Home  | Reviews News Features Listings HeavyRotation Links  | Contributors Contact About EmailUpdates
London and NYC Club and Concert Listings Download This! (May 2005) Writer: John Kelly After months of hyperbole and talking up the implications of the internet and music, I have finally put my money where my mouth is. I have invested in the Rane Serato 'Scratch Live' system and am now officially a 'laptop DJ'. Maybe it was the niggling back ache caused by regularly carrying around too many 12"s, maybe it was the overall crapness of using CDs in any venue that didn't have a set of £450 CD decks, but mostly it seemed like the most creative way I could think of making myself a better DJ. The Rane interface lets you manipulate MP3s on your laptop via two specially-formatted records, therefore allowing you to take advantage of the benefits of using a laptop (more music/less back pain) whilst continuing to enjoy the intuitive feel of vinyl. There is no noticeable difference now between playing a tune from record or from mp3. A promoter friend of freaked out recently when DJ Cash Money turned up to play with only a laptop bag instead of the three or four bulging record bangs he usually brings. Within five minutes the system was setup and he rocked the crowd in the 1000+ capacity venue, with no dicernable loss in sound quality or performance. The system is also endorsed where it counts (live on stage) by DJ legends such as Grand Master Flash and Jazzy Jeff, and if it's good enough for them... Part of me wonders if this is just a stop-gap, that generations to follow won't find some better more user-friendly way of performing and playing music. Maybe having grown up using techics 1200's and two bits of vinyl, it's just what we've become accustomed to, and if we started again from now with a blank piece of paper we'd do it differently. Late last month the internet was awash with pictures of this prototype for a numark ipod-mixer but even if it wasn't a good 12-18 months away I'm not interested; for me there is something timeless and wonderfully functional about the 'classic' DJ setup. It just works. On one hand, therefore, it is important to embrace the possibilities of digital music, but it is just as vital that we understand the heritage of DJing and music, learn from the innovators and artists who have gone before us and try to bring the spirit of what they were about through whatever tools we have available. 'Scratch Live' is an exquisite piece of technology and though my racks and racks of dusty vinyl are suddenly seeming less an expression of my love of music and more of an expression of nostalgia, the spirit behind the music stays the same. And so to this months downloads. Madlib - production genius? Overrated beatjunkie in desperate need of some quality control? A bit of both? You decide... Download ...or check out this awesome Four Tet remix of Madvillian which is lite on the Madlib influence but heavy on the abstract hip hop flavours. Download As spring gradually becomes summer, it seems like the perfect time to revisit this gem featuring the 'dream team' combo of King Britt on the desk and Victor Duplaix on the mic. Download Finally, rather than link straight through to an MP3 as usual, here is a site you need to check out and browse in your own time. Featuring recordings of super-rare mixes from the halcyon days of eighties pirate radio, and therefore including loads of old hip hop, breaks and a little bit of go-go, all these mixes have been converted to MP3 from original cassette (now that's old school). Browse PUBLISHED: 2 May 2005 RELATED LINKS: Download This! March 2005 Download This! February 2005 Download This! December 2004 Download This! November 2004 Download This! October 2004 More Features EMAIL UPDATES! Do you want to receive Know The Ledge update emails? Click here to sign up!	::: RELATED LINKS More Features