This is what dance music needs in a live setting is that element of bouncing off the moment. It makes it more exciting. I remember seeing afex twin play as a band a while ago now and it really hit my spot.
I have been making music basically my whole life (I am 48 as I write this), even if I was not doing it as a profession and admittedly with some periods in which I put it aside because I had bigger fishes to fry (i.e. work a regular job to pay the bills and raise a family and kids) and because I had self esteem issues and I wasn't confident enough about my creations. I have only turned more serious and determined about my music recently and, in retrospective, also my compositions from 10-15-25 years ago don't actually sound that terrible now that I have done more inner work and I see my worth. Anyway, in the last couple of years, what really unblocked my creativity and gave me a boost of confidence was to go DAWless and just play live and improvise live. Such a freedom! Magic moments! Creative juices flowing! It's hard to build a long live set done this way but it's also extremely liberating (liberating from the computer/DAW, at least, especially for me, after having worked 30 years in IT and being disgusted by it by now and after a couple of burn outs...). A lot of people are realizing this now. There is a collective awakening going on bringing us back to *performance* vs * perfection in the studio*. Great to see and be part of this.
Thanks for sharing this shambien, especially the part about the inner work, that resonates for me (and probably for many people here). I feel many of us are a little unlucky in that our upbringing didn't provide the emotional tools that are essential to be artists, and we need to navigate all the emotional hurdles the hard way. I feel I've been learning a lot about this the past few years, there were so many unknown unknowns :)
First thing I want to say is it's wonderful to hear DJ's talking about live electronic hardware performance. Thanks for this interview. Reinforces a lot of things for me and also learned a few new things. 9:41 This is one of the first things Honeysmack taught me years back. Never record your live sets. It also prevents 'red line fever' as I have heard it called. 11:50 This conversation is gold. Another lesson I leant from Komplex is that live techno is better in mono. I took this and made it my own. A lot of things are dead center, but shifting items slightly to the left and right opens up the space for them to sit better, but just enough. As Surco says, you want the person standing next to the left speaker will be hearing the same as the person standing next to the right one. 19:11 Very true. Every live hardware artist I know has levels of this. I have go to patterns in my Machinedrum and the sequences Eurorack case. The rest is improvised. No midi except for DIN SYNC clock. Very, very little stress. CV and Gate devices are great for this also. Super reliable. 25:30 I stay away from chords. Especially in euro. But do not be afraid of layering. Which is another trick that is like layering up a chord, progressively, but using the freq. spectrum instead. 29:00 I have a Befaco Hexmix for the same pre listening reason. I find myself not using it when performing. Too busy adjusting, and if you know your case well enough, as Surco does, you will pretty much know what is going to come out. 33:00 Amazing that Surco improvises like that. Awesome. 40:00 If you want something that is a lot simpler, but sounds just as good (better in my opinion) try the Machinedrum instead. I will disagree here with Surca, in that the MD is not complex. The Monomachine is more complex, but the MD is simple. It's not as deep as people make out. Certainly much less complex than the Rytm. 1:00:00 Love the case design. Very inspiring. 1:07:00 Spot on. Everyone I know works differently with different gear. You can take inspiration from all of them! No matter their experience or level. And if you want to start, get some gear, and start experimenting. You will find what works for you. 1:18:00 I love to hear this happening. I am doing something similar in my home town of Melbourne. Mainly around a synth meet, but also live and online improvised modular sessions. Wonderful to hear. Thanks again for the interview. Bring on more live artist interviews.
I've discovered also from experience that finding one box that will do your whole live set is possible but makes it near impossible to improvise. It's best to choose a box for each task. One for drums, one for synth and/or bass and then it depends on your style. But for dancing music you need drums and bass.
Anyways, lots of great tips in Surco's approach and in this talk - some tips that I had discovered already (especially the part about 'structuring' / organizing the layout of things/patterns/soundscape "palette" in your system so that it's predictable, and the clear understanding/division of frequency bands and tonality so that things don't overlap and you don't need to fix them afterwards with compressors and sidechains, etc), and some other ones that I didn't think of yet and made me think (and you see Oscar was also taking notes during the talk like "uuuuhh this is cool" 🙂). Thanks for this I think it will inspire many more people 🙏 Keep up the great work.
I'm very lucky to be part of a collective that does improvised techno live sets without the use of a computer and with barely any presets. It IS like jazz, the key element being listening to others and leaving room for others. It allows for a lot of creativity and fun. Thanks Oscar and Surco for the video!
Same here, our small town (80-90k people) has a great hardware electronic music scene...regular shows, gear swapping, sh*t talk etc etc. Its incredible to be a part of this kind of scene.
"I completely agree about the stress of live performances. The key to a great show is feeling relaxed, and I think improvising can actually reduce stress compared to following a strict setlist."
Awesome!!! And I was afraid of not having my weekly dose of Oscar. I’m addicted to his tutorials!!! I am a subscriber to his courses and I have learned so much thanks to him.
Such a nice video and good information! I often felt that I was not doing enough "live" on stage, so my setup grew and grew. As our live setup got bigger and bigger, so did the stress level. I can really understand the 50% rule :D I was thinking about reducing my live setup from three synths, 6 effect pedals, drum machine and stems via push 3 to maybe 2 synths and the push 3 and will definitely give it a try. This is ecactly the video I needed now
This was awesome stuff guys! thx for that great conversation. I really hope that we will get much more content like this on your channel! thx Oscar and Eric for sharing this with us!
This is gold. I've tried doing the live improvised techno thing and I wasn't quite getting there, although it sounds like I was on the right track with a few things. I'm going to go back to it having made a load of notes from this. Thanks a lot guys!
This is THE most helpful video on improvising live with hardware i‘ve seen. It gave me a better perspective on how I can approach my gear. Thank you so much! ❤
After the workshop, and bumping you in Four tet's concert, this whole video seems more realistic!! Keep it going, very intuitive. I love the part for minimum set, would love to see your approach on this topic in a seperate video. thanks you both !
You guys covered a ton of mega interesting stuff here for live performing artists doing electronic music, i inhaled every second of it! Thank you!! (kind greetings from another Belgian live looper btw, instantly subbed of course)
Interesting conversation, I believe that it would be beneficial to discuss a bit more advanced topics like changing tracks mid show, progressing from an idea in a live setting, how to keep the crowed engaged and don't look too deep on your gear and lose touch especially in more intimate gigs. Also, how to know "when" to change tracks/ideas when this is not structered like in a ready-made tracks on dj sets. I feel like there's topics around live sets in techno that are not discussed and this was a good opportunity to do that. It felt more like a basic basic conversation for beginners. No hard feelings, but just showing what gear he use and how he likes his kicks - this is discussed heavily on any other music channel.
@@SURCOlive thanks for the reply! I will of course check it out. and your content is much appreciated! just gave my 2 cents, perhaps for improving these talks since many beginner content already exists but advanced stuff not so much, maybe something like analog kitchen is worth mentioning but you have an opportunity to advance the discussion as a whole. and Oscar is by no means a beginner, live set or not - he will understand complex workflows and concepts.
I figured the only case in which I should/do use headphones and prelistening is for quickly "tuning" the 303 pitch because I am never sure my patterns would be in the same key as the stuff that I am playing with other synths 😅
Great interview, super useful , even though to get my head around it all I’ll probably need to watch it about 20 times… great advice that makes a hell of a lot of sense. Wonderful stuff..
There is a small problem with the pre-listening: as soon as you start pre-listening to an element, it has started for you. It throws the whole 8 / 16 / 32 bars periods off the window. You are not in phase with the listener experience anymore.
Interesting thoughts about improv vs pre-prepared sets. I always fall to the former myself, for the same reason as Surco. I find it stressful to perform preprepared material. What I prefer to do is pre-prepare the starting sequence and some elements that come from it. Everything is then mutated from that basis to whatever actually happens on the night.
I play deep hypnotic techno live from digitakt and that is very relaxed and reliable setup. Yet you are able to do complex enough tracks to stand on their own. If you are not able pull off decent vibe out of 8 tracks then it does not help to add more tracks to it. It probably would go worse. I don't use any song mode features I just go from pattern to pattern and use pattern name as a small note area to store cryptic directives for me to make required changes for pattern to move on correctly to the next pattern.
Awesome talk, thank you! I have one question about the audio routing in @SURCOlive setup. Is the Digitakt work as an end of chain mixer and the eurorrack connected to its inputs or the DT goes into the rack? Or maybe there is an off camera mixer? How it works in a live situation? Thank you :)
Thanks for this video, very inspiring. I just started connecting my teenage engeniering K.O. II tempo synced to deck D of my Traktor. It's fun. I want to have a closer look on move from ableton.
Hapax can do the scale filter and note reandom generator also, and it has midi controller build in, also supports external midi controllers, which you can route to any port, very performative, also multiple ports to the same channel, means live play over recorded sequences, etc. Works like abelton live in many ways. Also it can compensate midi and cv timing offsets, and can be linked sample perfect to abelton live. [use audio out of soundcard to cv in], the most important part is the sequencer. Oxi is also super, dont want to say its bad.
its momentary yes i was playing n hybrid set like dj set plus synth on top when i was playing it killer in the studio but when the moment i recorded i didn't feel that power or energy
Wow, I wanted to get started with live Sets this winter and now my favorite channel comes up with this video. Perfect timing. Thanks Oscar! Can someone recommend a course in this topic? Would appreciate 🫶🏼
35:50 -> you forgot hermod+... If you add a Midi Keyboard, you've got the best HP to incredible live improvisation powerhouse ratio out there : ) the french nailed ithis one…
That’s is an interesting idea of playing live alternative to djing. In the USA, this would be stressful to conduct as the crime rates are usually high around venues and the performer would be a target for theft and victimized for the expensive equipment that he or she is carrying. In contrast to only carrying a thumb drive as most club djs do in the USA, the culture is not like the 1990s where it used to be safe to carry records, and do equipment into the booths. We now have actors with weapons outside and inside of venues. We can hope this will change, but for now this concept is highly dangerous for the performer to travel with expensive gear.
Yeah Ableton and Traktor are the most common ways to sync hardware and DJ workflow. The issue arrises when you try to take the laptop out of the equation. There are very few good ways to sync the Pioneer DJ sync clock to a MIDI clock without a computer.
That's how I'm looking to do this. I'm aiming squarely at building a hybrid setup so I can weave in with DJing as that suits how I DJ anyway. Your 50% rule is something I've worked with too! So my Ableton setup is about making low end loops that have some modulation control, a Maschine so I can prepare drum patterns while also being able to play over them and then again using modulatable loops for the lead sounds. It's still very much a work in progress so this conversation was REALLY well timed for me! Thanks for that! Subbed
I believe it does as long as they can see what is going on. There is progressively less value in pre-prepared music as an art form with the advent of prerecorded sets, AI music, ghost production, etc. For me seeing live acts is something very different as it allows for a window in to the creative process of the artist that can’t be replicated by computers.
Maybe I am not the norm because my history, but going from a DJ set to live rig to DJ set is pretty simple as long as you can beat match. That should be the least complex aspect of a live rig/DJ set.
Mono! Club systems are mono! That's a real revelation. I'm working on a live eurorack set up and struggling with stere but now... Fuck stereo. Mono is the way! That must be why DJs only use one side of their headphones.
I agree. That’s why I created my course. I wanted to make the course I wished I had when I was struggling to create and organize my own live set. I wanted to give others a system to develop their own ideal setup.
in my opinion people not recording the live set bc you only thought it sounded good "at the moment" is just fear of failure. your scared to listen to it again and it does not sound how ur memory could tell u.... also so much dead stuff was recorded by fans, so all the different live sets are available and people love hearing the different versions
Never really think about art in terms of 'success' or 'failure', nor am I afraid to listen (I do this regularly). I'm just enamored with the idea of bringing people together for in person moments in time rather than producing a product for mass consumption. I feel like there is enough of that out there already, but that's just me. I do this because I love to. :)
I totally disagree with this. Having performed live many times I'm not that interested in spending my time listening back to the set I've played (although I have done this). I'd rather spend the time making more new music or playing another set.
@@SURCOlive Choosing not to record a set can be a powerful, intentional decision rooted in artistry but, more deeply, in the avoidance of a critical form of self-reflection that comes with playback. By not recording, artists sidestep the vulnerability of permanently preserving any imperfection, which is, in itself, a subconscious mechanism to avoid facing the possibility of perceived failure later on. The spontaneity of live art is often cited as a reason, but the truth is that recording inherently opens an artist up to critiques of their most personal expression-making it safer not to record. This decision doesn’t just “preserve the vibe”; it also preserves the artist’s mental and emotional connection to the work as they experience it live, without the potential self-doubt that can emerge from listening back. In this way, avoiding recording a set is a choice that, whether consciously or not, aligns with an aversion to the potential judgment-both from self and others-that recordings make possible. So, choosing not to record is far more than a stylistic choice; it’s a preventative measure against the vulnerabilities that accompany self-scrutiny. The greatest failure in art is masking your truth; the real masterpiece is being unapologetically you.
@@chussein7that is definitely one opinion. I would argue that performing in front of thousands of people substantially nullifies the ‘fear of critique’ fallacy. Fortunately the practice of music and creation or art is as personal as the number of individuals doing it. The method nor the outcome need to be for the approval of others. I would also add for people watching this video and reading the comments who hesitate to experience the joy of creating and performing music for fear of the judgement of others related the what they create or how they create it… there are no rules. Do it on your terms in your way no matter what others try to tell you to do. Art is an expression of an individual and is inherently personal. I would add that in my personal opinion the greatest failure in art is not doing it
Surco's channel ►www.youtube.com/@SURCOlive/
Surco's website ► www.surcolive.com/
Thanks so much for having me!
This is what dance music needs in a live setting is that element of bouncing off the moment. It makes it more exciting.
I remember seeing afex twin play as a band a while ago now and it really hit my spot.
once you go modular you ain't going back , nice rig and whoop Shakmat Battering Ram a beast
@ yes!
I have been making music basically my whole life (I am 48 as I write this), even if I was not doing it as a profession and admittedly with some periods in which I put it aside because I had bigger fishes to fry (i.e. work a regular job to pay the bills and raise a family and kids) and because I had self esteem issues and I wasn't confident enough about my creations. I have only turned more serious and determined about my music recently and, in retrospective, also my compositions from 10-15-25 years ago don't actually sound that terrible now that I have done more inner work and I see my worth. Anyway, in the last couple of years, what really unblocked my creativity and gave me a boost of confidence was to go DAWless and just play live and improvise live. Such a freedom! Magic moments! Creative juices flowing! It's hard to build a long live set done this way but it's also extremely liberating (liberating from the computer/DAW, at least, especially for me, after having worked 30 years in IT and being disgusted by it by now and after a couple of burn outs...). A lot of people are realizing this now. There is a collective awakening going on bringing us back to *performance* vs * perfection in the studio*. Great to see and be part of this.
Thanks for sharing this shambien, especially the part about the inner work, that resonates for me (and probably for many people here). I feel many of us are a little unlucky in that our upbringing didn't provide the emotional tools that are essential to be artists, and we need to navigate all the emotional hurdles the hard way. I feel I've been learning a lot about this the past few years, there were so many unknown unknowns :)
@@OscarUnderdog for sure 🙏
I am bearded bald and wearing a black shirt watching this
Very useful. Oscar, consider more interviews with improvised performers.
First thing I want to say is it's wonderful to hear DJ's talking about live electronic hardware performance.
Thanks for this interview.
Reinforces a lot of things for me and also learned a few new things.
9:41 This is one of the first things Honeysmack taught me years back. Never record your live sets. It also prevents 'red line fever' as I have heard it called.
11:50 This conversation is gold. Another lesson I leant from Komplex is that live techno is better in mono. I took this and made it my own. A lot of things are dead center, but shifting items slightly to the left and right opens up the space for them to sit better, but just enough. As Surco says, you want the person standing next to the left speaker will be hearing the same as the person standing next to the right one.
19:11 Very true. Every live hardware artist I know has levels of this. I have go to patterns in my Machinedrum and the sequences Eurorack case. The rest is improvised. No midi except for DIN SYNC clock. Very, very little stress. CV and Gate devices are great for this also. Super reliable.
25:30 I stay away from chords. Especially in euro. But do not be afraid of layering. Which is another trick that is like layering up a chord, progressively, but using the freq. spectrum instead.
29:00 I have a Befaco Hexmix for the same pre listening reason. I find myself not using it when performing. Too busy adjusting, and if you know your case well enough, as Surco does, you will pretty much know what is going to come out.
33:00 Amazing that Surco improvises like that. Awesome.
40:00 If you want something that is a lot simpler, but sounds just as good (better in my opinion) try the Machinedrum instead. I will disagree here with Surca, in that the MD is not complex. The Monomachine is more complex, but the MD is simple. It's not as deep as people make out. Certainly much less complex than the Rytm.
1:00:00 Love the case design. Very inspiring.
1:07:00 Spot on. Everyone I know works differently with different gear. You can take inspiration from all of them! No matter their experience or level. And if you want to start, get some gear, and start experimenting. You will find what works for you.
1:18:00 I love to hear this happening. I am doing something similar in my home town of Melbourne. Mainly around a synth meet, but also live and online improvised modular sessions. Wonderful to hear.
Thanks again for the interview.
Bring on more live artist interviews.
This is phenomenal, two of my favorite channels colliding. It would be awesome to see you get into the live hardware realm.
super concept...
I've discovered also from experience that finding one box that will do your whole live set is possible but makes it near impossible to improvise. It's best to choose a box for each task. One for drums, one for synth and/or bass and then it depends on your style. But for dancing music you need drums and bass.
Feels intuitive when said like that, good advice!
Anyways, lots of great tips in Surco's approach and in this talk - some tips that I had discovered already (especially the part about 'structuring' / organizing the layout of things/patterns/soundscape "palette" in your system so that it's predictable, and the clear understanding/division of frequency bands and tonality so that things don't overlap and you don't need to fix them afterwards with compressors and sidechains, etc), and some other ones that I didn't think of yet and made me think (and you see Oscar was also taking notes during the talk like "uuuuhh this is cool" 🙂). Thanks for this I think it will inspire many more people 🙏 Keep up the great work.
I learned a lot from the vocabulary in this discussion. Thank you for being you
This video is pure pure GOLD. Thanks Oscar (and of course Surco)❤
I'm very lucky to be part of a collective that does improvised techno live sets without the use of a computer and with barely any presets. It IS like jazz, the key element being listening to others and leaving room for others. It allows for a lot of creativity and fun. Thanks Oscar and Surco for the video!
Same here, our small town (80-90k people) has a great hardware electronic music scene...regular shows, gear swapping, sh*t talk etc etc. Its incredible to be a part of this kind of scene.
"I completely agree about the stress of live performances. The key to a great show is feeling relaxed, and I think improvising can actually reduce stress compared to following a strict setlist."
What an awesome chat, I really found this quite inspiring for my own stuff. Thanks to both of you.
This vid is Exactly what I needed to see right now. Thank You XX
I've started my research into this topic a couple of days ago, this was invaluable! Thank you!
really playing live like that is admirable and once the audience understands what they’re experiencing it’s more interesting
Great listening to you guys chat. So many practical tips :D
Awesome!!! And I was afraid of not having my weekly dose of Oscar. I’m addicted to his tutorials!!! I am a subscriber to his courses and I have learned so much thanks to him.
Such a nice video and good information! I often felt that I was not doing enough "live" on stage, so my setup grew and grew. As our live setup got bigger and bigger, so did the stress level. I can really understand the 50% rule :D I was thinking about reducing my live setup from three synths, 6 effect pedals, drum machine and stems via push 3 to maybe 2 synths and the push 3 and will definitely give it a try. This is ecactly the video I needed now
This was awesome stuff guys! thx for that great conversation. I really hope that we will get much more content like this on your channel! thx Oscar and Eric for sharing this with us!
Great chat! I’ve taken Surco’s Live Performance course and I got a ton out of it. Highly recommended! Thanks guys!!
This is gold. I've tried doing the live improvised techno thing and I wasn't quite getting there, although it sounds like I was on the right track with a few things. I'm going to go back to it having made a load of notes from this. Thanks a lot guys!
Outstanding interview and wonderful advice. Thanks for making it happen
This is THE most helpful video on improvising live with hardware i‘ve seen. It gave me a better perspective on how I can approach my gear. Thank you so much! ❤
A great conversation to hear, whatever stage you are at in your live journey.
Jochem paap my all time hero/god. Love his stoor concept, but his DJ skills are insane.
Its great to see this both are great to listening on their channel yess both of them ❤
After the workshop, and bumping you in Four tet's concert, this whole video seems more realistic!! Keep it going, very intuitive. I love the part for minimum set, would love to see your approach on this topic in a seperate video. thanks you both !
Thanks for watching!
Awesome I have been performing a techno live pa since the late 90s great to see people still loving this format great stuff
Pure Inspiration. Thanks, guys.
Inspiring conversation and walkthrough! Stoor also gave me the bug in 2022 and this has reignited my vision for my hardware! Thanks guys!
You guys covered a ton of mega interesting stuff here for live performing artists doing electronic music, i inhaled every second of it! Thank you!! (kind greetings from another Belgian live looper btw, instantly subbed of course)
Great to see an iPad in use for live performances. Thanks a lot it was very inspiring 🌀
I just love how impressed Oscar is while watching the liveset
great info and format guys
amazing! I follow both your channel since a while and discovered Surco some months ago when I started eurorack trip, awesone content!
Interesting conversation, I believe that it would be beneficial to discuss a bit more advanced topics like changing tracks mid show, progressing from an idea in a live setting, how to keep the crowed engaged and don't look too deep on your gear and lose touch especially in more intimate gigs.
Also, how to know "when" to change tracks/ideas when this is not structered like in a ready-made tracks on dj sets.
I feel like there's topics around live sets in techno that are not discussed and this was a good opportunity to do that.
It felt more like a basic basic conversation for beginners.
No hard feelings, but just showing what gear he use and how he likes his kicks - this is discussed heavily on any other music channel.
This conversation was with Oscar (a live set beginner) to discuss the beginner stuff. Check my content or my course for lots more detail.
@@SURCOlive thanks for the reply! I will of course check it out. and your content is much appreciated! just gave my 2 cents, perhaps for improving these talks since many beginner content already exists but advanced stuff not so much, maybe something like analog kitchen is worth mentioning but you have an opportunity to advance the discussion as a whole. and Oscar is by no means a beginner, live set or not - he will understand complex workflows and concepts.
29:30 @trovarsi ! woohoo!
Wow Oscar this video is so on point for me since i'm doing my first performance this month! Loveeee ❤
looking forward to see your live setup when ready and how you approach the live techno process
This is a cool video to see. I've used a few of your videos to translate to my live modular techno sets (Fjaak, techno-kicks, etc)
Finally, interesting to see oscar being the student here !
Great video, lots of really useful info.
I figured the only case in which I should/do use headphones and prelistening is for quickly "tuning" the 303 pitch because I am never sure my patterns would be in the same key as the stuff that I am playing with other synths 😅
Nice one!! 👏🏻
This is Techno for me , playing live and its magnificent
The Freq Shifter is an excellent module for live...
Great interview, super useful , even though to get my head around it all I’ll probably need to watch it about 20 times… great advice that makes a hell of a lot of sense. Wonderful stuff..
There is a small problem with the pre-listening: as soon as you start pre-listening to an element, it has started for you. It throws the whole 8 / 16 / 32 bars periods off the window. You are not in phase with the listener experience anymore.
That's awesome tutorial/podcast. I am little upset, because right now i can do semi-live setups, but can't fully live versions (issues of my gear)
This is great. I wish this was out when I went down the live rabbit hole.
So happy to see both of you guys united and my joy went even bigger when you talked about our dear friends of Shakmat :)
Cheers and take care fellas!
😄🙌 nice to see you here brice!
Thanks Brice! Have to give props to great gear when you find it!
@OscarUnderdog my pleasure! Been following since day one but finally "active" here (and probably even more in the future) :)
Take care
A hybrid set is what the dj/live set is called.
Totally agree. Hybrid can also mean hardware/Software, so it's hard to use that accurately.
Inspiring chat, thanks guys!
Very helpful thank you.
Interesting thoughts about improv vs pre-prepared sets. I always fall to the former myself, for the same reason as Surco. I find it stressful to perform preprepared material. What I prefer to do is pre-prepare the starting sequence and some elements that come from it. Everything is then mutated from that basis to whatever actually happens on the night.
Stoor was wild this year!
PS: Great meeting you at ADE!
Eyyy good to see you! 🙌
I play deep hypnotic techno live from digitakt and that is very relaxed and reliable setup. Yet you are able to do complex enough tracks to stand on their own. If you are not able pull off decent vibe out of 8 tracks then it does not help to add more tracks to it. It probably would go worse. I don't use any song mode features I just go from pattern to pattern and use pattern name as a small note area to store cryptic directives for me to make required changes for pattern to move on correctly to the next pattern.
The thing that scares me the most with a live set : it takes just one beer to destroy all your equipment
In the wrong venue if beer is an issue lol😂
Great inspiring podcast. Thanks !
How is it you always make videos about the exact thing I'm looking at when I'm doing it!
We are all ✨ connected ✨
👀
Awesome talk, thank you! I have one question about the audio routing in @SURCOlive setup. Is the Digitakt work as an end of chain mixer and the eurorrack connected to its inputs or the DT goes into the rack? Or maybe there is an off camera mixer? How it works in a live situation? Thank you :)
Would love to know this as well!
Digitakt is mixing its internal tracks then going into the mixer in the modular. Everything goes through the modular mixer then out to the house.
Thanks for this video, very inspiring. I just started connecting my teenage engeniering K.O. II tempo synced to deck D of my Traktor. It's fun. I want to have a closer look on move from ableton.
Hapax can do the scale filter and note reandom generator also, and it has midi controller build in, also supports external midi controllers, which you can route to any port, very performative, also multiple ports to the same channel, means live play over recorded sequences, etc. Works like abelton live in many ways. Also it can compensate midi and cv timing offsets, and can be linked sample perfect to abelton live. [use audio out of soundcard to cv in], the most important part is the sequencer. Oxi is also super, dont want to say its bad.
its momentary yes i was playing n hybrid set like dj set plus synth on top when i was playing it killer in the studio but when the moment i recorded i didn't feel that power or energy
Battering ram is my treasured module and I got one right when it was released it’s the best I love y’all and I love shakmat
Wow, I wanted to get started with live Sets this winter and now my favorite channel comes up with this video. Perfect timing. Thanks Oscar!
Can someone recommend a course in this topic? Would appreciate 🫶🏼
SURCO's course is awesome! I just took it.
Thanks!
@leevemann I'd love to have you in the course! The next session starts next week. There is also a big promotional discount right now.
WSNWG : we see new worlds growing
It's surprising how you can squeeze quite a lot of mileage out of a simple pattern
Nothing like two bald dudes nerding out over techno 😎
it sure is an archetype 😂 gotta work with what you're given, I'm afraid...
@@OscarUnderdog wouldn’t have it any other way, you guys are the best!
35:50 -> you forgot hermod+... If you add a Midi Keyboard, you've got the best HP to incredible live improvisation powerhouse ratio out there : ) the french nailed ithis one…
That’s is an interesting idea of playing live alternative to djing. In the USA, this would be stressful to conduct as the crime rates are usually high around venues and the performer would be a target for theft and victimized for the expensive equipment that he or she is carrying. In contrast to only carrying a thumb drive as most club djs do in the USA, the culture is not like the 1990s where it used to be safe to carry records, and do equipment into the booths. We now have actors with weapons outside and inside of venues. We can hope this will change, but for now this concept is highly dangerous for the performer to travel with expensive gear.
Oscar! The Purple from the ADE session made it into this video! 🤣
I got infected by it and now im spreading it to the world! 😂💜
@@OscarUnderdog Haha! Too funny! Will keep in touch. Thanks for everything!
Ah yes, music stuff.
Hmm, Analog Rytm, I know it, performance level
It's possible to sync CDJs with Ableton Link. Look up Beat Link Trigger.
Yeah Ableton and Traktor are the most common ways to sync hardware and DJ workflow. The issue arrises when you try to take the laptop out of the equation. There are very few good ways to sync the Pioneer DJ sync clock to a MIDI clock without a computer.
That's how I'm looking to do this. I'm aiming squarely at building a hybrid setup so I can weave in with DJing as that suits how I DJ anyway. Your 50% rule is something I've worked with too! So my Ableton setup is about making low end loops that have some modulation control, a Maschine so I can prepare drum patterns while also being able to play over them and then again using modulatable loops for the lead sounds. It's still very much a work in progress so this conversation was REALLY well timed for me! Thanks for that! Subbed
@@carlrowlinson2833 Awesome! Glad it was helpful!
In your opinion: Does it make a difference to the audience whether it is live or not ?
I believe it does as long as they can see what is going on. There is progressively less value in pre-prepared music as an art form with the advent of prerecorded sets, AI music, ghost production, etc. For me seeing live acts is something very different as it allows for a window in to the creative process of the artist that can’t be replicated by computers.
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Maybe I am not the norm because my history, but going from a DJ set to live rig to DJ set is pretty simple as long as you can beat match. That should be the least complex aspect of a live rig/DJ set.
There is a typo in your Patreon link 😉
fixed it thanks!
G.A.S.
Mono! Club systems are mono! That's a real revelation. I'm working on a live eurorack set up and struggling with stere but now... Fuck stereo. Mono is the way! That must be why DJs only use one side of their headphones.
This is probably the most neglected area of techno production in terms of tutorials. Most of the paid tutorial content providers haven't covered it.
I agree. That’s why I created my course. I wanted to make the course I wished I had when I was struggling to create and organize my own live set. I wanted to give others a system to develop their own ideal setup.
in my opinion people not recording the live set bc you only thought it sounded good "at the moment" is just fear of failure. your scared to listen to it again and it does not sound how ur memory could tell u.... also so much dead stuff was recorded by fans, so all the different live sets are available and people love hearing the different versions
Never really think about art in terms of 'success' or 'failure', nor am I afraid to listen (I do this regularly). I'm just enamored with the idea of bringing people together for in person moments in time rather than producing a product for mass consumption. I feel like there is enough of that out there already, but that's just me. I do this because I love to. :)
I totally disagree with this. Having performed live many times I'm not that interested in spending my time listening back to the set I've played (although I have done this). I'd rather spend the time making more new music or playing another set.
@@SURCOlive Choosing not to record a set can be a powerful, intentional decision rooted in artistry but, more deeply, in the avoidance of a critical form of self-reflection that comes with playback. By not recording, artists sidestep the vulnerability of permanently preserving any imperfection, which is, in itself, a subconscious mechanism to avoid facing the possibility of perceived failure later on. The spontaneity of live art is often cited as a reason, but the truth is that recording inherently opens an artist up to critiques of their most personal expression-making it safer not to record.
This decision doesn’t just “preserve the vibe”; it also preserves the artist’s mental and emotional connection to the work as they experience it live, without the potential self-doubt that can emerge from listening back. In this way, avoiding recording a set is a choice that, whether consciously or not, aligns with an aversion to the potential judgment-both from self and others-that recordings make possible. So, choosing not to record is far more than a stylistic choice; it’s a preventative measure against the vulnerabilities that accompany self-scrutiny.
The greatest failure in art is masking your truth; the real masterpiece is being unapologetically you.
@@chussein7that is definitely one opinion. I would argue that performing in front of thousands of people substantially nullifies the ‘fear of critique’ fallacy. Fortunately the practice of music and creation or art is as personal as the number of individuals doing it. The method nor the outcome need to be for the approval of others. I would also add for people watching this video and reading the comments who hesitate to experience the joy of creating and performing music for fear of the judgement of others related the what they create or how they create it… there are no rules. Do it on your terms in your way no matter what others try to tell you to do. Art is an expression of an individual and is inherently personal.
I would add that in my personal opinion the greatest failure in art is not doing it
@@SURCOlive well said ! agree with everything you said