DMb | Dance Music blog & Podcast

I’m a sucker for ElectroPop so when Mean sent over some music I just had to post up a track. Get their full album at the Bandcamp link below.

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Sorry we’ve been missing in action for a few weeks while we moved to a new webhost, but we’re back and we have some great things planned to the rest of 2009!

This great little Trance/Progressive Podcast has been growing and growing since its start a little over 2 years ago and now finds itself delivering some serious downloads for any DJ featured. Check em out, subscribe, and send em a mix.

TranceDesign.net

At the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) expo, Akai showed the APC40 MIDI control surface it has developed in conjunction with Ableton, making it the first such device to be ready to run out of the box with the Ableton Live music editing software. As there is no need to load drivers, users simply plug in their notebooks via a USB port and can begin mixing or otherwise modifying their music using Ableton Live. The APC40 is being touted as the simplest, most direct hardware interface with the popular software, yet still allows advanced users to assign the board’s 40 buttons, knobs and fader controls to any virtual controls in the software.

Each control on the APC40 lights up in a different color to give users an instant indication of clip state. Likewise, the 16 knobs are lined by a ring of LED rings that perform the same functions. Akai points out the APC40 makes controlling music at live events much quicker and easier, taking the connected source, most often a notebook or desktop PC or Mac, out of the equation.

Numark has announced at NAMM that it’s displaying Stealth Control, a professional DJ controller that comes with Native Instruments Traktor LE and MixMeister Fusion Live software. With a design based around Numark’s previous control devices, it provides the same two decks and a mixer layout that allows users to jog, scrub, or scratch. Stealth Control sends MIDI information to control the software and can be used with any application that supports MIDI. A USB cable is used to connect the controller to the computer.

Traktor LE 3 is a dual-deck DJ application that provides features such as auto-sync, beat-accurate loops, and a variety of effects, while Mix Meister Fusion delivers timeline-based mixing capabilities. Stealth Control is available now and has been priced by the company at $400 with an estimated street price of $300.

While software like Serato is very stripped down, it allows a DJ to quickly and easily perform his/her primary task – beatmatching and mixing music. The first time ever using Serato I quickly figured out how to use it with no instructions. The first time I looked at the user interface for Torq it made me want to cry. This interface is easily the most hideous looking thing I have seen in DJ Software market hands down! Even if M-Audio sent me a free copy I wouldn’t install this on my computer. I’m only reporting this new version of the software for those of you that do use it. I would love to hear some first hand comments about how great this software is so I can learn not to judge the software by the GUI, but I doubt I will hear any. Please let us know if you use this.

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I just stumbled across this new remix of the worn-out classic “Shiny Disco Balls” by Bad Boy DJs. Keep it fresh with a new mix.

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MP3: Zshare

Another cool instructable for turning an old hard drive into a rotary controller that can then be mapped to MIDI to contol some DJ software or some other bit of virtual gear. If anyone technically gifted enough to build one of these does so please post some photos and let us know how it works out.

Full instructions here.

Here’s a nice bit of kit to take along with you on your next flight when you’ve just got to finish that next remix on the go. :)

Snip snip…

Now that the laptop has become the new desktop it’s tempting to do everything on the go. But try composing or editing music while enjoying a latte at Starbucks and you’ll find yourself seriously lacking in the tactile input department. There’s a reason why musicians generally need racks of equipment at their disposal… you just cant play music so well with a keyboard and mouse. The new Korg Nano Digital Music Controllers aim to remedy this musical dilemma by providing three different portable USB versions of common musical input devices that fit perfectly with your laptop. The nanoKEY gives you a mini velocity sensitive keyboard. The nanoPAD provides you with velocity sensitive drum-pads and a Kaossilator style x-y control pad while the nanoKONTROL gives you nine faders, nine knobs and eighteen switches for your mixing pleasure.

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