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I'm having a hard time understanding where this comment is coming from. I can understand if your exposure to DJs has been limited (I'm sure we've all seen perfo

by ovao 10y ago

I'm having a hard time understanding where this comment is coming from. I can understand if your exposure to DJs has been limited (I'm sure we've all seen performers who are just about useless at truly engaging crowds), but there are some who are genuine performers behind the decks. Not just from the perspective of technical proficiency, but also of artistry. I'll argue that the actual instrument doesn't matter. A mixer and a pair of turntables (or CDJs, or a laptop) can, in an artist's hands, produce as engaging an experience as a "live" setup. The comparison between DJing and covering Stairway is very misguided, in my opinion, because it implies that the former is as inherently devoid of artistry as the latter. That's simply not the case.

seanp2k2 10y ago
Yep, and I've also heard performance set-ups which sucked. I've heard Araabmuzik mess up pretty badly live (he's normally phenomenal). For me, it's interesting in that it humanizes him a bit; "hey, I get to fly around the world tapping on my MPC to make crowds go wild, but I'm not perfect". Controllerism is a whole other thing, and if you're curious, go read about it / listen to it / go to some meet-ups / shows. It's big in the Bay Area and many other places. The monome community in particular is really awesome (I'm sure many are but that's the one I have some limited personal experience with). The best part of different music scenes IMO is the variety and the people. You get a bunch of random weirdos together and play with putting your own spins on a genre, twisting it and pulling it into your own direction while making nods to those who came before you. You use the right samples, sometimes with your own personal touches, as tiny musical shout-outs to the other people in the scene; the musical family you've chosen. The audience is in on the fun and the jokes too. It's the sort of thing which tickles the brain in a manner unmatched by other worldly pursuits.
- ovao 10y ago
  Absolutely. One of my favorite performers (Daedelus) uses a monome for his live setup, and there's nothing on Earth like a Daedelus set. It would be exceedingly difficult (or essentially impossible) to specifically match or emulate what he does with a 'traditional' DJ's setup. That's not to say that what he or other live performers do is inherently better than someone proficient with turntables, of course. He chooses a monome as his primary tool to achieve the type of performance he strives for, and for some, a controller like that is simply not the right tool. To me, it's all good — the hardware involved has little to no effect on how well a performer can match or exceed my expectations.

by ovao 10y ago

seanp2k2 10y ago

Yep, and I've also heard performance set-ups which sucked. I've heard Araabmuzik mess up pretty badly live (he's normally phenomenal). For me, it's interesting in that it humanizes him a bit; "hey, I get to fly around the world tapping on my MPC to make crowds go wild, but I'm not perfect". Controllerism is a whole other thing, and if you're curious, go read about it / listen to it / go to some meet-ups / shows. It's big in the Bay Area and many other places. The monome community in particular is really awesome (I'm sure many are but that's the one I have some limited personal experience with). The best part of different music scenes IMO is the variety and the people. You get a bunch of random weirdos together and play with putting your own spins on a genre, twisting it and pulling it into your own direction while making nods to those who came before you. You use the right samples, sometimes with your own personal touches, as tiny musical shout-outs to the other people in the scene; the musical family you've chosen. The audience is in on the fun and the jokes too. It's the sort of thing which tickles the brain in a manner unmatched by other worldly pursuits.

ovao 10y ago
Absolutely. One of my favorite performers (Daedelus) uses a monome for his live setup, and there's nothing on Earth like a Daedelus set. It would be exceedingly difficult (or essentially impossible) to specifically match or emulate what he does with a 'traditional' DJ's setup. That's not to say that what he or other live performers do is inherently better than someone proficient with turntables, of course. He chooses a monome as his primary tool to achieve the type of performance he strives for, and for some, a controller like that is simply not the right tool. To me, it's all good — the hardware involved has little to no effect on how well a performer can match or exceed my expectations.