DJ and Producer Documentaries: Part 5

As the long holiday weekend sets in for our American readers, we figured everyone could use a quick break from BBQs and fireworks to check out a few of the latest awesome documentaries and shorts from around the web since our last installment in this series. From brain-controlled production with DJ Fresh to in the studio with Steve Angello, these seven videos aren’t to be missed.

MY SON THE DJ: LAIDBACK LUKE

The balance of family and work for anyone can be difficult – but for world-traveling DJs/producers, it becomes even more difficult. It’s pretty awesome to see Laidback Luke talk to his parents about his life as a DJ in this VICE-produced short film.

DJ FRESH + MIND-BASED PRODUCTION

We’re not following too closely the developments in neuro-technology, but this video made us consider yet again what DJing and production will look like in 20 years. Watch as DJ Fresh and Mindtunes use Emotiv EPOC technology to create a complete track.

TONE PLAY: FOUR COLOR ZACH

DJ City released their fourth installment in the series on tone play techniques – and Four Color Zach doesn’t disappoint with his tone matching skills. Keep an eye on DJTT for an article on developing some great tone play sets in the coming months!

HOW TO MIX PSYTRANCE

This video takes Ean’s classic mix techniques tutorial video and applies it to the psytrance genre. We really like this style of tutorial – and if you’ve ever wondered how to best start mixing psytrance, this video is a great intro.

SIZE TV: STEVE ANGELLO IN THE STUDIO / ON TOUR

Following Swedish House Mafia around in their documentary was a bit abrasive for our taste, but this SizeTV segment following Steve Angello from his studio to on tour allows us to see a bit of a different side of Steve when he’s not rolling with his former-producer supergroup.

RECORD SHOPPING WITH CARL CRAIG

Digging for tracks is one of the central activities of a DJ – and seeing how a well-respected DJ like Carl Craig does it makes for a good watch.

DFA: TOO OLD TO BE NEW, TOO NEW TO BE CLASSIC

Follow the genesis and evolution of James Murphy’s DFA label over it’s 12 year history – some really good production tips in here. Amazing to see that only two people work full-time in the DFA headquarters!

Watch More DJ/Producer Documentaries Now:
Round One | Round Two | Round Three | Round Four | Round Five

carl craigdj freshdocumentariesfour color zachhow To mixjames murphyLaidBack Lukemind controlmy friend the djpsytrancesteve angellotone play
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  • ???????

    Being a Phd in Neuroengineering and a semi-pro dj, I obviously thought of creating electronic music with brain oscillations. When i shared the idea with some friends 3 years ago, I knew it was gonna happen sooner or later (unfortunately I never had the time to work on it). I also knew it would be somewhat of a hack, to create music that doesn’t sound like total noise out of brainwaves. These guys totally blew the roof of BSing… Throw a couple of disabled lads for emotional effect, footage of trial and error from a “neurotechnology expert”, channel knobs being moved by brain waves and a final result based on one sample that has nothing to do with brain activity. i still think it’s a good idea, but it needs tons of work and people from both sides (music and science) to know very well what they’re doing, otherwise it will just be a marketing ploy. My 2 cents.

  • chris

    psytrance.

    Most of the freaks are very audiophil. Never use lossy tracks, this is an sacrilege! or you get stoned 😉

    Youtube >> Do Not Dance – Viktan Feat. Sublunatiks <<

    • chris

      psytrance

      >> Ektoplazm Free Music Portal <<

      • chris

        >> Amorphus – Return of Shalom <> mekano – land of puu pu <> Haldolium – Diabolika <<

  • DJ_ForcedHand

    I want to hear more from Mindtunes. The music was good, but the epic story behind it pushed me into the “I love it” camp. I hope Smirnoff gets a lot of positive feedback and continues the program.

  • 031999

    i definitely respect how steve angello talks about not needing headphones.

    • Chaser720

      Obvious troll is obvious or newb is newb. He had his monitors turned up too loud so now he can’t wear headphones?

      • DJ Rob Ticho,Club mU

        @chaser720:disqus, I think there may be some truth to idea that the headphones are worse than the monitors. I think it has something to do with air pressure inside your ear being tighter when you have headphones on.

        Nevertheless, I think they added that part because they wanted to address Angelo’s haters out there. Yes, I’ve seen video of him playing premixed CDs but it’s also quite possible to mix on CDJs with out headphones. The first time I did it was by accident when I was stuck alone in a radio station with broken headphones. I was able to manage just fine.

        • Chaser720

          A decent pair of noise isolating headphones would allow you to cue at lower volumes. Im sure a pair of high end ear buds would do the trick as well. That whole section seemed really forced and didn’t make a lot of sense.

          Sure you can mix without headphones because you can match the key and the bpm but you never really know how it will sound without trying it first.

          • DJ Rob Ticho,Club mU

            That section did seem forced. So awkward.

  • synthet1c

    epic sample at 1:25 of the mind tunes vid, keep em coming DJTT awesome post

  • djpreset

    Tone Play , Sweetttt !!!