Ableton and the APC40

So as most people on the cutting edge of digital DJ technology know, Ableton is making a strong headway as a real platform for hybrid DJ/live performances and even fully live performances. The smart folks at Akai Professional, who have been putting out an already great selection of midi controllers for producers, caught wind of this and months later put out this sexy piece of midi heaven:

Say hello to the Akai APC40, Akai's dedicated ableton live controller.

This thing is really an entirely new concept in midi controllers, other than a few rare controllers that are almost impossible to find. For some reason or another, no one has really released a controller with (for lack of a better description), this much going on in one unit. The possibilities are pretty endless.

In this post, I'm offering up my own thoughts on Ableton and "Live" DJ performances in general.

Ableton Live is one pretty nifty piece of software. Live was designed to be both an interface for live performance allowing musicians the ability to play a virtual rack of "instruments" via midi, but also work as a recorder/sequencer/DAW. It can also be used as an add-on effects unit by routing your audio signal through it and using it's extensive effects ability. There is a lot of great audio software out there for various purposes, but it's arguable that almost nothing packs the combined power that Live does in one application.

Live as a DJ platform is something that's somewhat new, but already big heavyweights such as Deadmau5 and trance veteran Paul Van Dyk have embraced this new platform and are using it in front of big crowds all over the world. Ableton already has many DJ functions built into it, but of course using Live to simply swap EQs and faders would be a horrid waste of such a powerful software. Instead, the ability to trigger samples/loops, 100s of effects, and adding live instrumentation make Live unique from any other "DJ" software out there. Can you say live remixing, live mashups, and true live electronic music?

I've had a chance to play around with Live, and in my opinion, it definitely does live up to the hype put around it. The interface looks a bit daunting at first but Live includes some great easy to follow tutorials that can get you up and making/performing music pretty quickly. I'm no big producer, but I've toyed with Reason/Cubase/FL Studio and Live ranks pretty high in the easy to use category, at least for me. I've never found any DAW software "easy" to pick up, and it's a somewhat skewed discussion as Live has tutorials built in to it, but once you understand recording midi notes, the rest comes pretty darn easy.

Live as a DJ tool is something that I've contemplated myself for sometime, but DJing with Live really takes a whole different mindset and thought process towards your music and how you structure and play your set, although traditional sounding DJ sets are certainly still possible with Live.

For myself, if I'm considering a new technology/hardware/software, I want something that will bring something new to my mixes. It makes no sense to drop a chunk of cash into something that simply does the same thing as what you had before. Now the creative possibilities with Live are certainly through the roof, but I don't know if the possibilities are possible with all genres, and that's where I run into a roadblock.

With a structured, layered genre like Tech House or Minimal Techno, one can take a base track, and add a plethora of samples, loops, and sounds without clashing too much with the original track. With big, driving electro/house/techno tracks that have lots going on in them, being able to layer even MORE sounds over that is a tough task and almost starts to take away from the original track (my opinion). Now that doesn't mean I haven't shut the door completely on Live...

Where I could see myself going with Live (and this is something I'd love to see more DJs/musicians take on), is deconstructing tracks down to simple elements, and then rebuilding a track through the layering of track elements. This is where the live remixing can flourish, in my mind at least. Imagine the main lead synth of Deadmau5' "The Reward is Cheese", layed over a wobbly dubstep bassline - pretty cool idea, huh? (PS: don't steal that) Or imagine a popular house track reconstructed over a pounding techno beat...the possibilities are great here.

Now, that's all fine and dandy, but the above means either making hundreds of samples or recording hundreds of your own sounds to fill an hour long set and still make it diverse and interesting, and that's the dividing line for me. As a DJ, I work with pre-built tracks and (attempt to) structure and mix them in a way to entertain a crowd. Sure I could do the same thing with 100s of sounds and samples, but I just don't have the time and honestly the motivation to dive into a DAW and crank out a ton of kicks, leads, hats, snares, and basslines (for now).

This is not a diss against Live in any way, I fully believe in the power of it and commend those that look to further it's vast abilities as a DJ platform, but for now, it's not for me.