Performing electronic music live

[Skrypnyk]

General thread.

Do you/have you played electronic music live? Did you DJ? Do you use those electronic pad things? How did you do it? What do you use/what's your setup? What did you play? What do you recommend? Any tips?

[CC Ricers]

I've DJed before every now and then, usually with a friend but also just small-ish gigs and some impromptu events. I'm no BLiND but I can go on a lot about equipment and how we dealt with setting up. Over the years I've gotten more into DJ hardware than music production hardware.

Do you/have you played electronic music live?

Not my own music, but others, yes.

Do you DJ?

Yes, see above I don't DJ professionally- my friend and I just do it for the fun, and look for audiences/events that we feel fit with what we offer.

Do you use those electronic pad things? How did you do it?

My friend is looking to get one of those, but I don't use them exclusively. They don't fit my style of playing very well, and would feel more comfortable with an "old school" setup. But as an add-on for existing equipment I find them useful.

What do you use/what's your setup? What did you play?

I don't have my own equipment anymore, had to sell it all off. I use my friend's setup, Traktor Kontrol S2 though he's wanting to get more serious and get some CD players. My setup consisted of a Pioneer mixer and turntables (Stanton and Technics). Later I got Serato SL1 which is basically a specialized sound card which allows control of digital music over turntables.

I started playing drum & bass in 2005 and one of my first records was a Pendulum single I would have started even sooner had I had the money before, and probably have been more of a house music guy. Eventually I delved into other genres like hardcore, dubstep and moombahton but I'm happy with what I started with.

What do you recommend? Any tips?

Despite my equipment, at this day and age I recommend getting a low-cost MIDI controller. It's just less upfront cost and risk to deal with. I mentioned low-cost but not cheap in quality. Vestax Typhoon and VCi-100 are good ones. Or even Numark Mixtrack Pro. I would browse sites like Digital DJ Tips to get the latest info on controllers and their feature sets. But in general walk before you run, don't buy a $1000 one as you won't need all of its features until you feel you "outgrow" more basic ones.

Most of your workflow will actually be tied to the software more than the hardware. Most popular ones are NI Traktor Pro 2, Virtual DJ, Ableton Live and Serato. Personally I can't get used to Ableton's interface for live DJing, but others swear by it. I would recommend also going to a music store and trying out the demo equipment.

Some gigging tips? As said before, I haven't gigged much but I've been through bumpy roads in setting up and playing live, and on reducing/preventing mishaps. One good thing is to be there early than you expect, to give you time to set up and make sure everything runs well, and give yourself plenty of time to test things out.

Bring backups of smaller things like cables, CDs, USB media, etc. Bring a mini-flashlight for dark places so you can quickly find your stuff. Say your setup relies on a laptop (and many performers do), if that freezes and you need a few minutes to reboot- how are you gonna deal with the audience in that idle time? That's where it's best to break out an mp3 player and play something else. Point is, keep dead air to zero if at all possible, and keep the energy going. In my first time playing out I actually managed to get a group of dancers in front but made the mistake of playing a song with a long-ass quiet breakdown. People were confused and thought the music was cut. Also if you can, find a partner with more experience that you can trust and handle for such situations. Also it depends on whether the event calls for bringing in some of your own equipment. For gigs at parties or other small venues, you're usually expected to bring your own stuff. In-house equipment doesn't come into play much unless it's at established clubs and bars.

Edited March 22, 2013 by CC Ricers