Music Production

Ableton recently enlisted Bay Area turntablist DJ Step1 to showcase the company’s Push 2 controller in a live performance.

Step1 put down an impressive routine, combining sampling, scratching, and finger drumming to create a track. In an additional video, she explained how she integrates her DJ setup with Push, then breaks down how she mapped the project in Live.

A veteran in the turntablism scene, Step1 is best known for producing a battle record called Bikini Wax with DJ Shortee in 2007. Bikini Wax is the first battle record to be released by a female DJ. Step1 owns the Sequence One music school in Oakland.

Watch her performance and walkthrough videos below.

Related: NOODLES Talks Being Kehlani’s DJ and Gives Advice to Female DJs

Akon sat down with the Drink Champs show earlier this week for an inspiring interview. The Senegalese-American, who has been busy bringing electricity to Africa and developing his own cryptocurrency, discussed a variety of topics.

One of the themes of the interview was his role in developing artists, most notably Lady Gaga and French Montana. Both were signed to his label early in their careers.

Akon discussed why he signed Gaga, whose label at the time, Interscope, didn’t see her as a priority. He also discussed signing Montana, only to let him leave for Bad Boy Records.

“I built my career off making other people’s careers,” Akon said. “If we all did that, we’d be good.”

Watch the inspiring interview above.

Related: GASHI Enlists French Montana and DJ Snake for New Single, ‘Creep on Me’

After breaking down Kid Cudi’s “Day ‘n’ Nite” in August, Genius’ Deconstructed series has returned to examine another one of the Cleveland rapper’s anthems. This time, they enlist Brooklyn producer E.VAX to explain how he made Cudi’s 2009 hit “Pursuit of Happiness” featuring MGMT and Ratatat.

Speaking with Genius, E.VAX recalls how he connected with Cudi then breaks down the different elements of the track.

“Pursuit of Happiness” was released in 2009 as the third single from Cudi’s debut studio album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day. The track peaked at No. 59 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and has been certified four-times platinum. Steve Aoki‘s remix of it has remained a staple in DJ sets.

E.VAX is best known as one half of the electronic rock duo Ratatat. He has produced tracks for JAY-Z and Nas and has three production credits on Cudi and Kanye West‘s KIDS SEE GHOSTS album (“Feel the Love” featuring Pusha T,” “Fire,” and “Reborn”).

Watch Deconstructed above.

Related: Watch Dot Da Genius Explain How He Produced Kid Cudi’s ‘Day ‘n’ Nite’

KSHMR (Source: Facebook)

Renowned DJ/producer KSHMR has released the third installment of his popular Sounds of KSHMR sample pack series for Splice.

The platform writes:

“Niles Hollowell-Dhar (KSHMR) uploaded his first project file for ‘Burn’ to Splice Studio in 2015, which was followed by his Tiësto collaboration, ‘Secrets,’ soon after. Since then, he has released ‘Sounds of KSHMR’ Volumes 1 and 2, two of the most popular sample packs ever released on the platform. In addition, his Splice-exclusive ‘Lessons of KSHMR’ production tutorials have racked up over a million views on YouTube.”

In addition to the release, KSHMR also spoke with Splice about his history with the platform, his new sample pack, the plugins he uses, and more.

Preview and download the pack here.

Related: DJcity and Splice Release ‘Bootleg Bodega, Volume 4’ Sample Pack

DJ Jazzy Jeff at the PLAYLIST Retreat in Delaware in August 2018. (Credit: Julian Melanson)

At the beginning of August, DJ Jazzy Jeff hosted the fourth annual PLAYLIST Retreat at his property in Delaware. The multi-day event brought together like-minded DJs, producers, and songwriters to network and collaborate.

In attendance were legendary DJs like Z-Trip and Skratch Bastid, music producers such as Lord Finesse and DJ Khalil, and companies like Serato and Roland, among many others.

Like previous years, the retreat featured a song making competition that grouped random artists into teams.

Watch DJcityTV’s mini-documentary about the retreat below.

Related: An Inside Look at DJ Jazzy Jeff’s 2017 PLAYLIST Retreat

Hip-hop producer Harry Fraud recently broke down how he made French Montana and Remy Ma‘s “New Thang” on Genius’ Deconstructed series. The track, which was included in the June edition of Trends, was that month’s 19th most-downloaded song on DJcity.

Fraud talks about his inspiration for the song, then discusses his philosophy behind making beats as he breaks down the track in Pro Tools.

Best known for his sample-heavy East Coast sound, Fraud is one of French Montana’s most frequent collaborators. He produced French’s breakout single “Shot Caller” in 2009 as well as his 2017 single “A Lie” featuring The Weeknd and Max B. Fraud has also worked with artists like A$AP Rocky, Rick Ross, and Wiz Khalifa.

“New Thang” is featured on the Uncle Drew movie soundtrack. The song is French and Remy’s first collab since they appeared on Fat Joe‘s 2016 anthem, “All the Way Up.”

Watch Deconstructed above.

Related: Watch Dot Da Genius Explain How He Produced Kid Cudi’s ‘Day ‘n’ Nite’

Grammy-nominated producer Dot Da Genius has explained how he made Kid Cudi’s 2008 anthem “Day ‘n’ Nite” on a new episode of Genius’ Deconstructed. The track peaked at No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and has been certified triple platinum. It is Cudi’s highest charting single to date.

Dot Da Genius recalls how he and Cudi began working together then breaks down the song in Pro Tools.

A Brooklyn native, Dot Da Genius has worked with Cudi since 2006 and is one half of their joint rock band, WZRD. Dot recently co-produced four tracks for Cudi and Kanye’s collaborative album, KIDS SEE GHOSTS (“Reborn,” “Feel The Love” featuring Pusha T, “Cudi Montage,” and “Freee (Ghost Town, Pt. 2)” featuring Ty Dolla $ign). He has also worked with artists like Travis Scott, Jhené Aiko, and 6LACK.

“Day ‘n’ Nite” first appeared on Kudi’s breakout mixtape, A Kid Named Cudi. The track was released in 2009 as the lead single from his debut album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day.

Watch Deconstructed above.

Related: Watch Tay Keith Explain How He Produced BlocBoy JB’s ‘Look Alive’ Feat. Drake

Memphis producer Tay Keith has broken down how he made BlocBoy JB‘s breakout hit “Look Alive” featuring Drake on a new episode of Genius’ Deconstructed.

Released as the first single off BlocBoy’s mixtape Simi, “Look Alive” peaked at No. 5 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and has been certified double platinum. The track was the fourth most-downloaded song of February on DJcity.

Keith briefly recaps his history with BlocBoy then recalls how the collaboration with Drake came together. He goes on to break down how he produced “Look Alive” in FL Studio.

At only 21 years of age, Keith has worked with artists like Yo Gotti, Blac Youngsta, and Moneybagg Yo. He produced BlocBoy’s follow-up single “Rover 2.0” featuring 21 Savage as well as his viral hit “Shoot,” which sparked the popular “shoot dance” on social media. Keith recently co-produced Drake’s smash “Nonstop” from his record-breaking album, Scorpion.

Watch Deconstructed above.

Related: Watch the Producer of Lil Baby and Drake’s ‘Yes Indeed’ Explain How He Made the Track

Atlanta producer Wheezy has explained how he made Lil Baby and Drake‘s “Yes Indeed” on a new episode of Genius’ Deconstructed. The track, which was DJcity’s No. 21 most-downloaded song of May, peaked at No. 6 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and has been certified platinum.

Speaking with Genius, Wheezy recalls how the collaboration happened after meeting Drake while working with Kanye West in Wyoming. He then breaks down each layer of “Yes Indeed” in FL Studio.

Wheezy gained notoriety in 2015 for producing most of Young Thug‘s Barter 6 mixtape. His production credits also include Young Thug’s “Guwop” featuring Offset, Quavo, and Young Scooter, and Migos‘ “White Sand” featuring Travis Scott, Ty Dolla $ign, and Big Sean.

“Yes Indeed” appears on Lil Baby’s debut album, Harder Than Ever. The project peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in late May.

Watch Deconstructed above.

Related: Watch Michael Brun Explain How He Produced His J Balvin Collab, ‘Positivo’

Grandtheft is one of Canada’s most versatile and influential DJ/producers. From rocking clubs and festivals to performing at DJ battles like the Red Bull Music 3Style, the Mad Decent artist can hold it down anywhere.

As a producer, he’s released some of the biggest club and festival anthems of the past few years, including “Keep It 100” with Keys N Krates, his “Sweet Nothing” remix with Diplo, and “Number One” with Major Lazer. He’s also seen radio success with original singles like “Easy Go” featuring Delaney Jane.

On this episode of A Moment With, Grandtheft discusses how he got into DJing, his creative process for producing, what he wants to convey with his music, plus more.

Watch above.

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Related: Watch: Trackstar the DJ on What It’s Like Being Run the Jewels’ DJ