My DJ setup

So I thing I’ve achieved all I want with my live dj setup.  I still have tons of work to do with my production side, but thats another story.   These were the goals of my setup:

1. clean (wires, cases, etc)
2. fast setup
3. practical
4. fully functional / no setbacks
5. ergonomic

THIS WOULDN’T BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT HELP FROM SOULSONICA

http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w234/Soulsonica/

he’s also on the ssl forums.

My setup is mostly in 4 cases: 1 mixer, 2 turbtables, another record sized case with a handfull of records, efx, assorted cables / adapters.  backpack with laptop, more cables, hard drives etc.

My setup is as clean as humanely possible while being completely mobile.

at home setup

Each turntable case has one audio connection and one power connection

I never need to reach under my turntables to get cables again.

Mixer too.  This needed a little extra work.

Outside the case: two xlr jacks, usb, power.

Inside the case: sl1, power strip with 4 available spots, power for sl1, power for mixer.

At home I use the regular Ortofon.  Sometimes I use the scratch needles, but I find that they need too much weight to stay in the groove.

I used the digitracks once and of course I opened the case upside down and they fell to the floor behind the dj booth so…

MUSIC MANAGEMENT:

A huge part of my dj setup is my giant music collection.  The problem is, its so big that It’s a pain to keep organized and backed up.  I keep my music on my desktop, which I moved into my bedroom recently.

I have 2 750 gig hard drives that I try to keep backed up as often as possible. (check out the hot swap spaces, that way I don’t need to undo my whole setup to take out hds)

I use clonezilla to copy the whole 750 gb drive (about 80% full) which takes about 4 hours.

I also have 2 external cases that I use for backing up drives which boast both usb2.0 and esata for both quick transfers and flexibility.

from time to time I just unplug the hard drive from my pc and plug it into the external enclosure I have at my setup and play off of it so I can set my cue points and such.  Doesn’t make sense to set cue points on a backup.

I reformatted my pc to windows xp pro so I can share the entire drive on the network.  On my laptop, as soon as I’m on the network it sees all my crates and I can set cue points and such as if the hard drive in my desktop was plugged into my laptop.  This is the most efficient way for me.

When I know a gig is coming, I’ll move my music to an external drive and use that.

Velcro on the bottom.

Velcro on my laptop

Clean.

Since I’m not always going to be using my mixer (I have never taken my turntables and not used my mixer) I made another set of cables that have rcas at one end.

The power cables have also been simplified to save space in the outlets.  My whole setup takes 2 outlets: one for the laptop and one for all the gear.

hosa makes iec piggy back cables that I am using.

All the other cables I use

Here are the rest of the pictures:

everything is color coded.

usb is blue because sometimes its a pain to find the other end of it.

all available pictures can be seen here: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v353/allenbina/djsetupfinal/

New Project

Hey,

So burrito project is starting to grow legs and walk on its own. I’m still running it for now but I’m preparing to leave it to the admins and let it run itself once its up so i can start working on my next project: Makeover project. It is still in its infancy, but I’d like your input on it.

Where burrito project worked with the homeless, my next project will work with the elderly. In all seriousness, I want to really help make a really nice night once or twice a month for the elderly. The problem arises when you actually start talking to the elderly. Ideally, there would be some sort of activity where you don’t really need to talk to them, you can just be around them, make them happy and let them talk occasionally. Its a practical project, ya herd?

The activity at hand part is still not finalized. I’ve thrown around a lot of ideas and so far, people have hated each one more than the next. One idea would be an Malt shoppe complete old tyme bartender as such:

Make milkshakes and shit. Mad simple yo. Another idea i’ve been throwing around is a small dance party. This is the most difficult to manage, most difficult to organize and therefore the one I want to do most, however the one I’m least likely going to do unless something magical happens. Another idea I had (voted worst idea by an informal survey) was to have a small makeover center. Keep in mind, this is only a side activity so the makeover would be really lame for us, but something really nice for them. For the ladies, we can do their nails / tea party or some shit… facials… i dunno… ladies, think of stuff. For men, its a little harder. Maybe haircuts? Maybe a clean shave? I’ve thrown around ideas like getting men’s pants ironed / tailored on site, etc. but nothing has clicked.

So there you have it. I’m still months ahead of even starting to plan the first steps, so don’t come at me with “oh you gotta check this out now” stuff because i’m not hearing it. Also, keep in mind what you would have told me if I told you a year ago I have an idea about getting local angelinos together and making burritos for the homeless. if you have any ideas / suggestions / etc, pleeeease let me know.

I’ll keep you posted.

Allen

Review: Major Lazer – Guns Don’t Kill People, Lazers Do

The duo individually known as Diplo and Switch collectively bring the best of each to the studio as Major Lazer. One part saxon soundsystem and one part Ibiza, the album offers a new style that will soon be copied by everyone else in the scene. Don’t be surprised when you start seeing DJs backspinning their records and playing them from the beginning in 6 months. The astute DJ will be on the next style by then.

It’ s important to understand the individual ingredients to best taste the final product. Diplo is arguably the best DJ’s DJ, by which I mean his song selection, his mixing techniques, his production and ear for new sounds is exceptional, but may not be realized by the untrained ear. When mashups became high fahion, he went was already throwing in different electro sounds and off beat rock and ska sounds into his mixes. It seems as though he’s so far ahead of his time that when you first listen to his mix, you are immediately blown away by the creativity and begin the search to find the songs in his mixes. Not that it does you any good to have them, because at 4th or 5th listen you still have no idea where he came up with the idea to drop Vibez Cartel on the track with Rihanna on the verse. Switch shines when given a large canvas and a fine tipped sharpie. His sound is much more minimal than most without being “minimal”. He doesn’t overwhelm the track with 20 tracks mixed down to a thick soup. His post production relies on his mastery of constructing a rythmn with an ear for particular sounding beats and instruments. Good luck finding a sample of a switch track that sounds remotely like his version (aside from his cheeky ones). That compounded by his unique taste for upcoming styles makes an extremely dancable song while leaving room in the mix to go any way you want. Switch would be a dangerous DJ to follow because of his simplicity in style but extremely danceable and smooth beats.

The final album takes the best of Diplo and Switch. The album is overwhelming Diplo in style but definitely has its Switch moments. Together they bring a new Soca / Reggae / Dancehall style that I forsee being the flavor of the summer of 2009, and I’m definitely looking forward to it.

Rickie Dee aka Jibby Jabrone – Yet another mixtape

http://www.myspace.com/rickie_dee

direct link

[51:52, 320KBPS, 118MB] 320!!AMEN

01. Roommate + Bassist – “Rub A Dub” **dub**
02. NTRLD – “Up” **dub**
03. Bowzer + Pandemic – “Like Dem” **dub**
04. Miretz – “Citadel”
05. Heavy Machine ft. Big Body – “Stayin Down”
06. Babylon System – “Hyphy”
07. The Black Ghosts – “Full Moon” (Marlow Rmx)
08. Ludwig Coenen – “Green Movement” (XI’s Dangerous Technology Rmx)
09. SP:MC – “Trust Nobody”
10. Noah D + Roommate – “The Bassman”
11. Toasty Boy – “On Something”
12. Toasty – “The Knowledge”
13. Stagga – “Freight Dub”
14. Alborosie – “Police Polizia” (Noah D + Roommate Rmx) **dub**
15. Evidence – “I Say You Say (I Need You)” **dub**
16. Droid – “So Wut”
17. Jakes – “Rock The Bells”
18. Dumbsteppaz – “Princess Gone Dub”
19. Syntonics – “Dont Stop Pop” (Bombaman Rmx)
20. Chase + Status – “Running”
21. Jamie Vex’d – “Saturn’s Reply”
22. Hoax – “Holdtight”

smart and better than most of the stuff thats out there right now.

[51:52, 320KBPS, 118MB]

Camera Project

Whats interesting about youtube is that it really provides nothing in terms of art.  Without user content, Youtube is a facade, which is what makes it great.  It is up to the users to make youtube what they want.  My camera project takes bits and pieces from lots of other ideas I’ve been working on, but mostly from the idea that art should be engaging to the viewer.  That may be in the nature of the topic, the medium used or the angle in which its positioned.

The original idea was to leave 10 cameras around the city wrapped in paper and with enough postage on them to be mailed to me when they were done.  at 13.50 each, the project was quickly scaled down to 7 to accomidate my budget.  Hurdle 2 was the brilliant minds at the post office.  The minds at the post office rival the brains of janitors and whoever picks up the phone when I’m calling customer service.  I clearly remember a time when einstein across the desk at the post office nearly had an out of body experience learning about a cubic foot.  Long story short, They had to be in a package to guarantee postage.

These are the final versions.  They obviously had a couple revisions, but for the most part, its a camera attached to a bag.  theres some simple documentation on the outside explaining whats going on and slips of paper inside with contact info to get back at me.  7 cameras to be left around LA for people to do with them what they like.  I promissed to post the pictures up if / when I get them, but who knows.  This project is as much up to the people who find these cameras as it is mine.

Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21030072@N02/sets/72157619381411425/

to keep updated, email me at allenbina@gmail.com

Dance Wrong

Without getting too deep into it, there is a certain brilliance some promoters are able to manage.  The rare exception to the rule is when parties remain fun and keep a good crowd while still being easy going.  I fucking love dance right so much so that when i see their logo on a flier, it instantly gains cred.

I met Brad Hoss on a fluke instance at his bar when it was called play.  We ducked in for a couple pitchers while waiting for something else.  He’s exactly what a promoter should be, instantly charming and nice beyond belief.  There were 4 of my friends and 2 other peopel and Hoss just made it seem like that was the perfect number of people to have a great vibe.  In LA, that gets you far, as it should.  Turns out he also does promotions for Avalon which is the black hole for douchebaggery and great music… strange combo.

I got this in the inbox:

That is pretty much what it would take me to go to Avalon nowadays.  I promised myself thrice so far that I would never go back.  I’m usually hyped to see one of my favorite djs play in LA only to find out its going to be among the vest-scarf crowd, sigh.  Three separate instances I’ve had such a bad time, I promissed myself never again.  Free alcohol can change that.

Wait in line, get a bracelet, get in.  I walked up to the bar and asked someone if it was open bar to which their eyebrows replied something like “are you on rocks?”.  Found another bar with a bouncer posted up front and perked up a little.  If i had a tail, it would be wagging now.  Went to the bouncer and showed him my bracelet which seemed to me appropriate to get in, but he misunderstood as me asking him to look at me like a bitch and tell me to fuck off, because in other words, thats what happened.  He told me I had the wrong bracelet but when I asked him what bracelet I need so i can go get it, he told me all I needed to know was that I have the wrong one and I’m pretty much not getting in.   hmmm..

I doubled back to the ticket guy who told me he’s not in charge of that stuff.  I went outside and spoke to the girl who gave me the bracelet.  ”I was told by Preston that there isn’t a free bar tonight”.  I’m showing her my invite, my confirmation and my rsvp saying that there will be free alcohol.  She’s telling me I have two choices: go inside or leave.

On my way out, i chalk up another “I’m never coming back here again” moment to Avalon.  It doesn’t make any sense to me.  Dance right, delicious dance party of massively cool people.  Brad Hoss, ‘nother cool guy whose excessive invites to events on facebook are overshadowed by his niceness and ability to spot you in an instant and say hi.  By the dickhead theorem of mathematics: two things I know are good + one variable = shit; the one variable has to be really shitty to reduce two things I know are good to garbage.  Thanks Preston Gaspar!

effective advertising

So apparently capcom elicits the production of rusko, surkin and clipz for the new bionic comando video game via bigstereo, discodust and maddecent.  makes me want to buy the game

the rusko and surkin tracks are ok, i like the clipz one tho.

http://this.bigstereo.net/2009/05/07/bionic-commando-surkin/ 

http://discodust.blogspot.com/2009/05/bionic-commando-clipz.html 

http://maddecent.com/blog/2009/05/07/bionic-commando/

?uestlove – the lesson mix on bbc

1. Arc Choir – “Jesus Walks” (Mapleshade) (Kanye West – “Jesus Walks” (Roc-A-Fella))
2. Nu Birth – “You’re What I’m All About” (?) (Biggie Smalls – “Player Anthem (X-Ray))
3. The Whatnaughts – “I’ll Erase Away Your Pain” (Priority) (Kanye West – “Late” (Roc-A-Fella))
4. Main Ingredient – “Let Me Prove My Love To You” (RCA) (Alicia Keys – “You Don’t Know My Name” (J Records))
5. Silvia Striplin – “You Can’t Turn Me Away” (Charly) (Junior M.A.F.I.A. – “Get Money” (X-Ray))
6. The Temptations – “I Don’t Know What It Is, But It Sure Is Funky” (Motown) (Common – “The Corner” (Geffen))
7. Honey Cone – “Innocent Till Proven Guilty” (Fantasy) (Common – “Testify” (Geffen))
8. DJ Rogers – “Faithful To The End” (RCA) (Common – “Faithful” (Geffen))
9. Luchi DeJesus – “Round About Midnight” (?) (KRS ONE – “A Friend” (Jive))
10. Dynasty – “Adventures In The World Of Music” (Solar/Sequal) (Camp-Lo – “Luchini” (Profile))
11. Willie Mitchell – “Grovin’” (Hi) (GZA – “Liquid Swords” (Geffen))
12. Wendy Renay – “After The Laughter Come Tears” (Stax/Altanta) (Wu Tang Clan – “Tearz” (Loud))
13. The Charmels – “I’ll Never Grow Old” (Stax/Altanta) (Wu Tang Clan – “Cream” (RCA))
14. Dione Warwick – “You’re Gonna Need Me” (Invictions) (Usher – “Throwback” (Arista))
15. Billy Cobham – “Heather” (Wounded Bird) (Souls of Mischief – “93 Till Infinity” (Jive))
16. Beherd Wright – “Halboglabotribin’” (BMG) (Snoop Dogg – “Gz & Hustlaz” (Death Row))
17. Jack Bruce – “Born 2 Be Blue” (Atco) (Smith N Wesssun – “Buck Town” (?))
18. Aretha Franklin – “Call Me” (Rhino/Atlanta) (Slum Village – “Selfish” (Capitol))
19. Quincy Jones – “Summer In The City” (A&M) (Pharcyde – “Passin Me By” (Delicious Vinyl))
20. Joe Simons – “Before The Nite’s Over” (?) (Outkast – “So Fresh & So Clean” (Arista))
21. Peabo Bryson – “Born 2 Love” (Unknown) (Nas – “2nd Childhood” (Sony))
22. The Chi-Lites – “That’s How Long I Love You” (Unknown) (Jay Z – “Dec 4″ (Roc-A-Fella))
23. Abdel Halim-Hefes – “Khasiaraya-Gar” (EMI Arabia) (Jay Z – “Big Pimpin’” (Roc-A-Fella))
24. Labi Siffre – “I Got The” (Mr Bongo) (Eminem – “My Name Is” (Aftermath)/Jay Z – “The Streets Is Watching” (Roc-A-Fella))
25. Samuel Johnson – “My Music” (Columbia) (Jadakiss – “We’re Gonna Make It” (Ruff Ryders/Interscope))
26. Milt Jackson – “Olinga” (CTI) (Tribe Called Quest – “Award Tour” (Jive))
27. War – “Magic Mountain” (Rhino) (De La Soul – “Potholes In My Lawn” (Tommy Boy))
28. Ahmad Jamal – “Swahililand” (20th Century) (De La Soul – “Stakes Is High” (Tommy Boy))
39. Gap Mangione – “Diana In The Autumn Wind” (GRC) (Slum Village – “Fall In Love” (Capitol)/Jaylib – “Official” (Stones Throw))
40. David McCallum – “The Edge” (Capitol) (Dr Dre – “Next Episode” (Aftermath))
41. Creative Source – “I Can’t See Myself Without You” (Sussex/Polydor) (Freeway – “What We Do” (Unknown))
42. Average White Band – “Love Your Life” (Rhino) (Tribe Called Quest – “Check The Rhyme” (Jive))
43. Funkadelic – “Let’s Take It To The People” (Westbound) (Tribe Called Quest – “Everything Is Fair” (Jive))
44. Ronnie Foster – “Mystic Brew” (Blue Note) (Tribe Called Quest – “Electric Relaxation” (Jive))
45. The Chi-Lites – “Are You My Woman?” (Brunswick/Eugene) (Beyonce – “Crazy In Love” (Columbia))
46. The Meters – “Oh Calcutta!” (Josie) (Amerie – “One Thing” (Sony))
47. McCoy Tyner – “Impressions” (Milestone/OJC) (Black Sheep – “The Choice Is Yours” (Mercury))
49. Nirvana – “Indiana” (White) (The Roots – “Dynamite” (Geffen))

zshare

Reflections on dubstep

The day before easter: rusko in LA.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x3QjeCyfDc]

its hard not to make the religious comparison.  just when i had almost given up on dubstep, rusko brings back dubstep from what i had thought was the death of it.  completely tears his set up, the new live set he does where he plays bass.  if i talk any more about rusko, i’d have to kick my own ass, but woww.

the smog guys were nice enough to invite me out to their event at the echo.  while i didnt catch any of the guys, i did stay the whole night, which is more than i could have said for lots of other nights i’ve been out in la.  i would have loved some comp love though.  they brought in a set of sweedish djs who destroyed it.

so, i learned my lesson, pay attention to fliers yo, and i’m officially to old for 18+ spots.

tell tale forums

http://junglescene.com/forums/topic-130-8316-Is_Caspa_the_Guy_Ritchie_of_dubstep_.html

read no evil, type no evil.