hi! i’ve received much more interest and questions than i’ve expected regarding live performance on the dirtywave m8 so i wanted to put together a video explainer on my approach to live performance both in general and on the device specifically
i did not expect to have so much to say! if you’re only interested in the m8-specific stuff skip to
20:28, but my process is different than the way most people handle composing and performance on the m8 so i would encourage you to watch the whole thing
please leave any questions below in the comments! i will probably make more videos in the future detailing the composition process
last thing - i know people have been commenting on the fact that i have 2 m8s but i will say that i've been following this project since it was conceived as just an 8 channel version of LSDJ and so the first m8 is a beta unit and the second one is from the very first production batch...this is an incredible product made by an incredible someone who has been doing this for a very long time and he's been very candid about the problems that come up when embarking on a solo hardware production project so even though it might seem like i'm trying to flex, i'm mostly just trying to show people just how great this device is and i'd implore you to be patient if you are preordered and to maybe try out the headless version
(btw i forgot to mention the controller i'm using - it's an intech studio po16)
00:00 intro
03:09 why i'm interested in live performance
04:23 my background in performing
09:48 establishing a baseline during your performance
11:22 why i play techno and why it's good for live performance
13:52 my inspirations for live performance
15:13 why i use a small number of sound sources
15:49 why i don't want to "plan" my performance
16:22 why i delineate between drums and synths
18:20 my first techno project "parting" and the way i organize my techno performance projects
20:28 finally talking about m8s/project organization
21:28 drum project on m8
25:17 synth project on m8
28:58 midi controller mapping
33:34 approach to performing on m8
35:35 guideline #1: don't use too many simultaneous synth parts
37:57 guideline #2: break performance up into tonal and atonal sections
40:43 guideline #3: "if it happens once, it's a mistake - if it happens twice, it's jazz"
43:37 how i transition between sections
46:10 plans for the future
http://spacetown.bandcamp.com
#m8 #m8tracker #techno #live