DJ Times 2020, Vol 33 No 3

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AMERICA’S FIRST MAGAZINE FOR PROFESSIONAL DJs ESTABLISHED 1988 SPRING 2020 ISSUE

VOLUME 33 NUMBER 3

Life in Lockdown

Inside: ClubWorld SXM Fest: The Last Party Boston’s Big Night Live

Streaming & Coping

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PLUS: Amtrac n Maribou State n 20 Marketing Moves Waves Audio’s OVox n N.I.’s Traktor Kontrol S3 n Redlining DJs

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NOTABLES…MILESTONES NEWS

DJ EXPO ’20: ON-SCHEDULE FOR ATLANTIC CITY Come Together: Expo brings top brands.

Hands On: DJs experience the gear.

Top Talent: Scratch legend QBert at Expo.

DJ TIMES

St. Martin – Just before the globe went into pandemic lockdown, the SXM Festival drew lovers of underground sounds to the Caribbean isle of St. Martin.

Running this past March 1115 & featuring talents like Bonobo, YokoO & Audiofly, SXM got in just under the wire. For more, please visit ClubWorld’s Spotlight on Page 24.

SPRING 2020 ISSUE

The Last Party

OffBrandProject

By Jim Tremayne Atlantic City, N.J. – No, the current global circumstances aren’t optimal and yes, the immediate future for any industry gathering is uncertain… but (at presstime) DJ Expo remains on-schedule.

Set for Aug. 10-13 at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City, DJ Expo is prepared to present: the industry’s largest exhibit hall featuring the very latest DJ-related technologies; a deep slate of educational seminars, panels and keynotes; and exciting sponsored events, like the annual “Entertainer of the Year” competition.

(For the latest statement from organizers, please see Page 7.)

Keeping safety and responsibility in mind, DJ Expo hopes to be able to hang onto those dates and present a show that will help re-ignite the DJ market that’s taken such a hit during the ongoing health crisis.

So, for the moment, onto the show… Among the new features at the 2020 Expo will be a dedicated 101 track of sessions for newcomers, specific seminars geared toward part-timers looking to go full-time, and master-level presentations for experienced multi-ops looking to scale their businesses. Included will be many hands-on workshops where attendees can apply what they learn immediately (bring your laptops!), and special-guest keynote speakers to inspire and inform.

Confirmed mobile-DJ-related seminars include: 101 Track: Get in Someone’s Face and Grow Your Footprint. Bostonbased Rob Peters will share his secrets on how he networks. Peters will discuss how to choose the right networking events and how to maximize your time once you’re there — doing prep work, breaking the ice, the 80/20 rule, and how to follow up to get your “foot in the door” with clients and vendors who would use and refer your services. Learn how to gain prospective clients and build a strong referral network through face-to-face interactions. The result will be better clients, better referrals and better profits.

Upsell Your Video Screens: A Hands-on. Bring your laptops, because Jimmie Malone from Exceptional Receptions in Binghamton, N.Y., will show you how to create slideshows to upsell video screens — and how to pitch them to clients. Included will be workflow instruction on how to create and pitch; background slideshows for cocktails and dinner; photo booth pics; pro photographer pics; text to screen via Jammtext; more specific slideshows produced in advance and played during the first dance and parent dances; and “found footage” (i.e., short clips of wedding members that can be used during the introductions, videos of family and friends that can be used in all manner of ways).

Mitzvahs — Beyond the Booth. Jersey jock Adam Hirschhorn, owner of AJH Entertainment, who has been writing the popular “Mitzvahs – Beyond the Booth” column for DJTimes.com, will moderate a seminar of the same name.

Topics will include: how to find motivators/dancers; custom set-ups; producing unique ideas/concepts; mitzvahs with children with disabilities; and the simple mitzvah vs. the extravagant mitzvah. You need not be a mitzvah DJ to get value from this seminar.

Fix the Mix: Easy Ways to Trick Out Your Mobile Sets. Presented by San Diego’s DJ Staci, this session will help keep your music mix up-to-date and unique. Learn how to deliver the “same-old” music you play week in and week out in a fresh, new way! Learn wedding-friendly wordplays, simple effects and scratch drops, plus make fun remixes right from your DJ software with no production background necessary.

Why the Caterer Should Not Do the Lighting. Presented by Mike Fernino of Connecticut’s Music in Motion Entertainment, this sales-andmarketing session offers a specific niche concept to combat venues that try to steal away your lighting work – and do an inferior job at that! Topics include: social media to establish a subconscious awareness of your services; how to sell lighting to your customer; how to establish the difference between good and bad lighting; the “Enhancement Concept”; and establishing yourself as an expert.

Photo Booth — The Next Generation. Much like karaoke, photo booths have proven to be a long-lasting addition to the mobile’s arsenal, one that has yet to reach its saturation point. Dave Stephenson, owner of Ismilepod, will teach how to create a photo-booth strip, how and why to set up an online gallery to host pictures, how to set up an iPad booth, and how to market the features of your photo booth to expand options to offer your customers.

More seminars and events to be announced. For the latest on the show, please visit www.thedjexpo.com.

3

FEATURES VOLUME 33 NUMBER3

12 Settled In

After Returning to Clubland a Decade Ago, Marc “MK” Kinchen Remains Deep House’s Main Man

BY LILY MOAYERI

18 Life in Lockdown

Whether They’re Producing, Streaming or Reflecting, Global DJs Explain How They’re Coping During the Pandemic

BY JIM TREMAYNE

22 Are You a Redlining DJ? A Former Club Owner Sounds Off on Cringe-Worthy Habits of DJs

BY BORZOO MEHRZAD

DEPARTMENTS 7 Feedback

DJ Expo Update: Aug. 10-13 in Atlantic City, N.J.

28 Making Tracks Waves Audio OVox

30 Sounding Off

Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol S3

SAMPLINGS 8 Maribou State Art of the Mix

10 In the Studio With…

Amtrac

32 Mobile Profile

Seattle DJ Hones His Skills

20 Marketing Approaches for DJs

34 Gear

DJ TIMES

SPRING 2020 ISSUE

New Products from ADJ, Pioneer DJ & more

4

Special Section: ClubWorld

24 Spotlight

The Last Party: St. Martin’s SXM Fest

26 Hot Shots

Boston’s Big Night Live

38 Grooves

Phat Tracks from Moon Boots, Birdee & More

41 Club Play Chart

The Hottest Records, As Reported by Our Top U.S. Record Pools

Cover & Contents Images by Neil Favila

33 Business Line

FROM THE EDITOR

DJ TIMES

SPRING 2020 ISSUE

The Pandemic Issue

6

Sad to say, there’s really no other name we could’ve given this issue. Almost every bit of it was put together after the pandemic hit our country, our state of New York went into lockdown and our Testa Communications office began to work remotely. From the picture, you see me having a late-night walk on the 59th Street Bridge, probably as ambulances blared toward the Manhattan side.

Obviously, it’s been a rough ride.

As the death toll climbed, it’s been challenging to put some things into perspective, namely the DJ and entertainment sectors of our culture. But with this being America’s longest-running magazine for DJs, it’s our job to acknowledge that DJs of all stripes have been devastated by the health crisis, as events big and small have been put on hold. Uncertainty reigns at the moment.

Accordingly, not long after the domestic portion of the crisis began, we sent out a questionnaire asking many of the top global DJ/producers how they’re coping with the situation. We started to run the answers in a daily blogpost called “Life in Lockdown” (that’s still ongoing) and, for this issue, we offer portions of those responses. We believe that the feature reveals much of their humanity, some humor, and – considering the financial dent the situation has delivered – a bit of necessary reflection.

Onto Our Cover Subject: Marc Kinchen (aka MK) has had his story told in these pages before. In the early ’90s when the Detroit native was living in NYC, he was featured here because was cranking out hot house productions (“Burning”) and remixes (Nightcrawlers’ “Push the Feeling On”) that had genre-lovers begging for more. Instead, he took his talents to L.A. where he began to work in the studio for R&B and hip-hop stars.

However, a decade ago, he returned to club music and he regained the roll he was on nearly 30 years ago. With another round of well-received productions and remixes (like his timeless effort on Wankelmut & Emma Louise’s “My Head Is a Jungle”), a new generation of house-music fans discovered him and he graced our cover in late 2015. Now he’s hit his stride to the point that, when fans think of the deep-house genre, MK is the first name they think of. Our L.A.-based correspondent Lily Moayeri checks in with Mr. Kinchen.

In our Samplings, Ms. Moayeri connects with U.K.-based duo Maribou State, which put together a unique mix-comp for famed London club brand, fabric. Also, for the department’s In the Studio section, I interviewed Caleb Cornett (aka Amtrac), who details how he created Oddyssey, his “difficult second album.”

In this issue, our Denver-based correspondent Wesley Bryant-King handles both tech-review departments. In Making Tracks, he takes Waves Audio’s OVox Vocal ReSynthesis plug-in into his studio.

For Sounding Off, he runs Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol S3 controller through its paces. (A Plug: You may also want to check out, Wes’ online contributions at djtimes.com, as he’s begun to produce an informative series of short video reviews called “Quick Hit.”) Also on the tech tip, in his DJ Times debut, Toronto nightlife pro Borzoo Mehrzad details some cringe-worthy habits of DJs and asks, “Are you a redlining DJ?” He also offers some solutions for offending club jocks.

From the mobile-entertainer world, Rochester, N.Y.-based jock Justin Volpe offers 20 different marketing approaches for DJ businesses. In Mobile Profile, we hopscotch across the country to visit with Seattle’s Alan Chitlik, who’s smart enough to know that he’s never done learning – because he’s always looking to improve his services.

For this issue’s ClubWorld section, our Brian Bonavoglia ventured up to Boston to visit with Big Night Entertainment Group and take in an evening of bass music at BNEG’s main EDM venue, Big Night Live. Also, just before the lockdowns began, Chris Davis flew down to the Caribbean-island paradise of St. Martin for the SXM Festival, which drew some of the globe’s top underground jocks.

We also wonder if SXM Fest will prove to be the last party that we have for a while. We shall see.

As it stands, we’re still on-schedule for DJ Expo, which is set for Aug. 10-13 at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. Of course, if anything changes, we’ll notify the industry via social media and more.

But for now, here’s to a speedy global recovery – for everyone.

Stay Safe,

Jim Tremayne Editor, DJ Times

editor-in-chief Jim Tremayne jtremayne@testa.com editor-at-large Brian O’Connor boconnor@testa.com assistant editor Brian Bonavoglia bbonavoglia@testa.com chart coordinator Dan Miller dmiller@testa.com contributors Wesley Bryant-King Chris Caruso Amanda Chavez Shawn Christopher Paul Dailey Reed Dailey Chris Davis DJ Deets Tony Fernandez Tommy D Funk Michelle Fetky Jennifer Harmon Josh Harris Ryan Hayes Greg Hollmann Josh Kerman Michelle Loeb Erik Miller Lily Moayeri Jordan St Jaques Jeff Stiles Ashley Teffer Phil Turnipseed Curtis Zack President/Publisher Vincent P. Testa FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TO ORDER SUBSCRIPTIONS, CALL 800-937-7678 VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.djtimes.com

DJ Times Sound & Communications The Music & Sound Retailer Sound & Communications ClubWorld Blue Book America’s Best DJ The DJ Expo IT/AV Report Convention TV News VTTV Studios

director of integrated advertising Paul Bozikis pbozikis@testa.com art director Janice Pupelis jpupelis@testa.com production manager Steve Thorakos sthorakos@testa.com digital art director Fred Gumm fgumm@testa.com social media coordinator Amanda Mullen amullen@testa.com traffic manager art production assistant Jeannemarie Graziano jgraziano@testa.com Circulation circulation@testa.com Classifieds classifiedsales@testa.com operations manager Robin Hazan rhazan@testa.com Editorial and Sales Office: DJ Times, 25 Willowdale Avenue, Port Washington, New York, USA 11050-3779. (516) 767-2500 • FAX (Editorial): (516) 944-8372 • FAX (Sales/all other business): (516) 767-9335 • DJTIMES@TESTA. COM Editorial contributions should be addressed to The Editor, DJ Times, 25 Willowdale Avenue, Port Washington, NY, USA, 110503779. Unsolicited manuscripts will be treated with care an d should be accompanied by return postage.

DJ Times (ISSN 1045-9693) is published monthly except for February, July, September and December for $19.40 (US), $39.99 (Canada), and $59.99 (all other countries), by DJ Publishing, Inc., 25 Willowdale Ave., Port Washington, NY 11050-3779. Periodicals Postage Paid at Port Washington, NY, and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to DJ Times, PO BOX 1767, LOWELL MA 01853-1767 Design and contents are copyright © 2020 by DJ Publishing, Inc., and must not be reproduced in any manner except by permission of the publisher.

Websites: www.djtimes.com and www.testa.com Spring 2020 Issue

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FEEDBACK PLUS: FriendShip DJ Cruise Gabriel & Dresden Lazyboy KRK Classic 5 Monitor QSC KS118 Subwoofer Are Party Rituals Dying?

AMERICA’S FIRST MAGAZINE FOR PROFESSIONAL DJs ESTABLISHED 1988

MIAMI MUSIC WEEK 2020 ISSUE

VOLUME 33 NUMBER 2

NAMM SHOW: TOP GEAR PICKS MIAMI PREVIEW: WMC, ULTRA FEST & MORE HOW TIKTOK KEEPS MOBILES YOUNG

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GUD VIBRATIONS

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Like it has been doing since its 1990 debut, DJ Expo expects to bring you the best mix of career-enhancing seminars, the latest DJ-related products on the exhibit floor and the best sponsored events.

Again, we hope that you come out of this situation with your health and without enduring too much more duress – and we hope that you’ll join us in Atlantic City.

– The Staff of DJ Times/DJ Expo

Aug. 10-13 AC, NJ

SEE HEAR CONNECT

3/4/2020 6:27:55 PM

This is Feedback, a monthly feature that fields questions from you, our readers, and funnels them out to in‑ dustry professionals. If you have any questions about DJing – marketing, mixing, equipment or insurance, any at all – drop us a letter at DJ Times, 25 Willowdale Ave, Port Washington, NY 11050, fax us at (516) 944‑8372 or e‑mail us at djtimes@testa.com. If we do use your question, you’ll receive a free DJ Times T‑shirt. And remember, the only dumb question is the ques‑ tion that is not asked.

BE OUR GUEST

DJ EXPO UPDATE DEAR DJS & INDUSTRY FRIENDS: Just like everyone, we’ve been over‑ whelmed and saddened by the effects of this health crisis. Accordingly, we hope that you and your loved ones maintain safety and health during this difficult time.

Obviously, we’re aware that the eco‑ nomic impact of the crisis has been devastating and we sincerely hope that your businesses return to a semblance of normal… because at some point, when things are deemed safe, this lockdown will end.

And when it does – hopefully, sooner than later – DJ Expo will be ready to serve the industry’s needs.

As it stands, the show is still onschedule – set for Aug. 10-13 at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. If anything changes regarding DJ Expo’s status, DJ Times will certainly alert the industry with as much honesty and sensitivity to the situation as possible.

But until then, we’ll maintain a positive posture. Accordingly, we will be send‑ ing out promos for DJ Expo, doing outreach on social media, and pro‑ ceeding with the intention to produce a great show that’ll re-boot our indus‑ try and help put us all back on track.

Unless and until DJ Expo’s status changes – by order of state or federal authorities, for example – we’ll retain our sense of optimism that the August show will go on.

How would you like to score a pair of passes to the 2020 DJ Expo, plus 4 free hotel nights?

JUST ENTER THE CONTEST & YOU CAN WIN! Here’s How: Submit to us the most useful DJ idea. It can be a tip for anything that relates to DJing, equipment or business – for bedroom, club, or mobile DJs – anything that’ll help the DJ craft. The best response, as determined

by DJ Times editors, will win the prize.

For further details & to enter the contest, please visit: www.djtimes.com/dj-expo-20-contest-win-passes-hotel-stay/ Set for Aug. 10-13 at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., DJ Expo will present the DJ industry’s largest exhibit hall, its top slate of educational seminars, and some of the industry’s most exciting sponsored events.

Produced since 1990 by DJ Times, DJ Expo is America’s longest-running trade show/exhibition for professional DJs. Whether you’re an upstart spinner or a seasoned pro, DJ Expo is always the place to be.

REGISTER AT: DJEXPO.EVENTBRITE.COM /thedjexpo

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AUG 10-13 | ATLANTIC CITY | WWW.THEDJEXPO.COM

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SAMPLING

DJ TIMES

SPRING 2020 ISSUE

MARIBOU STATE: ART OF THE MIX

8

The teenage years are usually the time when one has the most impacting experiences with music. Discovering new artists and genres, sharing live music, having club and festival experiences with your friends – plus all the activities and rituals that go with it – are all part of it. Not the least of these are the playlists you curate to listen to while you’re getting ready, or on your way to a music event.

Liam Ivory and Chris Davids of Maribou State are not teenagers anymore, but they went deep into that time of their lives when putting together their mix compilation, fabric presents Maribou State. Ivory and Davids grew up in one London’s surrounding counties. During their teen years, they would take a train into town, then a subway to the fabric nightclub, specifically for drum-n-bass icon DJ Hype and his True Playaz Friday night party, circa 2005-2006.

“If you didn’t live in London, the only way to get back home was the 6 a.m. train,” remembers Davids. “When you’re 17-years-old, a £100 taxi is not possible. That meant we saw the nights out to finish. That, in itself, is massively influential. To see the night evolve, hear the journey of the sets right to the end, it definitely has its benefits.”

The guys from Maribou State didn’t get into the DJing game until after their first booking, learning the craft on the job. At that point, they had their sets planned down to the second, and Davids brought a desk lamp along to ensure he could see all the buttons on the mixer, as he did not have much practice behind the decks yet.

Now, they’re very comfortable with a two Pioneer CDJs and all of the brand’s mixers. Says Davids, “We’ve never really owned our own decks. Any time new equipment comes out, we discover it when we play and we figure it out as we’re DJing. When we did

our first Boiler Room with Fatboy Slim, we got confronted with a spaceship of a mixing desk and we were figuring it out while we were mixing the set.”

Both their time on the dancefloor and behind the decks have been put to good use on fabric presents Mar ibou State. The mix starts chiming and sweet, with the atmospheric elements of people talking and train wheels clacking in the background. This gives away to soothing, vocal-driven numbers (like as Nick Hakim’s “Cuffed”) suited to getting ready for a night out.

It imperceptibly shifts to a classic disco vibe with dangerously funky basslines and glitter-drenched beats with Risco Connection’s “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now” and Kiki Gyan’s “Disco Dancer.”

The mix even gives a nod to their d-n-b punter experiences. It isn’t until about three-quarters of the way through with Long Island Sound’s “I Still Love You” that a more conventionally club-focused selection is heard. The duo’s own original tracks, “Mother” and “Strange Habits,” and its remix of Radiohead’s “Reckoner” signal the closing out of the mix.

Return to fabric: (from left) Liam Ivory & Chris Davids.

“The approach to the mix was the story of us going to fabric when we were younger, playing on the moments before and the feelings of traveling there,” explains Ivory who, armed with a field recorder, retraced Maribou State’s steps from their early trips to the club. He has captured sounds of the subway, walking from the station, getting into the club, and going from room to room – all are heard on fabric presents Maribou State, giving the mix a unique authenticity.

In addition, fabric furnished Maribou State with archives of DJ Hype’s night from that era. They pulled out the MCs’ chats, which they have peppered through the mix. These, along with all the other elements – field recordings and studio tracks – are processed through a Moog Matriarch synth with an analog delay, which pulls the collection together, giving it a similar tone. After all the pieces went through this process, Ivory and Davids mixed the compilation in Ableton Live.

“When we started making this mix, it was difficult for us to make something that was fully cohesive stretching through all these genres,” says Davids. “We thought of little things we could do to tie everything together, like a keyboard across the mix. At the start of the mix, it slowly filters out through the Moog, then there are delays, and some of our tracks are running through the distorted lo-fi sound.”

Adds Ivory: “We wanted it to be a mix that would stand the test of time. Approaching it in a different way rather than beatmatching track after track, trying to make the mix have more character, more depth in terms of the media that’s in it, having music in there that is more home listening rather than all banging club tracks, and showing the eclecticism of our music taste, that’s the way we could make it truly work outside the walls of fabric.”

– Lily Moayeri

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IN THE STUDIO WITH...

DJ TIMES

SPRING 2020 ISSUE

AMTRAC: M A K I N G “ODDYSSEY”

10

Amtrac: Album #2 was no ordinary follow-up.

Photo by Grant Spanier

A lot can change in nine years. And if you listen to Amtrac’s muchloved 2011 debut, Came Along, and then his “follow-up album” – the recently released Oddyssey – you’ll certainly hear a few differences.

While much of the newer material leans more toward hooky indiepop on cuts like “Accountable” and “Between the Lines,” his crisp productions still offer rich electronic soundscapes, deeply resonant rhythms, deft synth work, and a canny use of samples. And there are other tracks – like album opener, “Ethel” – that are less definable. But they propel a quirky, oddly affecting groove, and stick in your head all day. Ultimately, Oddyssey (Openers/RCA) is quite a ride.

We recently caught up with Amtrac – aka the Kentucky-born, L.A.based Caleb Cornett – to discuss the making of the “difficult second album.”

DJ Times: How are you coping with the health crisis? What’s it like where you’re living?

Amtrac: I’m doing alright. I tend to lose track of time, though. It’s very calm and quiet here where I live, maybe a little too calm.

DJ Times: How are you using this sequestered time?

Amtrac: Just the regularly scheduled programming – “Exploring the World of Sound.” I’ve also learned that there is a so-called “king” of tigers.

DJ Times: What have you learned from the situation in general?

Amtrac: It’s been amazing to see the community come together to help others in need. It’s inspired me to look for ways to help. In this time, I think the internet is more important than ever, helping people stay connected and informed.

DJ Times: Any themed songs for this weird time?

Amtrac: I reckon people are ordering more food than usual, so let’s go with Touch Sensitive’s “Pizza Guy.” DJ Times: How does a guy from Kentucky get turned onto electronic music?

Amtrac: I would have to give most of the credit to MTV, back when they actually played music videos. There was a program on late at night called “Subterranean,” where they played more obscure indie/rock/electronic. But the sound that I really discovered was from the likes of The Chemical Brothers, Moby, and The Prodigy.

DJ Times: What are your main studio set-up?

Amtrac: I’ve used Ableton Live now for over 10 years, so it’s safe to say that’s the main clock. Favorite plug-ins at the moment consist of the Valhalla VintageVerb [reverb], Nomad Factory Cosmos [harmonic exciter/sub generator], and the Soundtoys EchoBoy [echo device]. As for hardware, the Elektron Digitone [synth], Access Virus TI [synth], Strymon BigSky [reverb pedal], Yamaha TX81Z [vintage synth], and Elektron Analog Heat [signal processor].

DJ Times: What’s your studio process?

Amtrac: It all varies, really. Lately, I’ve felt very inspired, so it’s been more natural. I don’t approach it the same way every time. But one method I use is waiting to add drums until later in the journey. I try to create a lush space beforehand. Also, I have to make music or I go a little crazy.

DJ Times: Which producer has made the biggest impression on you?

Amtrac: Siriusmo always comes to mind – his productions still leave me in awe. His music sounds like it came from another planet, one I would like to visit.

DJ Times: For the Oddyssey album, what was your approach? Anything different from previous projects?

Amtrac: Loads and loads of trial-and-error, considering that it took close to 10 years to put out. I had more than enough time to experiment. There were times when the album was wrapped probably four or five times, but then I would re-think everything and be left with maybe two songs. Time and time again going back to the drawing board finally paid off.

DJ Times: What’s your DJ set-up?

Amtrac: Two Pioneer CDJs, one Pioneer DJM mixer and, every once in a while, I require a little mezcal.

DJ Times: Can you give me three favorite venues to DJ? Amtrac: Space in Miami, Elsewhere in Brooklyn, and Sound Nightclub in Los Angeles.

DJ Times: Any advice for young DJs? For up-and-coming producers?

Amtrac: As for DJing, stay true to your sound. Don’t try to imitate what other people are doing. Have your own flavor. As a producer, I would say to keep going, create as much as you can. Try not to get stuck on a project, just move on to another. You’ll learn so much this way.

– Jim Tremayne

Neil Favila

“OUT OF ALL MUSIC GENRES, WE HAVE IT THE BEST. WE CAN MAKE A SONG TONIGHT, PLAY IT TOMORROW, AND KNOW IF WE SHOULD GO WITH IT. YOU CAN’T DO THAT IN THE POP WORLD.”

SETTLED IN After Returning to Clubland a Decade Ago, Marc “MK” Kinchen Remains Deep House’s Main Man

SPRING 2020 ISSUE

By Lily Moayeri

DJ TIMES

Los Angeles – There was a tall, quiet, young man who often stood on the side of the room where the coolest house-music parties happened.

He seemed moody, but really, he was just shy. And he never talked.

“That’s MK,” you’d hear in whispers from party people who are trying not to be obvious, “‘Burning’ MK,” to be specific. For club-music people in the know, that certainly carried some weight.

This was the scene three decades ago, when Marc Kinchen was under 21, and word-of-mouth accolades still meant something. But, as deephouse DJs of the day knew, his tracks backed it all up.

Relatively quickly, MK had become known with numerous original productions (like 1992’s “Burning” feat. Alana) and floor-filling remixes to his name. His remixes were, and still are, so popular that they are ascribed to him more so than the original artist – i.e., MK “Nightcrawlers,” MK “Storm Queen.” (For the record, the remixes were for Nightcrawlers’ “Push the Feeling On” from 1992 and Storm Queen’s “Look Right Through” from 2013.) Still, his career journey has been circuitous.

A Detroit native, Kinchen was weaned in the studios of hometown techno legends, like Kevin Saunderson. Then as now, Motown was a rich musical incubator, but he ventured to New York, a town better suited to his musical style – and the move paid off. At the time, NYC ruled the house-music landscape with clubs like the original Sound Factory and MK’s tunes easily found an audience.

Nonetheless, while still in demand in house-music circles, both Stateside and even more so in the U.K., MK packed off to Los Angeles to produce hip hop and R&B for the hitmakers of those genres (like Pitbull, 702, and Beyoncé). In some quarters, he was spoken of in hushed, revered tones, even more so than before. One of our underground soldiers had successfully crossed over to the unconceivable realm of pop music with our blessing. But he was always going to be ours first.

And then, we got him back, thanks to underground titans Jamie Jones and Lee Foss – and to a lesser degree, Pitbull, who sampled MK’s Nightcrawlers remix on “Hotel Room Service,” his Top-10 hit from 2009. Jones and Foss asked MK to DJ one of their parties, quick blink, and it’s like the decade he was away in Popland never happened. MK landed right back at the top of the game. Headlining slots, sold-out shows, clamoring crowds, magazine covers, remix after remix, collaboration after collaboration, new MK productions, his Area10 label back in business. MK was back.

That was over 10 years ago. Since then, he’s scored with a steady stream of hit productions (like 2017’s “17” and 2019’s “There For You,” a collab with Gorgon City) and influential remixes (like 2013’s “My Head Is a Jungle” by Wankelmut & Emma Louise). Lovers of deep house, including some from different generations who hold contentiously differing definitions of the genre, agree that MK remains a man of the moment.

Now, at the start of his fourth decade in music, Kinchen is still tall, and would be imposing in his DS-2 Death Star T-shirt, if he weren’t so nice and so happy and still so excited to be doing house music. Usually, he’s busy traveling and rarely at his L.A. home. But now with the health crisis impacting everyone’s life, he is there for the foreseeable future, which, on the bright side, means more music production.

Says Kinchen with no small degree of confidence: “I have time to work on a track and not feel rushed. I feel like there will be a lot of really good music coming out over the next six months.” DJs, take note.

DJ Times: How much does traveling as a global DJ impact your production?

MK: It 100-percent affects my production. The last track I did where I didn’t have the pressure of getting on a plane the next day was Storm Queen “Look Right Through.” I had already done two versions of the remix and they were out. I made a third remix because I wanted to. I had maybe two shows a month, so I had free time at home. There was no pressure. I didn’t let anyone hear it. No one knew I was doing it. I had as much as I needed to work on it. That was the last time I had that luxury to work on music like that.

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“FOR SOMEONE TO SAY POP MUSIC IS EASY, GO TRY IT. WRITE A SONG FOR ARIANA GRANDE ANDGET IT ON HER ALBUM. SEE HOW MANY Y E A R S T H AT W I L L TAKE YOU.”

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DJ Times: Working on music while on the road hasn’t been productive for you?

MK: I have a laptop with all my software and all my plug-ins, so I can make music on the road, but it’s hard. I’ve tried to do it on the airplane, but it’s really loud. Then there is the excitement of going to do a show. You’re just not vibing sitting on a plane doing music. Then you get to the city you’re playing in and you have friends who want to have dinner. Then you go for drinks before the show.

Then you do the show and you’re out until 4 in the morning. Then you have to go somewhere the next day. There’s not much time to fully work on a track.

DJ Times: On the other hand, since you’ve been DJing, you have instant feedback on what you’re working on, which you didn’t have before.

MK: Being a DJ and being able to test your tracks and know what works before it even hits is something you can’t buy. The label said no to “17” being a single, but I played it out and the crowd went nuts. I had DMs, screenshots, and I knew it was the single. Out of all music genres, we have it the best. We can make a song tonight, play it tomorrow, and know if we should go with it. You can’t do that in the pop world.

DJ Times: You spent a lot of time in the pop world with some of the most recognizable names in music – Will Smith, Quincy Jones, Pitbull, to mention a few.

At the time you made that shift in the late ’90s, it felt like one of our own had infiltrated the super-high echelons of music.

MK: It felt the opposite of that for me. Working with R&B and hip-hop people, I didn’t feel I could say, “I’m MK – I made house music.” I felt they would say, “OK, and...” So, I never told people. I just acted like I was a new producer and took it from there. Once I got into that world, I wasn’t following dance music at all. That’s when Tiësto and Armin van Buuren were getting massive and that wasn’t my style anyway. I didn’t even know it was still a thing. From where I was, it thought it had died down.

DJ Times: There are many electronic-dance-music producers who think making pop music is a cop out and the easy way out, that slogging away in the trenches is the true art. Having experienced both sides, what is your take on that mindset?

MK: Pop music is so political, way more political than any other music I’ve been in. Quincy Jones signed me to a publishing deal, and I did music for everybody.

DJ Times: You’ve had Area10 since the ’90s. What’s the idea behind the brand?

MK: I’m not the kind of creative person where I know what I want the label to be called and what the logo to look like and for all the artwork to have a sun in it. I like making music. I don’t care about the other stuff. I called it Area10 because it was the name of the parking lot I worked in, simple as that. I put “Burning” out on Area10 because I didn’t have a home for it. I liked the track and no one wanted to put it out, so I put it out. Area10 came up again because I was getting asked to curate my own stage at festivals and I couldn’t call it the “MK Stage,” so I called it Area10. Now there are a lot of shows and bookings with Area10 Presents. I wasn’t thinking about it as a record label until Ultra brought up a label deal. But then I was getting more and more demos I liked, and it became a way to put the songs out. I’m not a label-entrepreneur kind of guy.

I’m not forcing it. It’s very organic.

DJ Times: Over the last 10 years there has been a lot of talk of an MK album, but that talk has dwindled away. Are there plans for an album?

MK: Are albums a thing? Do people buy albums anymore? An album right now is buying 10 songs at one time. I’m not dying to do an album. From what I see, it seems like singles and EPs work.

The more time goes by, the less people seem to actually care about an album. People care more about a mix from me, a live mix or a 60-minute mix than an album.

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DJ Times: What if you have a track that you want to put out, but Sony isn’t behind it. Can you just release it?

MK: I have final say and they have to take it. We’re all friends. We all get along. We all discuss. I have three singles that are done. We’re talking about which one is going to be the next single. It has their input and my input, and we come in at the middle.

DJ TIMES

DJ Times: How has your outlook changed switching from the underground to the mainstream then switching back?

MK: Now I’m political. I’m an artist on Sony and I get submissions sent to me. And I ask: Who did the song? I don’t like their management. Who wrote the song? Who did the keys on it? They did it? Oh, I like them, I want to use it. But, in dance music, it’s the first time I can make a track from start to finish and not give a damn what everyone else thinks. I can say, “This is the single,” and that’s it. There’s so much freedom in this style of music.

DJ Times: With that much freedom and having your own Area10 label, why would you sign with a major label?

MK: When I started out a couple of years ago, I didn’t have a record deal and I didn’t want one, if for no other reason than people not telling me what to do. I wanted to do remixes and put out songs on other labels and I wasn’t interested in being an artist.

It started out as Ultra Records – which, at the time, had a global alliance with Sony – wanting to sign me and it turned into Sony worldwide getting involved. Their offer was the world, excluding North America, so I went with that. I have a label deal with Ultra for Area10, which is separate from MK “the artist.” I can license my MK singles to Ultra individually.

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I went into the studio with, say, Destiny’s Child, recorded a song with them and it didn’t make the album because it wasn’t good enough – but I still got paid. One year, I made $300,000 in fees, and I had one release. It’s not just making a good song. If it was that, I would still be in pop music. You have to deal with managers and their bullshit – and in the urban world, that’s some whole other bullshit.You’re giving people points, production, publishing, in order for them to even use the song, and it doesn’t even matter if the song is good. For someone to say pop music is easy, go try it. Write a song for Ariana Grande and get it on her album. See how many years that will take you.

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Anthony Mooney

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DJ Times: Your remix output is unparalleled, but also unusual. Generally, artists do remixes at the start of their career both for the financial aspect of it, but also to establish themselves. Over 30 years since you got started, you still do more remixes than anything else. Why is that?

MK: It’s been working for me. Nightcrawlers [“Push the Feeling On”] – even though I didn’t make any money from it – made a career for me.

Storm Queen [“Look Right Through”] made a career for me. “My Head Is a Jungle” [by Wankelmut & Emma Louise] made a career for me. I still like doing them. It’s not as much pressure on me as doing an MK record. At the same time, I can monitor the remix before it leaves my studio. If I think it sucks, I tell the record company it’s not going to happen, and I don’t take the money. I turn down a lot of remixes.

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DJ Times: Do you find your remixes dictate your sound?

MK: When I first came back, I feel like I started productions where I left off in ’96. I wasn’t listening to house music the whole time I was in pop music.

One of the first things I did when I came back was Lana del Rey “Blue Jeans,” and people liked it. As I started hearing more what was going on, my style started to change to keep up with the current sound. At that time, deep house was peaking. That’s my shit. I love that stuff. The problem with being hired to do remixes is, if you do something that does well, like “Look Right Through,” everybody wants another “Look Right Through.” That takes me away from the ’90s stuff even more. Then I did “My Head Is a Jungle,” and as a fluke I used piano, and now everyone is looking for a piano in their MK remix. If I didn’t have any commercial releases, if I wasn’t signed to a major, if I was just kind of doing my own thing, and I didn’t have the internet, I probably would sound a lot more ’90s.

DJ Times: What do you mean by if you “didn’t have the internet?”

MK: You can see everything. When I made “Burn-

ing,” I didn’t hear feedback for at least a year. I wasn’t DJing. I wasn’t going to clubs. I wasn’t seeing reactions of tracks. I would go to a club maybe once a month when I was living in New York. But I would listen to mix shows, like Tony Humphries, stuff like that. I didn’t know people liked “Burning.” I only knew from selling the vinyl. The distributor sold 20,000 copies and asked if they could order some more. The way you make music alters by seeing reaction, whether you’re a DJ or just looking online, or if not looking at anything. All three are going to affect the way you make music.

DJ Times: Why weren’t you going to clubs?

MK: When I lived in Detroit, I went out a lot. I was 17, going out with my guy friends, girl friends.

I had gay friends, went to gay clubs. Once I got to New York and started really doing music, I didn’t have a big group of friends. The only friends I had were new DJ friends: Kenny “Dope” [Gonzalez], Louie Vega, Roger Sanchez, Todd Terry. I’d call them to see if they were going out and they would be DJing, so I would go out when they were playing.

But I didn’t have anyone to go out with.

DJ Times: How come you didn’t DJ in the ’90s?

MK: I used to play on the turntables in Kevin Saunderson’s studio. It was boring playing two songs to try and create something when I could just go make a track. It didn’t click with me. Playing vinyl was not my thing.

DJ Times: What changed in the 2000s?

MK: I was using Native Instruments equipment and I saw Traktor. Playing with Traktor and my computer and locking up to Maschine, that was cool.

DJing that way was fun. I can see what’s going on. I can see the waves. I can read the waveforms. I can see when I’m locked up, I can see when I’m out of time, even without hearing it. I can see the effects I want to use. I can see how many minutes before the next break comes. It’s a different way of thinking.

DJ Times: But you’re not using Traktor any-

more?

MK: Bringing in the equipment and loading it in between sets, my manager would be onstage unplugging stuff and getting in the other DJ’s way and pissing everyone off. I decided to stop doing it because it wasn’t cool. I’m using a thumb drive and two or four [Pioneer DJ] CDJs. It works better. I can mix in from someone playing before me. They can mix in after me. It makes more sense.

DJ Times: What percentage of your sets are your original material and remixes?

MK: It used to be 70-percent before… but because I’m on the road a lot more, I don’t have as much output. If I play 20 tracks in a 90-minute set, seven are mine. I try to play other stuff, but I can see people’s faces waiting for me to play something of my own. I get a lot of demos and promos from kids between 18- and 24-years old. Those are my favorite tracks. They’re unpolished. They remind me of me when I was younger. If I can see a potential in a track, I’ll make my own edit. I spend a lot of time preparing, but in a 90-minute set, 40 minutes is just my MK stuff, so there’s not much room. I play differently in North America than in Europe. I like the more underground, deeper stuff. The stuff that doesn’t have to be bass-heavy. North America, the heavier the bass, the more they’re up for it. It doesn’t have to be like that in Europe so much.

They’re a little bit ahead of what’s going on.

DJ Times: It was the British DJs that brought you back to house music.

MK: When Jamie Jones asked me to DJ at a Hot Creations party, I had already figured out I wanted to get back into house music. Pitbull had sampled Nightcrawlers. The underground parties where playing ’90s house. They were playing a lot of my music, which is why they called me to DJ. Even though I didn’t DJ in the ’90s, I always felt like I should have because I wouldn’t have been broke – that was my thought in 2008. I didn’t want to miss that boat again. I was going to DJ. My brother Scottie Deep, who is a DJ, went with me. I picked (continued on page 40)

WHEN YOU’RE IN THE MOMENT

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1 Claude VonStroke, Dirtybird, L.A.

WHETHER THEY’RE PRODUCING,

Constructive activities? Just making music. That’s what I’m good at, so I’m doing it and enjoying it.

The most surprising thing you’ve realized? How much we were working ourselves to death before this. All the cancellations are killing my wallet, but I’m getting some great perspective on life outside of grinding 24/7.

Advice on staying sane? Yeah, don’t spend all day stressing. Take some time for yourself and loved ones.

Theme tunes? I just wrote a quarantine theme song, called “I’m Solo.”

STREAMING OR REFLECTING, GLOBAL DJS EXPLAIN HOW THEY’RE COPING DURING

2 ARTY, Armada Music, L.A.

THE PANDEMIC

What’s it like where you are? I’m in the studio working 24/7 on new music.

Have you lost income-producing work? All of my upcoming shows are cancelled or postponed to later dates this year.

Recommended tunes? The Weeknd’s new album [After Hours] is simply incredible.

Advice on staying sane? Remember, we’re all part of society and we’re in this together.

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BY JIM TREMAYNE

LIFE IN LOCKDOWN

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When the deadly Coronavirus shut us down, clubs and festivals ceased, and everyone was essentially forced inside with no definitive end in sight, DJ Times wondered: How are the global DJs getting by? So, we sent out our “Coronavirus Questionnaire” to DJ/producers from all musical genres to find out.

For our “Life in Lockdown” blogposts, which continue to run on djtimes.com, we asked a variety of questions and received many more answers than you see here. There was near unanimity in that, sadly, all respondents had lost their ability to make money from gigs. On the pro-active side, however, almost all had participated in some live-streaming activity, much of which was new to many of them.

Additionally, all had dedicated much of this forced downtime to the studio and, crucially, engaged in some necessary reflection.

So here’s a presstime sampling of our responses – plus, we offer each DJ’s “theme tunes” for the moment. Feel free to compile them for your own “Pandemic Playlist.”

3 Ferry Corsten, Flashover Recordings, Rotterdam Constructive activities? I can finally take some time off from DJing/travelling and concentrate fully in the studio.

The most surprising thing you’ve realized? The importance of basic hygiene.

Advice on staying sane? Keep calm, be realistic, and think of others, especially those in the higher-risk category.

4 Claptone, Different Recordings, Germany

Constructive activities? Focusing on the positive side of having all this time off from touring around the globe: writing loads of music and spending time with loved ones.

The most surprising thing you’ve realized? That life’s little moments, which we sometimes take for granted, are beautiful and to be cherished.

Advice on staying sane? Positive energy is omnipotent.

Theme tunes? Mötley Crüe’s “Home Sweet Home” or Krush’s “House Arrest.”

shows, but looking at the state of the world, it’s nothing compared to what’s happening around us.

Most surprising thing you’ve realized? People uniting and becoming helpful in these desperate times. Love rules, people.

Advice on staying sane? Re-ignite the flames of some old passion and dig up that hobby that you haven’t had time for.

Theme tunes? “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley.

5 Myd, Ed Banger Records, Paris

What’s it like where you are? The streets are empty. There’s only few people outside. It’s like science fiction. Fortunately, I have my studio at home.

Doing anything now that can or will produce music-related income?

Not really. In France, we have “intermittence” for artists and techni‑ cians. It’s a way to get artists paid the days they don’t work. It’s saving lots of artists now, I think.

Theme tunes? Gérard Palaprat’s “Pour la fin du monde.” I’ll let you translate.

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6 Nicole Moudaber, Mood Records, London

Most surprising thing you’ve realized? Mother Nature is in a major reset right now – she’s telling us to stop. Stop, breathe and take it all in. Meet yourself. Can you be with yourself?

Advice on staying sane? This is a time to be aware of what you want, what you value, what you need.

Theme tunes? Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.”

7 Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, SONO Music, Amsterdam

What’s it like where you are? Very eerie.

Have you lost income-producing work? Yes, we’re gutted from losing

8 Adventure Club, Ultra Music, Montréal

How are you spending your time? No better time than now to buckle down and get some content created.

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Most surprising thing you’ve realized? We actually fall into that meme demographic… “when you realize isolation is just your normal life…”

Theme tunes? “Departure” by Max Richter.

9 KSHMR, Dharma Worldwide, L.A. What’s it like where you are? In a rented house working on new music. As a producer, I tend to be anti-social as it is, so not much has changed.

Most surprising thing you’ve realized? Just how much you can get done when forced into isolation.

Theme tunes? The Doors’ “People Are Strange.”

Most surprising thing you’ve realized? Being stuck at home, where I’m producing music, makes you realize you actually don’t need all the material stuff they make you think you need.

Theme tunes? The Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive.”

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12 Martin Jensen, disco:wax, Copenhagen

Most surprising thing you’ve realized? I’m actually starting to miss sitting in an airplane – that sounds super weird! I’ve started watching YouTube videos of planes – I’m getting a little cuckoo!

Any theme tunes? My latest single, “Carry On” with MOLOW, has the words that we should do now – carry on.

13 Tim Green, All Day I Dream, London What’s it like where you are? The “ghost-town effect” here is really noticeable, feels very strange outside.

Most surprising thing you’ve realized? Genuine acts of kindness do happen.

Theme tunes? Pat Metheny Group’s “To the End of the World.”

14 Hannes Bieger, Awesome Soundwave, Berlin

Constructive activities? I’m making the most of this unexpected pause – writing music, rewiring parts of the studio, things like that.

Most surprising thing you’ve realized? There’s a favorite Michelle Obama adage: “The crisis won’t change who you are – it will reveal who you are!” I was surprised how fast this would actually prove true.

15 Markus Schulz, Coldharbour Recordings, Miami

Most surprising thing you’ve realized? That we take so much of life for granted, and particularly those who work in health services. I think this crisis

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has demonstrated just how amazing, courageous and undervalued these people in our society are.

Advice on staying sane? For your own wellbeing, keep your mind busy. Also, for those in your lives classed as elderly… think of them and do your best to help.

Theme tunes? Here’s three for the trancefamily: Delirium’s “Silence (Tiësto’s In Search of Sunrise Remix),” Markus Schulz feat. Justine Suissa’s “Perception,” and KayCee’s “Escape (Dave Neven Remix).”

16 Mija, Never B Alone, L.A. What’s it like where you are? I’m spending every day at home streaming on Twitch, painting, DJing, and playing Animal Crossing.

Most surprising thing you’ve realized? That there are still people partying and not giving a fuck – it’s insane.

Advice on staying sane? Stay informed, but don’t read too much news – otherwise, your brains will explode.

Theme tunes? Of Montreal’s “The Past Is a Grotesque Animal.”

17 Snakehips, Sony/RCA, London Most surprising thing you’ve realized? It’s difficult to stop English people wanting to go out drinking. Seeing how many people still went out to the pub after [Prime Minister] Boris Johnson made a huge speech ask-

18 SNAILS, Slugz Music, Montréal

What’s it like where you are? Lots of uninterrupted studio time… and video games.

Most surprising thing you’ve realized? Just how much music I can get done in quarantine.

Theme tunes? “The End” by The Doors.

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Any advice on staying sane? Slow down, no need to rush now. Take some time to think about where you are in life and things you’ve accomplished.

Theme tunes? The Specials’ “Ghost Town.”

20 Low Steppa, Simma Black, Cannock, U.K.

Most surprising thing you’ve realized? Sadly, I’ve realized that I didn’t see people enough anyway, as not a lot has changed for me – other than the weekends, of course.

Advice on staying sane? Facetime your pals, stay fit, exercise, watch uplifting movies and listen to my new track! [laughs] Theme tunes? Oasis’ “Let There Be Love.”

21 Tchami, Confession, Paris

Advice on staying sane? Read books, meditate, keep your routine and structure going as much as possible inside your own home. Accept what you can’t change, focus on what you can.

Theme tunes? Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Daddy,” Knxledge’s “mylife,” Youandewan’s “1988,” Mr. Oizo’s “Vous Etes Des Animaux (Positif),” and Jacques’ “Dans La Radio.”

22 Rebecca & Fiona, Big Romantic Music, Stockholm Most surprising thing you’ve realized? How self-centered and ignorant people are. [laughs] Advice on staying sane? Since we’re all in this together, let’s hope that we kk

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can look forward and have a little bit more loving, caring and be careful of each other and the world we live in.

23 Velvet Code, Queenpin/Black Hole/Sony, Toronto What’s it like where are? Toronto is looking very creepy right now – empty streets and lonely souls. Scary times!

Advice on staying sane? Turn off your mind. Turn off the news. Turn up the love! Turn up the music!

Theme tunes? “Everything Will Be Alright” by The Killers, “Major Tom” by Peter Schilling; “Leave the World Behind” by Axwell, Ingrosso, Angello, & Laidback Luke feat. Deborah Cox. 24 Morgan Page, Armada Music, L.A. Advice on staying sane? This is the most unique opportunity of your lifetime, so don’t waste it. Learn new skills, bring value to other people, build content, get off your phone, stop checking the news so often and do something physical.

Theme tunes? Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Start Now.” 25 Darude, Armada/Black Hole, Salo, Finland

Most surprising thing you’ve realized? How hard it is for some people to

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11 Lost Frequencies, Found Frequencies, Brussels

ing people not to was pretty hilarious… and kinda tragic at the same time.

Theme tunes? Akon’s “Locked Up.”

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10 Yves V, Spinnin’ Records, Antwerp Advice on staying sane? Surround yourself with loved ones, if you can, and stay creative.

Theme tunes? The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go.”

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“IF YOU GOT YOUR HOUSE, YOUR HEALTH AND YOUR FOOD, BE GRATEFUL THAT YOU CAN EVEN AFFORD TO BE BORED LIKE THIS.” — SPAG HEDDY

Advice on staying sane? Being creative is the best way to spend your time, if you can. If not, keep active and interested in new things.

30 Alison Wonderland, EMI, L.A.

What’s it like where you are? Going a little stir crazy, but on the plus side, the pollution levels here have lowered a lot, I’m learning to cook and

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I’m spending time in my studio.

Advice on staying sane? Call your friends, make sure you have structure during the day and set goals.

Theme tunes? My new track with Phem: “W.W.C.B.D.” – i.e., “wut wud carole baskin do?”

31 Party Favor, Area 25/Mad Decent, L.A.

Constructive activities? Practicing the piano. I am also challenging myself to produce a beat a day. No genre or vibe rules… just creating. It has really made me enjoy making music again.

Most surprising thing you’ve realized? Time flies, for some reason, when you are stuck at home. I would have thought the exact opposite [laughs].

Theme tunes? “Mad World” by Gary Jules & Michael Andrews.

32 Willaris. K, Astralwerks, Melbourne Advice on staying sane? Go outside and do some form of exercise in the morning, even if it’s just a walk – it makes a huge difference. I found that just getting dressed is effective, but I do find myself still kicking it in my pajamas in the p.m. regularly.

Theme tunes? I’ve been loving the new Against All Logic album, If You Can’t Do It Good, Do It Hard.

follow instructions from local authorities. We all need to take this seriously, especially for our healthcare workers and risk groups.

Theme tunes? “Ba55 Camp” by Genix, “Rooftops” by Super 8 & Tab feat.

Christina Novelli, and “Sucker for Love (Lumïsade Balearic Mix)” by Armin van Buuren & Avalan.

26 Steve Bug, Poker Flat, Berlin Most surprising thing you’ve realized? How little problem I have with [social distancing], and how big of an issue it is for others.

Theme tunes? “Let’s Go to Bed” by The Cure, “Out of Touch” by Hall & Oates, “Good to Be Back at Home” by Charles Bradley, “When the Cookie Jar Is Empty” by Michael Franks, “Protection” by Massive Attack, “Soon I’ll Be Loving You Again” by Marvin Gaye, “No One” by Alicia Keys, “Let Me Go”

by Heaven 17, “I’ve Seen That Face Before” by Grace Jones and “Enjoy the Silence” by Depeche Mode.

Advice on staying sane? Basically, keep yourself entertained – this includes learning about yourself.

33 San Holo, bitbird, The Hague Advice on staying sane? This is the time to find out what you want from life, especially if you’re stuck in a job or life situation you’re not happy with.

Nothing lasts forever and brighter days will definitely come.

Theme tunes? American Football’s “Stay Home.”

27 Spag Heddy, Never Say Die, Barcelona What’s it like where you are? At 8 p.m. every night, people step out lj

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on their balconies or hang out the window and applaud as support for the sanitary workers.

Most surprising thing you’ve realized? If you got your house, your health and your food, be grateful that you can even afford to be bored like this.

Advice on staying sane? Just stay busy, and preferably stay off social media.

Theme tunes? “Survivor” by Destiny’s Child.

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28 Gregor Tresher, Break New Soil, Frankfurt

Constructive activities? Just producing music. But it all comes down to the question: When can the nightlife commence again?

Advice on staying sane? Remember that we will all dance together again.

Theme tunes? Depeche Mode’s “Shake The Diseases.”

29 Gorgon City, Astralwerks/Virgin, London Most surprising thing you’ve realized? How much our society relies of human interaction. The whole music world is revolved around collaboration, crowds and travelling. Also, this period will increase the attention on livestreaming in general and certain platforms will become more influential in the music world.

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34 Dave Audé, Audacious Records, Nashville

Advice on staying sane? Get in the studio, remember why you started DJing in the first place, and have some fun. I think we all need music more now than ever before.

Theme tunes? ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky.” At the end of the rainy period, the sun will come out. I’m looking forward to that.

35 Alan Fitzpatrick, We Are The Brave, Southampton, U.K. Constructive activities? I’m smashing it in the studio. To be honest, my creativity is thriving at the minute. I’m learning Photoshop and abstract art, challenging myself on new synths and learning to play the guitar... again [laughs].

Theme tunes? Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer,” Bloc Party’s “I Still Remember” and The Smiths’ “There Is a Light and It Never Goes Out.” Advice on staying sane? Just try to remember that no storm lasts forever and, if you’re still struggling, imagine how insane the first party will be once the restrictions are lifted. Can’t wait!

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Atlantic City, N.J. – After enjoying further growth with its 2019 show, DJ Expo will return to AC’s lively Marina District for its 2020 edition.

Set for August 10-13 at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City, DJ Expo will present its winning slate of DJ-related exhibitions, educational seminars/keynotes, and sponsored evening events. Now in its 31st year, DJ Expo is produced by DJ Times magazine and its publisher, Testa Communications, and it remains America’s longest-running and most-successful DJ conference/exhibition.

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ARE YOU A

REDLINING DJ?

A Former Club Owner Sounds Off on Cringe-Worthy Habits of DJs

By Borzoo Mehrzad

DJ TIMES

SPRING 2020 ISSUE

A basic idea: It is the DJ’s job to monitor both individual channels and master level on their mixer to make sure the meter is not hitting the red.

Good DJs will ensure that they keep a consistent level throughout their set, so not only their mix is not in the red, but also their overall mix level is not fluctuating from one track to another. But unfortunately, not all DJs do that.

Redlining is another term for clipping an audio signal or sending a “hot signal.”

Clipping will result in deterioration of sound and it can cause distortion and also damage to equipment if there are no protections in the signal chain.

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Ninety-percent of professionally set-up sound systems in clubs, venues and festivals will have some kind of protection in place. The system will try to correct the clipping by limiting and compressing the signal. So clipping the signal won’t necessarily make the audio louder, but it will start compressing and limiting – which will sound awful.

Alternatively, a sound technician or an automated device such as a “Leveliza” – which some clubs have started implementing to combat careless DJs – has to constantly correct the levels between the DJ mixer and the main PA. Now, to get more technical: music contains a series of sine waves across the audible frequency spectrum (20Hz -20KHz). Each musical note has a certain tone – for example, A4 is normally 440 Hz. When any frequency or a combination of frequencies is pushed into the red, the sine wave starts getting flat at the apex of the wave instead of round – and that’s what deterioration and distortion looks like visually.

A good analogy for those of you who’ve driven a car with a manual gearbox is to think of it as an engine that’s rated for max 7000 RPM and you’re revving it to 7,500 RPM without shifting to a higher gear or taking your foot off the pedal.

The engine is going to scream and something is going to fail eventually if you keep doing that.

So, in short – “DO NOT REDLINE!” Almost all DJ mixers have either LED meters or VU meters that show the level of audio signal for individual channels, as well as the summation of all channels that are outputting signal, also known as master or program. Like I said, the DJ needs to monitor both individual channels and master level to make sure the meter is not hitting the red. Not only that, a good DJ will ensure that they keep a consistent level throughout their set so they’re not in the red and their overall mix level stays consistent from one track to another.

That, of course, doesn’t mean turning up the gain or EQs or adding crazy effects when the track is in a breakdown. That’s one of the cringe-worthy bad habits that I’ve witnessed some DJs do. Music needs to breathe and have a dynamic range, which has already been compromised these days with modern mastering practices where everything is oversaturated compared to a couple decades ago.

In my opinion, DJs who overdo effects and manipulation do a disservice to the music that was intended to sound a certain way by the producer who made that music. There is always a fine line between creativity and destroying the music.

There are many reasons for DJs redlining, but I haven’t been able to pinpoint to a definitive pattern as to how frequently they do it or would likely to do it or wouldn’t. Let’s just say, they do it more often than not, unfortunately!

I’ve had an entire festival line up of DJs who were older (with often more compromised hearing) and they all stayed out of red; and I’ve had much younger DJs who were really pushing things into clipping.

Here are some of the factors that contribute to DJ Redlining: 1. LACK OF EDUCATION AND PROPER TRAINING. Most DJs, both inexperienced and some with 30-plus years of experience, are selftaught. There is no degree or formal education for DJing. There are a lot of good sources out there to learn the craft properly, but for most DJs they’ve picked up a lot of bad habits along the way and they haven’t been corrected or if they have, their egos and stubbornness prevents them from correcting those errors.

Sound technicians are too shy, polite, or don’t care enough to confront DJs who are redlining or mistreating the equipment – especially the bigger profile touring DJs with godly status. When a sound technician does confront the DJ, most club owners, managers and promoters don’t back the sound techs. You can have the best sound system and the best gear, but if the DJ is using it incorrectly or the music source is low quality MP3s or a scratched record, the sound technician can’t perform a miracle and make it sound better. The DJs are the first line of defense and in charge of the source.

Don’t get me wrong – some of the DJs are very self-aware and concerned about their hearing health, but those are rare breeds.

“DJS WHO OVERDO EFFECTS AND MANIPULATION DO A DISSERVICE TO THE MUSIC THAT WAS INTENDED TO SOUND A CERTAIN WAY BY THE PRODUCER WHO MADE THAT MUSIC.”

3. INSUFFICIENT MONITORING SYSTEM OR INCORRECT SOUND-SYSTEM DESIGN. We can’t really blame this one on DJs, but it’s a major issue in over 60-percent of DJ booths that I’ve ever played in or visited, especially in nightclubs. In any other industry, this issue would’ve been addressed by some kind of health authority or if DJing was a unionized profession. But for whatever reason, everyone has turned a blind eye to this issue. Let me elaborate.

A good DJ booth needs a high level of isolation from the main sound system in order for the monitors to be at a comfortable and safe level without the DJ hearing the main system. Before saying the DJs need to be close to the crowd to have a close connection and feedback from the dancefloor, I agree 100-percent, but there are simple ways to do that and still isolate the booth enough so that DJs aren’t pushing the monitors and headphones into dangerous dB levels (over 95 dB).

When the sound system design fails to address that, DJs have no choice but to turn up the monitors and headphones too loud to mask the main system, or to wear earplugs. Wearing earplugs while DJing should be the last resort and, in my opinion, is just a Band-Aid solution.

Even the best custom-build molded earplugs don’t have a flat frequency response, and will compromise the overall experience for the DJ. The other issue is that when DJs start mixing with earplugs, they start pushing the system really loud and, if the monitoring system is insufficient and does not have enough head room and gets maxed out, it results in DJs pushing the level in the red again.

One of my pet peeves is when I see DJs mixing with earplugs before testing the sound system and monitoring system to see whether they need earplugs or it’s setup properly and they can mix at a comfortable level without needing earplugs – hence my advice to always reset the booth and headphones before n starting to mix.

A former club owner, Borzoo Mehrzad owns Ulloriaq, a firm in Toronto that specializes in producing parties and festivals as well as consultation for a variety of related services.

SPRING 2020 ISSUE

a professional series line where there was no master-volume knob accessible to the DJs or one that only the sound engineer had access to, but unfortunately that’s not the case.

Second Step: Set the booth (monitor) level to - ∞ or off and slowly bring it up to the level that is just a notch louder than the main PA, so you’re masking the sound bleeding into the DJ booth from the main PA. You should do this step at the beginning of your set and when you’re taking over from another DJ (it’s called re-setting the booth).

If you’re the opening DJ, the main PA may not be as loud in the beginning and the house engineer might turn it up throughout the show, as the dancefloor starts to fill up, so you may have to increase your booth when you start hearing the main PA bleed into the booth.

It is also good practice to reset your booth every half hour, because the human ear starts getting tired – especially in louder than normal levels and DJs get ear fatigue after mixing for a while, assuming alcohol and substances aren’t a contributing factor to the overall ability of brain processing information. DJs start turning up their monitors and headphones little by little as a result of ear fatigue until they max it out and the monitoring system and the headphones have nowhere else to go, then they start pushing the gains into the red.

So reset your booth and headphones every half an hour and give your ears 30 seconds to a minute of rest and start bringing the level up slowly, you’ll find that when you couldn’t hear things at the volume knob being at 12 o’clock just 30 seconds ago, it becomes too loud and you can hear things perfectly at 8 o’clock!

You will thank me later that night when your ears are not ringing.

Third Step: Set the level on your headphones. Most DJs make the mistake of setting their headphone level much louder than their booth level. That will only result in a battle between the headphone level and booth level; the correct practice is to try to set both levels at the same level. This may be a little difficult at first because the sound coming out of your monitor speakers and headphones are voiced differently, and also the monitors are slightly delayed due to their physical distance so one may be perceived louder even if they’re at the same level, but that’s usually not a major factor and could be achieved easily with some trial and error.

DJ TIMES

2. INCORRECT CUEING. Cueing, as you surely know, is when the DJ is listening to the next track in their headphones and setting the cue point (starting point of a track) or beat matching (syncing the tempo of the two tracks) before bringing the new track into the mix, so everyone else can hear it. While the crowd only hears what comes out of the “main” speakers, the DJ has to deal with three sources of sound: One, the main PA, or what the crowd hears in the space.

Two, the Booth that is a reference monitoring system that reproduces what the crowd hears, but at a much closer physical distance to the DJ to reduce the time delay and mask the sound coming from the main PA or the reflection of the main PA, into the DJ booth.

And three, DJ headphones or in-ear monitors, and is the audio source that the DJ uses to cue. What ends up happening and is a factor contributing into redlining or pushing the booth monitors into dangerous levels, is the fact that some DJs don’t know how to set the levels on those sources correctly.

Ideally, the correct way to set the levels is as follows: First step: DO NOT TOUCH the master volume in a club or festival situation – leave that to the sound tech to set it at the appropriate level, based on their strategy to do their gain staging. If you think the room is too quiet or too loud, ask the house engineer to double-check instead of messing with the master output. I really wish the standard club mixers came with

23

DJ / CLUBWORLD / SPOTLIGHT

SXM Fest stressed safety & sustainability.

Off Brand Project

Day Party: Fun in the sun.

James Bridle

SXM Fest’s late-night action.

James Bridle

BLOND:ISH gets her groove on.

Christian Lamb

DJ TIMES

SPRING 2020 ISSUE

SXM Fest was slated for 9 island venues.

Off Brand Project

Sunrise Set: YokoO lets loose.

Alec Donnel

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Island Madness: Beats get bumpin’.

James Bridle

Animal Magic: Bonobo (aka Simon Green) Christian Lamb

LAST PARTY THE LAST PARTY DJ TIMES

St Martin’s SXM Fest Got in Just Under the Wire

SPRING 2020 ISSUE

By Chris Davis

).

Flying Circus: Audiofly in the mix.

Christian Lamb

St. Martin – This past March 11-15, shortly before the western world began feeling the effects of COVID-19, SXM Festival 2020 opened its gates for an impressive fourth edition on the beautiful Caribbean island of St. Martin (a.k.a. Sint Maarten). Top DJs in paradise? Count us in!

However, it’s now clear that had the event occurred just one week later, it would have been cancelled altogether. Lucky for us, most of SXM Fest got in just under the wire.

Before COVID-19 cancellations began, SXM Festival boasted nine scenic island venues and an impressive lineup that included Audiofly, Bedouin, BLOND:ISH, Bonobo (DJ Set), Cassy, Chaim, Danny Tenaglia, DJ Tennis, DJ W!ld, Dyed Soundorom, Joeski, John Acquaviva, Loco Dice, M.A.N.D.Y., Marco Carola, Nitin, Raresh, Ricardo Villalobos, Sonja Moonear, tINI, wAFF, YokoO, and many more.

While the island only had two confirmed COVID-19 cases at the start of the festival, as a precautionary measure, the local St. Martin government imposed a ban on travelers originating from mainland China, Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. This forced some DJs to immediately cancel their performances. Cancellations from other performers, such as Ricardo Villalobos, Danny Tenaglia and Cassy, came in the following days, as general nervousness began seeping into the public consciousness over COVID-19.

Accordingly, SXM Festival enacted its own precautions to ensure attendees stayed safe. All boat parties and events scheduled at Lotus nightclub were cancelled, and revelers had to undergo a mandatory temperature check and hand-sanitizer application before they were granted entry into the main festival area. All events on the final day of the festival were also cancelled, out of extreme precaution.

Taking the precautions seriously, DJ Times still had a fantastic time attending the events that remained. YokoO’s uncharacteristically dark, sunrise DJ set at Bohō Beach was a highlight, as was Bonobo’s headlining DJ set at the Happy Bay beachfront stage. Sonja Moonear also headlined Happy Bay, delivering a banging closing set to a backdrop of fireworks that had originally been reserved for Sunday night.

Beyond the music, SXM dove deep into sustainability initiatives for 2020, encouraging attendees to take a beat from partying to participate in a number of sustainability activities, including the ByeByePlastic Cleanup of the iconic Sandy Ground Beach. ByeByePlastic was founded by SXM veteran BLOND:ISH. SXM also featured the SXM Doet Volunteer Program, the largest volunteer initiative in Saint Martin and the Dutch Kingdom. Lastly, visitors were encouraged to offset their carbon impact from air travel to the island by calculating the emissions released via their journey and donating to Climate Futures’ Peace Boat Project.

Even given the limitations and cancellations, DJs valiantly took up the mantle and threw a party we’ll always remember. We remain hopeful that the world will make it past COVID-19 and that SXM Festival will return even stronger in 2021.

Stay safe!

Paradise: Downtime at SXM Fest.

Alec Donnel

25

DJ / CLUBWORLD / Hot Shots

BIG IN BOSTON BNEG’s Big Night Live Brings the Party to Beantown

By Brian Bonavoglia

Big Room: BNL fits 2,200 patrons.

Bass House: Joyryde in the mix.

DJ TIMES

SPRING 2020 ISSUE

DJ Booth: Joyryde delivers the goods.

26

Opener: 1788-L gets groovin’.

BIG NIGHT LIVE: SOUND & LIGHTING For the venue’s production details, we connected with Mike Green, Big Night Live’s in-house tech.

What’s in the sound system at Big Night Live?

We use QSC Q-Sys signal processing, audio control and loudspeaker management, plus Funktion-One speakers all over the venue.

And lighting and animation? Lights from Clay Paky, Elation, and Martin, plus an MA Lighting grandMA2 Full-Size desk, and a $3.9-million video wall – all installed by Gateway Productions.

What’s usually in the DJ’s tech rider?

Pioneer DJ CDJ2000s and a DJM-900NXS2 mixer, wireless mic, video walls, and CO2 Cryogenic effects.

What’s the strangest request you got in a DJ’s rider?

We have DJs ask for pretty much everything in the book to keep it fun. My favorite was someone asking for another DJ’s laptop.

– B.B.

Big Night Live: Funktion-One sound & more.

Post-Show: Joyryde greets his fans.

Lit Up: Top-tier lighting at BNL.

Boston, Mass. – For those looking to get their party on with live music or DJs providing the soundtrack, Boston has always been a town with plenty of venue options. And these days, local company Big Night Entertainment Group (BNEG) stands as Boston’s most notable provider.

Already boasting an already impressive roster of clubs like The Grand and Mémoire (the latter inside the Encore Hotel), BNEG also has scored with Big Night Live, which has become a hotspot for electronic dance music. In a prime location just steps away from TD Garden in the heart of Boston, Big Night Live is a modern event space featuring luxury “pod seating” including mezzanine viewing, which accommodates up to 2,200 guests.

Well before the country went into lockdown, DJ Times made its way to Beantown for a weekend at the lavish Encore Hotel to check out Mémoire and Big Night Live, where we caught a big blast of bass music. At BNL, we saw mid-tempo mastermind 1788-L open for Brit bass-house star Joyryde. Afterward we caught up with BNEG partner Randy Greenstein to discuss what gets Boston going. (A Note: You can visit the company’s site, www.bneg.com, to see which initiatives BNEG has undertaken to raise money for worthy causes during the pandemic.)

How did BNEG Nightlife get started? It started once BNEG opened multiple nightclubs in New England. BNEG first started with Shrine at Foxwoods in Connecticut; but when we opened The Grand in 2017, we started a BNEG Nightlife DJ residency program over both venues. Then, we opened Mémoire inside Encore Boston Harbor, a Wynn Resort, in June 2019, and now Big Night Live performance space in October 2019. So we’ve combined them all with our nightlife-driven restaurants to focus on DJ and marketing programs across all of our venues.

What were the early days like? Our last 12 years have been fascinating. Ed Kane, Joe Kane and I started this business to actually throw sponsored event and parties. But then we got the opportunity to open Shrine – and in the last 12 years launched 14 locations representing 18 brands. It’s been a wild ride. Of course, growing has pains, but I’d say we are very fortunate and thankful. All the pains have been worth growing to 1,500 employees, 18 venues and over $100M in annual gross revenues.

Tell us a little about Big Night Live and its prime location. Big Night Live is a special/magical space. It’s 43,000 square feet, holding over 2,200 people, including a live performance space for DJ and band (1,400 capacity), a Guy Fieri’s Tequila Cocina and an event space called Studio B for private events for 400-plus. It’s 10 feet from the front doors of Boston’s TD Garden with over 200 events a year inside. It’s a truly remarkable space and a million-dollar Funktion-One sound system, plus a million-dollar lighting/visual production package. We have a 40-foot stage, 24 VIP boxes and two sky boxes overlooking the stage. You really have to see it for yourself.

How would you describe Boston’s nightlife? Boston’s nightlife scene has exploded over the last couple of years.

Starting with the opening of our $14-million nightclub in Boston’s seaport, The Grand has brought Boston its first Vegasstyle nightclub. Boston has always been known for its music scene and we believe that has crossed over to its nightclub scene. It’s an inclusive city where everyone comes out to party and enjoy the music together.

Which DJs made you a fan with their performance?

No. 1 was definitely Armin van Buuren. I had never heard him play live before The Grand last year, and it was one of the most fun nights and sets ever. I’m always a fan of Steve Aoki’s performances – and cake throwing. We’ve had him over two dozen times over the past 12 years at all of our spots.

What’s your background, as it relates to music?

I grew up working at KISS 108 radio in Boston and DJing clubs for 14-plus years prior to opening Shrine. I love electronic music – it’s my preferred music. So owning and operating all of these exciting clubs and hosting 500-plus DJs a year in our venues is truly a dream come true. Now my son is even producing electronic-dance music as The Breakbomb Project, so I get to go into his studio and be a part of his creations, too – so fun!

MAKING TRACKS STUDIO…HARDWARE…SOFTWARE…

Vocal ReSynthesis: OVox offers creative options.

DJ TIMES

SPRING 2020 ISSUE

WAVES OVOX: POWERFUL PLUG-IN

28

At the Winter NAMM show this past January, as DJ Times editor Jim Tremayne and I were making our way from appointment to appointment to see what was new, there was one stop I was particularly looking forward to: Waves Audio. I’d gotten the press information for their latest plug-in prior to the show, and to be honest, I was fairly excited to kick the tires on the software.

Waves has been producing music software for nearly three decades now, having been founded clear back in 1992. With its roots in Israel today, Waves has offices in five countries around the globe. And while perhaps best known for its effects and mastering plug-ins, the company has a growing line of offerings that take it well beyond the EQs, reverbs and other tools most people associate with the brand.

One of those more recent offerings is the OVox Vocal ReSynthesis plug-in. If you’re familiar with classic vocoder or talkbox effects, then you get the general idea. But OVox goes well beyond these familiar vocal morphing capabilities to deliver myriad sound transformations. The demo on the NAMM show floor put a smile on my face, and I couldn’t wait to put my hands on the plug-in myself.

The Basics: OVox is designed to take an audio source — typically the human voice, whether spoken or sung — then use it to modulate a synthesizer. The result is a sound that tracks the source and can retain many of its basic characteristics. But OVox brings more to the table. First, you can add in pitch correction in the style of Auto-Tune, along with leveraging features that let you create rich harmonizations.

OVox is useful for music producers, but its value extends to other types of production, including cinematic audio processing. Have a need to create an alien voice for a new sci-fi movie, for example? OVox is your tool for such adventures as well.

How It Works: Waves refers to the techniques used by OVox as Organic ReSynthesis, or ORS. The entire process begins with the incoming signal. OVox detects the incoming notes, whatever the source, and allows them to be mapped to one or more other notes (for harmonization and chord construction), and after mapping, processes those notes. OVox includes twin processing units — OVox 1 and OVox 2. Each of them includes an oscillator, along with a noise generator, formant filter and various controls.

As you likely know, formants are generally defined as the characteristic components of speech, independent of pitch. The formant filter in OVox, therefore, analyzes the formants in the source, creating a filter that is subsequently applied to the carrier signal of the software’s synthesizer, modulating it. When you apply the amplitude of the original signal to the carrier, you get a result that’s essentially the same as classic vocoding. You can also dial that

By Wesley Bryant-King

element back, revealing more of the synth’s carrier, allowing you to explore other types of sound manipulation and a wide range of sound design possibilities.

But moreover, the bigger picture here is that any of the core elements of the input — amplitude, pitch or formant — can be used as modulation sources across a wide range of sound generation and shaping controls. Because of this approach and its flexibility, the palette of possibilities here is impressive.

In addition to the amplitude, pitch and formant, there are four independent modulators that each have their own LFO and sequencebased modulation capabilities. Like the input-based modulators, they can be dragged and dropped to virtually any parameter as well. There are also a pair of independent ADSR envelope modulators, and they too can be dragged and dropped to parameters throughout the software. Of course, EQ and effects are on-board as well for further shaping and control options.

Considering that I did mention formants a moment ago, it’s worth mentioning that OVox is intended primarily to be applied to vocals.

However, it’s definitely not limited to that; you can patch-in OVox on synth tracks, string instruments like guitars and basses, and even with source material like live beatboxing, for some very interesting results.

Installation & Use: Installing OVox is a breeze; the company’s Waves Central software — their unified installation and license management tool — makes it very simple indeed to see what software you’ve licensed, and to properly install and activate it, automatically, with minimal intervention.

OVox is provided both as a plug-in supporting all the modern plug-in formats for broad DAW compatibility, as well as a standalone version. The standalone is a great way to just get a feel for what’s going, kick the tires, hear the presets, and tinker around without the overhead of loading a DAW. But whether you load it standalone or patch it onto a track in your DAW, when loading, it initially comes up in its simplified main view.

The intent here is clearly to avoid overwhelming users with a lot of controls and settings when they’re just learning. But there is an extended view where the software reveals all its nuts and bolts, and the full range of tweaking capabilities.

To get you started, the software comes with tons of presets, grouped into categories including vocoding, vocal comping, doubler, voice effects, synth, and more. There is literally far too much here to cover in the space available; suffice it to say that Waves (continued on page 42)

MAINSTAGE

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SOUNDING OFF PLAYBACK…PRO AUDIO…PROCESSING

TRAKTOR KONTROL S3: QUALITY 4-DECK UNIT

DJ TIMES

SPRING 2020 ISSUE

By Wesley Bryant-King

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Over the 11-plus years that I’ve been writing for DJ Times, I’ve seen a lot of hardware and a lot of software for performing DJ sets. And these days, the choices are wider and better than they ever have been. But clear back in 2006 when I first started DJing, I went down the digital path, and the software I chose when I first started was Traktor from Germany’s Native Instruments.

And when the gig calls for me to use a laptop and take advantage of my full digital collection and years of accumulated songs and their metadata (song tags, ratings, styles, BPMs, keys, cue points, etc.), I still primarily use Traktor. Let’s just say I have a soft spot for this software — and the terrific hardware that N.I. has put out over the years to support it.

N.I. has had three primary Traktor controllers on the market for some time now: The Traktor Kontrol S2, S4 and the cooly received (and unusual) S8. Late last year, N.I. decided to expand that family to fill a perceived gap between the very capable 4-channel S4 (at a suggested $999), and the much more strip-downed, entry-level-focused S2 (at a suggested $339). The gap filler? The Traktor Kontrol S3, the subject of this review.

And, at a suggested $649, it’s almost exactly halfway (pricewise) between the S2 and S4.

What’s Different? Like the S4, the Traktor Kontrol S3 is a proper 4-channel controller, with faders and controls for all four provided in hardware (with no shifting of shared controls). Obviously with two deck sections, transport controls are shared, with clear selector buttons to the lower left of the platters to swap out the decks when needed. The 4-channel support immediately, in my view, makes it a much more serious controller than the S2 (which has only two channels surfaced directly in the hardware).

So, what did N.I. change to get the price point down? For a start, the company removed the “Haptic Drive” motorized jog wheels. I actually really liked these controls on the S4, but I think they actually were a smart candidate to remove in the name of a more affordable controller. Also missing are the onboard color displays. Again, these are nice to have; they look nice, and they do enhance the experience of using the S4. But are they strictly necessary? Not really. N.I. also chose to strip out the deck-effects controls for the S3. The utility of the deck effects depends entirely on your DJ style. The S3 still offers access to Traktor’s mixer effects, which are interesting, but not as sophisticated.

Finally, N.I. took the standalone mixer capability of the S4 off the table for the S3, and this is probably the single most relevant factor in allowing the reduced price point. Again, if you’re a laptop-centric DJ with your music collection on the computer, those standalone mixing abilities just aren’t going to be something you use. You still get one stereo line input should you wish to incorporate external sources into your set.

Installation & Use: As always, Native Instruments provides a really pleasant out-ofthe-box experience. When you open up the Traktor Kontrol S3, you’ll find a black envelope with your serial number information, and instructions for downloading the bundled Traktor Pro 3 software — or if you prefer, the Traktor DJ 2 app on an iPad, which the S3 also directly supports. (continued on page 42)

Native Instruments’ S3: Mid-market, but feature-filled.

MAINSTAGE

GOOD THINGS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES The Event-26A & 115A are an innovative and ultra-compact addition to the DAS Audio Event Series that delivers impeccable performance across a variety of applications such as installations, touring & mobile setups. Incorporating the latest engineering technology to provide great sound in the simplest way possible, making transport and setup a breeze! www.dasaudio.com/en/products/systems/event-series/

DNP'S DS620A DNP's flagship DS620A dye-sublimation printer is the world’s most compact professional digital photo printer. With its wide range of print size options, quick output, and innovative print technology, the DS620A is an extremely valuable revenue-generating asset for professional photographers and retail store operators offering photo-printing services. www.dnpphoto.com/en-us/Products/Printers/DS620A

SIR IVAN - “HAPPY TOGETHER” REMIX EP International Pop/Dance superstar and Top 10 Billboard recording artist Sir Ivan releases "Happy Together" with all-star remixers DJs From Mars, Moto Blanco, Ralphi Rosario, Bimbo Jones, and 7th Heaven. Out now on Peaceman Music. www.fanlink.to/happy-together

MOBILE PROFILE CAREERS…INNOVATIONS…SUCCESS STORIES

SEATTLE DJ HONES HIS SKILLS

By Stu Kearns

Seattle, Wash. — Alan Chitlik’s first job was as a newspaper reporter. One day he’d be covering a business acquisition, the next day a county fair, or maybe a murder trial. He says the experience served him well as a mobile DJ. “In journalism, you potentially have a lot of people reading your work and commenting on it,” he says. “So you really have to understand each story to get it right and that comes from listening and asking good questions.”

Turns out good questions can be the basis of a profitable DJ business. We asked Chitlik, the owner of Seattle’s Puget Sound DJ, about it.

DJ TIMES

SPRING 2020 ISSUE

DJ Times: Buffet game at a wedding: You’ll ask questions, a quiz, about the couple – let’s talk about that.

Alan Chitlik: One of my favorite activities is to invite guests to the buffet with trivia questions about the couple. I love that it adds some entertainment to a time – waiting to go to the buffet – that is often kind of boring. It gives me a chance to go up to each table and establish a bit of rapport with them. And if they are struggling with the answer, I’m ad-libbing a bit to help them. Maybe offer a multiple choice, maybe encouraging them to phone a friend or something. It keeps it light. At the end of the night, I definitely get feedback from guests that it was one of their favorite parts of the night.

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Your website has lead-generation forms.

How do you drive traffic, and when do you introduce pricing in the sales cycle?

One defining characteristic of my couples is that they take the decision of selecting the right DJ seriously… that they start with the premise that it’s an important element of the wedding they want to have. So my website is designed to give them lots of information about me and who I am and lots of quotes from couples about what was the impact of working with me on their wedding. The amount of information might be a turn-off to some people, but the people who stick around can learn a lot.

Most of my leads come through my contact form on my website. My goal is to answer that inquiry

as soon as I can. In that initial interaction, I’m hoping to get them to agree to a phone call or video chat. In that case, if it goes well, I’ll suggest grabbing coffee for a more in-depth discussion.

I will answer the price question directly whenever they ask it or whenever it comes up. My couples have told me pretty consistently that I’m offered good value for the impact that I have on weddings, so I don’t shy away from it or make couples go through a lot of hoops to get a price.

You’ve said you find the personal touch and human connection to be really rewarding. How? That’s true, but my couples also like me integrating technology to make their process as smooth as possible. For instance, I have several dozen song lists from ceremony to last dance on Spotify. On my flyers and business cards, they can scan a logo and be taken immediately to all those lists. When they are selecting their music through their page in DJ Event Planner, they can easily pick songs from my Spotify lists or ones that they create themselves.

Couples can sign their contracts online. When they want to set up appointments with me, I have pages set up for different kinds of meetings, where they have direct access to my calendar, so they can just pick whatever time and place works for them.

At events, I can put small notices on each table and guests can use their phones to make requests which go directly into my Virtual DJ program.

What’s your lighting and sound set-up?

I use Virtual DJ, with a great skin called Controller HD by DennYo, and a Denon MC-6000MKII controller. For ceremonies, I use Sennheiser G3 lav mics a G4 Sennheiser hand-held. I use an RF Venue Diversity Fin antenna to reduce dropouts.

The mics and music go into a Mackie 1202VLZ4 mixer. I usually use an Electro-Voice Evolve 50 speaker. For a reception, I go out from my mixer to a pair of Bose L2 Model 2 speakers and the B2 sub.

I also go out to a Sennheiser G4 IEM system. I have three receivers, so I can send that signal wirelessly to some 15-inch E-V ZLX speakers or my battery-

Gifted: Puget Sound DJ’s Alan Chitlik.

powered Bose S1 Pro. I use Sennheiser G3 wireless handhelds for the reception, including toasts. For lighting, I use two ShowCUBEs from Eternal Lighting. For uplights, I use the CUBEecho MK3.

You used to have a fear of being too “present” at events – you didn’t want to be the annoying DJ. How did you learn to control the narrative?

My first 20 or so weddings were for friends.

And other than playing good music, I had no real idea what I was doing. The one thing I did know was that I wanted to avoid being that cliché DJ, who just seemed to love to hear himself talk. But I over-corrected. I would get the folks lined up for their toasts, but wouldn’t introduce them. I would let them do it themselves.

But then in 2011, I went to Atlanta for Mark Ferrell’s MC Workshop and it just opened my eyes so wide about the actual role of an MC. I got a lot of clarity about how much impact I could have if I was able to direct, inform and guide the guests throughout the night. Getting the guests’ attention and giving them the information about what is happening is such an important role. And from there, I began to try to take much more control to help my couples get the wedding they want. And it was a natural progression to get more involved in the flow and the timeline.

You treat what you do as a gift, don’t you?

When I grew up, my dad was a pharmacist.

And he would come home rewarded by the fact that he was serving people, but it was essentially the same thing for him day after day, year after year. So that really made me see the value of a job that was different all the time.

As I hit my 30s, I was interested in living in Seattle, so I moved there without knowing what was next professionally. I got on at Microsoft where I had a variety of jobs. But one of the most impactful things I did was give presentations on Microsoft products to groups across the country. It helped me learn to be comfortable on a microphone. Eventually, my skills grew and here we are.

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07 08 09 10

MARKETING APPROACHES FOR DJ BUSINESSES

SALES…SOLUTIONS… BUSINESS LINE

By Joshua Volpe

Most people don’t realize that marketing a business is not just one-dimensional. Like an onion, there are many layers when it comes to marketing and there are quite a bit of different styles and types.

To run a successful business in the 21st Century, you must take the time and do as many different types of marketing as you can, in order to stand out and rise above your competition. Here are 20 different types of marketing you can do: 1. Acquisition Marketing – This type of marketing is when you attract new visitors and leads to your website through search engine optimization (SEO), education hubs, paid advertising, conversion rate optimization and lead generation campaigns.

2. Brand Marketing – This is shaping your brand’s public perception and forging an emotional connection with your target audience through creativity, humor, and inspiration. The goal is to link your identity, values, and personality with different styles of communication to your audience.

3. Buzz Marketing – This is a viral marketing strategy that leverages fresh, creative content, interactive events, and community influencers to generate word-of-mouth marketing and anticipation for the services your company offers or is about to launch.

4. Content Marketing – This is probably one of the most important types of marketing any business can or should be doing. Content marketing is creating, publishing, and distributing content to your target audience. The most common components of this are social media, website, blogging and visual content like YouTube, Pinterest, or Instagram.

5. Contextual Marketing – Some people are doing this more often these days than others. Contextual marketing is targeting online users with different ads on websites and social media based on their online browsing behavior.

6. Controversial Marketing – This is a common tactic that can give you big results, but you have to be extremely careful how it’s done or else you’ll be perceived as an unprofessional business and it will backfire, causing a lot of loss in revenue. Controversial marketing doesn’t aim to polarize an audience. It’s an attention-grabbing technique for stating an opinion, and brands use it to spark productive conversations about certain moral values. In recent years, any stance taken on sensitive social issues, politics, religion or even statements about your competition, can be considered controversial marketing. Keep in mind there’s a difference between controversial marketing and just being a jerk online! It’s always important to have your positive public-relation statements ready to go to spin things back to you being a good business, if you attempt this and it fails.

7. Customer Marketing – This is focusing on retaining your existing or past customers, delighting them with your services and customer service, and turning them into advocates for your brand who can spread the word about your company.

8. Email Marketing – This is when you send educational or entertaining content and promotional messages to people who subscribe to your email newsletter.

9. Event Marketing – This is planning, organizing, and executing an event for the purpose of promoting a brand, product, or service. Events can take place in-person or online, and companies can either host an event, attend as an exhibitor, or participate as a sponsor.

10. Field Marketing – This is creating sales content or collateral like case studies, service overviews, competitor comparisons, and more to help you close prospects into customers during their research stage.

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11. Guerrilla Marketing – This is one of my personal favorite types of marketing that a business can do. Guerrilla marketing is placing bold, clever brand information in hightraffic physical locations to reach audiences in a creative and cost-effective way to grow brand awareness, and spread the word about your business or the services you offer.

12. Inbound Marketing – This is creating valuable experiences that have a positive impact on people and your business by attracting customers to your website through relevant and helpful content. Once they arrive, you engage with them using conversational tools like email and chat and by promising continued value.

13. Outbound Marketing – This is the opposite of Inbound, as this type of marketing is a traditional method that includes intrusive activities such as print ads, TV ads, cold calling, and email blasts.

14. Informative Marketing – This can be a tricky one, but informative marketing focuses more on the facts and less on emotions. This tactic highlights how your features and benefits solve your customers’ problems and can even compare your business to your competitors’. Although this type of marketing relies on facts and figures to trigger a desired action, it’s usually framed in a compelling way.

15. Persuasive Marketing – This focuses more on the emotions and less on the facts. It aims to make your audience feel something, associate those emotions with your brand, and trigger a desired action. Be careful, though, because in a sensitive world, this can backfire due to alternate opinions on things.

16. Product Marketing – This is bringing a product to market and driving demand for it, like a photo booth, for example. This includes deciding the product positioning and messaging, launching the product, and ensuring salespeople and customers understand its benefits and features.

17. Relationship Marketing – This type of marketing is important for repeat business. It’s a type of marketing that focuses on cultivating deeper, more meaningful relationships with customers to ensure long-term brand loyalty. It’s not focused on short-term wins or sales transactions. Instead, it’s focused on delighting your customers for the long haul.

18. Search Engine Marketing – Other than Content Marketing, this is the next important type you should be doing for your business. Search engine marketing, or SEM, is optimizing content for search engines or using paid advertising to ensure that your business is visible on search engine results pages (SERPs). When a user types in a certain keyword, SEM enables your business to appear as a top result for that search query.

19. Social Media Marketing – Most businesses are doing this already, but social media marketing is creating content to promote your brand and business on various social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Your unique content should be tailored to the specific platform you share it on to help you boost your post’s reach.

20. Word-of-Mouth Marketing – This kind is your customer recommendations of your company, which is the most trusted form of marketing today. To create as much word-of-mouth marketing as possible, you need to stay laser-focused on developing the best service possible and providing top-notch customer service. In other words, you need to serve your customers’ needs before your own.

Only then will your customers turn into loyal, passionate individuals that will recommend your company to their friends and family.

Joshua Volpe is the owner of Kalifornia Entertainment in Rochester, N.Y.

GEAR AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF

Kali

Mackie Roland

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Denon DJ

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Players Gonna Play

Kali-Fornia Girls

Moda Operandi

Tower of Power

inMusic Brands 200 Scenic View Drive Cumberland, RI 02864 (401) 658-3131 www.denondj.com

Kali Audio 1366 Valencia Avenue Pasadena, CA 91104 (412) 979-4914 www.kaliaudio.com

Roland Corporation 5100 S. Eastern Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90040 (323) 890-3700 www.roland.com

The WS-12 from Kali Audio is a 100-watt, 12-inch powered studio subwoofer that is designed to be used with up to five of the company’s IN-Series or LP-Series monitors. It features a low frequency response of 25 Hz at -10 dB, as well as variable crossovers that the company says allows users to configure the WS-12 with other manufacturers’ monitors. The WS-12 is housed in an 18mm wood enclosure with large carry handles for easy transport.

The M-200 is V-MODA’s firstever reference studio headphone.

The unit reproduces a wide range of frequencies up to 40kHz. The headphones feature 50mm drivers with neodymium magnets and CCAW voice coils. The M-200 sports a closed-back design with flatter earcups and an adjustable headband that the company says “is enhanced by a broad design for improved weight distribution and hours of comfortable wear.”

It also comes with a single-sided balanced audio cable that reduces signal-to-noise ratio.

Mackie 16220 Wood-Red Road NE Woodinville, WA 98072 (425) 892-6500 www.loudtechinc.com

Denon DJ has introduced the SC6000 and SC6000M PRIME professional DJ media players.

Both models are powered by Engine OS software, which offers on-the-fly music file analysis, onboard track preview, and time stretch and musical key change algorithms, among other features.

They both come with built-in WiFi and wired internet connectivity for music streaming, as well as feature a high-definition 10-inch touchscreen with gesture support and an on-screen keyboard.

Customers also receive a free three-month trial subscription to Tidal. Additional features include dual-layer playback with independent analog/digital outs and a StagelinQ connection for Event/ Pro DJ lighting and video control.

Mackie’s SRM-Flex Portable Column PA System comes in a three-piece modular tower that allows users to change the height of the mid and high frequencies. The tower houses a wide-dispersion array with six two-inch high-performance HF drivers, while the molded cabinet base module has a 10-inch LF woofer, a 1,300-watt amplifier and a built-in six-channel digital mixer. Channels 1 and 2 are equipped with individual two-band EQs and Reverb level controls with three different reverbs to choose from. There is also a dedicated stereo channel with dual ¼-inch line inputs and a dedicated 1/8-inch Aux In/Bluetooth streaming channel.

AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF

GEAR

ADJ Pioneer DJ

Mixware

Headline News

Outside the Groovebox

In One Piece

ADJ Products 6122 S. Eastern Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90040 (323) 582-2650 www.americandj.com

Mixware, LLC 11070 Fleetwood St, Unit F Sun Valley, CA 91352 (818) 578-4030 www.mixware.net

The Element ST HEX from ADJ is a compact wireless LED uplighter featuring four 6-Watt HEX (Red, Green, Blue, Amber, White + UV) LEDs, as well as a full-color touchscreen display. The unit comes pre-programmed with 63 built-in color macros, as well as pre-programed color chase patterns that can either be set to run at a user-selected constant speed or triggered by a musical beat detected by an internal microphone. Features include a 20-degree beam angle, variable speed strobing and 0-100 percent master dimming with a choice of five different dimming curves.

Mixware announced the U.S. launch of the Headliner brand of accessories. The company introduced two EVA-molded plastic cases, the Headliner ProFit Case for DDJ-1000SRT and Headliner Pro-Fit for Akai MPC Live. Both feature a snug-fitting foam interior, water-resistant exterior shell, zippers and carrying handles. Headliner Molded ProFit cases also accommodate the products’ respective Decksaver covers. Headliner also offers a line of flight cases, including the Headliner Flight Case for Pioneer DDJ-1000SRT with Laptop Platform, which features heavy-duty ball corners, padded foam interior and recessed handles and latches.

Elektron Music Machines 1340 E 6th St #632 Los Angeles, CA 90021 (213) 935-8521 www.elektronmusicma wchines.com

Pioneer DJ Americas 2050 W. 190th Street Suite 109 Torrance, CA 90504 (424) 488-0480 www.pioneerdj.com

Model:Cycles is a six track FM based groovebox from Elektron that covers both percussive and melodic synths. The six different machines include Kick, Snare, Metal, Perc, Tone and Chord. The unit also comes with features dedicated knobs that control four core Synth Controls— Color, Shape, Sweep and Contour—changing several, underthe-hood parameters at once.

There is storage space for up to 60,000 presets, as well as a highspeed USB 2.0 Micro B port, a ¼-inch stereo headphone jack, 48 kHz, 24-bit D/A converters and more.

The XDJ-XZ from Pioneer is an all-in-one DJ system for rekordbox and Serato DJ Pro. It comes as a single unit with grab handles for easy transport and set up. The XDJ-XZ sports three USB inputs, as well as three-band EQs on the master output and on the two separate mic inputs. There is a feedback reducer feature that the company says reduces any “howling” sounds accidentally caused by the mic. The XDJ-XZ features 16 multicolored performance pads, 14 Beat FX, six Sound Color FX, a color On Jog Display and a seven-inch LCD touch screen.

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GEAR AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF

IK Multimedia

Steinberg

KRK

DJ TIMES

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BPM Supreme

36

ROKIT Man

Have You Heard the News?

Come as UR

Cast Party

Gibson Pro Audio 309 Plus Park Boulevard Nashville, TN 37217 1-800-444-2766 www.gibson.com

BPM Supreme 101 West Broadway #1300 San Diego, CA 92101 (888) 723-7878 www.bpmsupreme.com

Steinberg/Yamaha Corporation of America 6600 Orangethorpe Ave Buena Park, CA 90620 (714) 522-9011 www.steinberg.net

IK Multimedia 590 Sawgrass Corporate Pkwy.

Sunrise, FL 33325 (954) 846-9101 www.ikmultimedia.com

The UR24C Audio Interface from Steinberg is a 2-channel audio interface with 32-bit/192 kHz audio resolution and flexible headphone monitoring modes. The unit features USB Type-C connectivity so that it can be used with PCs, Macs and iOS devices. A dspMixFx mixer is included to access such DSP effects as REV-X reverb, Channel Strip and Guitar Amp Classics. In addition, the UR24C comes with a Basic FX Suite that consists of effects and sound processing tools, native versions of the DSP effects (both VST 3 and AU compatible) and the Cubasis LE music production app for the iPad.

The iRig Mic Cast HD from IK Multimedia expands upon the company’s iRig Mic Cast 2 by adding a 40 Hz to 20 kHz frequency response, gold-sputtered capsules, adjustable sensitivity and a multicolor LED for visual indication of the signal strength. It features 24bit, 96 kHz converters that work with a variety of connectors, including Lightning, Micro-USB and USB-C cables, all of which are included. iRig Mic Cast HD also offers front and rear selectable recording plus a bi-directional, figure-eight pickup pattern for rejecting off-axis noise.

KRK Systems added a new family of studio monitors to its ROKIT Generation 4 range. The ROKIT G4 White Noise is available in 5-, 7- and 8-inch bi-amp models. All ROKIT G4 monitors are designed with Kevlar drivers, a front-firing port and Class-D power amplifiers. They feature on-board DSP-driven Graphic EQ with 25 settings that the company says are designed to help condition any acoustic environment. The on-board system works alongside the company’s free KRK Audio Tools App, which is available for Android and iOS.

BPM Supreme has launched a news feed curation inside its mobile app called BPM News. A free feature that is available for iOS and Android devices, BPM News curates thousands of articles from a variety of trusted news sources in an optimized, easy-to-read format that keeps all photos, videos, and links intact. Users are able to click through to read an article directly on a publication’s website, follow their favorite channels, and more.

AUDIO…LIGHTING…STUFF

GEAR

Ninja Tune

Rane

Jamm Band

To Eris Human

Ready for Battle

MAGIX Software GmbH Quedlinburger Strasse 1 10589 Berlin Germany +49 30 293 92 -200 www.magix.net

Ninja Tune HQ PO Box 4296 London SE11 4WW www.ninjatune.net

PreSonus Audio Electronics 18011 Grand Bay Court Baton Rouge, LA 70809 (225) 216-7887 www.presonus.com

Rane/inMusic Brands 200 Scenic View Drive Cumberland, RI 02864 (401) 658-3131 www.rane.com

Ninja Tune has joined forces with electronic music pioneers Coldcut to create Jamm Pro, a production and live performance app for iPad. The app comes preloaded with Sound Sets created by various international producers, ar tists and experimental sound designers. The app offers multi-touch control and allows users to switch from one sample to another with everything remaining in sync and in key. Jamm Pro can also be used as a Loopstation, allowing vocalists to loop and layer vocals as well as beatboxing via instant recording.

Presonus expanded its Eris family of products with the E7 XT powered studio monitor. The unit features a 7-inch woofer and 1.25inch silk dome tweeter. Featuring 140 watts of Class AB biamped power, the E7 XT is equipped with PreSonus’ custom Elliptically Boundar y Modeled waveguide , which the company says allows the unit to be clearly heard across a 100-degree sweet spot “with a focused 60 degrees in the vertical to minimize desk reflections and maximize performance.” Additional features include XLR, TRS and RCA connections.

Magix launched the ACID Pro 10 and the ACID Pro 10 Suite.

Both DAWs offer a variety of new features, including ACID Morph Pads that allow users to morph between a diverse range of effect presets. Both models come with MIDI Playable Chopper, which splits a file into beats and samples, and Melodyne, which allows users to isolate tones and notes in any measure, changing pitch, duration or volume. The ACID Pro 10 Suite also comes with the Xfer Serum synthesizer, which includes thousands of presets and lets users create, import, edit or morph wavetables, and manipulate them on playback in real time.

Rane’s Seventy Battle Mixer features six radio-style FX buttons, three Mag Four contactless faders and 32 Midi-assignable pads. The unit is made with a solid steel construction and sports front guard handle protection. There are six dual postfader internal Flex FX engines, as well as 180-degree rotatable diecast aluminum paddles. Additional features include dual microphone inputs, dedicated loop controls and a signal-tonoise ratio of 114 dB.

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ACID’s Latest Drop

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MAGIX Software

PreSonus

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Purple Disco Machine

TRACKS…MIXES…COMPILATIONS

“MOVING ON”

u Angela Johnson feat. Cie u Ocata Records This deeply groovy and undeniably sexy vocal-house cut sports crackling live instrumentation, and DJs get three tight mixes. Go with the very silky “Groovestrumental.”

– Tommy D Funk “PLANET IS BUT A DREAM” EP

u Architectural u R&S

A pair of boisterous techno cuts, both bewildering in their own way. “This Is Not Purple” drops a martial beat and pushes an ominous vibe before it opens up with some welcoming keys and becomes a real stormer. Then the ultrapercussive “Rhythms & Souls” elevates with murky talkback and head-spinning effects. Whoa.

– Jim Tremayne “WHAT FOR” u Rony Seikaly & Black Circle u Stride A chunky, Afro-house tune with a loose percussive vibe that gets you moving. With its massively soulful vocal performance, this one’s a real belter.

– Tommy D Funk “EVOLUTION” u UMEK & Cosmic Boys u 1605 Piston-pumping techno with industrial-sized kicks and enough effect flourishes to elevate any genre-loving audience – one rigorous workout.

DJ Vivona

– Jim Tremayne “HYPNOTIZED”

u Purple Disco Machine & Sophie and the Giants u Casablanca A shimmering pop record with a pulsing groove and peppy synths that recall those irresistible hits from The Big ’80s. A bit of a departure for PDM, but you get hooks aplenty to match the swaying rhythms of the era. Really catchy tune.

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– Jim Tremayne

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“LIFE” u Leo Salom u Sirup A perfect summertime club/radio cut that delivers a catchy, engaging vocal hook and a bouncy, rhythmic groove.

– Phil Turnipseed “WAITING FOR YOU” u DJ Vivona u Iah Records For this dark, groovy and pleading Afro-house vocal track, DJ Kue and DJ Alexander Technique deliver worthy remixes. While Kue’s mix carries a more buoyant vibe that never minimizes the hooks, Alexander’s rollicking “Dubstramental” gets down and dirty, and takes you right to a 3 a.m. dancefloor.

– Jim Tremayne

“CLEAR” (REMIXES)

u Moon Boots feat. Nic Hansen u Anjunadeep This swinging groover gets a pair of solid remixes here.

More soulful than the original, Wookie’s mix rocks an undulating, descending bassline that carries the track. On Garrett David’s effort, we get a more classic house sound that jumps and pumps plenty.

– Jennifer Harmon “SOMETHING SPECIAL”

u Dean Masi u Bridge & Tunnel Beat Co. This blazing house track bangs from start to finish. Rugged, funky and very hot, it’ll fire up your dancefloor.

– Phil Turnipseed

“SOLO” (REMIXES)

u Sulene Fleming u Future Spin This euphoric vocal-house cut gets another pair of righteous remixes. Moodymanc’s flies with proper garage

Architectural

UMEK & Cosmic Boys

Leo Salom

Birdee

Gorgon City

flavor, while Dominic Dawson veers darker, but offers a massive drop.

– Tommy D Funk

Guest Reviewer: Greg Royle (aka Scozza D)

“START THE WEEKEND”

u Birdee u Re-Loved

The Riton remix gets slightly darker than the original, adding a tripped-out element that embraces an underlying tone of heartbreak. Delicate, but sweet.

– Jennifer Harmon “LOVE GAMES”

u Body Music & Amy Douglas u Glitterbox Douglas’ inspired vocal rides high over an outstanding funk-n-groove track that includes tasty piano riffs and a whopping bassline. Monster track.

– Tommy D Funk “NOBODY”

u Gorgon City & DRAMA u Astralwerks/Capitol The hit-making U.K. duo pairs up with Chicago’s DRAMA, resulting in a sultry, deep-house jam. Giving center-stage to Na’el Shehade’s breathy vocal and offering a subtle low-end, the newly formed quartet delivers a phat sound and a hip–swaying groove.

– Jennifer Harmon “FEEL THE VIBE”

u DJ Kuba & Neitan u Future House Music This thrilling house cut brings a massive, full-bodied groove that never lets up. And the Keanu Silva remix

Another great track from my man of the moment, Birdee, editing Class Action’s ’83 classic “Weekend.” I love this simple disco version Greg Royle with its peaks and troughs, its melodic repetition and bouncing 119-BPM pace. Still playing this one – it’s absolute class.

drops a wicked sample the snakes effectively throughout. A club monster.

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u Topic feat. A7S u Astralwerks/Capitol

– Phil Turnipseed “ME PROVOCAS”

u Dynoro & Fumaratto u B1/Arista A Latin-flavored, future-house gem. The echo-swirled Spanish vocal, supported by the crisp low end and simple piano melody infuse flavor into this seductive track. Baila conmigo!

– Jennifer Harmon

Moon Boots

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(continued from page 16) hisand dark, tracks, the theWith tracks hemenacing did the work.

I had masked, DJ/producer 13 has sold-outall-analog shows and I was learning found niche in the increasingly how toquite DJ ata those shows. popular subgenre of long mid-tempo bass.

DJ Times: How did Scottie After Deep go catching with you?plenty of attention with stellar collabs Rezz MK:his Maybe a year.

Whenwith we played, –it was 2017’s “Drugs!” always billed asand MK.2018’s It was “The conCrazy Ones” seeing – 13 was fusing people twoplenty peoplebusy on in pair of well-received the2019. decks.His They started thinking my EPs – “Revelation” on point, Mau5trap brother is MK. At that I hadand to “Old World Order” on off.

Mad Decent take the training wheels – set him up to hit America’s club DJ Times: You’ve experienced and this past somefestival elitist circuit attitudehard. withSo people expecting you to play vinyl or questioning your mixing abilities, or even whether you’ve earned your place as a DJ. What is your reaction to that?

MK: Some DJs hated it because they’d been DJing for 20 years and…

“This guy is getting in here selling out a show and we can’t get a gig.”

I know it pissed people off. I would be pissed off, too, I guess. But at the same time, it made me learn quick.

At some point in the game, it turned into a snob thing. You would get DJs who would say: “He doesn’t use vinyl, he doesn’t beat-match.” Why would I want to play on vinyl when I can carry a USB stick? I’m not carrying vinyl. And if you’re in the back of the club right now, do you know if I’m using sync? I would never do this, but it would be the same as me saying, “That producer is not that great because they use stems.” It’s like people in the ’90s saying, “He’s using a drum machine – it’s not like he’s using real drums” I learned early to not talk shit about technology and how people use it. At one point, you’re going to get outdated on your way of thinking.

DJ Times: It’s interesting that the next generation of house producers are the ones that brought you back to the scene.

MK: My generation people weren’t asking me to do anything. No one was saying, “Hey MK, it’s 2009, let’s go do a party together.” Once Jamie and those guys did, all the veterans, Loco Dice, Carl Cox, they all were like, “Shit, you’re back. Let’s do something together. Let’s tour.

Let’s hang out, if anything.” Once all those guys embraced me, the younger crowd was like, “Who the fuck is MK? Why is Carl Cox praising MK?” But, it opened a door for me where, “OK, we don’t know who you are, but come in.” That’s what I felt happened. Jamie and Lee, the cooler guys brought me in, and the DJs that I grew up with co-signed on it.

DJ Times: You’ve had collaborations with almost everyone in dance music, in recent times with Diplo, whom you’ve DJed with back-toback.

MK: Without sounding arrogant, I’m friends with everyone in the industry. Diplo, we knew each other from touring and saying hi at shows,

and seeing each other more and more.

November, we caught up when with evthe Once “17” came out, that’s anonymous Canadian talent after his eryone reached out to me from differhigh-octane set atAoki, EDCDavid Orlando. ent genres. Steve Guetta, DJ Times: were you introCalvin Harris,When they all reached out duced to electronic dance music? during that time. That never happened 13: I’ve around before.

Diplobeen was one of theelectronic first ones music I realized I was to pull my the entire trigger life. on it. fascinated withWhat the production/DJing DJ Times: is your studio side of things when I was 10-years old setup? onMK: a tripMy visiting my family in Croatia. studio is in my guest My neighbor a DJ/producer house.

I have there an SSLisAWS 948 conand the use whole set-up, a basesole,he buthad I only about 20-percent ment studio with vinyl turntables. of its capabilities. That thing is a mon-I ster. I have the SSL Fusion, Native Instruments Maschine and all their software, two Neve 542 tape emulators, Neve 1073LB mic pre, Neve 2264ALB compressor/limiter, Neve 33609/JD compressor, Fat Bustard mkII valve mixer, Eventide H8000FW multi-effects processor, Moog 500 Series analog delay, Manley Variable Mu limiter compressor, API 2500 stereo compressor, Bricasti M7 stereo reverb processor, Dramastic Audio Obsidian stereo compressor, Shadow Hills mastering compressor, two Empirical Labs EL8X Distressors, Burl Audio B2 Bomber ADC, Universal Audio LA-610 Mk II tube channel strip, Kii Three studio monitors, and I have my DJ setup. In my bathroom, I have about 25 synths. I’m building a new studio because I just don’t have enough room.

DJ Times: There are plug-ins for all your outboard gear.

MK: I have plug-ins for most of the things I have because I wanted to see if there’s a difference, and there is a difference. The Shadow Hills [mastering compressor] was almost $10,000 and the plug-in is $200. I just want to make sure I spent $10,000 the right way.

DJ Times: What is an essential piece for you right now?

MK: One of the coolest things I have is a digital patchbay by Flock Audio. It’s one rack mount, USB and 32 inputs of D-25 connectors. I have all my outboard gear connected to one rack mount. With its software you can patch everything on your computer. I’m going to get another one and put everything from the SSL into it.

DJ Times: What are your main sound sources?

MK: I like Native Instruments. I use Maschine a lot. I have a [Roland] TR909 drum machine that I’ve sampled into Maschine. It sounds just as good in the Maschine as the actual hardware, so I don’t use it that much. The only thing that makes it… the physical 909 a little different is the way it swings. It’s a different feel I don’t think the machines have been able to copy. The only reason I would use a 909 is the way it swings and shuffles. I switch off with my sounds.

DJ Times: What are you into now?

MK: Lately, it’s been a lot of piano. I musta Korg have M1. been the the most annoying use I have rack mount kid.

I was always over thereI pulled asking and plug-in.

They are identical. what this and that did, trying to them up and made two patcheslearn do howsame to DJ andTried understand the thing. to blind how test itit all see worked.

Fromtell thatthe point on, my to if I could difference curiosity and love electronic and I couldn’t.

I alsoforuse some of muthe sic continued grow. but It wasn’t until stock piano intoLogic, I layer it later on Korg. that The I decided dedicate with the Korg istobright and myself thin. It to hasit. a certain texture to it. A Times: Why did you choose realDJpiano sample thickens it up.

Bass such a sinister-sounding musical pathI sounds, there are so many. I think when it camenew to your have every synthproductions? for the past I’ve explored all types of genres five13: years.

Again, I haven’t really used them. I just pulled out my Moog Sub 37 because I know it’s a dope piece and I haven’t gotten into it. I’ve had it for three years and I haven’t learned how to change the sounds. When you get one machine and have one machine, you learn it inside and out.

Now, in one month, I can have four different machines and still only be home four days.

DJ Times: Are you using the bathroom synths?

MK: I’m a tech guy, so if something new and cool comes out, I buy it. In the past couple of days, I have finally pulled out the manuals. I’m very techy when it comes to studio, but I’m not tech-y when it comes to hearing.

My room isn’t soundproofed, and I’m fine with it. I don’t nitpick with what type of cabling I use. I don’t nitpick with what kind of EQs I use. It’s more synthesizers. If there’s a compressor that’s a known compressor that makes a huge difference, then I’ll get it and use it. I’m the studio-toy guy all day long. I’ll buy plug-ins and software just to make sure I have it – but I might not use it. I keep buying Ableton, but I don’t use it. I keep buying Pro Tools, I don’t use it. But I want to have it, just in case I decide to use it. I’ve been Logic since it came out.

Before that, I used MasterTracks Pro and an Atari ST computer.

DJ Times: Vocal chopping is your signature touch. How did that come about?

MK: I can, no matter what, always create something unique with vocal chops, something you’ve never heard before. But I can make it where after a couple of listens, it’s familiar. It never fails. I mastered how to chop vocals using an Akai S1100 sampler in the ’90s. In that machine, it was tedious. No joke – if I’m doing a remix, Monday, I’m going to work on the vocal chops, because that’s how long it would take to process it. If the song is a different tempo, you have to timestretch the vocals. Time-stretching vocals took time. It would take 10 minutes for each verse. I had to do all the verses and then put them on different key groups, and then chop them up. It was a day’s work of prep.

The reason I bought Maschine in the first place was to do vocal chops.

Now I can do it on the fly, but you

have to know how to do it on the from to trance to hip fly.

It’sdrum-n-bass not in the manual.

I taught hop – the music currently myself a way that I’m works for me.releasEven ing just resonates I’vewould realif someone saw mewith do it,me. they ized that the more I produce other say it was confusing. genres, the more genresyou inDJ Times: It isI let wildthose to watch fluence mydo sound, whichon allows me to physically the chops Maschine. develop and even MK: I want to becreate able tocompletely do things new genres. I have always drawn a lot in the box, but even drawing notes, of inspiration old-school/unI’vemyseen Afrojackfrom make tracks and derground bass, and he’ll draw inhip thehop, notes, andcinema it sounds video games.

I wouldn’t necessarily sick. He’s really good at it. I tried it classify my sound “sinister,” though. and it sounded likeasshit.

I just have to Ifplay youit.listen to it, there’s eleIt’s different usingmelodic stems and using samples, which I use, too. But for stuff that I can play, I won’t use a bassline or piano chords as stems.

DJ Times: Do you feel there was more creativity in the ’90s simply due to the lack of options and studio capabilities?

MK: I want to give a producer a Roland Juno 106, a 909 drum machine and one other keyboard and have them come up with a track, because that’s what we had to do back then – two synths, a drum machine and maybe a sampler. It would be a cool underground track because it would be so raw and basic, but for the most part, you have to be creative. I don’t want to say it’s easy to make music, but I’m going to say it’s easy just because I’ve done it at the beginning level. My main problem before was finding a bassline. Now the problem is finding a bassline because there are so many – there are thousands and thousands to choose from. We had four, and they didn’t sound right.

DJ Times: Did you ever have any formal music training?

MK: I never wanted to take lessons, especially when I was younger.

I knew I had an underground sound and, if I took lessons, I would lose that because I’ll know too much about what theoretically doesn’t go together. I didn’t want to know what doesn’t go together. But I wanted to write R&B music. I wanted to write a song for Mary J. Blige, so I taught myself music theory from books. Watching me play piano might not be as pretty, but I know how to get I want out of it because I know the theory.

DJ Times: You taught yourself the way conventional musicians do, trying to recreate the songs of your favorite musicians on your own instruments, except instead of playing guitar trying to do Eddie Van Halen licks, it was synthesizers and Depeche Mode’s sounds.

MK: I always have to build something. When I was younger it was drawing, recreating something I saw.

Then it was building computers. Then it was taking Depeche Mode’s songs apart and putting them together by myself. Then it was building things from Home Depot. The music part of my building comes out as my pron ductions.

NOW! Listen the DJ Times National Dance/Crossover Chart on SPOTIFY! LISTEN NOW!

Compiled As April 27, 2020

C LU B P L AY C H A R T

NATIONAL CROSSOVER POOL CHART

1 The Weeknd Blinding Lights Republic 2 Dua Lipa Don’t Start Now Inerscope 3 Sir Ivan Happy Together Peaceman 4 Lady Gaga Stupid Love Interscope 5 Billie Eilish Everything I Wanted Interscope 6 Black Eyed Peas Ritmo Epic 7 Dua Lipa Break My Heart Warner Bros.

8 Bimbo Jones & Thelma Houston Turn Your World Around Radikal 9 Camilia Cabello F/ Da Baby My Oh My Epic 10 Meduza F/ Shells Born To Love Defected 11 Harry Styles Adore You Columbia 12 Justin Bieber Yummy Def Jam 13 Doja Cat Say So Kemosabe/Rca 14 Vintage Culture Deep Inside Of Me Spinnin’ 15 Bombs Away You Gotta Be Radikal 16 Michelle Kash Personal Jesus Love Animal 17 Duke Dumont Therapy Capitol 18 Blackbear Hot Girl Bummer Interscope 19 Trevor Daniel Falling Warner Bros.

20 Lodato Good Spinnin’ 21 Tritonal Long Way Home Enhanced 22 Roddy Ricch The Box Atlantic 23 Arizona Zervas F/Swae Lee Roxanne Columbia 24 Hilary Roberts Good Man Dauman 25 Alesso and Dubvision One Last Time Astralwerks 26 SAINt JHN Roses HitCo 27 Joel Corry Lonely Big Beat 28 Jennifer Lopez Baila Conmigo Sony Music Latin 29 Kygo With Avicii & Cavazza Forever Yours Republic 30 Gryffin F/Maia Wright Body Back Armada 31 Tones and I Dance Monkey Elektra 32 Jonas Blue & Retrovision All Night Long Astralwerks/ Capitol 33 Lewis Capaldi Before You Go Capitol 34 Jonas Brothers What A Man Gotta Do Republic 35 Riton X Oliver Heldons Turn Me On RCA/Sony 36 Selena Gomez Lose You To Love Me Interscope 37 Dj Regard Ride It Epic 38 Mark Ronson F/ Yebba Don’t Leave Me Lonely RCA 39 Galantis & Hook N Sling Never Felt A Love Like This Big Beat 40 Taylor Swift The Man Republic

Most Added Tracks

1 Dua Lipa Break My Heart Warner Bros.

2 The Weeknd In Your Eyes Republic 3 Sza & Justin Timberlake The Other Side RCA 4 Khalid & Disclosure Know Your Worth RCA 5 Sir Ivan Happy Together Peaceman 6 The Pussycat Dolls React Access 7 Selena Gomez Rare Interscope 8 Melanie Pfirrman F/ Pitbull Suda Curb/Sidewalk 9 SAINt JHN Roses HitCo 10 Shab Spell On Me Shabnam Music

REPORTING POOLS n n n n n n n n n n n n n

Gary Canavo Blake Eckelbarger The Dance Environment Manny Esparza Howard HK Kessler Brian Stephens Peter K. Productions Kidd Leow Peter Gozzi DJ Ilan Fong Randy Schlager Steve Tsepelis Dan Mathews

Masspool Dj Stickyboots Powered By Spectrio Nexus Radio In The Mix With HK Mixxmasters Peter K Vindictive Vendetta Live Sounds Entertainment Kahoots Soundtrack Your Band Pacific Coast DJs KRYC

Saugus,MA Syndicated Los Angeles, CA Chicago,IL Minneapolis,MN Lithonia,GA Syndicated Tampa, FL Glendale, NY Columbus, OH Seattle, WA Long Beach, CA Sacramento, CA

NATIONAL LATIN DANCE POOL CHART

1 Prince Royce Morir Solo 2 Jennifer Lopez Baila Conmigo 3 Major Lazer ft J Balvin, El Alfa Que Calor (Remix) 4 Tony Succar feat Angel Lopez Mas De Mi 5 Thalia ft Mau Y Ricky Ya Tu Me Conoces 6 Alfonso Lugo Loca Remix 7 Kalimente y Fulanito Sueltala (Remix) 8 Van Lester Ya No Queda Nada 9 Tito Rojas Los Años No Pasan 10 Yahaira Plasencia Y Le Dije No 11 Evalina Cierra Los Ojos 12 Willie Gonzalez No Te Olvido 13 Ricky Martin Cantalo 14 Lusito Rosario Belen 15 Crocro y su Tumbaka Pa’ San Agustin 16 Charlie Cruz Pa Que Enamorarse 17 Artie Oyola El Quedao 18 Mambo King Mambo 20 19 Rauw Alejandro feat Wisin Una Noche 20 Black Eyes Peas X J Balvin Ritmo (Bad Boy For Life)

Sony Sony Mad Decent Unity Ent. Sony Pulp Music Sueños Cookita TR Nuamerica SGR MZ Artists Sony LR CO Get Crazy Note, LLC Artie Oyola Mr. Street Prod.

Sony Epic

Most Added Tracks

1 2 3 4 5

Bad Bunny Static & Ben El ft Pitbull La Resistencia ft. Luisito C Josie Esteban Puerto Rican Power

Yo Perreo Sola Further Up Naci La Maleta Por Estar Pensando En Ti

Rimas Saban Music Group LLC Indi JE J&N Records

REPORTING LATIN POOLS n n n n n n

Latinos Unidos Record Pool Salsamania Latin Record Pool Lobo/Bass Record Pool North East Record Pool Mixx Hitts Record Pool Ritmo Camacho Record Pool

n n n n n n

Ritmo Internacional Record pool DJ Latinos Record Pool MassPool Record Pool Latino Latin Beat Chicago Record Pool All In Music Pool

ATTENTION DJ TIMES READERS: DJ Times is currently looking for DJs that are interested in reporting to the DJ National Dance/Crossover chart and the DJ Times National Urban Dance chart. Reporterships are open to Record Pools and individual DJs. For more information contact: Dan Miller, dmiller@testa.com

Sounding Off

(continued from page 30) Given that I already have the software and my 14-plus years of song and performance data, for me, getting going was a simple matter of connecting the controller to an available USB port on my Mac, and firing up the software. But even if you’re starting from scratch, it’s hardly any more difficult – download the software, connect the cable, start the software. It’ll guide you through the stuff you need to know as applicable. Then, just add tracks, and go.

On the back panel of the unit, you’ll find dual USB connections: one for your laptop and a second for an iPad cable. The line inputs, which are hard-routed to Channel D, are there as well. Next to them are the ¼-inch booth outputs. Down the line are the master outs, provided in your choice of RCA, or XLR — the latter of which do say something about the intended market for this unit. You just don’t find XLRs on a controller that wasn’t built for professionals.

The front panel exposes the microphone input — also hard-routed to Channel D and selectable vs. the line input — as well as dual headphone jacks.

The top surface of the controller has pretty much everything you’d likely expect it to. The customary controls are all where they should be, while the S3-specific controls are accessible and easy to understand.

As with the Traktor software, Native Instruments seems to understand the concept of usability and user experience; everything is intuitive, and doesn’t take studying the manual to figure out.

The controller is arranged into three sections — a mixer section in the middle, and two deck sections, one on either side. The controls in the two deck sections are duplicated side-to-side — not mirrored — making the controller intuitive and natural to use, as it exactly models a traditional mixer/media player set-up.

The deck sections look pretty much like most controllers on the market. The chief difference really is that the eight pads closest to the DJ have two functions on the S3: hot cues or samples. Most of today’s controllers seem to try and pile a lot of multi-functionality onto those pads, and whether reducing that to just two functions is good or bad depends on your point of view. I tend to prefer N.I.’s approach of keeping things a bit simpler.

Each deck section has track-collection navigation buttons, plus buttons to put the deck into “flux mode” — N.I.’s unique performance mode that allows you to add sonically interesting tricks while maintaining track phrasing. In addition, controls are provided for cross-deck sync, keylock, looping, moving, jog-mode selection, grid adjustments, and, of course, cueing and play/pause. Needless to say, there’s a tempo fader as well.

The mixer section has all the usual controls, including 3-band EQ, and a dedicated filter/effects knob. These effects are Traktor’s mixer effects, which offer reverb, delay, noise and time gater, as well as a high/low pass filter — interesting and useful, but not as interesting or useful as the deck effects. But providing all the controls needed for deck effects, as I mentioned earlier, is one of the things sacrificed for the S3.

As usual with N.I. controllers, the controls all have a terrific feel. The platters operate smoothly, with just the right level of resistance, and are rock-solid; no wobble, and no weird feel that jeopardizes accuracy of control. The channel faders have the perfect amount of resistance, while the crossfader is light for DJs who use the crossfader for performance tricks, and the buttons have a sure, crisp feel.

Truth be told, I found nothing to really dislike about using the Traktor Kontrol S3, other than the fact that they chose to have just one stereo line input, and that they patched it to Channel D — the same place they patched in the microphone input. It seems that it would have made more sense to patch one to Channel C and the other to Channel D, and avoid having to toggle a switch. That alone

would probably make me think twice about using the S3 for typical mobile gigs — but I’d posit that mobile DJs are not really the target market for Traktor in general, let alone this controller.

Conclusions: Given the stout price point of the Traktor Kontrol S4, I can understand why N.I. felt it necessary to introduce a sort of “midmarket” controller. To be sure, the S3 does sacrifice a number of nice-tohave features. But what’s left come together to make a capable, quality, imminently usable Traktor-specific DJ controller that’s ready to party — whether it’s for an ad-hoc rave, or the dancefloor of a major city’s leading club. And, at roughly $650 on the street, it’s within reach of most working DJs who favor the outstanding DJ software — Traktor Pro — that it’s designed to work with.

Making Tracks

(continued from page 28) has provided settings out-of-thebox to cover myriad capabilities that span the expected modern music production spectrum — as well as niche production needs like the spoken voice “alienization” capabilities I suggested earlier on. You can get a sense of what’s on offer pre-purchase by watching some of the company’s videos, or post-purchase by simply loading-up the standalone version, connecting a microphone, and speaking or singing your way through the options. If you want more, you can freely tweak, create or design sounds, and play to your heart’s content — saving the results out so you can easily recall them later.

Bottom Line: I was more impressed

when I got OVox hands-on than I was seeing the demo at NAMM — and I was pretty impressed at NAMM. Conclusions: Waves’ OVox is offered at a price point of just $149, and to be honest, it offers at least that much value in the production studio.

While you can set up vocoder-like effects pretty easily without third-party plug-ins in many DAWs, including my go-to, Ableton Live, what you’ll discover with OVox is a much wider, much deeper array of possibilities that can take your productions into wholly new territory — or, simply make it much easier and faster to create classic vocal morphing effects that remain as popular as they’ve ever been. Definitely check it out.

Josh Kerman

42

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