Funkagenda
Funkagenda has been one of my favorite progressive/tech/house producers for years delivering his ‘tough but melodic big room house sound’ – (quote - DJ Magazine). With releases on Positiva, Subliminal, Defected, Azuli and Big Love, Funkagenda now runs the Funk Farm label and is a key member of Toolroom Records with Mark Knight. His colab with Mark, The Man With The Red Face, won him the Ibiza DJ ‘Best Ibiza Track 2008’ and the Beatport ‘Best Tech House Track 2008’ award. He was nominated for "Best Pop Vocal Album" and Album of the Year for his work on the Black Eyed Peas album "The E.N.D." Check out his latest releases on Beatport here: Funkagenda on Beatport.
Controlling Lighting Software through Serato.
The first thing I like to do is open Ableton and create a list of MIDI notes. Open a MIDI track and double click in one of the slots. Scroll up the piano roll and start with note G8 at the top. Double click on the first slot next to the note on the piano roll. Right click the MIDI slot or hit "command" r to label this MIDI note. Label it so that it corresponds to a scene in MyDMX or LJ such as "blackout" or "intense strobe". Create as many MIDI notes as you would like to map in MyDMX or LJ. You are going to use these notes later to create MIDI lines or MIDI loops that you will trigger inside Serato. But for now we are going to use them to map to our scenes in MyDMX or LJ.
You will need to get MIDI signals from Ableton to MyDMX or LJ via a MIDI Interface such as M-Audio Midi Sport series of interfaces. Many MIDI controllers have midi output ports, such as the Korg padKONTROL. You will need 1 interface for your lighting PC and another for your computer that is running Serato/Ableton. Use a MIDI cable to connect the output from your Serato/Ableton computer into the MyDMX/LJ PC. Once you have your MIDI interfaces connected start MyDMX or LJ. In
Ableton choose the MIDI interface in the output section of the MIDI
channel you are using.
In your lighting
software you will want to select the correct MIDI input as well. Select the interface in the drop down box under the "Set Up" tab in the MIDI in window in LightJockey.
Next you will want to choose whatever scene you
wish to map in your lighting software. For MyDMX you will want to go to
the "User" tab to see the list of MIDI mappable scenes. Right click on the scene and click "Learn MIDI command". When "Waiting for
MIDI command" appears click on the corresponding MIDI note in Ableton.
Now when you click on that MIDI note it will trigger the scene in MyDMX. The same goes for Light Jockey. You open the sequence list, click on the
corresponding sequence and select "Learn" in the "MIDI in" window under the "Sequences" tab.
Now you can start to create MIDI
lines that follow the progression of your track, or create some loops
that you can trigger to run in time with the grid in Ableton. To create a MIDI loop select a MIDI note while in the Session View, hit the "tab" key on your keyboard and drop the note into the MIDI line in Arrangement View. Select more MIDI notes from Session View and drop them in Arrangement View. Highlight all the MIDI notes and right click on the title bar for the notes and select "consolidate" or hit "command" j. Drag the newly created loop back to Session View to be able to trigger it with in Ableton.
You can then drop your loops or single notes in Arrangement View to follow the line of the track. I like to select "blackout" for breakdowns, slow or fast strobes for those snare roll buildups, and multi-colored loops for the chorus.
Once you have all your loops or notes dropped in the entire length of your track, you can consolidate the entire thing by hightlighting the length of the midi line and hitting "command" j. Hit "Command r" to rename it.
Once you have consolidated and renamed your MIDI line you can export
your MIDI line to a folder containing all your MIDI lines. Navigate to the folder in Ableton's browser and find the MIDI
line that corresponds to the track you would like to play. Drag it
into a MIDI slot in Session View.
Drop all your midi lines in one channel and navigate through the list
of MIDI files using a MIDI controller like the APC 40 while still inside the
Serato interface. You can then trigger the MIDI track from inside Serato via the Bridge. I
usually loop the first bar of the track in Serato and when I am ready
for my track to start I trigger the MIDI line at the same time I release
the loop.
Be sure to sync up the corresponding deck to the grid in
Ableton. The lights will then follow the MIDI line in time with your
track in Serato. You can also trigger your lighting loops or one shots
live while you play from inside the Serato/Ableton/Bridge interface. Don't forget to edit the grid of your track in Serato so that you have a nice tight sync with Ableton.
I use a Novation Launchpad to trigger my lighting cues. It gives me an 8x8 grid to use to trigger MIDI cues, drum loops, acapellas, and more. We won't go deep into it but you can also map faders and buttons to faders or dials in Ableton and control the parameters of MyDMX or LJ from Ableton. You can also MIDI map directly to a controller. I like to map the X/Y axes of a a scanner or MAC to the X/Y pad on my PadKONTROL or NanoPAD. Then I can control where I want the light to point making it a spotlight that I can control from the booth to highlight something on stage or in the crowd.
Today we will show you how to control your favorite lighting program from within the Serato interface by using Ableton and The Bridge. (Click here to learn more about: The Bridge.) We will assume that you have MyDMX or LightJockey (LJ) installed on another PC and that you have some scenes created for you to map. (Learn more about creating lighting scenes here: MyDMX or LightJockey)
The first thing I like to do is open Ableton and create a list of MIDI notes. Open a MIDI track and double click in one of the slots. Scroll up the piano roll and start with note G8 at the top. Double click on the first slot next to the note on the piano roll. Right click the MIDI slot or hit "command" r to label this MIDI note. Label it so that it corresponds to a scene in MyDMX or LJ such as "blackout" or "intense strobe". Create as many MIDI notes as you would like to map in MyDMX or LJ. You are going to use these notes later to create MIDI lines or MIDI loops that you will trigger inside Serato. But for now we are going to use them to map to our scenes in MyDMX or LJ. You will need to get MIDI signals from Ableton to MyDMX or LJ via a MIDI Interface such as M-Audio Midi Sport series of interfaces. Many MIDI controllers have midi output ports, such as the Korg padKONTROL. You will need 1 interface for your lighting PC and another for your computer that is running Serato/Ableton. Use a MIDI cable to connect the output from your Serato/Ableton computer into the MyDMX/LJ PC. Once you have your MIDI interfaces connected start MyDMX or LJ. In
Ableton choose the MIDI interface in the output section of the MIDI
channel you are using. 
In your lighting
software you will want to select the correct MIDI input as well. Select the interface in the drop down box under the "Set Up" tab in the MIDI in window in LightJockey.
Next you will want to choose whatever scene you
wish to map in your lighting software. For MyDMX you will want to go to
the "User" tab to see the list of MIDI mappable scenes. Right click on the scene and click "Learn MIDI command". When "Waiting for
MIDI command" appears click on the corresponding MIDI note in Ableton.
Now when you click on that MIDI note it will trigger the scene in MyDMX. The same goes for Light Jockey. You open the sequence list, click on the
corresponding sequence and select "Learn" in the "MIDI in" window under the "Sequences" tab. 
Now you can start to create MIDI
lines that follow the progression of your track, or create some loops
that you can trigger to run in time with the grid in Ableton. To create a MIDI loop select a MIDI note while in the Session View, hit the "tab" key on your keyboard and drop the note into the MIDI line in Arrangement View. Select more MIDI notes from Session View and drop them in Arrangement View. Highlight all the MIDI notes and right click on the title bar for the notes and select "consolidate" or hit "command" j. Drag the newly created loop back to Session View to be able to trigger it with in Ableton.
You can then drop your loops or single notes in Arrangement View to follow the line of the track. I like to select "blackout" for breakdowns, slow or fast strobes for those snare roll buildups, and multi-colored loops for the chorus. 
Once you have all your loops or notes dropped in the entire length of your track, you can consolidate the entire thing by hightlighting the length of the midi line and hitting "command" j. Hit "Command r" to rename it. 
Once you have consolidated and renamed your MIDI line you can export
your MIDI line to a folder containing all your MIDI lines. Navigate to the folder in Ableton's browser and find the MIDI
line that corresponds to the track you would like to play. Drag it
into a MIDI slot in Session View. Drop all your midi lines in one channel and navigate through the list
of MIDI files using a MIDI controller like the APC 40 while still inside the
Serato interface. You can then trigger the MIDI track from inside Serato via the Bridge. I
usually loop the first bar of the track in Serato and when I am ready
for my track to start I trigger the MIDI line at the same time I release
the loop. Be sure to sync up the corresponding deck to the grid in
Ableton. The lights will then follow the MIDI line in time with your
track in Serato. You can also trigger your lighting loops or one shots
live while you play from inside the Serato/Ableton/Bridge interface. Don't forget to edit the grid of your track in Serato so that you have a nice tight sync with Ableton. I use a Novation Launchpad to trigger my lighting cues. It gives me an 8x8 grid to use to trigger MIDI cues, drum loops, acapellas, and more. We won't go deep into it but you can also map faders and buttons to faders or dials in Ableton and control the parameters of MyDMX or LJ from Ableton. You can also MIDI map directly to a controller. I like to map the X/Y axes of a a scanner or MAC to the X/Y pad on my PadKONTROL or NanoPAD. Then I can control where I want the light to point making it a spotlight that I can control from the booth to highlight something on stage or in the crowd.
A Skillz Review
Last Friday we presented A.Skillz at the Oxygen Complex in Moncton. The opening act were locals Cyn L and Opus with Nayles as MC delivering a healthy dose of scratching over some serious Electro beats from the likes of Lazy Rich and Felguk to name a few. Then A.Skillz tore up the place with an amazing display of incredible turntablism. He lead the crowd through a fully funky blend of Hip Hop, House, Drum and Bass and Electro, mashing up acapellas and specially made samples designed to hype the crowd. He left the crowd sweaty and spent. The crowd was made up of a huge chunk of the Moncton old-school classics, some die hards from Saint John and Fredericton, and the serious DJ fans. Big thanks to A.Skillz for playing Moncton.
Mix Of The Week
This week we have a podcast from Jay Hamilton's Repercussions Radio. Jay is living in Toronto and has 4 remixes under his belt, most notably a dubstep remix for
Wynter Gordon released on Atlantic Records under the moniker Dirty Triqs, with production partner JLR. Jay has put together a solid set ranging from disco house to tech house and back again,
including tracks by one of my favourite Canadian producers of the
moment, Jerome Robins, as well as Prock & Fitch, Danny Leblack,
another amazing Canadian beatsmith Matteo DiMarr, the man with a midas
touch Jay Lumen, NYC house maven Peter Bailey and a brand new disco tech
house monster from the mighty D.Ramirez. March guests The B-Team are a lot of fun to listen to because they really
try to meld new school tech house flavours with the old school vibes of
more classic house music. The pair have played at clubs and parties
alongside such DJs and artists as Deadmau5, JFK, John Acquaviva,
Hatiras, DJ Dan, Jojo Flores, Wynter Gordon, The Angry Kids, Robb G,
Dekoze, Manzone & Strong and Jelo as well as performing at the 2011
BPM Festival in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. Check out the mix here: http://soundcloud.com/
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