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Playing live trance sets

ie: Playing/performing live sets.

There seems to be nothing about the subject... so, hands up who plays live trance?

What do you use? Software, hardware, hybrid?

Purely 100% your work? Drop in a few remixes?

Any comments, advice, thoughts etc.

I did a mock gig not long ago. Just in front of a few friends...all I had with me was my jp8000 and jx3p. I played some pre-made tracks in the background and ad-libbed some extra stuff over the top.

Everyone loved it....

trace isn't meant to be played live >:O

its a genre of perfection and arps and computer precision imo.

Ideally, I play a hybrid set using Ableton Live and CD turntables. I use Ableton for live remixing and original work. I don't normally play a whole set of this, though. This is where the cd turntables come into play.

I kind of agree with mysticalninja. EDM is DJ territory, not concert territory. I think this is the reason why all the Ableton stuff hasn't taken off as much as it *should* have.

People go out to clubs to get on it and hear their favourite tunes while they attempt to get pen0r/vagin0r. People do not go out to hear their favourite tunes mashed up and sodomised with a million FX. That would only take their focus away from the vagin0r.

It's all very scientific.

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Originally posted by mysticalninja trace isn't meant to be played live >:O its a genre of perfection and arps and computer precision imo.

I couldn't disagree more, where most songs these days sounds 'made' the olders songs had to be produced in a shorter time-frame (Studio-rent etc etc). While the studio got replaced by computer music it slowly lost it's freshness. When 'perfect trance' came up it lost most of it's soul and I'm glad to see recent changings within the genre are reviving that same soul. IMO.

And if you really are good, why not play your trance music live? I've seen the guy of Nu-Nrg do it, Chicane and some other band. It is very easy to do so once you've got some songs finished. It is really cool to mix elements of various songs whilst keep it soundsing clean . Also it is way more flexible and the variations and possibilities are literally endless.

Saying trance is not supposed to be performed live is kind of short-sighted don't you think? It's not up to you to decide. If you wouldn't do it, fine. But if I would have had the possibility I surely would as it is a huge and interesting challenge and oppertunity. And it comes close to an actual dj mix if you want it to. And if you prepare properly, it should be perfect as well.

What wouldn't be more perfect to seamlessly stretch the break if the crowd wants just that? A live set with own productions is the way to let your music interact better with the crowd than a dj mix.

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Also it is way more flexible and the variations and possibilities are literally endless.

Actually it's not and that's exactly my problem with it.. to play any kind of trance live everything has to be pre-made... and then triggered. You can really only pretend to play trance live.

IMO the crowd should follow the dj, not the other way around.

I would play my songs the same way every time anyway... just like rock bands and such do.

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Originally posted by mysticalninja Actually it's not and that's exactly my problem with it.. to play any kind of trance live everything has to be pre-made... and then triggered. You can really only pretend to play trance live.

Obviously you haven't looked into things but just thought about how YOU would do it. I very much disagree with your approach. At the Intuition Invites part I was backstage watching Giuseppe Ottaviani (half of nu-nrg) doing a live performance, on 2 laptops running ableton live. He was able to fade in and out multiple channels as wel as playing instruments live. A live performance is much more than a dj gig for just that. Mixing one track into another, or just playing with certain channels. A lot is indeed pre-made, but far from all has to be depending on your view on things and how much hardware you are willing to take with you.

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IMO the crowd should follow the dj, not the other way around.

No, if a dj needs to take the crowd up a notch he has to be able to understand their reactions and take it to the right course. If the dj isn't able to do so the crowd won't move at all.

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if you really are good, why not play your trance music live?

cause you would have to be so fucking good.. like a human metronome to do that.. trance is too dependant on patterns that are way to hard to play live and timing...

I've always kind of seen trance music as beyond human limitations.. it's like robot music. need the computer.

I dunno pressing play buttons in Ableton live and maybe playing an easy safe to do line live just doesn't impress me.

These guys however, rox my fuxing sox.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6Rb14kyYYw

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Originally posted by mysticalninja Actually it's not and that's exactly my problem with it.. to play any kind of trance live everything has to be pre-made... and then triggered. You can really only pretend to play trance live. IMO the crowd should follow the dj, not the other way around. I would play my songs the same way every time anyway... just like rock bands and such do.

I also disagree. A real rock band (that is, one who is actually worth seeing) will improvise a lot. The best performances I've ever seen (in rock) were the ones where there was the most improvisation. Some rock fans may be hooked on over-rehearsed top 40 shite, but not all.

Also, I really admire what people like chicane, Nu NRG are doing, with almost all live instruments. They are breaking down the barriers between djing and live performance, they're twisting the definition of both, and in the process creating something unique and amazing.

I think that the new software like ableton live makes these things very possible, and much easier than ever before, Also, people like Armin and Sasha are also using live to splice songs and improvise in new ways, which is another area.

not trance but this was done live in flp

LINKAGE

Which is just the reason why FL sucks and also why you should stop spamming. You just ruined my day with that clip.

figured itd be the reason why i donkey punched the shit out of your fucken mom after i fucked her anus till it was bleeding...... fair enough

Wow you're so good I'm not even daring to reply on that one.
To bad this post and the previous one weren't relevant in any way, which is what I was aiming at.

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ie: Playing/performing live sets. There seems to be nothing about the subject... so, hands up who plays live trance? What do you use? Software, hardware, hybrid? Purely 100% your work? Drop in a few remixes? Any comments, advice, thoughts etc.

There is no answer other than the artists' preference and the goal.
There are one man live shows (Guissepe Ottaviani, forcesupreme), 2 men (Varian), and entire bands with singers (Chicane).

First of all it comes down to what you use, a lot of hardware? Then it is a possibility to take it all on the road and start a band/live show.

Lot's of software? A one or 2 man gig would probably be your thing. You don't go walking around syncing ten computers which should be controlled induvidually , 2/3 is doable.

I think Guisseppe Ottianni used a small mixer to switch between 2 synced laptops running Ableton live. He had a novation supernova keyboard with which he controlled both ableton effects but also his synth itself. He played live on the synth backed up by the pc's .
I think he only played his own works/remixes.

When I saw Varian at a live gig they played own tracks/remixes too (running ableton live as well).

I think Forcesupreme(/Oliver Shine/Peter Horrevorts) did a live act which was mostly hardware based.

Chicane only did own music, but his act really is a band, doing all kinds of things live at the same time which was amazing .

There are way to many possibilities to lay down here. It's about what you're aiming for... A band? or a one-man live show? Based on that you can do further on what the possibilities might be.

hmmz ive seen alot of live shit done but never really in the trance genre been drum and bass and say experimental/hardcore area but then again when you dont live somewhere that trance was popular you wont see it. well thing is you can have multiple things mixed witha g roup say midi controlled vstis using multiple controllers and it being entirely improved and then having drum machine and someone running it and then someone doing effects routing/mixing. it really is all about creativity and using it to form artistic things.... btw the comment was mostly aimed at the simple fact that you missed my point. honestly id rather pay to watch a live act instead of a dj reguardless of the genre simply becuase i enjoy it such as seeing infected mushroom live is something else.

Ableton Live isn't playing live. Playing trance live is sitting down @ the keyboard.

It may sound a little close-minded, but trance music really isn't for live play. It's more a producing art rather than a live art. I mean its like the difference between movies and plays.

I'm sure Rank 1 and several other groups play their stuff live, as in pre made sounds but play the main melodies which would be hard to do, then add something extra just for the live performance.

http://www.id-t.com/videoarchief.php - check their video out in this list.

When I first heard electronic music house/trance set I always thought they were made live lol

Also there was this amazing live set I had where they played doctor who theme tune live...really cant remember who it was...

Sweet I found it Orbital Live at Glastonbury - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7RlIZywxNQ

Actually the one I had was trance not break beat like this : /

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Originally posted by DJSentinel Ableton Live isn't playing live. Playing trance live is sitting down @ the keyboard.

So what you're saying is, even though they have a midi keyboard triggering plugins and notes, they don't play live?
Ableton isn't limited to just using pre-recorded material you know...

quote:

It may sound a little close-minded, but trance music really isn't for live play. It's more a producing art rather than a live art. I mean its like the difference between movies and plays.

Would you care to elaborate? I don't understand the comparison.

Just reread it it's a perfect comparison. Just like how they don't do live sitcoms and stuff anymore.

Why don't people play rap beats live with 2 MPC's hooked up together? Rap is another kind of music where it just wouldn't work live..

the only way i'd see it more impressive than djing is if it's all played live, with like 5 or 6 keyboards. otherwise it's just PRETEND.

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Originally posted by mysticalninja Why don't people play rap beats live with 2 MPC's hooked up together? Rap is another kind of music where it just wouldn't work live..

Ummmm... Rap started out live. There are still live shows with live bands, at least among the underground MCs.

And what's this about trance not being a live music? Trance is [i]easier[\i] live, especially with Abelton. You who describe trance as "perfect computer music" are forgetting the most important part of the music: it entrances. Trance is a continuous piece of music that changes slowly and shifts themes as dictated by mood, and gains energy as dictated by the crowd's eagerness to dance.

Traditionally, when a DJ links two songs together, 80-98% of the time, you can tell. The beat changes, the synths change without any kind of transition or morphing, the style changes because of differences between creative processes of artists. To actually mix several songs by several different artists, and still manage to create a coherent, yet slowly changing trance environment is so difficult that most, if not all DJs give up on it more often than not.

With live performance, the artist can ensure that style shifts are few and subtle by directly controlling the pace and time at which the style changes. He makes sure that themes of his own creation blend as he sees fit, and he can control the pace of the set to match the moods of the crowd. All of a sudden, one has control over what elements change when, how they change, how they interact, and all at the touch of a button, at least compared to the work required for live DJing.

Yes, trance involves fast, repetitive, multilayered arpeggios and patterns that are generally beyond the ability of the average human being, and those can be prerecorded and played back in such a way that the artist still has control over it. When need be, the artist can directly input his own melodies and effects on the spot.

The PA's control over the sounds that come out and when they come out is so much greater than that of the DJ, and in this way, a PA can more effectively create an entrancing night. This is what trance is about, not perfect arpeggios and computers and robots.

Rap started out with DJ's and EmCee's ... beats were never made live. Show me one video of someone playing their MPC live at a concert with an EmCee or any other sampler.. The music was played by DJ's.. just like trance.

Some of your guys views on trance and djing are really just fantasys..

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To actually mix several songs by several different artists, and still manage to create a coherent, yet slowly changing trance environment is so difficult that most, if not all DJs give up on it more often than not.

And I'm glad they have.. my biggest problem with trance is the slow ass boring transitions all the djs make inbetween songs. Fills most mixes up with like 50% crap.

quote:

Originally posted by echosystm I kind of agree with mysticalninja. EDM is DJ territory, not concert territory. I think this is the reason why all the Ableton stuff hasn't taken off as much as it *should* have.

Depends on what kind of EDM we're talking about

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