So.. if you follow my Twitter updates regularly, [which, let's face it, you probably don't] you'll know that I bought some new records this weekend to juggle and scratch with.
DISAPPOINTED that Chemical didn't have enough of the breaks record I chose. I wanted two to juggle with, but they only had 1 in stock. Most of the records I try to buy are out of stock, harsh reality that it's a dying art to some extent.
Anyway, they did have two of Kraak and Smaak - Squeeze Me. I bought that specifically for juggling, so I'd be more vexxed if that was out of stock.
So I've been practising with them, seeing what will work, and the video I'm going to post shows what a came up with.
I went full works on this video. Previously, I've either sacrificed sound by videoing it and letting the camera pick up the sound, or I have recorded the sound properly but no video if what's happening.
This time, I recorded the set on camera, while simultaneously recording it through my laptop.
It gives the video a more professional quality and makes it easier for the viewer to see what's actually happening.
I've entitled it "Scratch Time II" because I intend to upload on a regular basis, and won't be able to make an original title for every video.
Sunday, 26 July 2009
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
New Track on the YouTube
Been working a lot on my scratching lately, and I'm tired of my breaks records that I have. I'm definitely get some new ones ASAP from Chemical or DMC. In the mean time, to tie my over, I've started making simple beats on FL Studio to scratch over.
So I quickly made a track last night, I wanted to send it to DJ Skully, to see what he thought. Got the vid uploaded, sent it across, and he said it sounded like I'd been practising, so it seems I'm finally getting somewhere with it.
Anyways... here it is. I favoured sound-quality so there's no video, just a picture of my set with some lame windows movie maker effect over it:
As always, comments appreciated.
So I quickly made a track last night, I wanted to send it to DJ Skully, to see what he thought. Got the vid uploaded, sent it across, and he said it sounded like I'd been practising, so it seems I'm finally getting somewhere with it.
Anyways... here it is. I favoured sound-quality so there's no video, just a picture of my set with some lame windows movie maker effect over it:
As always, comments appreciated.
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
DMC TV Up!
DMC have set up a website, showcasing select routines from the past 25 years. They currently have 256 videos up, which is good going as it's still early days.
They were obviously a bit peeved at how people were just watching them on Youtube, with DMC making nothing on all the hard work they put in to make the event go ahead each year.
This new site is great, the quality's much higher than that of the routines found on Youtube, AND the website allows embedding! So I can share one with you.
Just so happened to be watching Kentaro's 2001 routine, in which he came joint second with P-Money.
Enjoy
DMC World DJ Championships - 2001 World DJ Championships on MUZU.
They were obviously a bit peeved at how people were just watching them on Youtube, with DMC making nothing on all the hard work they put in to make the event go ahead each year.
This new site is great, the quality's much higher than that of the routines found on Youtube, AND the website allows embedding! So I can share one with you.
Just so happened to be watching Kentaro's 2001 routine, in which he came joint second with P-Money.
Enjoy
DMC World DJ Championships - 2001 World DJ Championships on MUZU.
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
Spotify Vs Grooveshark
Two very different services, one very similar aim, free music streaming.
Spotify and Grooveshark both allow users to search for songs to listen to, for free, but do not allow downloads, keeping it legal. Both rely on advertisements to keep them going, as well as charging fees for premium users.
The main difference is that Spotify is a programme that can be downloaded to your PC, whereas Grooveshark is solely online, no download necessary.
With Spotify, you will need to register an account, which is no hassle at all, however with Grooveshark this isn't necessary. It is worth noting though, that the user gets a lot more out of Grooveshark with an account. Accounts are free to set up on both Spotify and Grooveshark. Happy days!
Here is the registration screen for Spotify...
As far as searching for tracks goes, both are on a par, understandably there isn't absolutely any track you can think of. If there's stuff not on there that you feel should be, it's up to you to contribute and upload it there!
The interface of Spotify reminds me a lot of iTunes, this is definitely a good thing for me. I use iTunes a lot, so this Spotify setup is easy on the eye, and I've found, after literally 2 minutes use, that it's very easy to navigate around.
This is not to say that the Grooveshark interface isn't pleasing to the eye, I've been using Grooveshark for a while now and I do find it easy to navigate around. It's also easy on the eye and quite clear to the user what is going on.
This is the Spotify homepage, showing what's hot, what's new, a lot like the iTunes store homepage.
Here is the Grooveshark homepage, simple, search for what you want. It gets to the point, it knows why you're there. You do miss out on the whole "new music" side of things however.
So, I've got my account, got my head round the homepage, now I want to search for a song. I decided to search for "Playtawin" by Gang Starr. Thought this might be a challenge for them as it's not exactly pop music. Lo and behold they both have the song, great news. Sound quality is equal for Spotify and Grooveshark, both more than adequate.
Here is the "Now playing" screen for Spotify. Again, it looks a lot like iTunes, nice large album art in the bottom left corner, not much else to say really.
Here is the equivilant for Grooveshark.
You will notice that I have the info open for the track. This is a really useful feature, it provides the direct link for the song, so you can share it with friends. It also shows similar tracks, which is a good idea. The only problem with it is that in my experience, the similar tracks it throws up aren't similar enough. This will no doubt improve as it grows and more users contribute to Grooveshark. You may notice the play icon that appears to have a jagged circle around it. This is autoplay, and will play endlessly throwing up similar tracks, but again, it's what they feel are similar tracks.
Talking of sharing the music, here are the sharing options for Spotify, Delicious and Facebook. Quite limited, but it is very easy to share what you are listening to with other Spotify users, as it provides a URL you can share which will automatically open up Spotify and go direct to the track/album/playlist that has been shared.
Here are the sharing options for Grooveshark. You have Facebook, Twitter, and StumbleUpon. As a big Twitter user, this gives Grooveshark a big advantage for me. You can tweet what you have listened to, it will automatically shorten the URL via bit.ly and you can add a personal message. Fantastic!
A big disadvantage for Spotify - the adverts! It will play adverts between songs. Not between every song, but it is annoying and you can't skip them. With Grooveshark, the only adverts you see are on the sidebar, and to be honest, you hardly notice them.
It's worth noting that during writing this blog a really loud condom advert came on, very embarrassing.
Spotify does also have a radio, although I found it very difficult to understand, I was expecting it to be the same as last.fm, but it really isn't. I will continue to play around with that and will address that in a future blog post.
So, to conclude, I really like the look of Spotify, but I do find Grooveshark more practical. It's a lot like comparing any leading mobile phone to the iPhone. Grooveshark is the high spec phone that works really well, and has all you need and perhaps more. Spotify is the iPhone, that may not be as good in spec, but it does just look and feel so good. It's also nice to have an application you can open rather than having an internet browser open for it.
I definitely think that Grooveshark's sharing options are a lot better, you can share it with anyone who has an internet connection, and they will not need to register. The twitter sharing really is a plus as I mentioned earlier.
If everyone in the world had Spotify, and contributed to it, it has the potential to be a massive service and fantastic for music sharing. But as it stands, Grooveshark is a lot better for that.
I'm going to make a decision, and because of the advertisements, Grooveshark wins this battle. The Twitter sharing also bumps up its score. It would be a lot closer had Spotify not bombarded me with a condom advert, bad times.
I will end though by saying the interface on Spotify is beautiful, making it a joy to use. I will continue to use it for the forseeable future. I will just have to keep my eyes and ears open at the end of each song to save further embarrassment.
Spotify and Grooveshark both allow users to search for songs to listen to, for free, but do not allow downloads, keeping it legal. Both rely on advertisements to keep them going, as well as charging fees for premium users.
The main difference is that Spotify is a programme that can be downloaded to your PC, whereas Grooveshark is solely online, no download necessary.
With Spotify, you will need to register an account, which is no hassle at all, however with Grooveshark this isn't necessary. It is worth noting though, that the user gets a lot more out of Grooveshark with an account. Accounts are free to set up on both Spotify and Grooveshark. Happy days!
Here is the registration screen for Spotify...
As far as searching for tracks goes, both are on a par, understandably there isn't absolutely any track you can think of. If there's stuff not on there that you feel should be, it's up to you to contribute and upload it there!
The interface of Spotify reminds me a lot of iTunes, this is definitely a good thing for me. I use iTunes a lot, so this Spotify setup is easy on the eye, and I've found, after literally 2 minutes use, that it's very easy to navigate around.
This is not to say that the Grooveshark interface isn't pleasing to the eye, I've been using Grooveshark for a while now and I do find it easy to navigate around. It's also easy on the eye and quite clear to the user what is going on.
This is the Spotify homepage, showing what's hot, what's new, a lot like the iTunes store homepage.
Here is the Grooveshark homepage, simple, search for what you want. It gets to the point, it knows why you're there. You do miss out on the whole "new music" side of things however.
So, I've got my account, got my head round the homepage, now I want to search for a song. I decided to search for "Playtawin" by Gang Starr. Thought this might be a challenge for them as it's not exactly pop music. Lo and behold they both have the song, great news. Sound quality is equal for Spotify and Grooveshark, both more than adequate.
Here is the "Now playing" screen for Spotify. Again, it looks a lot like iTunes, nice large album art in the bottom left corner, not much else to say really.
Here is the equivilant for Grooveshark.
You will notice that I have the info open for the track. This is a really useful feature, it provides the direct link for the song, so you can share it with friends. It also shows similar tracks, which is a good idea. The only problem with it is that in my experience, the similar tracks it throws up aren't similar enough. This will no doubt improve as it grows and more users contribute to Grooveshark. You may notice the play icon that appears to have a jagged circle around it. This is autoplay, and will play endlessly throwing up similar tracks, but again, it's what they feel are similar tracks.
Talking of sharing the music, here are the sharing options for Spotify, Delicious and Facebook. Quite limited, but it is very easy to share what you are listening to with other Spotify users, as it provides a URL you can share which will automatically open up Spotify and go direct to the track/album/playlist that has been shared.
Here are the sharing options for Grooveshark. You have Facebook, Twitter, and StumbleUpon. As a big Twitter user, this gives Grooveshark a big advantage for me. You can tweet what you have listened to, it will automatically shorten the URL via bit.ly and you can add a personal message. Fantastic!
A big disadvantage for Spotify - the adverts! It will play adverts between songs. Not between every song, but it is annoying and you can't skip them. With Grooveshark, the only adverts you see are on the sidebar, and to be honest, you hardly notice them.
It's worth noting that during writing this blog a really loud condom advert came on, very embarrassing.
Spotify does also have a radio, although I found it very difficult to understand, I was expecting it to be the same as last.fm, but it really isn't. I will continue to play around with that and will address that in a future blog post.
So, to conclude, I really like the look of Spotify, but I do find Grooveshark more practical. It's a lot like comparing any leading mobile phone to the iPhone. Grooveshark is the high spec phone that works really well, and has all you need and perhaps more. Spotify is the iPhone, that may not be as good in spec, but it does just look and feel so good. It's also nice to have an application you can open rather than having an internet browser open for it.
I definitely think that Grooveshark's sharing options are a lot better, you can share it with anyone who has an internet connection, and they will not need to register. The twitter sharing really is a plus as I mentioned earlier.
If everyone in the world had Spotify, and contributed to it, it has the potential to be a massive service and fantastic for music sharing. But as it stands, Grooveshark is a lot better for that.
I'm going to make a decision, and because of the advertisements, Grooveshark wins this battle. The Twitter sharing also bumps up its score. It would be a lot closer had Spotify not bombarded me with a condom advert, bad times.
I will end though by saying the interface on Spotify is beautiful, making it a joy to use. I will continue to use it for the forseeable future. I will just have to keep my eyes and ears open at the end of each song to save further embarrassment.
New Atmosphere Tracks!!!
Atmosphere have a new EP apparently, "Leak At Will" found via Twitter.
"They Always Know"
Here is the first track, if you like Madlib you may recognize the beat, known as "Sacrifice" on his EP "Beat Konductor". I love the beat to this song and had heard it a lot before this Atmosphere news came about, so when I heard it, it was like a dream come true. I love Madlib's beats, I love Atmosphere, so in theory I should love the song, right?
In practice, I DO love the song, if a little short, maybe a longer version will come with the EP, but that remains to be seen.
"The Ropes"
The second track, they've sampled an absolute classic here, slipped my mind what it is, but you will surely recognise it. If you do know what it is, a comment would be much appreciated!
A lot of people regard this as the best tune on the new EP, but I just can't get over Madlib's beat on the first song, I've been listening to that a hell of a lot the last couple of days, probably too much, in fact.
This new EP really shows that Atmosphere still have it, and are one of those artists that will just never sell themselves out, it's truly all about the tunes, which is the best way to be.
"They Always Know"
Here is the first track, if you like Madlib you may recognize the beat, known as "Sacrifice" on his EP "Beat Konductor". I love the beat to this song and had heard it a lot before this Atmosphere news came about, so when I heard it, it was like a dream come true. I love Madlib's beats, I love Atmosphere, so in theory I should love the song, right?
In practice, I DO love the song, if a little short, maybe a longer version will come with the EP, but that remains to be seen.
"The Ropes"
The second track, they've sampled an absolute classic here, slipped my mind what it is, but you will surely recognise it. If you do know what it is, a comment would be much appreciated!
A lot of people regard this as the best tune on the new EP, but I just can't get over Madlib's beat on the first song, I've been listening to that a hell of a lot the last couple of days, probably too much, in fact.
This new EP really shows that Atmosphere still have it, and are one of those artists that will just never sell themselves out, it's truly all about the tunes, which is the best way to be.
The Fun I Can Have With Two Copies of Napt's "Gotta Have More Cowbell"
I love beat juggling, it's my main hobby. Athough it's not the reason I took up turntablism, it's definitely the reason I still do it.
You might recall from last year's DMC Championships that DJ Skully beat juggled Napt's breakbeat song "Gotta Have More Cowbell".
When I met DJ Skully earlier this year he showed me what he did and I picked up some skills from him, as well as two copies of the record.
So I took it home, and got practising, and I've found it can be taken further. I managed to get some really interesting sounds out of it.
So on Youtube I've posted a rough video of what I've started to do with it, also cheekily @'d Napt on Twitter so hopefully they will watch it.
Sound quality's a tad poor, but here we go..
You might recall from last year's DMC Championships that DJ Skully beat juggled Napt's breakbeat song "Gotta Have More Cowbell".
When I met DJ Skully earlier this year he showed me what he did and I picked up some skills from him, as well as two copies of the record.
So I took it home, and got practising, and I've found it can be taken further. I managed to get some really interesting sounds out of it.
So on Youtube I've posted a rough video of what I've started to do with it, also cheekily @'d Napt on Twitter so hopefully they will watch it.
Sound quality's a tad poor, but here we go..
Archangel Vs Monotonik
You know how it is, when your friends aren't DJ's, but they like their music.. you want to make something to impress them.
One particular mate is really into his liquid drum and bass, but also likes Burial, so I thought I'd combine the two.
I chose Monotonik by Makoto, purely because it's your standard drum and bass beat pattern, and has little that would get in the way of Archangel, the Burial track I chose.
I had to speed it up a hell of a lot, and it doesn't quite work in places, but to the ear of a non-DJ, apparently, it sounds really good. (Which baffles me because it's absolutely cringeworthy in parts for me)
Anyway, due to the popularity I decided to upload it to Youtube, as I'm really keen to boost the amount of videos I have up there. So here it is...
As always, any feedback, positive or negative, would be greatly appreciated. :)
One particular mate is really into his liquid drum and bass, but also likes Burial, so I thought I'd combine the two.
I chose Monotonik by Makoto, purely because it's your standard drum and bass beat pattern, and has little that would get in the way of Archangel, the Burial track I chose.
I had to speed it up a hell of a lot, and it doesn't quite work in places, but to the ear of a non-DJ, apparently, it sounds really good. (Which baffles me because it's absolutely cringeworthy in parts for me)
Anyway, due to the popularity I decided to upload it to Youtube, as I'm really keen to boost the amount of videos I have up there. So here it is...
As always, any feedback, positive or negative, would be greatly appreciated. :)
Friday, 3 July 2009
See You In Another Life Brother
I don't know if anyone remembers, or cares, about that scottish bloke from Lost called Desmond. I thought this guy was hilarious, and the quote "I'll see you in another life brother" killed me every time.
So, as an impressionable 16 year old, I wanted to do something with it. I'd had my turntables a good 6 months at this point, made a few mixes and whatnot, but nothing really original. So, I decided to make a song using the sample from the TV show. Lucky enough, I'd got into a habit of recording the programme because I couldn't be arsed to stay up to watch it, and always fell asleep through it when I tried.
So I sampled the audio from my DVD player into my mixer, along with a beat, which was "Ch-Check It Out" by The Beastie Boys, tune I was very much into at that time. I repeated the sample through, taking advantage of the A-B function on the DVD player. It seemed to work well enough with the beat.
I also used a different sample from Lost, concerning Desmond when he's being discharged from the army, which, by absolute blind luck, fit perfectly with the instrumental.
So I recorded this, and it needed a bit more, so I played the new tune through the mixer, and did some scratching over it. At this time, my scratching was very basic, I didn't even use the crossfader, I used the main fader for scratching effects, as i found it much much easier.
What came out was in no doubt a novelty, and that's probably what caused it's success among my mates, it was a hilarious song.
Anyway, I have finally decided to upload it to Youtube, a nice little reminder of where I was 3 years ago, where it all started. Enjoy...
So, as an impressionable 16 year old, I wanted to do something with it. I'd had my turntables a good 6 months at this point, made a few mixes and whatnot, but nothing really original. So, I decided to make a song using the sample from the TV show. Lucky enough, I'd got into a habit of recording the programme because I couldn't be arsed to stay up to watch it, and always fell asleep through it when I tried.
So I sampled the audio from my DVD player into my mixer, along with a beat, which was "Ch-Check It Out" by The Beastie Boys, tune I was very much into at that time. I repeated the sample through, taking advantage of the A-B function on the DVD player. It seemed to work well enough with the beat.
I also used a different sample from Lost, concerning Desmond when he's being discharged from the army, which, by absolute blind luck, fit perfectly with the instrumental.
So I recorded this, and it needed a bit more, so I played the new tune through the mixer, and did some scratching over it. At this time, my scratching was very basic, I didn't even use the crossfader, I used the main fader for scratching effects, as i found it much much easier.
What came out was in no doubt a novelty, and that's probably what caused it's success among my mates, it was a hilarious song.
Anyway, I have finally decided to upload it to Youtube, a nice little reminder of where I was 3 years ago, where it all started. Enjoy...
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
New Mashup Up on Youtube!
I've been trying lately to expand my youtube channel.. I was messing about on the decks at the weekend, and listening to the new Prodigy album, which I only have on vinyl. I came across the track "Stand Up" and thought, that sounds pretty hip-hop to me, I like it.
The song has no words so I thought about the acapellas I have, and which would work. I thought "Outta Control" could work. I don't really like the tune, which is all the more reason to try it with something I do like.
Tried it with the appropriate speed changes, and it worked! Need a bit of tweaking here and there but I felt it changed the whole feel of the song.
Anyway, here it is, enjoy.
I hope you did enjoy it, but if not, please comment as I'm always looking to improve.
The song has no words so I thought about the acapellas I have, and which would work. I thought "Outta Control" could work. I don't really like the tune, which is all the more reason to try it with something I do like.
Tried it with the appropriate speed changes, and it worked! Need a bit of tweaking here and there but I felt it changed the whole feel of the song.
Anyway, here it is, enjoy.
I hope you did enjoy it, but if not, please comment as I'm always looking to improve.
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