REVscene Automotive Forum - deadmau5: "All I do at live shows is press play, others need to stop pretending"

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deadmau5: "All I do at live shows is press play, others need to stop pretending"

Gotta respect this guy for being honest... Always wondered how EDM artists did live shows

Quote:

Originally Posted by deadmau5

we all hit play. its no secret. when it comes to “live” performance of EDM… that’s about the most it seems you can do anyway. It’s not about performance art, its not about talent either (really its not) In fact, let me do you and the rest of the EDM world button pushers who fuckin hate me for telling you how it is, a favor and let you all know how it is.

I think given about 1 hour of instruction, anyone with minimal knowledge of ableton and music tech in general could DO what im doing at a deadmau5 concert. Just like i think ANY DJ in the WORLD who can match a beat can do what “ANYONE else” (not going to mention any names) is doing on their EDM stages too. have a look, then let me explain:

http://i.imgur.com/PQbLh.jpg

okay, so heres me, in a big silly mousehead.. twiddlin a knob or somethin… okay so heres how it works…. Somewhere in that mess is a computer, running ableton live… and its spewing out premixed (to a degree) stems of my original producitons, and then a SMPTE feed to front of house (so tell the light / video systems) where im at in the performance… so that all the visuals line up nicely and all the light cues are on and stuff. Now, while thats all goin on… theres a good chunk of Midi data spitting out as well to a handful of synths and crap that are / were used in the actual produciton… which i can tweak *live* and whatnot… but doesnt give me alot of “lookit me im jimi hendrix check out this solo” stuff, because im constrained to work on a set timeline because of the SMPTE. Its a super redundant system, and more importantly its reliable as FUCK! And obviously, ive done the show a couple hundred times easily by now, so the focus over the past few runs with the “cube show” has been more revolved around adding new audio / visual content to keep it current.

so thats my “live” show. and thats as “live” as i can comfortably get it (for now anyway) of course itll evolve, and change up, but im sure a few key principles will always remain the same.

Im just so sick of hearing the “NO!!! IM NOT JUST DOING THIS, I HAVE 6 TABLES UP THERE AND I DO THIS THIS AND THIS” like… honestly. who gives a fuck? i dont have any shame in admitting that for “unhooked” sets.. i just roll up with a laptop and a midi controller and “select” tracks n hit a spacebar. ableton syncs the shit up for me… so no beatmatching skill required. “beatmatching” isnt even a fucking skill as far as im concered anyway. so what, you can count to 4. cool. i had that skill down when i was 3, so dont give me that argument please.

my “skills” and other PRODUCERS skills shine where it needs to shine… in the goddamned studio, and on the fucking releases. thats what counts… because this whole big “edm” is taking over fad, im not going to let it go thinking that people assume theres a guy on a laptop up there producing new original tracks on the fly. becausje none of the “top dj’s in the world” to my knowledge have. myself included.

you know what makes the EDM show the crazy amazing show that it is? you guys do, the fans, the people who came to appreciate the music, the lights, all the other people who came, we just facilitate the means and the pretty lights and the draw of more awesome people like you by our studio productions. which is exactly what it is. But to stand up and say youre doing something special outside of a studio environment, when youre not, just plain fuckin annoys me.

united we fail

LOL damm these dj's got some pretty decent acting then don't they? If they are all just pressing play LOL

Quote:

my “skills” and other PRODUCERS skills shine where it needs to shine… in the goddamned studio, and on the fucking releases. thats what counts… because this whole big “edm” is taking over fad, im not going to let it go thinking that people assume theres a guy on a laptop up there producing new original tracks on the fly. becausje none of the “top dj’s in the world” to my knowledge have. myself included.

:neckbeard:

On thing I've always liked about deadmau5, even if I haven't been a huge fan of his music, is his honesty in interviews. I was wondering this the other day, "They don't actually reproduce the well known tracks right there, do they?" Clearly they don't and I'm glad he's man enough to admit he basically just presses play and turns a few knobs.

Paris Hilton DJs (with a little help) | The Sun |Showbiz

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...52560873_n.jpg

does that mean paris hilton is a real dj now? LOL

Paris Hilton made her big DJ debut last night in Brazil, but apparently needed a little help...

The socialite, 31, donned sequin headphones and a satin basque to play tunes to a packed crowd in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

But she needed help with her knob-twiddling so a technician moved in to work the Pioneer decks for the novice

Paris is in town for the city's annual Pop Musical Festival - and she was clearly bricking it about her DJ-ing debut.

She tweeted earlier in the day: "On my way to The #PopMusicFestival! I have never been so nervous & excited all at once!"

Perhaps to keep the punters happy in case her music wasn't up to much, the leggy beauty went all out on her outfit.

She wore sexy, stocking-style tights with diamante 'suspenders' and an embellished satin corset.

Outlandish ... Paris' embellished corset drew wolf whistles
Splash
Completing the look was a pair of long, studded gloves and black platform heels.

The leggy beauty wore flirty flicks of eyeliner and pink lippy - and her signature blonde locks were partially pulled back in a side plait.

The crowds at the city's Arena Anhembi seemed to go wild for the look - giving Paris a rapturous welcome.

Strike a pose ... Paris gives the punters an eyeful
Splash
She later tweeted: "Wow! What an incredible night! So happy you all loved my set! Loved watching you all smile & dance! One of the best night's of my life!"

Proud sis Nicky Hilton posted a pic of Paris at work with a shout-out to her talented sibling: "Congrats @ParisHilton on your DJ debut in Brazil!"

Describing herself as a "Model, Actress, Singer, Brand, Business Woman, Fashion Designer, Author, Philanthropist and Empire" on the social network, it looks like Paris can now add 'DJ' to that list of accomplishments. Just.

LOL

just the other day i was reading in the EDC thread or whatever and saw people posting songs.. 'omg i cant believe i just heard this LIVE!!!111' :lawl:
i thought this was public knowledge anyway. did people really think that they went up there and started composing new parts of the songs on the fly?

props for honesty

like this deadmouse guy

EDM DJ's knob jocking = LAME

Mix Master Mike will save the day

I played minecraft with him before. :3

Cool story me.

deadmau5's is simply a great showman when it comes to his concerts. everything from the lights, smoke, and face changing mouse head he wears. the experience at his shows blows any other DJ's out of the water.

<3 deadmau5

Quote:

enough said.

Another great read- Editorial: Dance music has gone mainstream, but it doesn’t have to sell out | Dancing Astronaut

Quote:

Dance music has gone mainstream. There. I said it. Afrojack and David Guetta are all over the radio. Avicii “Levels” is in too many commercials to count. Flo Rida is rapping over “In My Mind.” I could go on and on, but there’s no denying that the influx of attention, money, and new fans has thrust a once “underground” genre into the national (and global) consciousness.

Here’s the thing though: This isn’t bad — it’s natural. It’s survival of the fittest. In the same way that people were clamoring for Lil Wayne and Kanye West tickets just a few years ago, now it’s all about snagging passes to Sensation, or EDC, or Electric Zoo, or any of the other hundred EDM events slated to go down in the next few months.

There is a bad thing happening now that EDM is so popular however: We’ve allowed the talent to get complacent. And that’s not cool.

The always outspoken Deadmau5 recently published a post to his Tumblr entitled “we all hit play.” If you read the entire piece (which you should if you care enough to read this one), you will appreciate his honesty and level-headedness about the realities of being a musician in 2012. He draws a fine line between the skills required for a live show and the skills required to be an actual producer, saying that “my ‘skills’ and other PRODUCERS skills shine where it needs to shine… in the goddamned studio, and on the fucking releases.” That’s the exact distinction that has needed to be made for some time now. It’s not a DJs job to make new tracks in front of a crowd — that’s borderline impossible — but it is a DJ’s job to take a crowd “on a roller coaster… and connect with them.”

”A DJ is a guy that comes into a room… scans it in… is like: ‘Okay. What do I need to do to get these people to go bananas?” – Sebastian Ingrosso

What worries me is not that DJs are simply “pressing play,” but that they’re pressing play on the same tracks in the same order night after night after night. There’s new music being released at a breakneck pace, but many of the big name DJs are still spinning the same freaking sets every time. They are playing the same bootlegs, making the same transitions, and delivering the same exact shtick every day of the week.

You would think that the DJs themselves would get bored of it, yet they continue to drop predictable, staid combinations like “Coming Home” vs “Quasar” in nearly every set they play. Maybe it’s because we’re still jumping around as ferociously as we did the first time or maybe it’s because they still get paid regardless of what they play. I’m not saying that these sets are bad, because they’re not. I am saying that they’re getting old.

“because this whole big “edm” is taking over fad, im not going to let it go thinking that people assume theres a guy on a laptop up there producing new original tracks on the fly. becausje none of the “top dj’s in the world” to my knowledge have. myself included.” – Deadmau5

The draw to see any DJ live usually stems from an affinity for their original productions, so their skills in the studio should be able to make up for the fact that they are going to just “hit play.” These guys get more music submissions than anyone on the planet; is it really that hard to find new material to play out? They spend countless hours on planes with their laptops and production tools at the ready; is it really that hard to put together a new mashup or bootleg before a set? I miss the days where I would say “Whoa, what is this?!” instead of “Ugh, this bootleg again?” As much as it sucks when Shazam can’t ID a track, it sucks even more when you know every single song being played.

If the current trajectory of DJ sets continues, it won’t be long before everyone catches on to what’s really going on here. In the same way that mainstream radio stations have killed songs by playing them far too often, DJs are quickly doing the same.

Luckily, this problem is easily rectified. Now is the time to capitalize on the momentum of the industry, to embrace the sudden infatuation with our music as opposed to shying away from it. People want to be surprised. They want to be blown away. They want a reason to keep liking it.

“you know what makes the EDM show the crazy amazing show that it is? you guys do, the fans, the people who came to appreciate the music” – Deadmau5

Playing the same stuff over and over is not the way to make that happen. That’s the way to turn people off. That’s the way to repeat history from the rap game — and dance music is so much better than rap.

So this is a message to all the DJs out there who read Dancing Astronaut (and to the ones who don’t too): Don’t be afraid to take risks. Don’t be afraid to play a song that you released in 2011, 2010, or 1995 for that matter. Don’t be afraid to play a new song from an up-and-comer that has the potential to make people “go bananas.” Don’t be afraid to omit your latest single for once. Don’t be afraid to leave us wanting more.

If you do, we’ll keep coming back for it.

i remember ATB in the rec room interview @ EDC NYC, he siad that it is not going mainstream enough and it might simply die like what euros have experienced a long time ago. Now it is being popular and all but not like guetta and avicii... since hte article states it is mainstream, maybe he got his wish?

also like to note that he said it was being played in big clubs and then it died..... will it happen here?? and paris :sweetjesus: her suit at the dj brasil. Listening to her set :heckno: such a rip, bet you she doesn't know jack

Quote:

Originally Posted by b0unce. [?] (Post 7957928)

But does deadmau5 have to be there. Can't they just put anyone in the mouse head. That way he could do multiple shows a night while he sits at home. If I go see a DJ I want him to DJ. Just like when I go to a Canucks game I go there to see them play hockey and I would not pay to see them act out hamlet.

True story. Anyone who has access to a turntable/controller can beat match and mix songs together flawlessly in less than 2 hours. This still won't change the fact that I will still spend $$$ to see my favourite 'producers' live.

There's a reason why you don't see DJ infront of a producer's name anymore.

Fatboy Slim shares the same opinion

i figured just as much. its hard to imagine them conjuring up new beats that sound SO good on the spot, and execute it so perfectly

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingDeeCee (Post 7958062)

With out using the sync button I don't think so if you are using vinyl on a turntable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manic! (Post 7958137)

With out using the sync button I don't think so if you are using vinyl on a turntable.

Yeah, learning on vinyl forces you to beatmatch properly, and its a lot more satisfying than digital mixing imo. Takes longer than two hours to perfect!

press play :fuckthatshit:

auto sync/ sync button :fuckthatshit:

laptop djs :fuckthatshit:

oldschool ftw

but going digital / controllers is the new thing

there will always be a debate between oldschool/newschool DJing but at the end of the day it should all be about pumping up the crowds up
who cares what hardware/software you use

check this guy out he can actually scratch and has crazy moves on the turntables and killer remixes/sets

he was crowned the ITF World Scratch Champion in 2001

alot of killer EDM/house/electro/club/top40 shit all mixed in

http://djspryte.podomatic.com/

http://soundcloud.com/dj-spryte

good read, caught the whole saga unfold thru his FB a day or 2 ago.

and its bang on. the top 'artists' arent DJs, they are producers. they produce awesome tracks in the studio, many completely original. sometimes taking months to create and perfect a 5 minute song. DJs take a couple of existing tracks and mash em together.

I dont go to a deadmau5 concert to see him mash a couple records together. i go to hear the familiar music and see the fantastic light show that is perfectly synced with it. its going to a show. its unfortunately the same as going to a beyonce or backstreet boys show. they dont sing their music live or create their dance moves on the go, its all pre recorded and scripted. but thats what people go to see.

how many guys in the top of this list actually do any real DJing? they are ALL studio producers.

DJ Mag

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manic! (Post 7957964)

good idea - blue man group that shit

tiesto armin van buuren and deadmau5

usually have the best live production shows with awesome effects,lighting,lasers

wayy better then most dj/producers that come here for a show

to take it a step further.

the class of 'artists' that i have absolutely no respect for are the guys who "press play" but don't produce any of their own music, and don't actually do any mixing/scratching of the music they are playing

as was said, guys like deadmau5 earn their value in the studio. real scratch DJs earn their value on the tables. but guys who don't do either of those, but get fame for it are scum. "heres DJ pauly D pressing play to all of your favorite hits from producers such as tiesto, guetta, shm, avicii and LMFAO!!! $185/ticket"