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No Place Like Dome 2010 (NPLD)

colly — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:55:58 +0000

I’m finally recovered from what had to be of of the best little Irish festivals ever. No Place Like Dome or NPLD is a very small music and arts festival in Sligo, this was its second year ever and it was a great success. It was organised by a small group of friends who just thought that Ireland needed something new and fresh on the festival scene. basically a bunch of lads went to Burning Man in the US and were so blown away they wanted to do something similar in Ireland, and they did just that. The first year was a tiny 250 people, so basically a big extended group of friends, and this year it was expanded to 600 – but it still felt really small and intimate. It’s basically anti-commercialism so you cannot buy anything there – you bring everything you need and you barter for anything else – or basically get given it as it happened as everyone was so friendly. Tickets are cheap at €80 but you get lots for your money.

Myself and the Laundry DJ’s were delighted to be asked to play at it this year. We had just played at Life Festival 2 weeks before and that was a truly incredible weekend, I can’t remember having had so much fun. NPLD was quite different, also great fun but it just had something a little more special. It’s super relaxed atmostphere made it feel more like a big friends party than a commercially organsied event (and in one way that’s exactly what it was). There were loads of great bands and DJ’s all playing for free, such is the spirit of the gig. There was the main dome, the Bass Bunker which was absolutely brilliant – a fantastic place to play a DJ set, a Liquid tent as seen in Life Festival with a Funktion One system, and then the accoustic stage where they burned a big campfire to keep everyone warm at night. There was also a set of decks set up in the Tea Station – a little hut where they gave out free tea and chocolate to everyone!

All in all a fantastic weekend and I cannot wait for next year! Here are a few random pix I found online, I’ll try to add more soon

Collection of Traktor Pro Tutorials, Tips & Tricks

colly — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:51:40 +0000

I’ve recently started Using Traktor Pro – I got together a collection of videos & links that would be of help to many so I thought I’d share them here:

Native Instruments Tutorials:

Part 1 – User Interface: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXOZlK4veR4
Part 2 – Looping: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl21UN5XuEY
Part 3 – FX Setup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTd3i79-QFU
Part 4 – FX Demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQX0DoQNVpU
Part 5 – Crate Flick http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiIV4qdHTmw
Part 6 – 4 Decks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4P9KTmPC68

Richie Hawtin on his Traktor (3) Setup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1H9W_iLff0

MrCuss
Midi Mapping Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQjJs…eature=related
Midi Mapping Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw9Y5gikiKc

Ean Golden – DJ Tech Tools:

VCI-100SE Walkthrough: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWl79ae6fkM
Traktor Audio/Setup Guide: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znUwbqczWIg

Cue Points: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLQuukGhgxI
Beatgrids: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAW8X9RSt7A
Assigning Effects: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsbMJTTGDGo

Dynamic Buildups: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMP7yMvNja8
Dafer FX Theory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjjA0xPkXMs
Live Loop Recording: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgKt-2Sik48
Create Drumroll: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xuu0IKP-yE

Links:

Traktor 3 DVD Tutorials : http://www.dv247.com/computer-music-software/native-instruments-traktor-3-tutorial-dvd–48172 – its a ripoff – I don’t think its wroth buying as the tutorials above will cover most of it.

Traktor Pro Bible: http://www.traktorbible.com – proper softcover book by an expert covering all aspects of Traktor pro. Also expensive but I have ordered it – I’ll let you know what its like.

Traktor World: http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/home/?pwfilter=dj&page=djworld&content=966 – hardware guide, compatible controllers, DJ Interviews etc.

Can’t think of too much more but any links I’ve missed please post here. Please check out my house & techno mixes here: http://www.colly.tv

Irish DJ Mixes Blog

colly — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:22:32 +0000

I’ve finally got around to another little project I have been thinking about. I started a Blog for Irish DJ’s. I really enjoy listening to mixes from DJ’s I know or know of through websites and message boards ect – I actually prefer it to listening to big name DJ’s. Nothing quite like a bit of home grown talent.

Irish DJ Mixes Blog

Please take a look, download some mixes and leave some comments!

The ‘Super Trendy’ new sound of Electronica

colly — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 01:52:27 +0000

I’ve been into electronic music for about 10 years now. Before that I was into metal and rock, but as soon as the rhythm of house got into my blood, there was really very little for anything else. I’ve always been pretty close minded compared to others when it comes to the variance of music styles. I like what I like, but no much else… Electronica is absolutely vast when it comes to sub-division of different genre’s, but really I’ve always been pretty much into the same stuff; mainly ‘House’ and it’s many variants. Funky, Deep, Progressive, Disco, Electro, Tech and Tribal have always been there, and there was almost no need to go anywhere else… Until now.

The most recent and significant progression of my musical tastes, is my recent exploration into the realms of Minimal. “Minimal Techno” or “Microhouse” as it is sometimes known, is a more recent spin off from the well known Techno genre, focusing on the more basic and stripped down repetition of rhythms and beats, somewhat lacking in the melodies tha are moreso found in House and Electro. The thing is that only about 18-24 months ago, being the big music snob that I am, I hated anything of the such, but have more recently grown to be listening to very little else!

There was a very interesting article in The Guardian a few weeks back:

The sound that has been filling those clubs and distributed on those labels, and which has exploded across the continent, is broadly known as “Minimal”. Over the past five or so years, it’s grown from an arcane subdivision of techno into an ubiquitous buzzword on the dance scene. Even two years ago, minimal techno was still the preserve of the so-hip-it-hurts sunglasses-at-night set. Its trendiness was endearingly encapsulated in the ubercoolische.com website, a charming soap opera written about the adventures of minimal figureheads Ricardo Villalobos, Magda and Richie Hawtin. In 2006, minimal finally crossed over, though, when Gabriel Ananda’s 10-minute percussive epic Doppelwhipper exploded across Ibiza.

Minimal is not exacltly going to burst onto the Irish Club Scene any time soon. It is much more suited to dark and dirty underground Berlin clubs at 5am, but it has grown so much on me that I listen to it most mornings on the way into work…