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WAYNE & WAX

"Go on gig wit it." - Them G.Spot Boyz

My process these days? Every Monday evening I open up Ableton Live, pull up my ever-evolving Beat Research set and drop in 6-12 tracks that I've downloaded that week, rapidshares and megadownloads and mediafire of all sorts and from various sources. I warp the tracks (ie, tell Ableton where the downbeats are), which allows me to stretch tempo independent of pitch, which I do a lot. Then I insert them into tempo-similar blocks. Within those blocks, I'm loosely pre-sequencing tracks by placing them adjacent to others that seem to flow with them, either harmonically, rhythmically, or vibewise, Then, that night at the club, I'll play my way through the sequence, real-time triggering songs, crossfading, dubbing out, adjusting tempo.

In the booth, I sometimes work in the opposite direction from what I arranged. I play down to up. That's how this set emerged, actually. I'm not sure what the implications are, if any, for that sort of reverse flow to appeal to me more in this case.

This mix is a small slice of recent adventures in Beat Research (late December 08). I call it "Gig Wit It" because it emerges from a gig, but more importantly, because it's dance music. It's the sort of thing I might play in an uptempo mood, btwn 140-115 bpm, a little later in the night (/early in the morn). Otherworldly electronic timbres and Caribbeanized beats -- lil snappy mnml dubstep dancehall cluuub music, not to draw lines or anything. I hope the lines sound fuzzy from the get-go.

They should, since no single song ever plays on its own for more than 4 bars. Lately, I've been tending toward the long blend, playing two or more tracks simultaneously for an extended period. It's a mashy sort of mixing and though one might expect for things to get a little too dense (they sometimes do), the approach can work quite nicely with more minimal music (much of this is).

One final thing about this process: I finished this mix a month ago, but I've been sitting on it, struggling to put together the words to frame them. I'm far more confident about the tracks I've assembled. Hope you gig.

wayne & wax - process part 124 (gig wit it) by modyfier

01. Frikstailers & MC Gringo, "Fudegú de Perequetê"
02. Them G.Spot Boyz, "Stanky Legg"
03. Shackleton, "In the Void" (DJ /Rupture Remix)
04. Zombie, "Dripping Like Water"
05. Terror Danjah, "Trojan"
06. Scuba, "Tense"
07. An-ten-nae, "Citoyan Du Monde" (Dov Remix)
08. L-Wiz, "Girl From Codeine City"
09. The Dice Man, "Polygon Window"
10. Soul Clap, "Die Ente"
11. Kirkledove, "Middle East Riddim"
12. Emynd, "We Don't Give A ... (Instrumental)" (mixed & mastered by starkey)
13. Oliver Huntsmann, "La Boum"
14. Starkey, "Pressure"
15. Dusk + Blackdown, "Lata VIP"
16. Teetimus and Daseka, "Beauty Riddim"
17. Glenn Frey, "You Belong to the City"