The End of Everything Review and Edit

I'm going to try to do what some DJs might call cheating and that's fix the messy spots after the mix has been completed. In Ableton I have the ability (I'm not quite sure how to do this yet) to move tracks, cut them out completely and rework them into the original mix. The two spots that Jason mentioned were two spots I definitely had trouble working with.

The incoming track at the 30 minute mark is Ride by Tiesto and Cary Brothers. There is a lot going on in the intro in that mix. I did my best to filter some of it out using the equalizer but it was really difficult.

The second spot he mentions at 42:30 and as I'm not at my home computer I can't recall the incoming track name. However, I think I warped that track wrong. Remember, warping is when I use Ableton to auto-beat match for me. The warp marker (A place holder telling Ableton where a beat begins) starts too early. After listening to the track I noticed a small beat right before the kick drum (the loudest bass beat). I think I may have warped the track to that rather than the kick. I'll go back and rewarp it and try and plug it back in.

Did you guys like the last song? I LOVE that song. I did everything I could to make that work. The beats per minute on that song is 117 originally and the mix itself is 130. That's a huge difference. Personally, I really liked the effect the song had especially as I manually slowed it down from about 51:10 to 52:10.

These are the lyrics from the last verse of that track. The singer's name is Departure and I definitely have a thing for his voice. I have another track that I'm looking forward to using in an upcoming mix with him as well.

Do you hear me when I weep
Cause I search, I search for peace
If I should die within my sleep
So you know, hold me
Nothing but you can taste so sweet
Do I go? Are you with me?
Cause you know I'm in to deep
Cause you know, know me.

The End of Everything is out now!

I finally finished The End of Everything and I'm relatively pleased with the results. Some of you recieved it via email as sectionz.com has had technical difficulties. If you'd like to take a listen to the new track while I wait for sectionz to come back to life send me an email. I can probably help you out.

The installment isn't without it's imperfections but overall I think it came out well as it's my first attempt at using Ableton exclusively. For those that have heard it I have some questions for you: 1. Do you notice a difference between the Ableton mix and the turntable mix? 2. What were the differences? 3. How was the track selection and placement?

I have a couple of opinions regarding the subject. Id also like to get back to some of my older mixes and tell you what I think of them in the next blog. I'll kind of critique them as I listen to them. Possibly one at a time.

I'm really excited about my next mix as well. Genre-wise it will be a bit different from what you've heard before. If I had to define it I'd call it a mini-mashup. All of the ideas are in my head at this point but it will certainly be done sometime in January.

Edit: I just saw that sectionz.com is back up and running so I'll be adding the addition to the interwebs as soon as I get off work including a link. Remember you have to sign up to sectionz in order to listen to the mix! Happy listening!

Coming Soon: The End of Everything

Yes you heard that correct. Due to recent life changing events The End of Everything will be the title of my next set. I was originally working on another set but it will be forced to wait in line...assuming something can blossom after The End of Everything. That was a pun.

I'm slowly figuring out the Trigger Finger I purchased and making use of it with Ableton. It's actually really sweet. Of course now I want more knobs and sliders so I can use even more effects.

One of the things I really enjoy about progressive house and trance is the use of subtle vocals. They rarely overpower the music in a track. To help illustrate what I mean, lets take a look at most pop music. Often times it is made up of a producer that produces computer generated sounds that dress up an often subpar singer. Good producers are what really make you not want to cut your ears off and hang them on a necklace. They make the track. However, they are rarely given much credit by the masses.

To help illustrate my meaning lets say that you go to a steak house and order a steak with a baked potato. Now, lets say the singer is the steak and the producer is the potato. Obviously the steak house wants you to love the steak, they give you some steak sauce or some carmelized onions on top and make it look really pretty. Meanwhile, that baked potato is just sitting there looking like an ugly ass baked potato.

So you start your meal, ready to devour what appears to be a mouth watering steak when after your first bite you realize it is tough and dry. It's not disgusting enough to send back but you really wished you had ordered the fish at this point. After you eat about half of it you're starving for some substance. Like a potato. You start eating it and it's delicious. You can remember the last time you had such a delicious potato.

Basically the moral of this story is that the only thing that makes that nasty ass steak bearable is the ugly potato. The same potato that you won't remember but might help you forget just how bad the steak really is.

After having written this I also came up with a fundamental difference between electronic music and pop music. In electronic music the producer or DJ is showcased while pop music has the singer showcased. This could even be attributed to what our culture puts value in and what cultures where electronic dance music is more mainstream put value in. Think about it. A pop singer puts the least amount of effort into the process of making their tracks. They sing and veto the production team. Only a few actually write their own lyrics and often the producer is the one that comes up with everything else. Obviously there are exceptions but I think we can agree that Britney doesn't have time in between tell all documentaries, neglecting her children and flashing the paparrazi to come up with meaningful lyrics. I mean, if you have ever heard her speak you'd know she has a hard time putting together a coherent sentence.

Wow, that was a fun rant.
Remember the title, I'm working on it.