May 2013
2 posts
3 tags
Push More Buttons Presents: Sunday Digs™ 022
Welcome back to a new edition of Sunday Digs. This week we have a nice eclectic mix of tracks ranging from Trap to House. My personal favorite for the week is Salva’s remix of Problem’s “Like Whaaat.” Salva brings a nice production value to the track. Enjoy the rest of the digs.[[MORE]]
Enjoy the digs this week. All of them have been pre-gridded, cue pointed, (Traktor)...
3 tags
Push More Buttons Presents: Sunday Digs™ 021
Happy Cinco De Mayo, Friends! It’s Sunday and a fresh set of digs are here to keep you company while you do your thing today. This week we have a nice mix of trap, beats, and even some electro. I’m a huge fan of Butch Clancy and his new Rihanna Stay Remix is fire. Butch manages to inject some horrific sounding kicks and snares that almost sound like they are clipping but make them all...
April 2013
3 posts
3 tags
Push More Buttons Presents: Sunday Digs™ 020
Happy Sunday Folks. This week I bring you some nice bass tunes with some nice catchy hooks. My personal favorite this week is On The Edge by Angel Haze. This track has it all bass, 8-bit, hip hop samples, and of some hilarious trash talk (“I think my album is more done than yours and I just started a week ago”). Diplo murders this beat with the lead synths and stabs. The remaining...
3 tags
Push More Buttons Presents: Sunday Digs™ 019
Happy Gloomy Sunday, Folks! This week I bring you some really well laid out beats and a few mellow trap tracks. My personal favorite is Brock Berrigan’s “Party and Bullshit.” Brock is one of my favorite beatmakers. He always brings heat and simplicity which are very hard to do. Check it out and the rest of the digs after the jump. Enjoy![[MORE]]
Enjoy the digs this week. All of...
3 tags
Push More Buttons Presents: Sunday Digs™ 018
Happy Sunday Everyone! I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful lazy day. This week we have a nice mix of pure tweak tracks. These bad boys will for sure have you shaking your rump. My personal favorite is a nice Pretty Lights-esque funk soul beat by Griz. Check it out and the rest of the digs after the jump. Enjoy![[MORE]]
Enjoy the digs this week. All of them have been pre-gridded, cue...
March 2013
6 posts
3 tags
Push More Buttons Presents: Sunday Digs™ 017
Happy Easter Sunday! Easter reminds me of downtempo chill time with the people I love the most. Therefore, for this special Sunday Digs I bring you a smooth downtempo crate digging Hip-Hop edition. It’s filled with smooth tracks to make your lazy Sunday complete. Enjoy![[MORE]]
Enjoy the digs this week. All of them have been pre-gridded, cue pointed, (Traktor) and tagged with BPM and key....
3 tags
Review: Traktor Kontrol Stand
Native Instruments recently introduced the new Traktor Kontrol Stand. While I am not typically the type of person who cares much for cases and DJ bags this particular stand really caught my attention.[[MORE]]
The stand is made from what appears to be the same solid aluminum that tops of the F1, X1, and Maschine. It feels both light and solid all at once, this is key for transporting in your...
3 tags
Push More Buttons Presents: Sunday Digs™ 016
Hey hey. Another beautiful Spring Sunday, another set of digs. This week we have a few nice tracks. Some heavy hitters but also some nice melodic chopped up hip hop beats. The Rihanna flip is one of my personal favorites. I love the way the vocals are pitched and chopped. A fine example of good solid beat making.[[MORE]]
Enjoy the digs this week. All of them have been pre-gridded, cue pointed,...
4 tags
Traktor Kontrol Z2 Performance Mappings (Free...
A few weeks ago I posted my Traktor Kontrol Z2 routine, since then I’ve finished up the custom mappings for the Z2 and the Maschine. This post will focus on the Z2 mappings while a later post will have the Maschine MKII mappings. The Z2 has quite a bit of functionality already built in but I wanted to add a few items that I felt would be deal breakers had I not added them. Grab the mappings...
3 tags
Push More Buttons Presents: Sunday Digs™ 015
Happy Sunday everyone. It’s been a good week for new tunes. Some heavy bangers and some more melodic beats have been circulating my Soundcloud feed and a few of my reliable sources. This week we have a nice mix of tunes but my personal favorite is The Ninetys remix of Flume’s “Sleepless.” This has it all nice heavy kicks mixed in with some legit vocal chops, almost...
3 tags
Push More Buttons Presents: Sunday Digs™ 014
It’s a beautiful cloudy day in LA today. This week the digs focus on some smooth mellow trap blended in with some hip hop instrumentals that are reminiscent of some good ole MPC style beats. My personal favorite for this week is WISHKRFT’s Snapp. Smooth like butter but with enough sub and drop for the club.[[MORE]]
Enjoy the digs this week. All of them have been pre-gridded, cue...
February 2013
4 posts
3 tags
Push More Buttons Presents: Sunday Digs™ 013
Hey Hey. Happy Sunday everyone. This week I wanted to do something a bit different. See while I was digging throughout the week for the very special few tracks for this week I fell so far down the rabbit hole of new artists that I came across a 20 year old producer from Belgium named “Houcemate.” His style is unique and quite beautiful in the beat / trap game. I loved his diversity so...
3 tags
Push More Buttons Presents: Sunday Digs™ 012
Hey Hey. Happy Sunday everyone. This week I wanted to give you a few extra tracks due to no digs last week. As most of you know I launched the Z2 routine and will be launching the walkthrough and mappings soon, so stay tuned. If you haven’t already seen the video check it out here. Now onto the digs.[[MORE]]
This week we have some great electro house remixes and some very new simple trap....
4 tags
Traktor Kontrol Z2 + Maschine MKII Performance...
Traktorheads! It’s been a long time since a Traktor video was posted. In this video we focus on the Traktor Kontrol Z2 and the Maschine MKII. I’ve been working hard in the lab to polish up some mappings for these two beasts. Check out the routine after the jump.[[MORE]]
My first impressions of the Z2 were not as exciting as say the F1. It seemed a little too standard for a Native...
3 tags
Push More Buttons Presents: Sunday Digs™ 011
Hey Hey. Happy Super Bowl Sunday. This week we wanted to have a nice eclectic mix of tracks, ranging from House to Hip Hop Beatstrumentals.[[MORE]]
Enjoy the digs this week. All of them have been pre-gridded, cue pointed, (Traktor) and tagged with BPM and key. The are also tagged in the “grouping” field with an energy level from 1-10.
As always if you love the free tracks support the...
January 2013
4 posts
3 tags
Push More Buttons Presents: Sunday Digs™ 010
Hey Hey. Happy NAMM Sunday. In this gloomy but groovy Sunday we have a special Trap only edition of Sunday Digs. Some great tracks that hit hard but also some that carry a soothing vibe.[[MORE]]Enjoy the digs this week. All of them have been pre-gridded, cue pointed, (Traktor) and tagged with BPM and key. The are also tagged in the “grouping” field with an energy level from 1-10.
As...
3 tags
Push More Buttons Presents: Sunday Digs™ 009
Hey there friends, I hope you are all having a lovely weekend. Los Angeles is having a monumental beautiful day in January and the BBQ grill is ready for some Sunday grub. This week we have a heavy load of Trap tracks with a nice electro Banger by the Cataracs. [[MORE]]My personal favorite is the trap remix of C & C Music Factory’s “Gonna Make You Sweat.” This track stays...
3 tags
Push More Buttons Presents: Sunday Digs™ 008
Hey Hey. We are back in action. This week we have a more Dubstep heavy collection with a few trap mixed in. My personal favorite a ridiculously heavy “The Messiah” remix by Ben Samples. If you grew up with Drum and Bass like I did you will definitely appreciate this track.[[MORE]]
Enjoy the digs this week. All of them have been pre-gridded, cue pointed, (Traktor) and tagged with BPM...
3 tags
Push More Buttons Presents: Sunday Digs™ 007
What’s up friends. I hope you are all enjoying the new year. I’ve been working hard in the lab to produce some new videos and mappings. These are coming very soon, I promise. This week I bring you a few extra tracks as I was busy last week with some Z2 material. My personal favorite this week is Sound Remedy’s remix of Video Games by Lana Del Rey. This track is smooth but...
December 2012
6 posts
3 tags
Push More Buttons Presents: Sunday Digs™ 006
What’s up Sunday crew. I hope you are enjoying this beautiful Sunday. We survived an apocalypse, holiday shopping, and the jersey shore so let’s get into the nitty gritty. This week we have an eclectic mix of tunes. Everything from Polish Ambassador to a heavy tripy Ree$e tune. [[MORE]]My personal favorite this week is Lauren Rantala’s ‘This Means War’ Sohella Remix....
3 tags
DJ Shadow, keeping it real for decades and how we...
DJ Shadow is perhaps one of the most prominent figures in the development of instrumental hip hop. On a higher level he’s a DJ’s DJ, the kind of DJ most aspire to be but don’t have the patience to dig and dig and dig. Yesterdays article on the awesome mashup using a 23 year old tape machine by Itacha Audio brought up some bigger internal dialogue that I have constantly with how to progress as a...
3 tags
Push More Buttons Presents: Sunday Digs™ 005
What’s up Sunday crew. I hope you are all gearing up for the supposed apocalypse this upcoming week. This week I bring you some delicious and hard hitting Trap and Electro. My personal favorite is the 1 2 Cake Cake Crizzy Remix. It’s hilarious and the overall quality will be sure to have people moving and laughing at the same time.[[MORE]]
Enjoy the digs this week. All of them...
3 tags
Who needs 1200's, CDJ's, Midi Controllers, when...
What’s in a setup? Does it have to be 2 turntables and a mixer, or perhaps a truck load of modular midi controllers. Nope… It just has to be something that allows you to take people on a musical journey. In this case it happens to be a 23 year old tape machine.[[MORE]]
Recently I’ve been having a lot of deep internal thoughts about what it takes to perform live and how your...
3 tags
Push More Buttons Presents: Sunday Digs™ 004
What’s up Sunday crew. I hope you are all recovering well from your weekend shenanigans. This week I bring you some heaters and some holiday inspired bangers. My personal favorite is the Team Bayside High “Super Mario” track. I love me some cheesy Mario remakes and this one is no exception. Albeit this version feels a bit less cheesy because the beats are pretty heavy in the sub...
3 tags
Push More Buttons Presents: Sunday Digs™ 003
Happy Sunday Everyone. I hope this post finds you well. I’ve been working really hard on a new Maschine FX Performance Mapping for Traktor with the new Maschine MKII. It incorporates a ton of new features and LED feedback. I hope to get that up and running for all of you soon. I mention this because I used this weeks Sunday Digs pack to test out the mapping and I grew very fond of the...
November 2012
5 posts
3 tags
Push More Buttons Presents: Sunday Digs™ 002
Happy Sunday Everyone. I hope you are all recovering well from the Thanksgiving food. It was my Birthday this weekend and I celebrated by recording a mix and hunting for new tracks. This week I bring you some very funky trap, some glitch beats, and some heavy bass. My personal favorite is an excellent Trap remix of Original Don by Luminox. This one in particular stood out because I didn’t...
1 tag
The Next Soundcloud. Why You Should Care.
The way we share our music and look for new music has drastically changed since I was young. Mind you, I’m only 29. Back in the day I remember sitting in front of the radio with my Maxell 90min tape. Previewing and capturing for hours was my joy on the weekends. The result was me building a library of tunes that I would share with friends and family. Fast forward over a decade and my entire...
3 tags
Push More Buttons Presents: Sunday Digs™ 001
Happy Sunday Everyone. I’d like to kick off this Lazy Sunday with a new download series. Ever since I can remember my Sundays have usually consisted of an epic breakfast with a very good cup of coffee. Along with this tradition I always take time to sit on my couch with my laptop and dig, dig, dig for new tunes. Sometimes I walk down to the used bookstore on my block and dig through some...
5 tags
The Next Generation of Digging. NI Debuts Artist...
As most of you know I am a strong advocate for doing more than mixing deck A into deck B, albeit I am also a strong advocate for excellent dig selections to get the crowd moving. The start of this blog was marked with an F1 routine and ever since I’ve been working hard to bring new remixing techniques and sets to you.
It’s great to see that Native Instruments has taken their Remix...
5 tags
DJ Craze Traktor Z2 Routine... BANANAS
Hi everyone, just a short lead in to the post. I know it’s been a while since I have posted but hang in there. I’ve been working on an EP, a new maschine mapping for all of you, and some new performance and technique videos. Stay tuned. Okay, now on to the master blaster routine.[[MORE]]
Native instruments has released a plethora of great routine videos. Their marketing, film, and...
September 2012
3 posts
5 tags
The New Traktor Mixer?
Well we still don’t quite known what the new Traktor piece of gear is but judging by the video it appears to be a 2-channel mixer with a row of push button effects. This seems to be targeting the CDJ/Turntable crowd. It could possibly be a dedicated mixer when not connected to the software?[[MORE]]
As details are still a bit scarce we can only speculate. However, one thing is for sure...
5 tags
NI is in Labor and they are having a Traktor Baby
New Traktor baby coming at ya tomorrow and in typical NI fashion they have decided to tease at their new concoction which appears to be some sort of hardware unit. Judging by the photo we can see that there is an F1 in the background but mostly it looks like a long, skinny, and tall unit with a few buttons.
Until NI releases a video we can only speculate. What do you think it is?
Stay tuned...
5 tags
Traktor Kontrol F1 Tutorial: How to Build Song...
When Native Instruments launched Remix Decks and the Traktor Kontrol F1 people went bananas over the possibilities. Remix Decks remind me of Photoshop; a ton of different ways to do the same task. That task being a live remix or performance element. In this tutorial I show you how to use a Remix Deck to well… Remix. Instead of loading your empty cells with various loops and one shots, this...
August 2012
2 posts
5 tags
The New World of Maschine. A Multicolored World.
Holy multicolored groove sequencing Batman! Native Instruments has just dropped a full fledged color me bad new Maschine. The new Maschine controller (Maschine MKII) features the brightly colored pads we have grown to love on the Traktor Kontrol F1. The new annoucement dropped this morning with an eye candy sonic mind blast from finger drumming master Jeremy Ellis.
[[MORE]]
Now I know what...
4 tags
The Camp Spinoff Experience
When I was growing up I remember watching this show on Nickelodeon called Salute Your Shorts. It was a teen comedy on a group of campers hanging out at summer camp. Most of their activities were what you would normally think when you think of summer camp; swimming, crafts, archery, etc. Fast forward to age 28 and I’m at summer camp. Yeah that’s right, you heard correctly summer camp....
July 2012
5 posts
3 tags
Stop being a music hermit and Collab. Mostly Robot...
I always tend to make the best tunes in solitude but this isn’t always the case. I’ve also made some of the best music and mixes while collaborating with friends. I also find that when I collaborate with other DJ and Producers I have the most fun and create things that are outside of my comfort zone. I believe this is true for everyone. Getting together with a group of friends and...
3 tags
The Future is Now: Interactive Gesture Based Music...
It use to be enough to throw a little extra flare into twisting a filter knob the moment before the drop hits to get the crowd going, but with technology moving at light blazing speeds that same knob twisting gesture just doesn’t cut it anymore. With multiple innovative techniques popping up all over the internet it’s no surprise that the future is now.
[[MORE]]The V Motion Project is...
4 tags
Graphic Design Masterclass for DJ's & Producers |...
DJ Premier once said “we use to sample the records based on their pictures.” He said this to the Berkelee Orchestra Music Director, when he was referring to how he knew about classical music. This resonated with me, mainly because I’m a graphic designer and a musician. (Source - Re:Generation Music Project Film). I can’t recall how many times I’ve been sent links to...
3 tags
3 tags
June 2012
5 posts
3 tags
Online Diggin' - My favorite online free music...
As any great DJ will tell you, the art of digging is hard work, dedication, and a profound love for music. The internet has provided us great accessibility to thousands upon thousands of tracks. But with great power comes great responsibility. Throughout the years I’ve matured as a DJ/Producer and found that the one thing I love about this creative field is the spreading of knowledge.
...
5 tags
How To Use Traktor Pro Effects For Better Mixing:...
This video series will help demystify some of the effects that are within Traktor that can sometimes be confusing or intimidating. This video focuses on the Autobouncer effect. The Autobouncer is a powerful effect that when understood and used correctly can greatly enhance your live remixing or effects glitching.
Read after the jump to get an in-depth explanation of the Autobouncer and a...
6 tags
3 tags
3 tags
Get Inspired
Inspiration can come from any source. I’m a strong believer in just diving into a mix, production, or routine instead of wasting time on inspiration. However, some things we witness leave a mark and push us to create new exciting pieces. Therefore, it is when inspiration works it’s magic and continues to drive us to complete ideas that makes it a powerful tool. With that said,...
May 2012
3 posts
The Bangerz Bang on a Midifighter 3D
DJ Tech Tools recently launched their newest button mashing controller. The Midi Fighter 3D combines state of the art motion sensor, the best arcade buttons on the market, and a beautiful 4x4 grid of RGB LEDs. Check out the amazing performance after the jump and head on over to DJ Tech Tools to pick up your Midi Fighter 3D.
[[MORE]]
2 tags
Welcome To Push More Buttons
So here it is. I finally launched a blog. After procrastinating for about 2 years, I finally got my priorities in order and created my first official blog. The goal is too keep a record of all things I find fascinating in the music world, as well as connecting with people all over the world through music.
The blog will feature new music downloads, music performance tutorials, live events, and...
6 tags
F1 Live Mashup Routine
Push More Buttons has officially launched and what a better way to kick it off than with a routine with the new highly anticipated Traktor Kontrol F1. This thing is amazing and it looks beautiful. I’ve been really excited for it’s release since NI started hinting at it. Read after the jump for a brief overview on the new Traktor Kontrol F1 and Traktor Pro 2.5 as well as a mashup...
