Ableton Live is a loop-based software music sequencer and DAW for OS X and Windows by Ableton. The latest major release of Live, Version 8, was released in April 2009. In contrast to many other software sequencers, Live is designed to be an instrument for live performances as well as a tool for composing and arranging. It is also used for mixing of tracks by DJs, as it offers a suite of controls for beatmatching, crossfading, and other effects used by turntablists, and was one of the first music applications to automatically beat match songs. It does not support traditional musical notation.^[1]

History[link]

Ableton Live is written in C++, with the first version released in 2001 as commercial software, by the German company Ableton. Contrary to popular belief, Live was not prototyped in Max/MSP, although Max/MSP was used to model some of the audio devices.^[2]

Features[link]

Much of Live's interface comes from being designed for use in live performance as well as for production.^[16] As such the interface is more compact than most sequencers and clearly designed for use on a single screen. There are few pop up messages or dialogs. Portions of the interface are hidden and shown based on arrows which may be clicked to show or hide a certain segment (e.g. to hide the instrument/effect list or to show or hide the help box).

Views[link]

Live is composed of two 'views' – the arrangement view and the session view. The session view is primarily used to organize and trigger sets of MIDI and audio called clips. These clips can be arranged into scenes which can then be triggered as a unit. For instance a drum, bass and guitar track might comprise a single scene. When moving on to the next scene, which may feature a synth bassline, the artist will trigger the scene, activating the clips for that scene. As of Live 6, "device racks" have been implemented which allow the user to easily group instruments and effects, as well as map their controls to a set of 'macro' controls.

The other view is the arrangement view, which is used for recording tracks from the session view and further manipulating their arrangement and effects. It is also used for manual MIDI sequencing, something for which a classical composer would have a greater affinity. This view is fairly similar to a traditional software sequencer interface.

Clips may either be an audio sample or MIDI sequence. MIDI triggers notes on Live's built in instruments, as well as third party VST instruments or external hardware.

Instruments[link]

Built-In[link]

By default, Live comes with two instruments - Impulse and Simpler.

• Impulse is a traditional drum triggering instrument which allows the user to define a kit of up to eight drum sounds, each based on a single sample. There are a number of effects available such as basic equalization, attack, decay, pitch shift, etc. Once the kit is defined, rhythms and beats are created through Live's MIDI sequencer.

• Simpler is a relatively easy-to-use sampling instrument. It works using a single sample, applying some simple effects, envelopes, and timing, and then applying pitch transformations in the form of Granular synthesis. In this case, incoming MIDI does not trigger drums as it does in Impulse, but selects the final pitch of the sample, with C3 playing the sample at its original pitch.

Dedicated Hardware Instruments[link]

Akai Professional makes the APC40, a MIDI controller designed to work solely with Ableton Live. A smaller version, the APC20, was released in 2010. Though there are hundreds of MIDI controllers compatible with Ableton, these Akai units try to closely map the actual Ableton Live layout onto physical space. Novation Digital Music Systems has created the "Launchpad" which is a pad device that has been designed for use with Ableton.

Add-Ons[link]

There are a number of additional instruments which may be purchased separately or as part of the Ableton Suite.^[17]

• Amp - a device that delivers the sounds of various amplifiers and cabinet combos. It is the newest add-on and a part of Suite 8.2.
• Sampler - an enhanced sampler.
• Operator - a FM synthesizer.
• Electric - an electric piano instrument.
• Tension - a string physical modelling synthesizer.
• Collision - a mallet percussion physical modelling synthesizer.
• Analog - simulates an analog synthesizer.
• Drum Machines - a collection of emulators for classic drum machines.
• Session Drums - a collection of sampled drum kits.
• Latin Percussion - a collection of sampled latin percussion hits and loops.
• Essential Instruments Collection - a large collection of acoustic and electric instrument samples.
• Orchestral Instrument Collection - a collection of four different orchestral libraries, which can be purchased individually or as a bundle: Orchestral Strings, Orchestral Brass, Orchestral Woodwinds and Orchestral Percussion. The Orchestral Instrument Collection is not included in Live Suite.

Effects[link]

Most of Live's effects are already common effects in the digital signal processing world which have been adapted to fit Live's interface. They are tailored to suit Live's target audience – electronic musicians and DJs - but may also be used for other recording tasks such as processing a guitar rig.^{[citation needed]}

Live is also able to host VST plugins and, on the OS X version, Audio Unit plug-ins.

Working with audio clips[link]

In addition to the instruments mentioned above, Live can work with samples. Live attempts to do beat analysis of the samples to find their meter, number of bars and the number of beats per minute. This makes it possible for Live to shift these samples to fit into loops that are tied into the piece's global tempo.

Additionally Live's Time Warp feature can be used to either correct or adjust beat positions in the sample. By setting warp markers to a specific point in the sample, arbitrary points in the sample can be pegged to positions in the measure. For instance a drum beat that fell 250 ms after the midpoint in measure may be adjusted so that it will be played back precisely at the midpoint.

Some artists and online stores, such as The Covert Operators and Puremagnetik, now make available sample packs that are pre-adjusted, with tempo information and warp markers added. The audio files are accompanied with an "analysis file" in Live's native format.^[18][19]

Envelopes[link]

Almost all of the parameters in Live can be automated by envelopes which may be drawn either on clips, in which case they will be used in every performance of that clip, or on the entire arrangement. The most obvious examples are volume or track panning, but envelopes are also used in Live to control parameters such as the root note of a resonator or, more commonly, a filter's cutoff frequency. Clip envelopes may also be mapped to MIDI controls, which can also control parameters in real-time using sliders, faders and such.

Versions[link]

Live Intro and Live LE[link]

As of version 6, Ableton also offers a stripped-down version of Live targeted at the non-professional market. It has limitations on the number of audio channels and effects and does not feature some of the synchronization (MIDI Clock, ReWire) utilities the full version has to offer. The current Live LE version is 8.1.4.^[20]

As part of the Able10 celebrations, Ableton introduced Live Intro as an effective replacement to LE. Registered users of Live LE can now receive a free upgrade to Live Intro.^[21] The current version is 8.2.6.

Ableton Live 8 Launchpad Edition and Ableton Live 8 Akai Professional APC Edition[link]

Specially packaged versions of Ableton that are custom-tailored for the controllers they are bundled with. (Novation Launchpad, Akai APC20/40) These versions of the software are less limited than the LE and intro versions but still don't have all the features of the full version.

Live 8[link]

On 17 January 2009 Ableton announced version 8 of Live. Live 8 includes a wealth of new features, including an integrated Max/MSP platform, internet collaboration features, and many new effects and workflow enhancements, as well as a refined piracy protection system. Also announced was a dedicated hardware controller developed in collaboration with Akai, called the APC40. Live 8 was released on April 2 of 2009.^[22] Max for Live was released on November 23 of 2009.^[23]

Suite 8[link]

Suite 8 includes all the features of Live 8 plus a new Library with new sounds and resources. Suite 8 contains 10 Ableton instruments including synths, a sampler, electric and acoustic drums, mallets, numerous sampled instruments, reworked Operator and two completely new instruments, Collision and Tension.

See also[link]

Music portal

• Category:Ableton Live users
• ACID Pro
• Cakewalk (sequencer)
• Digital Performer (Mac Only)
• FL Studio
• Logic Pro (Mac Only)
• LMMS
• Steinberg Nuendo
• Pro Tools
• REAPER
• Reason
• Renoise
• Steinberg Cubase

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ableton's official website
• Lastfm website
• Ableton Live how-to database
• Ableton Live tutorials, tips & news
• Tips & Tricks with Video Tutorials
• MacAbleton, the website for Ableton Live users on Mac OSX

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2009)

DJ Jazzy Jeff
Background information
Birth name	Jeffrey Allen Townes
Born	(1965-01-22) January 22, 1965 (age 47)
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	Hip hop, R&B
Occupations	Record producer, DJ
Years active	1985–Present
Associated acts	DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
Website	www.djjazzyjeff.com

Jeffrey Allen Townes^[1] (born January 22, 1965, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania),^[2] also known as DJ Jazzy Jeff or simply Jazz, is an American hip hop, R&B record producer, turntablist and actor. He is best known for his early career with Will Smith as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. DJ Jazzy Jeff attended John Bartram High School in Philadelphia, where he is enshrined in the school's "Wall of Fame."^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

Once he grew up, he developed a reputation and a following as a school and block party DJ. Jazzy Jeff was the feature of the duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. He also won the world DJ championship in the 1986 New Music Seminar DJ Battle.

Acting[link]

When Smith branched out into television with the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Jazzy Jeff played a recurring character named Jazz, Smith's best friend on the show. In the early season the two characters always greeted each other with their signature handshake (swinging mid-five, point-back/snap with both characters saying "Pssh!"). His trademarks included being physically ejected from the house by Uncle Phil (James Avery).

Music[link]

As a duo, they had several gold and platinum-selling albums and singles in the late 1980s and early 1990s, earning them the first rap Grammy Award ever presented in 1989 for Parents Just Don't Understand. One of the first records Jazzy Jeff ever appeared on was with The Korner Boyz (Street Artz Records) "Bust The Move and The Soga of Roxanne) Which featured legendary Philly Rapper / MC Parry P and Grand Tone. The Instrumental was called "Jazzy Jeff Scratch" (1985)

After DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince broke up, Townes went on to become a prominent R&B, soul, and neo soul record producer, establishing the A Touch of Jazz production company in his native Philadelphia. Among the artists that Jazzy Jeff has helped develop are Jill Scott and Musiq. Even though he separated from Will Smith as a music partner, they are still friends,^{[citation needed]} and still occasionally work together. Some songs by Smith were produced by Townes (including "Here He Comes"), and he has performed on some songs by Smith such as "So Fresh" and "Potnas." In addition, he appeared in several of Smith's music videos such as "Will2K" and "Freakin' It". On some occasions, he made an appearances with Smith at live concerts, producing DJ scratches.

He, along with DJ Cash Money, is credited with making the transform scratch famous.^{[citation needed]}

On July 2, 2005, DJ Jazzy Jeff performed with Smith at the Live 8 concert in Philadelphia. Moreover, Smith acknowledges him in his music such as "Comin' To The Stage" from the album Lost & Found and "Potnas" in his album Willennium.

His 2007 release The Return of the Magnificent featured numerous collaborations with old school and new school artists including CL Smooth, Big Daddy Kane, Pos from De La Soul, Method Man, Peedi Peedi (a remake of Brand New Funk), Rhymefest, and Raheem DeVaughn.

In 2007, he appeared with Rhymefest in a video DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Fest directed by Konee Rok, in which he makes music in his home recording studio with Rhymefest.

In 2008, he performed with Smith at the premier of the latter's 2008 film Hancock.

In 2009, he made a mixtape titled He's the King...I'm the DJ in honor of the late entertainer Michael Jackson.

He was featured in the video game, DJ Hero, as a playable character. He also has some original mixes in the game.

He is currently making a mixtape with young rapper Mac Miller and is hosting it, titled "92 Til Infinity".

Discography[link]

Solo work as DJ Jazzy Jeff[link]

• Unreleased album from Sony Records (1998)
• One cut in Battle of DJs
• The Magnificent (2002)
• Soulheaven Presents Jazzy Jeff in the House (2004)
• The Soul Mixtape Groovin' Records USA (2005)
• Hip-Hop Forever II Rapster Records (2004)
• Hip-Hop Forever III BBE Records (2006)
• The Return of The Magnificent EP (2007)
• The Return of the Magnificent (2007) #55 US (Gold)
• The Return of Hip Hop EP (2007)

As DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince[link]

• Rock the House (1986) #83 US (Gold); #97 UK
• He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper (1988) #4 US (3x Platinum); #68 UK
• And in This Corner… (1989) #39 US (Gold)
• Homebase (1991) #12 US (Platinum); #69 UK
• Code Red (1993) #64 US (Gold); #50 UK
• Greatest Hits (1998) #144 US, #20 UK
• Before The Willennium (1999)
• The Very Best of D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince (2006)^[1]

Miscellaneous[link]

• 1991 - Deep, Deep, Trouble with Bart Simpson; and the remixes from The Simpsons Sing the Blues
• 1997 - Jazzy Jeff's Theme; from the album Nuyorican Soul
• 1998 - "When To Stand Up" featuring Eminem
• 1998 - I Don't Know by Slum Village (scratches); from the album Fantastic, Vol. 2
• 1999 - The Next Movement by The Roots (scratches); from the album Things Fall Apart
• 2004 - Mirrorball (DJ Jazzy Jeff Full Sole Remix) by Everything But The Girl; from Adapt or Die: 10 Years of Remixes
• 2005 - Papa Was A Rollin' Stone (DJ Jazzy Jeff & Pete Kuzma Solefull Mix) by the Temptations; from Motown Remixed.
• 2005 - Lost & Found by Will Smith; produced intro song Here He Comes and several DJ scratches on several tracks
• 2005 - Watch Me by Little Brother (scratches); from the album The Minstrel Show
• 2006 - Feel It (Jazzy Jeff Soulful Remix) by the Black Eyed Peas; from Renegotiations: The Remixes
• 2006 - Night in Tunisia (DJ Jazzy Jeff Remix) by Duke Jordan
• 2007 - NY Weather Report by Talib Kweli (scratches); from the album Eardrum
• 2007-Made a cameo appearance in Jill Scott's music video "A Long Walk"
• 2008 - Get Busy by The Roots (scratches); from the album Rising Down
• 2008 - Bring It Back by Rhymefest (producer); from the album El Che
• 2009 - Prince in Training by MaC Renegade Hosted by DJ Jazzy Jeff
• 2009 - Stay This Way (Jazzy Jeff Remix) by Peter Bjorn and John featuring Big Pooh, Chaundon, and Phil Nash from the mixtape Re-Living Thing with Mick Boogie

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: DJ Jazzy Jeff

• Official website
• DJ Jazzy Jeff at the Internet Movie Database
• DJ Jazzy Jeff Beatbuggy Profile
• YourSingapore - ZoukOut

David Willis, otherwise known as DJ Ski and Ski Beatz, is an American record producer mainly working in hip hop.

Biography[link]

Discovered by DJ Clark Kent,^[1] Ski was originally known as "MC Will-Ski". In the 1990s, he was a member of the group Original Flavor, the first group managed by future recording industry executive Damon Dash.^[2] In the mid-90s, Ski was working on duo Camp Lo's debut album Uptown Saturday Night when Dash called him in to work on the debut album of his own artist, Jay-Z. Jay's album, Reasonable Doubt, was released in 1996, marking Ski's first major production placement. Ski produced four tracks off the album, including the singles "Dead Presidents" and "Feelin' It".

After the critical success of Reasonable Doubt, Ski formed Roc-A-Blok Productions in affiliation with Jay and Dame's label, Roc-A-Fella Records, working with Camp Lo and Sporty Thievz. The producer crafted most of Camp Lo's debut, which dropped in 1997, and produced the Fat Joe single "John Blaze"; Ski continued to work with Jay-Z, on his second album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 as well as non-solo albums and compilation projects, until 1998, when Jay released his third project Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life without beats from any of his former producers except for DJ Premier.

Though Roc-A-Blok Productions had since folded, Ski stayed somewhat active in music. Relocating to his home state of North Carolina for a break from New York City's fast-paced lifestyle, he continued producing for artists such as Nature, members of the New Jersey crew The Outsidaz, Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown, Ras Kass and Proof. The producer has continued to produce for Camp Lo, providing most of the production for their second album Let's Do it Again, as well as their third album, Black Hollywood.

Recently, Ski linked back up with Dame Dash, joining the entrepreneur's DD172 collective, subsequently nicknamed the 24-Hour Karate School. Since the foundation of the studio enclave, Ski has worked with Mos Def, Jay Electronica, Jean Grae and others; on April 30, 2010, he announced that he will be producing upcoming albums for Jean Grae, Joell Ortiz, Ras Kass and others, and will be producing all but three songs on the rapper Curren$y's 3rd album Pilot Talk ; these artists are also all featured on the producer's upcoming solo debut, entitled 24 Hour Karate School in honor of the collective.^[2]

Discography[link]

Ski Beatz production discography

Studio albums

• 24 Hour Karate School (2010)
• 24 Hour Karate School Presents: Twilight (2012)

Collaboration albums

• Embedded (with Locksmith) (2011)^[3]
• TBA (with Freddie Gibbs) (TBA 2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ski's on Myspace
• Ski Hip Hop Pow Interview
• Ski's's channel on YouTube
• Interview, HitQuarters Nov 08

Thavius Beck is an electronic musician, producer and rapper based in Los Angeles, California. He is a certified trainer of Ableton Live. He was a member of Global Phlowtations.

History[link]

Thavius Beck is originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He moved to Los Angeles, California when he was 16. He played alto and tenor sax all throughout school.

Thavius Beck has released three solo albums Decomposition, Thru and Dialogue on Mush Records. He released an album Zwarte Achtegrond (which means "black background" in the Dutch language) in collaboration with fellow Los Angeles rapper Subtitle under the group name Lab Waste. He has also put out solo releases under the moniker Adlib.

Thavius Beck has collaborated with various musicians from Cedric Bixler-Zavala to Busdriver. In 2007, he contributed a remix of "Survivalism" for Nine Inch Nails, as well as producing several tracks for Saul Williams on The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!. He toured with Saul Williams initially as a bass guitar player.

In 2008, Thavius Beck entirely produced an album Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow for fellow Mush Records rapper K-the-I???. The album was licensed to UK label Big Dada for distribution in the UK and throughout Europe. It received very favorable press in NME, The Wire, XLR8R and Q magazine.

Thavius Beck's third solo album Dialogue would see him behind the mic more than he had been in over 10 years since Vs. and Tune In, which he self-released. Based on the unexpected success of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, Big Dada decided to license Dialogue as well. The album was released in the UK and Europe on October 12th, 2009, as well as in the United States on Mush Records on January 26th, 2010.

Aside from being an avid electronic musician and live performer, Thavius Beck has also recently become a certified trainer of Ableton Live.^[1] He has been giving bi-weekly workshops at the Downtown Independent theater since June 2009, as well as giving clinics at various music stores and providing private instruction.

Popular culture[link]

The song "To Make Manifest" from the album Decomposition appeared on the SuicideGirls: The First Tour video.

Discography[link]

Thavius Beck[link]

• Decomposition (2004)
• Thru (2006)
• Give Us Free (2007)
• Go! / Away (2009)
• Dialogue (2009)
• Urban Subsonic (2009)

Adlib[link]

• Vs. (1998)
• Tune In (1999)
• Save Us (2000)
• Experience Experiments (2000)
• Operating the Generator (2000)
• Advanced Sound Unit (2002)
• Manipulator (2003)
• International Beats (2005)

Global Phlowtations[link]

• Phlowtation Devices (1996)
• 98 Unheard (1998)
• The Nucleus (1999)

Lab Waste[link]

• Zwarte Achtegrond (2005)
• Can I Get It How You Live? (2008)

Productions[link]

• "Suckas Play My Back" "Triangle" by Sach on Suckas Hate Me (2002)
• "Hard Light (That's Not It)" "A Textbook Remix" by Subtitle on I'm Always Recovering From Tomorrow (2003)
• "Act III Scene 2 (Shakespeare)" by Saul Williams on Saul Williams (2004)
• "Cray Crazy" by Subtitle on Young Dangerous Heart (2005)
• "Happiness ('s Unit of Measurement)" "Low Flying Winged Books" by Busdriver on Fear of a Black Tangent (2005)
• "Restructure / Reroute" "Wait for It" by Subtitle on Terrain to Roam (2006)
• "As I Stand Here (Thavius Beck remix)" by Modwheelmood on Things Will Change (Remixes) (2007)
• "Black History Month" "DNA" by Saul Williams on The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! (2007)
• "Less Yes's, More No's (Thavius Beck remix)" by Busdriver on Sun Shower (2007)
• "The Art of Fish Magic" by Andy Rosenberg/Greg Harris/Jeremy Averit on Rosenberg/Harris/Averitt (2007)
• "Survivalism_Tardusted" by Nine Inch Nails on Survivalism (2007)
• "Survivalism" by Nine Inch Nails on Year Zero Remixed (2007)
• "Ellen Disingenuous" by Busdriver on Ellen Disingenuous (2008)
• All tracks by K-the-I??? on Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (2008)
• "Finger Painting (Thavius Beck remix)" by K-the-I??? on Finger Painting (2008)
• "Touchtone (Thavius Beck remix)" by Daedelus on Touchtone & FWF Remixes (2008)
• "The Bridges Let Us Down (Thavius Beck remix)" by Sole and the Skyrider Band on Sole and the Skyrider Band Remix LP (2009)
• "Lazarus Phenomenon (Thavius Beck remix)" by Bike for Three! (2009)
• "Pop World (Thavius Beck remix)" by BC on Time Capsule Remixes (2009)
• "Two Track Mind" "I'm On" "Front Left Pocket" by Nocando on Jimmy the Lock (2010)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Thavius Beck on Myspace
• Thavius Beck on Mush Records
• Thavius Beck on Big Dada
• Thavius Beck on Plug Research
• Thavius Beck on Ableton
• Thavius Beck on allmusic.com
• 2007 Interview with L.A. Record
• 2009 Interview with The Skinny