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[looper's] RE: Echoplex sighting



>  >>I've often been surprised that more DJ's don't loop, I know there 
>have been a few on this list, but it seems pretty rare. The DJ I 
>work with is just getting started with it himself.<<
>
>
>baffling, isn't it? dj's use some crazy stuff- special mixing desks 
>with tiny samplers built in, but I've never seen or heard of a dj 
>who bought, say, a repeater. maybe electrix didn't do the right sort 
>of promotion, but you'd think a dedicated bpm-able looping device 
>/with rca sockets and an riaa pre-amp onboard/, for heaven's sake....
>
>you can lead a horse to water (&c)....

The DJ that I work with, when he got his MoFX, was so pleased to 
finally find a piece of gear that was easy to interface with a DJ 
setup. I think that's part of the problem, most pro-audio gear is 
difficult to fit into a DJ setup. I know he searched for ages to find 
a DJ mixer with effects sends, I believe he had to modify his 
finally. Also, there's the issue of most pro-audio gear not having 
rca ins/outs. And, most rack gear doesn't fit well into DJ coffins, 
most mixers are less than 19" wide.

>
>I've even toyed with the idea of using my repeaters to do remixes 
>and "party tapes" inna dj-stylee by way of demonstrating this area 
>of their capability but I've never been comfortable with the idea of 
>getting credit of any sort for tampering with someone else's work.
>
>it's a dodgy area, morally. dj's get paid for playing/playing with 
>other people's recordings, and then go around acting like rock stars 
>themselves, and that bothers me. I tend to try to figure out how 
>much effort has gone into their work (i.e. have they done anything 
>interesting to the sample or is it just laziness?) before getting 
>judgemental.
>
>
>basically, most of the dj's I know have confused 'having an 
>encyclopedic knowledge of their own record collection' with 'being 
>interesting and creative'- one man's "rare groove" is another man's 
>scratchy old record that he didn't like the first time he heard it.
>
>in other words, "learn to play a real instrument, you wanker! then 
>you get to pretend to be a rock star...."
>but one or two of them do stuff with sequencers/drumboxes and 
>effects that suggest a germ of talent lurking somewhere...

This debate has surfaced many times before on the list. My personal 
feeling is that it's ok as long as the dj is doing something creative 
and putting his own personal stamp on the material he uses. It 
doesn't take a lot of skill to, for example, play guitar in a bad 
rock band and act like a rock star. Just like any music scene, the dj 
world has the whole spectrum from big ego/no talent to no ego/big 
talent (and including big ego/big talent). I feel really lucky to 
have a long-term working relationship with a very creative dj, one 
who's constantly working to improve his skills, and dare I use the 
word, musicianship.

It probably won't change your mind, but check out "Scratch". there's 
some really cool stuff on the DVD. Also, there's a DVD of Herbie 
Hancock's recent "Future 2 Future" tour, featuring DJ Disk as part of 
a really kick-ass band, incredible playing by everyone involved.