Sascha using Ableton Live for DJ sets

[stevieb19]

There has been an article published in the UK that Sasha has now dropped CD's and vinyl to use exclusivley Ableton Live in his sets.

Having never used Albeton how good is it for this type of thing.

Me personally as a self confessed vinyl junkie have only in the last year moved over to CVD's

What's the verdict generally?

B

[johnnytluxury]

it works, and it allows avenues of creativity that cant be compred with cd/vinyl, but at the same time, there is a certain roboticness about the whole thing.

[spaceman]

it works, and it allows avenues of creativity that cant be compred with cd/vinyl, but at the same time, there is a certain roboticness about the whole thing.

people on dancefloors couldn't care less about roboticness though
they just want beats(/beer/pills/weed/..) to dance to

[johnnytluxury]

it works, and it allows avenues of creativity that cant be compred with cd/vinyl, but at the same time, there is a certain roboticness about the whole thing.

people on dancefloors couldn't care less about roboticness though
they just want beats(/beer/pills/weed/..) to dance to

Tthats debatable. I personally like to see the dj 'gettin' into it. When I spin, Im all over the place, and i think when people see that, they feel the energy. But as with anything, its a matter of taste..

[stevieb19]

it works, and it allows avenues of creativity that cant be compred with cd/vinyl, but at the same time, there is a certain roboticness about the whole thing.

people on dancefloors couldn't care less about roboticness though
they just want beats(/beer/pills/weed/..) to dance to

Tthats debatable. I personally like to see the dj 'gettin' into it. When I spin, Im all over the place, and i think when people see that, they feel the energy. But as with anything, its a matter of taste..

I'm the same, I love to get into my set, dance about etc but that's because I love what I play and I am a clubber as well as a dj.

I love to see dj's rockin' in a set as well. A great example is Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim) as opposed to Sasha. Norm will whip a crowd up just by his own presense ie. dancin, waving his arms about. Where as Sasha is a boring a whale shit to watch because he just mixes is no energy from him. His music has to provide it all.

[Lance]

Sasha is using only a microphone

... exactly in sync with the playback!

[JoeSchmoe]

There has been an article published in the UK that Sasha has now dropped CD's and vinyl to use exclusivley Ableton Live in his sets.

Having never used Albeton how good is it for this type of thing.

Me personally as a self confessed vinyl junkie have only in the last year moved over to CVD's

What's the verdict generally?

B

Actually, he's been using Live to DJ since late 2004.

And better than discussing how good it is, I'd advise you to grab his May 2005 Essential Mix for Radio One, from Maida Vale studios and then tell me what you think.

I've seen him live in May 2005 and it was awesome, and he really seemed to be into it...you don't necessarily need to prance around like a clown and make jesus christ poses inm order to show you're "into it".

[johnnytluxury]

There has been an article published in the UK that Sasha has now dropped CD's and vinyl to use exclusivley Ableton Live in his sets.

Having never used Albeton how good is it for this type of thing.

Me personally as a self confessed vinyl junkie have only in the last year moved over to CVD's

What's the verdict generally?

B

Actually, he's been using Live to DJ since late 2004.

And better than discussing how good it is, I'd advise you to grab his May 2005 Essential Mix for Radio One, from Maida Vale studios and then tell me what you think.

I've seen him live in May 2005 and it was awesome, and he really seemed to be into it...you don't necessarily need to prance around like a clown and make jesus christ poses inm order to show you're "into it".

Quite harsh words, seesm that you have something against djs that like to dance? Oh no, wait, who would want to dance to dance music? The fact of the matter here is that Lives uses are great, no one disputed that, to hear Sashas mix would be a wondrful thing to the ears, but there happens to be a segment of population that also like to see the DJ havin a laugh, and just being there. Jesus poses excluded, Ive done it all, from a lappie setup with Live, to a three turntable, four Cd deal complete with efx, and Ill be honest, when im on with a simple pr of tables, I get more from my crowd than I get with Live. My mixes are better with Live, yes, but theres something that Live just doesnt bring to the table. So that said, one cannot just listen to Sasha mix and get the glory of using Live. Go see a Dj mix with Live, and then tell me its the same thing. You might disagree, and Im sure you would, cause you dont like people that dance around, as we are all clowns....

[stevieb19]

There has been an article published in the UK that Sasha has now dropped CD's and vinyl to use exclusivley Ableton Live in his sets.

Having never used Albeton how good is it for this type of thing.

Me personally as a self confessed vinyl junkie have only in the last year moved over to CVD's

What's the verdict generally?

B

Actually, he's been using Live to DJ since late 2004.

And better than discussing how good it is, I'd advise you to grab his May 2005 Essential Mix for Radio One, from Maida Vale studios and then tell me what you think.

I've seen him live in May 2005 and it was awesome, and he really seemed to be into it...you don't necessarily need to prance around like a clown and make jesus christ poses inm order to show you're "into it".

I was not doubting his DJ skills. The mans tune selection etc. is 1st class. I was just suggesting that some people like to see a little more from their DJ's than just standing there mixing. I'm not sure if this is accurate but I believe he now commands the highst pay for any DJ worldwide. I believe it was around $20,000 a set.

[spaceman]

it works, and it allows avenues of creativity that cant be compred with cd/vinyl, but at the same time, there is a certain roboticness about the whole thing.

people on dancefloors couldn't care less about roboticness though
they just want beats(/beer/pills/weed/..) to dance to

Tthats debatable. I personally like to see the dj 'gettin' into it. When I spin, Im all over the place, and i think when people see that, they feel the energy. But as with anything, its a matter of taste..

that's a visual impulse you get from watching the dj, that's not a reaction to how robotic the mixes sound because of perfect beat matching..

personally I don't think many people care how busy the dj looks, apart from him maybe waving his arms from time to time in an attempt to spur up the audience or doing some dancing him(her)self. They can still do that after and during activating cells in Live

[quincy]

Technically speaking, there is nothing out there to touch Live in terms of creative record manipulation. The possibilitities are endless, but its fair to acknowledge that creative vinyl DJ's are much more fun to watch.

That said, if i went to a progressive house/trance/whatever style night i'd be there for the music not the spectacle of the DJ. It would be different at a hiphop night, so people just have to accept that its a natural progression in some areas of music/djing.

I personally respect peope like sasha and richie hawtin etc for pushing the envelope a bit and making people realise whats out there. Traditionalists will always have something to say about change, but without it music would NEVER evolve.

[JoeSchmoe]

There has been an article published in the UK that Sasha has now dropped CD's and vinyl to use exclusivley Ableton Live in his sets.

Having never used Albeton how good is it for this type of thing.

Me personally as a self confessed vinyl junkie have only in the last year moved over to CVD's

What's the verdict generally?

B

Actually, he's been using Live to DJ since late 2004.

And better than discussing how good it is, I'd advise you to grab his May 2005 Essential Mix for Radio One, from Maida Vale studios and then tell me what you think.

I've seen him live in May 2005 and it was awesome, and he really seemed to be into it...you don't necessarily need to prance around like a clown and make jesus christ poses inm order to show you're "into it".

Quite harsh words, seesm that you have something against djs that like to dance? Oh no, wait, who would want to dance to dance music? The fact of the matter here is that Lives uses are great, no one disputed that, to hear Sashas mix would be a wondrful thing to the ears, but there happens to be a segment of population that also like to see the DJ havin a laugh, and just being there. Jesus poses excluded, Ive done it all, from a lappie setup with Live, to a three turntable, four Cd deal complete with efx, and Ill be honest, when im on with a simple pr of tables, I get more from my crowd than I get with Live. My mixes are better with Live, yes, but theres something that Live just doesnt bring to the table. So that said, one cannot just listen to Sasha mix and get the glory of using Live. Go see a Dj mix with Live, and then tell me its the same thing. You might disagree, and Im sure you would, cause you dont like people that dance around, as we are all clowns....

You assume quite a lot of things from my post.

I've been going to parties and seeing DJ's play live for almost 20 years. I'm crazy about dance music, in fact,that's what I hear mostly, and I'd like to invite you to drop by my site and download some of my mixes.

Like I said, I've seen Sasha play live with Ableton one year ago, and he WAS getting into it and energizing the crowd, he was smiling, clapping his hands, shaking his head, he just wasn't doing what you see guys like Oakenfold or Tiesto do, that's what I'm against, not DJ's dancing.

It's just that nowadays many DJ's seem to have forgotten that, for the most part, they're only people that play other people's music, to entertain a crowd. I'm against the whole "DJ as a rockstar" thing, and I'm a purist in the sense that, to me, the music is still what makes the party.

And this is coming from someone who DJ's and has a brother and a sister who also DJ.

[johnnytluxury]

that's a visual impulse you get from watching the dj, that's not a reaction to how robotic the mixes sound because of perfect beat matching..

personally I don't think many people care how busy the dj looks, apart from him maybe waving his arms from time to time in an attempt to spur up the audience or doing some dancing him(her)self. They can still do that after and during activating cells in Live

No robotic in this case was referring to how the DJ moves. Using Live keeps your movements to careful patterns. Not saying you cant dance around with Live, but Ive tried it, it dont come across too well. I think the readers are losing the idea of the posters original concerns. Is using Live the same as using vinyl/CDs? I and a few here agree, its not the same. And i havent seen any Dj to date that makes it the same. Note thet 'same' does NOT refer to the mixing ability. Live is great, works like a champ, but at the same time, too many people feel a good mix isnt all being a dj is. Im more partial to having fun. A stoic Dj isnt one that appeals to me. The real disgreement you guys can have here is that Live CAN appeal to DJs that like to be mobile while they mix. Can it?

[johnnytluxury]

You assume quite a lot of things from my post.

I've been going to parties and seeing DJ's play live for almost 20 years. I'm crazy about dance music, in fact,that's what I hear mostly, and I'd like to invite you to drop by my site and download some of my mixes.

Like I said, I've seen Sasha play live with Ableton one year ago, and he WAS getting into it and energizing the crowd, he was smiling, clapping his hands, shaking his head, he just wasn't doing what you see guys like Oakenfold or Tiesto do, that's what I'm against, not DJ's dancing.

It's just that nowadays many DJ's seem to have forgotten that, for the most part, they're only people that play other people's music, to entertain a crowd. I'm against the whole "DJ as a rockstar" thing, and I'm a purist in the sense that, to me, the music is still what makes the party.

And this is coming from someone who DJ's and has a brother and a sister who also DJ.

No, I didnt assume, you made the connection between my statement about being 'into it', and prancing around like clowns. Not to mention the Jesus poses. Nobody said a word about being a twat and pretending youre a spirit to be 'into it'. Nobody even diminished Sasha, it was you that felt he needed to be defended. Mind what you write. You might have your feelings about the djs thst you hate, but they were not mentioned, or even reffered to in this post. You were not focusing on the meat of this post. Can Live do what tables or Cd do for a DJ? Its unanimous that its a great creative tool, better than the othr forms, but at the same time, is there a trade off? I say yes.

BTW, whats your site, I wanna peep your mixes out.

[JoeSchmoe]

You assume quite a lot of things from my post.

I've been going to parties and seeing DJ's play live for almost 20 years. I'm crazy about dance music, in fact,that's what I hear mostly, and I'd like to invite you to drop by my site and download some of my mixes.

Like I said, I've seen Sasha play live with Ableton one year ago, and he WAS getting into it and energizing the crowd, he was smiling, clapping his hands, shaking his head, he just wasn't doing what you see guys like Oakenfold or Tiesto do, that's what I'm against, not DJ's dancing.

It's just that nowadays many DJ's seem to have forgotten that, for the most part, they're only people that play other people's music, to entertain a crowd. I'm against the whole "DJ as a rockstar" thing, and I'm a purist in the sense that, to me, the music is still what makes the party.

And this is coming from someone who DJ's and has a brother and a sister who also DJ.

No, I didnt assume, you made the connection between my statement about being 'into it', and prancing around like clowns. Not to mention the Jesus poses. Nobody said a word about being a twat and pretending youre a spirit to be 'into it'. Nobody even diminished Sasha, it was you that felt he needed to be defended. Mind what you write.

You were the one that told me to "go see a DJ play with Live", which I've already done, and I've seen countless DJ's play with vinyl, so yeah, I'm habilitated to make my own judgement.

You also assumed that I said it was wrong to dance while DJ'ing or even while attending a party.

EDIT : You edited your post, so I'll edit mine. You can find my site (still incomplete, mind you) on the left, underneath my nick.