Keeping your cool and letting the traditionalists have their say is key I think. Cant be mouthing off and acting like the child they associate our toys with. Eventually we will be accepted as full fledged DJ’s, but we have a key problem, no industry standard controller. Which brings up another problem, an industry standard controller would kill creativity in a way. CDJ1000’s and 1200’s do the same thing as anything other cdj or tt however they can be labeled as the best. With controllerism no controller can be labeled as the best, we are all great at what we do due to the level of customization we have. Sure this sight is focused on the VCI-100 but we all know that there are other great controllers out there that people use and customize to their own advantage. So with that being said, the fact that every controllerist can have is own unique setup can be troublesome for a promoter. Imagine a party full of controllerists! The potential clusterfuck of changeovers could be disastrous. I see serato guys do the worst changeovers, its terrible lol
If I get booked it shouldn’t be for my tools but for my results. If I show up with two tape decks and a DAT player and can rock the crowd why would anyone give a shit? And they shouldn’t. DJs and promoters who pull this attitude aren’t doing it because of anything altruistic, or for the good of a scene or the music, they are doing it because they are threatened. Same way as people who did it from TT’s to CDJ’s. It’s stupid and I will not abide it. If they don’t want to book my because I have more access and control and my finger tips than they could dream of and they don’t understand it then I am not getting booked. It sucks, but sooner or later I’m going to be the standard and there won’t be turntables and mixers in clubs for them to come to.
This isn’t an issue of controllerism, it’s digital DJing. We aren’t all controllerists, as Bento said, but we are digital DJs. And that’s where the dialogue needs to start. I have very little patience for the mindset of these dinosaurs, and will keep pushing the envelope. Good DJs will respect it, and assholes will give me shit for it. I don’t really think anyone who will punish me simply for having a different tool set is worth my respect or the time of day. Do I treat them like total shit? No, of course not. That gets no one anywhere. But do I let them treat me like shit? No. Because that gets me nowhere.
I tried what Alien2K said to do. I spun in a club for 6 months on CDs, did well, got good music, beatmatched, mixed, brought something new to the table. I had the crew’s respect. I started spinning on my laptop and INSTANTLY started getting shit for it. Why? Because “laptop DJs aren’t DJs, but watch me train wreck every single transition on a pair of CDJs because I have no idea what i’m doing. But you, on the laptop, you’re not a DJ.”
Fuck that. I don’t have the patience or the time to sit and abide by someone else’s completely fucked up sense of history, or honor, or technology because they control a night now. They won’t later. And I don’t owe them anything.
Now, that isn’t an excuse to bash people. It’s about education. It’s about showing them what I can do, how I do it and how they could do it too. That way they understand it. I’m pretty much the only solid laptop DJ in my scene in NYC. I’ve worked through a lot of the stress of it and have gotten a lot of respect for what I bring. It was an uphill battle but it worked. I explained to people how it works and let them watch and now they understand, at least a little.
shrug We are the ambassadors of a new age of this technology. Others need to be shown how it works and then they’ll become more accepting, slowly. Catering to their whims only shows them that it isn’t as powerful or important as it actually is.
Edit: This is the advantage of what we do, for the most part. You’re a controllerist, mixing internally? What do you need to change over? One stereo pair. That’s it. No huge processes being done, no ruined sets, no ruined dance floors. I have a streamlined and easy set up and it’s a breeze to work.
Dvls wins.
I agree with you, but this happens now only because all this thing is new… sonner or latter we will all be able to changeover better in a dj-booth, they will have more space as the owners will see that many good people use their own controllers. It’s a matter of adaptation I think…
(Dream=)And they really could have a big awesome computer with all DJ Software and drivers installed at separated virtual machines for DJs to plug in their controllers + SSD drives with their music(/Dream) 
I’m really proud to be part of this revolution, I’ve never been part of anything untill now. I always wanted something big to fight for and I’m really engaged into this battle.
I’ll do anything to make our dream come true at Brazil, and when it comes, you’ll be invited for me to play around here in some places
Inspired by:
“I have a dream…” M.L.K
“Imagine…” J.L.
“I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself.” N.M.
"Honest differences are often a healthy sign of progress. " M.G.
"I want freedom for the full expression of my personality. " M.G.
etc..
I Couldn’t agree more…just the same as spinning vinyl or cdj, anybody can buy the gear and think they are a dj… Its when you really learn the skills, and add your unique flavor or create something new to the table to earn the status of a dj or controllerist
The equipment is means nothing in my book. its what you can mentally come up with as far as rhythms, beats, etc..
Started with vinyl, then cds, tried mini discs, and now I am embracing the next frontier!
I understand your point, but you have to temper that with a certain amount of realism towards the attitude you get, 2 examples follow.
guy #1 says, “hey, why are you using a laptop and ableton instead of TT’s?”
that guy gets a response along the lines of what you are suggesting, a full gear tour if he/she wants it, a run-through on my production and remixing methods, whatever they want to know about really.
guy #2 says “you use a computer, you’re not a real DJ or musician or anything!”
that guy gets the “where have you been for 20 years” response, and I love giving it to him.
also, as a side note, the fans themselves at most of my shows seem to be a lot MORE impressed/interested/curious/amazed by the way I play with midi, a laptop and the gear I use, than they are with any DJ on TT.
I never see anyone ask the DJ’s to explain serato to them
I get this too. So much more satisfying, and I think it pisses those dinosaurs off more
Lets be honest, everyone likes to see a DJ showing a bit of skill.
People see DJ’ing as a skill, the main component being beatmatching. My grandad could probably throw a set together which is beatmatched. That is people’s hang up with the gear. It makes it too easy. I think when people ‘DJ’ with their synced gear people don’t respect it. It is only when they start being a ‘controllerist’, things start to change.
If I went to a club and a DJ was mixing back and forth with 2 tracks and stood around doing nothing for the time inbetween, in my opinion he isn’t a good DJ.
These new developments in gear/software shouldn’t be seen as a shortcut as the person using them will spend the saved time to do other tasks.
Without a doubt, using midi and software is alot easier and takes less skill. This is coming from somebody who has a digital, cd and vinyl setup.
But isn’t the point of DJing to entertain people? I mean, if I play two songs and the mix is perfect, beatmatched, sync’d or just blended, does it matter what medium I’m using?
Isn’t the real judge of a DJ’s talent how they control the crowd?
heh…
one of the many joys of trying new things all the time
F*ck em all Keep rocking out!
well just got off the phone with some one who is a big supporter of CDJ and he told me whatever can be done on MIDI can be done on CDJ’s lol. Doesnt matter what I tell him, he says it can be done. How much of that is true? Can cue juggling be done on CDJ’s for example? How much control of FX do CDJ users have?
@Pollux:
exactly! Controllerism should be about the ability to use the freedom we have been given by not having to worry about what used to be a chore.
Although Dvls is right, does it matter how we do it? As long as were rocking the crowd and they are entertained then we are doing the job we are being payed to do.
As a DJ your not only there to provide audible entertainment but also visual entertainment, otherwise they might as well just throw on a massive mix cd all night long where the mix is perfect - but they don’t because the visual aspect of the DJ is also an important part of the atmosphere.
the point of using synch is not to stand around and do nothing its to do other things like playying around with effects. juggling cues between more than two decks, activating loops from parts of tracks and juggling them and etc and etc… yes we would start using synch at first but then everybody would realize …hey with the synch button on you can do more on fly remixes with the synch button which u cant do on tts or cdjs. and thats where anybody would progres and learn tricks
that is where all the tricks would come in to provide visual entertainment to the crowd. people would be wondering whats is this guy always presing and it causes sound changes to the tracks
Hey, Animus can attest to my ability to rock out in the booth. I agree whole heartedly.
BUT, that’s a different point. Different DJs serve different roles. Keep in mind that radio DJs, club DJs, bar DJs, strip club DJs, and performance based DJs are all DJs. We all serve different roles. Our techniques are all different and our objectives are different, but if the music doesn’t work we have failed, no matter what role we are playing.
We are there to provide music first and foremost. A mix CD can’t read a crowd and a mix CD can’t improvise. The visual aspect can be important, and I’ll be the first to admit that the DJ has a certain hold over the energy in the room that they can either build up or let fall, but still, no matter how hard I rock out if the music doesn’t fit the night will suffer.
recieves money from Dvls YES HES AMAZING!!!
No in all seriousness, DVLS is in fact my favorite DJ in the goth/industrial scene. If it werent for my heavy involvement in the NY rave scene, I would go and support him more often. He has alot of fun in the booth, sometimes more than the people hes trying to entertain lol. That kind of energy leaks onto the dancefloor and encourages a good time.
Sometimes when Im doing a 4 deck mix, my routines are so complex (for me at least) that I cant always be providing a visual aspect, although my mentor has been encouraging me to exaggarate my movements and with practice I can actually look at the crowd while performing.