Eurobeat Producer, no idea how to perform!
Eurobeat Producer, no idea how to perform! Posted on: 23.07.2012 by Muoi Vanderlip Hello DJTechTools community
s! I'm Odyssey of Odyssey Eurobeat, a California-based one-man Eurobeat production label. Company. Team. Fest. -o-matic-o-rama. Whatever. I've had credits on songs with Avex, SEGA, A-One Records, and quite a few more, and I'm also very active on the independent level. You can find some of my work at odysseymusic.bandcamp.com or any song on OdysseyEurobeat's channel on Youtube. For those unaware, Eurobeat is, in short, the bastard child of JPop and Italo Disco. It's a VERY strict, fast and formulaic genre, which makes exploration and expression a tad difficult. (I was pleasantly surprised to see some discussion of it here!)...to make it short, I have NO idea how to perform this style of music live, and I have at least a couple of shows booked in the next four months. I'm not a DJ by any means, I know nothing of cue point juggling or beatmatching or creating nonstop mixes of my own material. I've never D'd a single J in my entire life. I've played on stage before with a MIDI controller, but that's a horse of an entirely different color. I'd like to do more than just sing along to background tracks alone, as so many in this style have done before me. Ideally, I'd like to trigger a few samples and have some portions of the track loop/"stutter" as it goes along (as it seems some of the samples do in the video of re-working Skrillex's "Kyoto" on MIDI Fighter). How should I go about this? If it helps, I have the following:
Thank you in advance! I'd appreciate some insight on working with a fairly unusual genre, and I figure you guys are the ones to ask. If there's something I missed in the Read Me, my apologies. | |
| Muoi Vanderlip 23.07.2012 | Hello DJTechTools community
s! I'm Odyssey of Odyssey Eurobeat, a California-based one-man Eurobeat production label. Company. Team. Fest. -o-matic-o-rama. Whatever. I've had credits on songs with Avex, SEGA, A-One Records, and quite a few more, and I'm also very active on the independent level. You can find some of my work at odysseymusic.bandcamp.com or any song on OdysseyEurobeat's channel on Youtube. For those unaware, Eurobeat is, in short, the bastard child of JPop and Italo Disco. It's a VERY strict, fast and formulaic genre, which makes exploration and expression a tad difficult. (I was pleasantly surprised to see some discussion of it here!) ...to make it short, I have NO idea how to perform this style of music live, and I have at least a couple of shows booked in the next four months. I'm not a DJ by any means, I know nothing of cue point juggling or beatmatching or creating nonstop mixes of my own material. I've never D'd a single J in my entire life. I've played on stage before with a MIDI controller, but that's a horse of an entirely different color. I'd like to do more than just sing along to background tracks alone, as so many in this style have done before me. Ideally, I'd like to trigger a few samples and have some portions of the track loop/"stutter" as it goes along (as it seems some of the samples do in the video of re-working Skrillex's "Kyoto" on MIDI Fighter). How should I go about this? If it helps, I have the following:
Thank you in advance! I'd appreciate some insight on working with a fairly unusual genre, and I figure you guys are the ones to ask. If there's something I missed in the Read Me, my apologies. |
| Muoi Vanderlip 21.11.2012 | Good evening, all. It's been a while since I sought your insight, and I come again for it. My next confirmed show is in Vegas in February. However, by that show I hope to have a different setup from my current one, like so: • Replace the DJ2Go with a Mixtrack Pro (or Mixtrack + Behringer soundcard) • Remove the Oxygen25 from the setup. I'm... not quite as good with the keyboard live as I thought I'd be, even after some practice. Knobs previously assigned to the Oxygen (that aren't already on the Mixtrack) get tossed onto the LPD8. As well, I need to figure out some creative ways to stop abusing Beat Repeat so much. Lately I took another peek at Ean Golden's transition videos for things like the Echo Freeze trick and I'm contemplating how these effects could be duplicated in Live, seeing as it would really give me more options mid-song. I... don't like having little to do on songs, even while I am singing, so I just sort of reach for various buttons and effects... ...IT'S NOT A PROBLEM THOUGH I CAN QUIT ANY TIME ; ^; Eh, I digress. What are some good tricks for Live-based, loop-focused transitions I can trigger with some ol'-fashioned knobs-and-buttons magic, other than my usual "slide crossfader and hope nobody realizes I'm not exactly revolutionizing the 2-deck game"? Alternatively, I could just start learning how to use Traktor or Mixxx or something and actually do some direct and immediate DJing. |
| Muoi Vanderlip 04.10.2012 | No Left Turn, that's basically what I have going so far. I'll trigger the next song in time so that it crossfades nicely, but I would like to eventually start getting more complicated/intricate with my transitions, or at least start playing around with the material on a deeper level. |
| Meg Reinoehl 03.10.2012 | You could easily just have one song lined up after another. As one song ends, another begins. It sounds like you don't really need to make things all that complicated, especially with your lack of DJ experience. Exporting non-vocal mixes and singing on top of them or playing keys over them and adding your own samples. It doesn't need to be that hard. You're in Scotts Valley? We're sort of neighbors. |
| Muoi Vanderlip 03.10.2012 | Hello again! It's been a while since I've posted; I've played two shows so far and they've both gone very well! I should perhaps ask a few more questions since they've come up, so I can start to diversify my shows a bit. MY LIVE SETUP (only what I've used so far) Macbook Pro 13", OSX 10.8 Logic Pro 9 (for Composition) Mainstage 2 Ableton Live 8 demo (it recently ran out... *snif*) M-Audio Oxygen25 MIDIFighter Classic LPD8 Pads Numark DJ2Go (Yes, you may laugh.) What I've been doing is using the LPD8 pads for samples, freeing up every knob on the LPD8 and Oxygen for effects on the MIDI Fighter and things such as Lo Mid Hi. I haven't been too inventive with effects on the Fighter— Top 4 are BeatRepeats, Next 4 are Tremolos meant to rhythmically cut/pan by 1/4, 1/8, 1/12 and 1/16, Next few are things like Flanger, Reverb, a couple others I've forgotten, and the last four are L, M, H kills and Mute. I have "performance versions" of my songs— that is, with the lead vocal removed if I'm singing on that particular track (true in about 4/5 cases), some instrumental solos or samples removed so I can play them back in live using the Oxygen (using Mainstage) or LPD8 (drum racks in Live), and the rest all in— which I essentially just hit trigger in Live. I depend entirely on crossfades (literally just sliding the bar between A and B) for transitions, and I'm not fond of having to do that, but folks oddly don't seem to mind. So, my question is, what do I do from here? What should I fix, what should I keep, which effects have I overlooked that are built into Live that would really make things interesting? Should I learn how to DJ traditionally, for the sake of more interesting transitions? Should I be more involved with the songs themselves, performance-wise (that is, triggering drums or parts of the lead)? I've got another gig in November in LA, this time with another guest vocalist, so I'd like to use October to get ready. |
| Muoi Vanderlip 20.08.2012 | So I just got back last evening
from my first-ever performance. I can't thank you guys enough for your input and support, I had no idea how much having the MIDI Fighter would burst open my opportunities for amazing live performances... and now it's starting to sound like a really crappy ad for DJTechTools, but I don't care. Two evening
s ago was one of the best evening
s of my life, and I absolutely need to do it again. ...I'm not the most photogenic/videogenic guy so footage might have to wait. But controllerism and Eurobeat get along a LOT better than I ever expected. |
| Frieda Swoboda 09.08.2012 | There is really no need for a crossfader or beatmatching if you are using all your own material. One thing I love for performing live is Izotopes Stutter Edit. I use my MF to trigger the effects and you can juggle vocal phrases or drums like crazy, similar to a scratch routine. But it does take practice so you don't overdo it. One cool thing about Ableton is you can set up your routine to be as risky or as safe as you want. What I mean is, you can set it up so you barely have to touch a button every 5 minutes or you can set it up where you have to launch clips every few bars while swapping effects. |
| Daine Ziadeh 08.08.2012 | Beatmatching is hella easy, if you're a producer, then you will tackle this in minutes. |
| Muoi Vanderlip 08.08.2012 | I'll update with some relatively good news! I have a moderate set up-and-running; I have my full-length songs loaded into Live 7, and I'm using the Oxygen25 and MIDIFighter Classic to trigger various effects, samples, and the occasional patch in Mainstage (thanks Soundflower). Basically I just start the song, pick the track with the sample(s) or patch(es) I need, and occasionally trigger something mid-song. It's addicting! ...so, my questions are, should I assign a knob to a crossfader and start experimenting with crossfading/beatmatching/etc? Are there any must-have effects for mid-set (right now I have a Bitcrusher, Beat Repeat, a Low Pass Filter, Tremolo/Auto-panning, and on/offs for Low, Mid and Treb, with all but the LMT controllable/adjustable by knobs on the Oxygen)? In short, what do I do now? |
| Muoi Vanderlip 27.07.2012 | I suppose I have another question. In most electronic-music shows I've seen or know of, the artists/djs/whomever is performing will TEND to have their songs in a nonstop format. However, I've seen Eurobeat shows specifically use... well, shortened versions, but versions with distinct beginnings and endings nonetheless. (In fact, Eurobeat tends to not play by the same rules in quite a few ways... for better or for worse.) How do you believe I should go about that for the shows I have coming up? |
| Merideth Garnder 24.07.2012 | I use a Launchpad for launching clips and am still deciding on which mixer / controller to go with for FX control. The Launchpad's faders and mixer control are a little lacking for the sounds I'm trying to go for..... |
| Muoi Vanderlip 24.07.2012 | Seems like Live is the way to go! I'll see if I can start figuring out how to use it. As for controllers, folks seem to be suggesting that I keep the traditional keys route... should I still keep the option for Samples/Manipulation open? I'd love to really get in there and PLAY with the track, y'know? |
| Merideth Garnder 23.07.2012 | Live is great for performance! The session view really gives you a nice workflow on stage. |
| Muoi Vanderlip 23.07.2012 | Nonono, that's quite alright! If anything, it's good to know that I should be focusing on Live as a performance platform! (Instead of Mainstage, anyway.) |
| Jerica Salava 23.07.2012 | Oh sorry. I thought you knew Ableton LIVE very well. Maybe someone who knows LOGIC might have suggestions. I see you have a Keytar too. That could be worked in. This guy tries really hard: > |
| Muoi Vanderlip 23.07.2012 | Loverocket, thank you for your insights! I'm not too familiar with Calvin Harris, but I'll take a look when I've some time to do so. You believe I should be learning Live, then? Is there enough of a difference between 7 and 8, where if I learned how to work with 7 I'd still be held back by not upgrading to 8? Or should that at least handle the larger portion of the work? And, is there a specific or oft-successful workflow for transferring work from Logic to Live (I imagine more with WAV than with MIDI)? (And, glad you liked the remix! If you listen closely, I've added some background vocals...!) |
| Jerica Salava 23.07.2012 | great job on this remix http://play.beatport.com/contests/ze...e=1&sort=votes > |
| Jerica Salava 23.07.2012 | If you can play keys and sing, I would get one of these and jam out With Ableton and your microphone on stage. http://us.novationmusic.com/midi-controllers/impulse Playing keys and singing are two LIVE elements that most live EDM performers don't have. I wonder what Calvin Harris does live? I would research Calvin Harris and his transition from production to live performance. LIVE singing on your tracks would be pretty cool. THIS without the huge FAKE band: > |
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