it would be cool to hear what you all think of this...

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Audio Logic Recordings

ok... even if it sucks... you can tell me

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Audio Logic Recordings

Just downloading this now - Will pass along thoughts sometime this week after I've had some time to digest it

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last minute disco dot net

Alright Seneca, I've given this a few whirls here and I've got a few thoughts for ya:

First - As always, your tracklisting is strong with a pretty decent balance of tracks that are quote en quote "knowns" vs. tunes that you've introduced me to here. You always seem to find interesting ways to take artists I think may not work well together in a set and find a way to get them to make sense to me. You've got an ear for picking some good tunes m8. The Rene Amesz & Peter Gelderblom Remix and Radioslave tunes were my favorites in the set, really excellent stuff bro!

Second - Mixing. I dont' know if you did this in Ableton or on your decks, but in any event, the mixing is rock solid (something I've come to expect from you), and keeps me interested in the set as a whole. This may be your strongest point - You often times mix in a very interesting fashion, which takes tunes I may not care for and instills in them something very engaging to me, probably the highest compliment a DJ can receive because in this respect it isn't the producers who are making the DJ, it's the DJ who's making the producer. So well done in that regard. The mix from Radio Slave into Madoka sent chills down my spine...

Third - Programming. I've got to be honest with you Seneca, this is something I've always struggled with in your sets, and the one thing, if any, I would recommend you focus on. Make no mistake, you are no "noob" when it comes to putting a set together, but I often times feel disconnected when listening to your sets. It's almost as if you pick these great tracks and mix superbly, but at the end of the day I don't feel any kind of real cohesion to the set. A lot of this could be personal preference, but I'm just being honest with you here.

The one thing I will note that I guess seems interesting to me is that I've had the opportunity to see you play live, in a big, big room, and you handle yourself like a champ. And in these situations, your programming is gorgeous - You're definitely one of Chicago's finest, which leads me to wonder if when you're putting a demo together that maybe you "overthink" it and that same sense of flow that you seem to grab onto so well live may perhaps be lost a bit. Just a thought.

All in all, this is a quality set by any standard. The mixing and track selection are interesting enough to warrant more listens regardless of my feelings on the programming. Well done Seneca, for the minor criticism I have of this, it was still time well spent!

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last minute disco dot net

Last edited by RJT on Oct-10-2006 at 16:35

quote:

Originally posted by RJT Alright Seneca, I've given this a few whirls here and I've got a few thoughts for ya: First - As always, your tracklisting is strong with a pretty decent balance of tracks that are quote en quote "knowns" vs. tunes that you've introduced me to here. You always seem to find interesting ways to take artists I think may not work well together in a set and find a way to get them to make sense to me. You've got an ear for picking some good tunes m8. The Rene Amesz & Peter Gelderblom Remix and Radioslave tunes were my favorites in the set, really excellent stuff bro!

HOLY Feedback. I do appreciate you letting me know how you feel. I have to say with so many tracks being released it's extremely hard to get to know the tracks quickly after purchasing them. It takes a while to sort through and decide on what is good after listening to the whole track. I do try to pick from a diverse selection of tracks and not be limited to one genre as Bobby mentioned in a previous thread. It's about what you love and don't worry about anyone else.

quote:

Second - Mixing. I dont' know if you did this in Ableton or on your decks, but in any event, the mixing is rock solid (something I've come to expect from you), and keeps me interested in the set as a whole. This may be your strongest point - You often times mix in a very interesting fashion, which takes tunes I may not care for and instills in them something very engaging to me, probably the highest compliment a DJ can receive because in this respect it isn't the producers who are making the DJ, it's the DJ who's making the producer. So well done in that regard. The mix from Radio Slave into Madoka sent chills down my spine... Third - Programming. I've got to be honest with you Seneca, this is something I've always struggled with in your sets, and the one thing, if any, I would recommend you focus on. Make no mistake, you are no "noob" when it comes to putting a set together, but I often times feel disconnected when listening to your sets. It's almost as if you pick these great tracks and mix superbly, but at the end of the day I don't feel any kind of real cohesion to the set. A lot of this could be personal preference, but I'm just being honest with you here. The one thing I will note that I guess seems interesting to me is that I've had the opportunity to see you play live, in a big, big room, and you handle yourself like a champ. And in these situations, your programming is gorgeous - You're definitely one of Chicago's finest, which leads me to wonder if when you're putting a demo together that maybe you "overthink" it and that same sense of flow that you seem to grab onto so well live may perhaps be lost a bit. Just a thought.

Why that's very flattering of you. I have done most of my mixes with Final Scratch (vinyl) including my 4 1/2 hour monster! <- click This however is an Ableton mix and my goal was to focus on the programming since it takes care of the beat-matching aspect of things. I tried to focus more on the flow and add effects, loops, etc. Also, it is a completely different animal in the studio vs. in the club. You don't have that visual and audible reaction from your crowd to guage how you are doing. The only thing you rely on when doing a mix like this is how YOU are grooving to it as you are making it. I do like your anaolgy about overthinking a mix and I have done many mixes where I thought, "This sucks, what was I thinking!"

quote:

All in all, this is a quality set by any standard. The mixing and track selection are interesting enough to warrant more listens regardless of my feelings on the programming. Well done Seneca, for the minor criticism I have of this, it was still time well spent!

Those are kind words indeed. After listening to this a few times myself, I personally thought that the mix from Nitzer Ebb - Control into Radioslave - Secret Base was a little weak because it was banging and the get weak and has to build back up. If I could do it again I would probably replace Secret Base with something that would keep the flow going from a realatively harder track.

thanks for the legnthy review, it's nice to get one of these once in a while. I will try to return the favor.

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Audio Logic Recordings