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John Beez interview and info about his Fretless Fader system
A friend passed me a link to a video of John Beez, his Controller 1 and his “Fretless Fader” that quite simply blew my mind. The music and DJ scenes need more folks like John. Cats that are willing to innovate and take chances just when you think everything has been done.
I got a chance to catch up with John recently and here’s what he had to say…
Who are some of your early music influences and why?
JB: The first cassette tape I ever had was DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince “He’s the DJ”. That’s what got me into scratching as a kid. For musical influences I could go all over the place… Imogen Heap to Herbie Hancock to Deftones to Kool Keith.
How long have you been a scratch musician/turntablist?
JB: I got my first turntables around 2001 I think. Got into doing compositions around four years ago.
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Join the in Crowd…
HipHop is Dead, Nas said and ever since everybody and their respective Mama’s have co-signed the phrase. When Soulja Boy shot to stardom (bringing with him a slew of kiddy rappers) old school HipHop heads viewed it as the beginning of the end. What’s next? “Hipster Rap” as labeled by some writers and bloggers, is the next movement. What’s the Difference? I recently had the opportunity to discuss this with Naledge and Double-O the two members of Kidz in the Hall. I caught up with them while there were in South Carolina on tour with Murs for the Microsoft Zune US tour.
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Great XLR8R interview with Daedelus
Peep out this wonderful video interview with Daedelus conducted by XLR8R. He touches on a wide variety of topics and even gives a brief history of where he got his start in music. Props to www.createdigitalmusic.com for reporting it.
Exclusive interview with Scott Hobbs, maker of the touchscreen turntable
OK folks, here it is a worldwide exclusive interview with Scott Hobbs, the maker of the ATTIGO touchscreen turntable.
First off, what grade did you get on your project?
S: I got a A for the project, which I’m real happy about…
Aside from this class project, what influenced you to come up with the concept of the ATTIGO TT? The iPhone? Microsoft Surface?
S: Touchscreen turntables was always a bit of a dream of mine, but when I started the year I spent some time thinking about it and how possible it could be. The most important element is obviously the application, what I could make it do and all the possibilities. The main inspiration was controlling the music as if was on a conveyor belt rolling away from you. This feels equally natural to manipulating a song on a record spinning, and a lot of fun.
Can you explain all the functions in the latest version of ATTIGO? I noticed play, fwd, rew, scratch, cue, pitch and pause. What else?
S: There is the basic functions that are on a turntable plus a few little features I added just to make the music easier to control, such as rewind and cueing. My favourite is the ‘power-off’ function, it’s the finishing touch. In the future I plan to add in bpm counters and simple effects tools and I have a few more tricks up my sleeve…
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Tenori-On makers interviewed
I came across a very interesting interview with the makers of the Yamaha Tenori-On, a 16×16 matrix of LED switches.
For those that don’t know, the Tenori-On is is mainly a sampler, but it has a preset of its own generated sounds and can be used as a MIDI controller. So when you push a button, you can generate a sound. When you push longer, it enters a meter of rhythm and you can also set that tempo. You can adjust the pitch and frequency on a kind of time line. The bottom line would be the low sounds, the higher lines are the higher frequencies.
At roughly $1,100 USD I am not quite convinced it’s worth it.
Nicolay Interview
I recently caught up with the eclectic, soulful producer Nicolay, on the heels of his latest release TIME:LINE, to get his take on the music and production…
What was THE moment that you recall motivating you to create music yourself?
N: I don’t think I would be able to point out a single solitary moment that did that. I think in general it was an overall developing thing with me starting in my early teens.
Who are some of your early music influences and why?
N: Early music influences would include a lot of stuff my moms was playing when I was a kid, like Stevie Wonder’s Secret Life Of Plants, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Nina Simone, The Beatles, as well as stuff that I was branching out to on my own, like Prince, Parliament Funkadelic, Marvin Gaye, The Beach Boys and early hiphop.
Sabo Interview
I first heard of Sabo a couple of years back when digging through the crates at the local vinly store. He has released some very high quality, dance-floor oriented, party remixes. I wanted to catch up with him to learn more about what makes this guy tick…
How long have you been DJing? Producing?
S: Djing for 12 years, producing for 4.
Who are some of your early influences musically and dj-wise?
S: Growing up my parents would listen to lots of jazz and bossa nova. When I was 8 yrs old I saw Breakin’ and went and bought the soundtrack on vinyl the next day. That got me into rap and hip hop. At 15, I went to Spain for an exchange program and thats where I got introduced to techno, house and latinas. This lead me to go to lots of warehouse raves when I got back to the States where DJs like Frank Ryde, Dale Charles, Mark Farina, Dante, Dan, Pete Moss and Onionz used to kill it. My friends and I were all just starting to DJ and diggin for records, so we’d push each other a lot and they definetely influenced me too.
Hydroponic Sound System Interview
You know those record that always work on the dance floor? That is the first thought that comes to my mind when thinking of Hydroponic Sound System. So many of their songs are no brainer, dance floor anthems. There’s so much more to this Dallas, TX production duo though. The other day I caught up with Skin to ask him a few questions.
How did you first hear music? On the radio, vinyl, cassette tape or 8 track?
S: The first records I remember owning were soundtracks like Star Wars, Grease, and Saturday Night Live so I guess I’d have to say through movies. And of course at 6 years old I had the Grease soundtrack cuz I liked the break in the title track. I knew I’d chop that ish up one day. Or not.
DJ Fuckin’ A Interview
As a rising DJ in the Austin turntablist scene, Ariel Quintans has made a living being both as an audio AND visual layer artist. By day he works at Action Figure Inc. in post production, and by night as…. DJ Fuckin’ A, rockin’ the crowd at Red Fez. Recently, he has worked on a BMW micro-film and with the Flaming Lips on an innovative music video. For a DJ with a modest demeanor and a shy smile, he is brimming with a whirlwind of creative movement that drives him nowhere else but forward.
What was the biggest factor in your life that has provided a musical incubation?
A: Listening to music for me has always been a very active experience. So much so that I can rarely listen to a new album or song without giving it my unpided attention. Everything else gets completely ignored. Music almost always impacts me on some sort of emotional level, and like every one else, I use it to track points in my lifetime. It’s funny, for the most memorable moments in my life, I have a complete audio/visual recollection of everything. The two always support each so strongly.
DJ Mel Interview
I’ve known DJ Mel for probably about 10-12 years now and the absolute first thing that comes to mind when I think of him is his attention to detail. This cat is impeccable. He’s that guy that never ever let’s a mix get off beat. His mixes, mash ups, record selection and ability to rock any crowd is impressive to say the least. But his ability to do it consistently is what I am really talking about…
How long have you been behind the decks sir?
M: Too long. For about 18 years.
What was the first song you remember getting into as a child and why?
M: I think for me it wasn’t just one song, but it was my fascination with radio. Just the wonderment of it all and the unpredictability of early 80’s FM radio. Regardless of whether it was an AOR (Album Oriented Rock) or an Urban station, you were more than likely in for a surprise or two. Late 80’s mixshow DJs from NYC intrigue me well.
What makes a “good DJ” a “great DJ”?
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