WERA-LP 96.7fm Arlington presents, From The Annex with me (the Librarian). Thursday nights from 10pm-midnight the beltway region will be getting Jungle music, event news, DJ spotlights and more.
The Kick off was on (04.14.16) and I was wicked stoked, sort of nervous, and armed to the teeth with more records then what I can play in a two hour time slot.
Listen here:
The show fortunately or unfortunately is pre recorded because of staffing positions that need to be resolved. So my plan currently is to record the next set while the current set is playing.
With that said this first episode got my full attention, live posting of tracks (https://www.facebook.com/fromtheannex/), listening to audio quality, commentary on my performance, and general "Librarian banter". It was just like old days listening to the start of the show in my rusted out Subaru, trying my best to keep my shit together.
Curious about the coverage? Well here is the map that shows our current reach.
Ladies and gentleman WE DID IT! We got our sound to be broadcasted over the airwaves in DC! Sort of crazy to think this is been in the works since 2009. Starting as a solo podcast project in my basement, then catching a few guest spots in Richmond's WRIR 97.3FM, and now this! Much love and respect to my DMV junglist family, to Joanna O & Jesse Split for getting me on the radio, to Douglas Black for GIVING me a foundation chunk of my archive (I will never be able to repay that), and finally WERA 96.7FM for giving me a slot on your frequency.
The inaugural From The Annex show kicked off on WERA 96.7fm last night
Description:
From The Annex [FTA] w/ The Librarian on 96.7FM WERA in Arlington VA. FTA is Thursday nights from 10pm-Midnight playing Jungle, Drum & Bass, Dub, Dance Hall and whatever else I find back in the Annex archives. We also inspire to bring you event news, DJ Spotlights & locally produced music.
Playlist:
001) Still have the Love - Cut La Vis Featuring Maddy Carthy
002) Rinse & Repeat (Fleck Remix) - Lotek, Cut La Vis
003) Ragga Tip (Walk & Skank) - The Wildlife Collective
004) Soundsystem (Benny Page Remix) - Brother Culture, Reggae Roast
005) THIS IS FOR (ORIGINAL MIX) [Featuring. T.R.A.C.] - DJ ODI
006) Love Is The Key - Scott Allen & Deeper Connection
007) Pirate Radio Station - Top Cat & Serial Killaz
008) I Shot The Sheriff (Roni Size Remix) - Bob Marley & The Wailers
009) Junglist (Social Security Vocal) - Tribe of Issachar
010) The Coming Storm (Ed Solo Remix) - Freestylers, Stereo:Type, Takura
011) Push Da Button (Fresh Mix) - The Prisoners Of Technology
012) Falling Out of Consciousness feat. Georgia Yates, Bev Lee Harling (VIP) - Etherwood
013) Brighter Day (Jungle VIP Mix) - Ricky Tuff VS Raff MacBean
014) LATE NIGHTS [featuring WILLIE WALDMAN] - RAW
015) See The Vibe (Ed Solo Remix) - Gardna, Tiffani Juno
016) Who's Gonna Make The Dance Ram (Serial Killaz remix) - Andrew Paul
017) Feel Like Jumpin (Ed Solo Jungle Remix) - Krafty Kuts
018) Call on Me feat. Eva Lazarus, Serocee (Original Mix) - DJ Vadim
019) Bad Boy (Back Again) - Danny Byrd
020) Tribal Natty (Aphrodite Remix) - Tribe Of Issachar
021) King Of The Bongo - Deekline & Ed Solo
022) Move Down (Maject Remix) - Tony Anthem, Axl Ender, erb N dub & HD
023) 8Ball - Adam F
024) Black [Silent Code Remix] - DJ SS
025) All That Jazz - Feat. MC Darrison (Mosquito Remix) - DJ Fresh
026) Racing Green - Original Mix - High Contrast
027) Play Some Roots (Ram Jam Riddim) - Chronixx & RC
I had plans to buy a new to me "compact" DJM-909 load it and my decks into a coffin and start my new weekly on air residency (more about that later). As you can see from the photo the USPS had other plans (more on this topic later as well).
With "Plan A" out the window I scrambled to come up with a solution. I would be in need of a quick, simple and safe way to transport my gear. While surfing the web I found these series of images by Soulsonica. For starters hat tip to him for this sick build, however his posts on DJ TechTools, Inthemix, and Djforums were void of details. But they gave just enough information to get the ball rolling for me.
A few days later with packages from Amazon and Full Compass arriving at the studio, we were in business.
Shopping List:
2 - Neutrik 3-Pole Non-Locking Female XLR Chassis Connector with Nickel Housing and Silver Contacts
4 - Neutrik XLR-M Connector with M3 Mounting Holes
3 - Neutrik Reversible USB Gender-Changing Adapter (Nickel Finish)
2 - Cables 12 ft. Velocity RCA Stereo Audio Extension Cable, Dual - L + R
2 - Cable Vu USBA-USBB-5 5 ft USB 2.0 Type A to Type B Cable
6 - GLS Audio 3ft Patch Cable Cords
2 - LyxPro 1.5 Ft Right Angle XLR
10 - Black 3 Pins IEC320 C14 Inlet Power Plug Socket AC 250V 10A
Gear List:
2 - Technics 1200M3D
1 - DJM700
2 - Road Ready Turntable Cases
1 - Road Ready 12" Mixer Case
Roughing out the placement of all the ports on the case
Note I'm not an electrical genius, I went into this project with a fair amount of fear that I would blow up my gear. Needless to say I did not. Most questions I had were answered over the internet via forums and youtube videos. Big ups to The Bright Pixel for his indepth XLR soldering video.
Neutrik ports are so pretty
Roughing out the placement for the ports was a humorous game of "musical ports". Basically I made an arrangement, tossed some darts, moved them around again, had some tea, moved then around once more. Ha.
Each one I just used a white colored pencil to map out my placements
Eventually I figured out where I wanted what and penciled it in with white colored pencil.
Making a cheat sheet
However, when drilling holes and trying to be really precise a cheat sheet is nice to have.
This illustrates how to make a simple design far more complicated then it needed to be.
This is a great example of how all the planning in the world can over complicate a design. In the end the key is always "Keep it simple stupid".
In the end keep it simple
This was the first look inside the case, thankfully it was not full of foam.
My drilling cheat sheet.
Cheat sheet in full effect. You can see the center marks I made. I then used a nail to punch a guide hole for the drill.
Mocking up the ports making sure the holes were big enough
Pro Tip: When putting the ports into the drilled holes, use a rubber mallet so as not to hurt the ports.
Hat tip to Soulsonica for the diagram!
A 3-pin XLR with a stereo signal can be split into left and right RCA.
Pin 1 of the XLR connects to the sleeve of both RCA
plugs as the ground
Pin 2 of the XLR to the tip of the LEFT RCA plug
Pin 3 of the XLR to the tip of the RIGHT RCA plug
Presto balanced to unbalanced signal. Revers this on the other end and your good to go.
Ages ago I got one of these for fly fishing, but its was a great bit of tech to have in the build
Prepping the ports, cutting the wires, tinning the wires, heat shrink and making all sure I have all the supplies. Doing all this made it a production line of audio goodness.
Prep, Prep, Prep
Rough placement of the Rane SL4 box
Here is where I started roughing out the placements for the Serato box, power strips, and wires.
Turntable case port placement
Prepping to knock out the holes in the turntable case.
I love the smell of solder
XLR right angle cable added to the XLR port. Again I love this bit of tech
Wire management round one
Lets talk about wire management. Serato is notorious for getting your cables mixed up. For those that remember the SL1 where their was 4 RCA cables... yea headache. SL4 has only 2 but I marked them all the same so they would be easy to find or replace.
I'm sort of proud with how much space I still have in the box
labeled ports
Yes those are labeled ports... yea I got nerdy with the label maker. Smiling.
Let me tell you about being proud and scared.
At this point I've not hooked up the decks yet. I've done some minor sound tests with my phone. I'm totally freaking out that my soldering will not be up to snuf.
This was just before I tested the audio source signals.
If your looking you will see the roach clip for a grounding connector. Its the one part of this system that could be knocked loose in travel. I may update this later but I wanted something that would be easy to swap in our out decks.
Detail shot before we hook it all up.
In action. totally stoked with the build.
Freaking sexy. Now all my cables are all easily replaceable. 2 XLR in, 2 XLR out, 2 USB Serato out, 1 USB out for the Dicers. Something to note if your looking hard over in the right side of the mixer is a USB extender that allows me to hook up the Dicer to the USB port in the mixer case. Its not perfect but its functional.
Now I've gone with a 3 Pins IEC power port instead of a Neutrik Powercon, because in a pinch I can replace it far easier.
Here she is ladies and gentleman. Locked stocked and ready to rock.
What did I learn? Really... not much. It was all either really simple or easy to learn.
The big hick up I had was actually right at the end. I found out while testing my signal clarity with the Serato box, that the track was playing backwards. But that was a 5 min fix as I had switched the red and white RCA when soldering them to the turntable XLR port. Switching them back took care of the issue.
I hope you all enjoyed this tear down of the mobile case build. If you have any questions feel free to drop me a line.
All
Crews by Brian Belle-Fortune is over 10 years of journeys through the
Jungle / Drum & Bass scene and features interviews with the music's
top artists. However, it also delves deeper and looks at the pirate
radio stations, labels, crews, promoters and ravers that form the
backbone of the scene.
Since graduating from Sussex University in
1994, Brian Belle-Fortune conceived and co-produced One in the Jungle,
Britain’s ļ¬rst national Jungle program for BBC Radio One. His TV credits
include BBC South, Channel 4 and MTV where he specialised in
underground youth culture, particularly Jungle.
He was also label
manager for DJ Ron's London Some ’Ting Records and London pirate radio
stations Rude FM/Ruud Awakening as DJ Zy:on.
Yea or nay? EDM is an industry term used to homogenize various
styles of electronic music into a generic and soulless soup that many of
us who have been in the scene for a long time despise. It represents
the appropriation of our culture by an industry who couldn't give a shit
about our values we have fought so hard for. Call it electronic music.
EDM is offensive. - Dre Morningstar ==
Background: This came to me this morning over my first cup of coffee. I've known Dre for years... longer then I've known most anyone else in my the DJ community. Because we grew up in the same town, we were skaters, punk rockers, artist long before we found the music that would reshape our lives. So to get a question like this out of the blue was a nice bit of mental stimulation. ==
Answer: Strong Statement. I think its similar to all industry classifications of music genre.
Rock is punk, metal, rockabilly, northern, hardcore, pop, ect. It has the same lack of sensitivity to the many variations in the styles of sound.
In the early 1990's (in the Midwest at least) everything was "techno", if it was electronic and House was still thrown into the "rap" section of the record store. This misclassification or over simplification of music has been an issue long before EDM.
To that end my answer is FUCK YEA. The homogenized classification system that the music industry has created to make marketing to the public easier is epically annoying.
However the key here is "marketing". I will say that the rising interest in Electronic Dance Music (EDM) in America has been nice to see. Especially, after a bit of a dark spell. So is this because of the hard marketing push by the majors... maybe?
Or is it because the majors bought into the American Dub Step craze, which had the ability to very its BPM wildly, thus making it adaptable to multiple genres of Electronic Dance Music? So why not rise all boats and call it all EDM? Who the fuck knows.
What I do know is Jungle / Drum & Bass in the Nations Capital has seen a nice uptick in events, fan base, and new blood in the scene. Did it come in because of the EDM all encompassing umbrella? Maybe. Did they then find their sound and eventually learn about its history? I hope so. Does it make them buy music and dance their ass off? I hope so other wise they are doing it wrong. I guess I can't get bent our of shape about this if it means people are dancing. - The Librarian ==
Follow Up over IM: I'd also like to add that most people I know from the LA underground differentiate EDM as being separate from the music we play. What the industry calls EDM generally refers to dubstep, glitch, hard house, electro, hardstyle, moombahton, and even drum and bass. Yet, it does not represent any of those styles, which all are worthy of respect in their own rights.
I'd say EDM generally refers to open-format mixing of top 40 electronic music. You want a real mindfuck, listen to the Beatport Top 10 and try to figure out what these tracks have in common. - Dre Morningstar ==
oooooh. Beatport Top 40 you say? Ok now I'm curious. Heading there for a bit of fun. -The Librarian
What do you all think? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
