – are to be paid. The rest of us are simply aggregated into “mobs” to be easily surveyed and marketed to by the same major corporations who determine our news and popular culture."
- Jaron Lanier

Then I found WillAM 580 (illinois Public Media) and their review of "You Are Not a Gadget" and interview with Jaron Lanier. [Listen Here]. Here he talks about the history pre & post internet and the history of MIDI. Lanier points out the youth of today has no idea as to the vast possibilities the internet could offer. Instead of remaining in this locked tinny "self enslaved" preconceived notion of what the web "is". However with this said its not to late for the youth to learn about the history of the web and how it works, their is still time change the tides.

Later Lanier talk about Ted Nelson the first person to conceive the idea of "linking", what makes Ted Nelson so important is his foresight into what the internet could become in 1960. Nelson was able to understand that if you made the internet into a huge copy machine (file sharing) then in turn it would just make everyone poor degrading the quality of life for all. If society only promotes the cultural, artistic and expression based parts of the web then you will have to work doubly hard in the physical world to make ends meat. In many ways the internet as we know it stifles the ability to live off your hart & your brain because of this ability to share thoughts without promoting or giving back to the creator. Nelson created & fought for a 3rd option: One account, per user & no copying. Here a user could buy and sell their content, products and ideas. However his critics were upset that he was projecting the use currency / commerce on the internet & my own thoughts that its a little big brother-ish. BA HA

Music is an interesting topic of conversation as Lanier is a musician himself. He points foul at musicians that claim that they are making a living off of giving away their music for free, noting that most of them are trust fund babies. He goes on to claim that the reason that music has not been able to progress is because musicians can no longer make a living as a musician solely.

This notion resonates with me as I'm ingesting to both the top 10 pop tunes (in America) & Drum & Bass tunes (from the UK). Both genres are over populated with blatantly sampled, checker bordered midi sequences and over quantized beats. Which only makes me dig deeper into the Jungle/Drum & Bass vinyl past. 10-20 years ago, producers were taking more chances, creating original content and developing rhythm tracks with dare I say it "soul". Why? Because at that time the UK Jungle/Drum & Bass scene had a set of testing gauntlets a track had to pass through. First you had to make a tunes you wanted invest in getting cut into a dub plate. Then it had to catch the attention of a DJ, who thought it would work in their set. Then it had to pass the dance floor test. If a tune passed threw all these tests then you either independently invested in it or you tried to get a label sign you. All of these limiting factors made the music published at that time a higher quality.

In contrast, today a DJ has to search though a flood of crap on the internet. Half baked ideas published to the web without that gauntlet of testing all in the hope of someone taking interest in your work.

…

Now the question: Has the internet actually helped the world we live in? Think about it for a bit before you comment.

RANDOMNESS: araabMUZIK feat. DukeDaGod (DIPSET / USA) @ 1500M2 | Warsaw

- Respect.

FTA EVENT: [2.19.2012] SMACK IT! 2 @ Venue 112 in Virginia Beach

This is VA Pressure 1 year anniversary show! It has been so much fun throwing these events at Central 111 and Venue 112. Many more to come! (oh the following day is presidents day)

The line up!

TERRY MULLAN
Terry Mullan, Chicago's turntablist extraordinaire, turns out dance floors week after week throughout the US and abroad. Any true fan of House Music knows his name, and celebrates his amazing DJ sets. His credits include Coachella, Starscape, Bugged Out, The End, Footwork, and Ruby Skye amongst raves as far off as Japan, Australia and Germany. He has developed a faithful following to those who know through his signature style of funky quirky jacking acid house combined with cutting and scratching making up an entirely new genre all his own.

The eighties posed as the formative years of Terry's career. Although his roots began in hip-hop, he found himself smack in the middle of the Chicago house explosion. House and Disco were styles of music that were entirely new to Terry, but the match was struck. Soon after gaining inspiration from Chicago air personalities like Farley "Jackmaster" Funk, Fast Eddie, Armando, & Mike "Hitman" Wilson via 102.7 WBMX, Terry made house his home. Next, when acid house hit the US, the link was completed; Terry found the sound he was looking for. It was that added flavor he was waiting for, something new, twisted and forward. Now all the elements were coming together. And with the addition of the Detroit sound, this was it, three different languages, disco, house and techno. They could all translate the same message together or apart from one another. With his fluent style, these languages reflect his DJ'ing as well as the tracks he's now composing, which is his way of furthering the evolution of dance music.

For the future, Terry is going beyond just knowing his machines. This sound is put to the test on his releases on Robsoul, Definitive, Control, Funk'd, Chicago Housing Commission, Aciiieeed, and on his own imprint, Catalyst Recordings. Through his label he has released projects for the likes of DJ Sneak, Ian Pooley, Halo Varga, Mazi, Angel Alanis & TJR, as well as for himself under the monikers, Acid OG's, Speakerphreaker, Tone Broke, and as Serotonin project on Richie Hawtin and John Acquaviva's former imprint Definitive which featured Terry's track "Sidewinder" on the Chemical Brothers "Brother's Gonna' Work It Out" Mix CD. Additionally, Terry gained notoriety for his records under the alias Speakerphreaker which includes the largely successful "Products Of Our Environment" EP, on Catalyst, which was featured on Pete Tong's essential selection on BBC Radio 1 in the UK, & "La Nina/Nickel Bag Da Funk" EP on Smile Records, which was licensed to several top DJ mix compilations. Terry's DJ'ing, label and tracks have earned him a reputation that extends worldwide. Never one to follow the masses, he borrowed from each genre to create what we all know to be Terry's sound, putting a bad ass twist on an otherwise conservative house scene. This man is truly a living legend.

J-STAR [Techno]
Chapel hill, NC
With over 15 years in the EDM community, J-star will get your body moving with her signature style of driving techno that flirts with the hard and the dark. In just a few short years J-star has quickly become a force to be reckoned with on the decks. Partnering with husband Billie Blaze, she co-found the Diffuse Audio collective with the goal of bringing like-minded EDM connoisseurs together to bring underground EDM to the masses.
Catch her live every Sunday on Diffuse Audio's Sundaze Sessions: www.diffuseradio.com

JESSE SPLITT [Techno]
Turnstyle,WRIR.org, Richmond, VA
http://www.turnstyleonline.com/
http://www.Evolveva.com/

R.O.E. [Techno]
VA Pressure, HRVA
(Rules of Engagement) consists of djs Brian Lindsay and Patrick Currier. Watch out for these two fusing tribal/german/detroit techno in all their tag sets. Keep on the look out for some techno releases.

PARANOID ANDROIDZ [Breaks]
Funk It Productions | VA Pressure | NSB Radio UK | W.E. Recordings
Paranoid Androidz are Virginia's premier Breakbeat DJ Team. Whether you've heard them on their weekly radio show on the #1 breakbeat radio station in the world, NSB Radio, or at one of the many shows they've rocked along the Atlantic coast, Paranoid Androidz will make you move your feet! The group is comprised of veteran DJs Vinyl Alchemist, Konversion, and Rican. Check out their show, The Downstairs Mixup Show, every Sunday from 6 PM - 8PM EST on nsbradio.co.uk for the best in breakbeat.


EDWARD THE LIBRARIAN [Drum & Bass]
The Annex, VA Pressure, NOVA


DJ ALX [Progressive Electro House]
Binary Sound / Richmond, VA


BRIAN BASSIK [Progressive Electro House]
VA Pressure

RANDOMNESS: “State of The Art” by Greg Sharp & Ivan Dixon

Gotye - State Of The Art - official film clip from Gotye on Vimeo.

A gorgeous new piece from Melbourne based Rubber House. It’s a music video for the Gotye song State Of The Art, from their new album Making Mirrors.
- Cartoon Brew

Source: Cartoon Brew

RANDOMNESS: Ableton DJing: Battle Style Effects Processors!

The Explanation of the set up:


The Game Play of the set up:


Source:[DJ Tech Tools]

The full article can be found under the source link.

My question to you all is this still DJing?

I'm inclined to say yes. The tools and medium may change but the its the end result. Playing music for people to dance to. Now will I be rushing off to reconfigure my gig? Oh hells no. But its exciting to see what others are doing.