07 - DECEMBER VOX
- 1. infinit-E test driven by francis wong A few weeks ago, on the way home from work I reached into my, at the time, deep pockets and lo and behold! I managed to scrape enough cash out of my wallet to start the financing on a brand new piece of D.J.'ing hardware/software package known to the greater population as Final Scratch. Basically a special lit- tle round box and some custom records which allow me, as the infa- mous house of pong, to play music off of my laptop. It's as simple as it sounds and it's, if you'll pardon my French, effin' awesome… I won't bore you with the technical aspects of this fantastic plas- tic machine; how it actually works is still beyond this genius, but thankful- ly it does. Being able to play virtual- ly any piece of music on my turnta- bles doesn't just mean super fun times for the D.J., but a better show for you, the listener. Which is really what electronic music is about (those of you who have been keeping up with this column the last few months should be quite well versed in my par- ticular point of view). What has always made electronic music so innovative is the fact that it can be written and created with virtually any- thing one could imagine as an instru- ment. On a single computer, one could orchestrate an entire symphony, but depth and variety has never been an issue, but its means of distribution. Making dub plates for amateur pro- ducers is just way too expensive. So until recently, while there still exists a brilliant selection of records for us D.J.s to choose from and for us listen- ers to jam to, we always sat in the shadow of the knowledge that there was at least ten times greater stuff at the tip of our tongues which we would never party to. D.Js and producers, as Windsor's own Ian Hind comments, benefit the audience by being able to really play to the audience, not just with their own original tracks, but by being able to remix and remaster other songs to befit the setting (i.e. for a lounge as opposed to a warehouse…). "It's about enhancing the audience's experience by combining what they know with what they least expect." I've seen it in action… he isn't kid- ding. What it means to me as a D.J. is that I may never have to play an 'anthem' again. During my stint as a D.J. in Ottawa, I was enjoyed as the type who played out that which nobody else did. You can imagine how increasingly difficult that became, but now I can pretty much guarantee you can come to expect the unexpected from this performer. If you never get a chance to see Ritchie Hawtin or John Aquaviva use this amazing technological bridge between analogue and digital, there are a few local geniuses running loose in the city with it, have trust that they too will blow your minds. addendum: As Final Scratch is starting to come into it's own commercially, there has been quite a lot of concern regarding the legitimacy of using sound media such as mp3's, wav's or CD-R's, and a lot of that concern is being expressed by club and bar own- ers… for good reason. Unfortunately, as far as rumours and tips go, every- thing which has been floating around has been clear as mud. Myself, as well as a few other D.J.'s and produc- ers have been doing a little research into possible copyright infringement and, while we are a little reluctant to be doling out any legal advice, we have managed to turn up a few resources for everybody to look up. At the advice of the federal authorities, I have managed to find the Canada Copyright Act on the internet, and have found section 42 deals with our possible predicament. Also, a Canadian company by the name of Audio Video Licensing Agency Inc. (AVLA) deals in representing record labels legally and have been helpful in answering a few questions. They can be found at www.avla.ca. I would urge everybody (club owners and performers alike) to do their homework, as I believe isn't anybody's intention to break the law; however that may become difficult to do if you don't know the rules. The kind people of the Electronic Music Progression have dedicated space on their website to post findings on this matter, and I urge you all to take advantage of this. If we don't clear the air on this, the only suggestion I can offer is that D.J.'s stay at home and everybody else break out the Dance Mix '95. Check out the M.E.A.T. list- ings for upcoming electronic music events. voice electronic electronic music scene by francis wong 8 WINDSORVOX MAGAZINE DECEMBER V. 1. 10 510 Pelissier St. Downtown Windsor 519.252.2267 510 Pelissier Street l Located Next to Baseline 519.252.8380