This is the music-related blog for Jonathan (Scooter) Clark, also known in the electronica world as DJ Bolivia, a producer and DJ from Atlantic Canada. I listen to (and produce) a lot of folk, indie, rock, and hip hop music too!
I also run a company (Replant.ca Environmental) through which you can sponsor the planting of trees to build forest reserves and community forests, which are protected from commercial logging. Please visit: www.replant.ca/environmental
Many of us have seen a lot of changes in the past year which relate to AI, or Artifical Intelligence. It's an industry which is bringing seismic changes to a large number of other industries and processes. I've been paying a lot of attention to the potential of this technology. On one side, I'm using AI to speed up my workflow in my reforestation and other work, using it to help me with everything from educating me with broad overviews of topics that I'm unfamiliar with, to coding tips, to helping me with website updating, to analyzing spreadsheet more quickly. It's probably doubled my work capacity as a whole over the past three months, because the AI has been able to quickly accomplish a lot of tasks that I would have needed hours to do on my own, which allows me to move onto my next task more quickly. AI has been a huge help in letting me "catch up" on a lot of my very extensive to-do lists over the past three months. I've even tackled a few projects that I had original put on my to-do lists as long as 8-10 years ago.
But what about DJ'ing and music production? Well, AI can produce "original" music? Perhaps my music production skills will become less valuable in the future? Well, I'm not worried about that. I haven't used AI to produce music because the enjoyment of music production is the journey of creation, not the end result. However, I have used AI's to generate background imagery for several music videos that I've posted on YouTube over the past year. And the quality of those videos is going to become exponentially better over the next twelve months, thanks to Sora, a technology from OpenAI.
Here's an article that I just watched from CNN. It's brings things to a new level, using an AI Avatar for DJ'ing (click on the image or the URL below the image to go to the article page, and watch the video):
I think this kind of technology is great. Like any tool, it can be used poorly in a way that does not necessarily benefit people, but when it is used properly, it can bring a lot of benefits. But there will be detractors. What are some of the ethnical considerations for this sort of use??
Intellectual Property Rights: Restricting the AI to operate within the bounds of copyright law, and to respects creators' rights, will be crucial to avoid legal issues and maintain fairness in the music industry.
Authenticity and Transparency: The use of AI in performances raises questions about authenticity. When an AI avatar performs, the line between human creativity and machine-generated content blurs. It's essential to maintain transparency about the use of AI, so the audience knows whether they are experiencing a human DJ's artistry or an AI's output. This transparency helps in setting the right expectations and maintains the integrity of the performance. Right now, there's absolutely no question when watching a performance, because the technology is quite young. But what will things look like in three years? The technology will probably have improved so much that viewers won't be able to tell the difference between an avatar and a real human.
Cultural Appropriation: An AI-powered DJ might inadvertently engage in cultural appropriation by mixing elements from different music genres or cultural backgrounds without understanding their significance or context. And of course, the appearance of the avatar will be important. Would I want to play a show for an indigenous community while appearing as an indigenous avatar? Absolutely not. It's vital to ensure that the the AI avatar is created and displayed in a way that respects cultural heritage and avoids misrepresentation or trivialization of cultural elements.
Job Displacement: The rise of AI in the entertainment industry could lead to job displacement for human DJs and musicians. While AI can enhance performances, it shouldn't replace human artists entirely. In the article that I linked, there's a real DJ (or even a full team) in the background, controlling the show. Balancing the use of AI to support rather than substitute human performers will mitigate worries from performers who are concerned about losing their jobs. And many DJ's already struggle to find gigs.
Bias and Fairness: AI systems can inherit biases from their training data, leading to unbalanced music selections that might favour certain genres, artists, or cultures. Ensuring that AI DJ'ing avatars are trained on diverse and inclusive data sets is necessary to prevent biased outcomes and promote a fair representation of different music forms. This is why it helps to have a human behind the avatar. An experience human DJ can read a dance floor and respond to the crowd better than an avatar can.
Balanced against these ethical considerations are the benefits. With AI DJ'ing avatars, music and performances can become more
accessible to a wider audience. People from different parts of the world
can experience performances virtually, without the need for physical
presence. This inclusivity will allow more people to enjoy performances regardless of
their location or physical abilities. I've always had a huge online presence with a global audience, and this sort of capability could help reinforce that global reach without contributing to a large carbon footprint that would go along with flying all over the world to play at shows in person. True, it's not as fun, but it's more efficient.
Obviously, the use of an avatar to play a set is very different than the real thing, and I certainly don't think it will be an effective for a real DJ in a lot of situations. But in some cases, this new technology could prove to be pretty useful.
It's a technology worth watching, because it's not going to disappear ...
I'm Jonathan Clark, known online as DJ Bolivia. Do you want to learn more about DJ'ing (as a real human) and music production? If so, visit:
Here's another one of my tracks for you to check out. I'm still working on my website rebuild, every day, but I'm getting very close to finished. I'll almost certainly be able to sit back and catch my breath by this weekend.
In the meantime, let's focus on this track, "Foundation." I'll have a free download link below.
Here's a link to the track on SoundCloud. You can also click on the down-arrow in the top right to download the mp3 directly from SoundCloud:
"Foundation" is a techno track characterized by a consistent beat and solid rhythm. From the start, the kick establishes a foundation upon which the rest of the track builds. The percussion maintains a consistent tempo throughout, providing a sense of reliability and stability. As the track progresses, subtle variations and layers are introduced, but the underlying foundation remains unwavering. It serves as a musical anchor, ensuring a cohesive and predictable listening experience.
The track's structure is built upon repetition and continuity, mirroring the reliability of a strong foundation. Each element integrates with the next, creating a mix that listeners can rely on. There are no sudden shifts or surprises; instead, the track unfolds methodically, reinforcing its steadfast nature. Like a well-built structure, "Foundation" stands firm, providing a sense of security and consistency in its sound.
As the track evolves, it maintains its solid base, never wavering from its established rhythm. This sense of reliability extends beyond the music itself, embodying a broader concept of dependability and trustworthiness. Whether on the dancefloor or in everyday life, "Foundation" serves as a reminder of the importance of consistency and stability. You're only as good as your word. Speak the truth to others.
In essence, "Foundation" is more than just a techno track; it's a testament to the power of consistency and reliability.
I also put up a version of this track on YouTube. The visuals accompanying the track were done by an AI, although the music is my own of course. These AI visuals are very rudimentary. But thanks to OpenAI's Sora, my future music videos may look a LOT more professional:
To check out and/or download any of my other tracks, visit:
Here's another one of my tracks for you to check out. I've been super busy for the past three weeks, rebuilding my main website from scratch for the first time since 2017, to make it mobile-friendly. Not surprisingly, it's taken me about four times as long as I had initially expected. But perhaps that's why it's taken me seven years to find time to start that project.
In the meantime, let's focus on this track, "Catharsis." I'll have a download link below.
Here's a link to the track on SoundCloud. You can also click on the down-arrow in the top right to download the mp3 directly from SoundCloud:
"Catharsis," as a concept, embodies the release and purification of emotions through a transformative experience. In the context of this techno track, it symbolizes the power of music to serve as a conduit for emotional expression and healing. The relentless beats and subtle melodies encapsulate the journey of catharsis, guiding listeners through a process of introspection, release, and ultimately, renewal.
Within the confines of the track, each element works in harmony to create an immersive landscape, everything from the constant basslines to the repetitive stabs. This complexity mirrors the multifaceted nature of human emotions, offering listeners a canvas upon which to project their innermost feelings. As you lose themselves in the music, you'll be encouraged to confront your emotions head-on, allowing those emotions to surface and be acknowledged.
Moreover, "Catharsis" underscores the importance of emotional release and self-discovery. In a world where we all struggle with mental health, where we're overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, and societal pressures, it's crucial for us to find healthy outlets for processing our emotions. Whether it be through music, art, movement, or introspection, engaging in cathartic experiences can lead to a sense of clarity, empowerment, and inner peace. Inner peace.
Ultimately, the significance of "Catharsis" lies in its ability to remind us of the transformative power of music and the importance of tending to our emotional well-being. By embracing the cathartic journey offered by the track, I invite you to delve deep within yourself, confront your inner demons, and emerge stronger, more resilient, and more attuned to the healing power of self-expression.
I also put up a version of this track on YouTube. The visuals accompanying the track were done by an AI, although the music is my own of course. These AI visuals are very rudimentary. But thanks to OpenAI's Sora, my future music videos may look a LOT more professional:
To check out and/or download any of my other tracks, visit:
The other day, I was looking for a blog post from 2007, trying to find a copy of my live show at Velours (and the track listings). I couldn't find a copy of the set on my SoundCloud page for some reason, nor did I have the full unbroken set in Dropbox. I found a copy of the set that was cut in half, to accommodate fans who typically had to burn mixes to CD to listen in their car. Oh what a long way we've come in just fifteen years! We really don't appreciate how lucky we are these days when it comes to the power of computers and technology. A lot of the "hi-res graphics" from the early days of my website are only 340 pixels square, if that. And a lot of my photos were only 450 pixels wide.
Anyway, as I was digging around, I also noticed that I didn't have a track listing that made sense. I had a track listing in my "Complete Track History" spreadsheet, but as soon as I started to look at it, I realized it wasn't correct (having been listening to the set).
I had to dig deep to find it, but eventually I succeeded! But what a challenge. I had to go back into old data files on the Wayback Machine. But I'm fairly OCD, so it was worth the hunt.
If you'd like to download a copy of the mix, go into my "Live Shows" folder at this link:
You'll have to grab the 2+ hour long show as two separate segments for now, but I know that I have an original copy of the recording somewhere that I'll put into Dropbox eventually.
Hey everyone, thanks for visiting. I've been super busy for the past three weeks, rebuilding my main website from scratch for the first time since 2017, to make it mobile-friendly. Not surprisingly, it's taken me about four times as long as I had initially expected. But perhaps that's why it's taken me seven years to find time to start that project.
About an hour ago, I uploaded a video to YouTube of one of my tracks from the end of last year. Yesterday, OpenAI announced news of Sora, their new video generation system. Holy shit. AI capabilities have increased at an incredible rate over the past year. Just think about what things will be like in four more years. We'll probably be able to log into Netflix and simply enter a prompt about what movie genre we'd like, include any suggestions for actors (existing or AI-generated), and Netflix will use AI to generate a new and unique one-of-a-kind movie just for you. That kind of progress seems inconceivable today, but AI is advancing quickly enough that this sort of scenario would be entirely possible that soon, based on current exponential development rates. The only problem will be trying to figure out where to source all the raw materials to build the GPU's that will power the server farms that make this kind of processing possible.
In the meantime, let's focus on this track, "Industrial Psychology." I'll have a download link below.
Here's a link to the track on SoundCloud. You can also click on the down-arrow in the top right to download the mp3 directly from SoundCloud:
You may wonder what this track symbolizes. I'll tell you a story...
In a distant future, where the remnants of nature cling to life among the steel skeletons of once-great cities, a new form of expression emerges, thanks to wispy memories of a long-forgotten techno track called "Industrial Psychology."
Our dismal grey scene is the home of the Reclaimers, a group of digital nomads who traverse the desolate landscapes, seeking to restore balance between technology and the natural world. Their mission is guided by the belief that the soul of humanity lies in its ability to coexist with Earth's dwindling ecosystems.
The genesis of "Industrial Psychology" unfolds in the mind of Kai, a young Reclaimer with a talent for weaving the sounds of the old world with the digital streams of the new. Kai discovers an abandoned factory, its machines silent and still, but within it he finds inspiration. Sampling the whispers of the wind through broken windows, the drip of water reclaiming space, and the distant call of the wild, Kai constructs a track that is a mosaic of the world's forgotten corners. Little does Kai know that his track, "Industrial Psychology," is based on a deeply repressed cultural memory of an earlier track of the same name, by a forgotten DJ named Bolivia. However, Kai's music serves as a fourth-dimensional bridge between past and future, a call to remember and rebuild.
"Industrial Psychology" resonates not only as a piece of music but as a symbol of the Reclaimers' ethos. It's played in the reclaimed zones, areas where technology has been harmonized with nature, powering vertical gardens and purifying air, turning the ruins into havens of green amidst the grey. The track becomes a beacon, drawing people from the shadows of the cities to join the Reclaimers' cause. Each thumping hit of the kick symbolizes past destruction, and subtly underscores the delicate balance between human ingenuity and the natural world.
The climax of this story sees "Industrial Psychology" echoing through the heart of a massive, revitalized city-park during the Equinox Festival, a celebration of the equinox when day and night are in perfect balance. Industrial Psychology is the theme song for the festival. It's the soundtrack of a cultural movement, an experience that encapsulates the hope and resilience of a society striving to forge a new path where technology serves as a steward of the earth, not its conqueror.
But in the end, everyone succumbs to acid rain.
Happy Saturday!
I also put up a version of this track on YouTube. The visuals accompanying the track were done by an AI, although the music is my own of course. These AI visuals are very rudimentary. But thanks to OpenAI's Sora, my future music videos may look a LOT more professional:
To check out and/or download any of my other tracks, visit:
Here's a bit of info about one of my older tracks from a couple years ago, entitled "Stephen Hawking." If I remember correctly, I believe that I shared this online in 2018, a few months after Stephen passed away. You could call this a tribute to a brilliant mind.
Here's a link to the track on SoundCloud. You can also click on the down-arrow in the top right to download this track directly from SoundCloud:
Sometimes my blog posts are semi-serious, sometimes they're bordering on silly. Stephen Hawking was [mostly] a serious man, so this will be a serious look at his life. Don't just glaze over; his accomplishments were incredible. But you can always listen to the track while you're reading.
Stephen Hawking was born near the end of WWII in the town of Oxford (England, not the one in Canada near my hometown). He eventually emerged as one of the most preeminent theoretical physicists in history, not just for his brilliant mind but also for his indomitable spirit in the face of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. ALS was a condition that rendered him almost entirely paralyzed. While Hawking's early life was marked by academic excellence and a burgeoning fascination with cosmology, it's been his contributions to the understanding of the universe that have cemented his legacy.
Hawking's academic journey took him to the University of Oxford, then later the University of Cambridge. At Cambridge, he began his ground-breaking work which included studying the nature of black holes and the framework of cosmology.
His ALS was diagnosed during his graduate studies. That condition perhaps drove him in his relentless pursuit of knowledge, allowing him to transcend his physical limitations and explore the deepest questions of the nature of the universe.
The core of his scientific achievements is probably his work on black holes, which revolutionized our understanding of these bodies. Before Hawking, black holes were thought to be the ultimate endpoints of gravitational collapse, regions from which nothing, not even light, could escape. Hawking's introduction of quantum mechanics into the realm of general relativity led to his discovery that black holes are not entirely black but emit radiation, which is today known as Hawking radiation. This prediction was ground-breaking, as he was able to provide a quantum mechanical explanation for black hole radiation. He also suggested that black holes could eventually evaporate, albeit over the course of astronomical timescales. Hawking's work on black holes was not just an academic exercise. Most importantly, it bridged quantum mechanics and general relativity, giving clues to a unified theory of physics.
Another monumental contribution of Hawking was his work on the origins and structure of the universe. His no-boundary model of the universe, developed with James Hartle, helped explain how the universe could have arisen from the quantum fluctuations of the vacuum, which offered a framework for understanding the Big Bang and subsequent evolution of the cosmos without the need for a singular beginning point. Hawking's studies also contributed to the inflationary cosmology theory, which describes the rapid expansion of the universe immediately following the Big Bang.
Beyond his scientific contributions, Hawking's was great at communicating complex scientific ideas to the public. His 1988 bestselling book, "A Brief History of Time," brought the intricacies of cosmology, black holes, and the fabric of the universe to millions of hobby astronomers and other readers around the globe. Hawking inspired generations of scientists and enthusiasts to explore the mysteries of the universe.
As we continue to explore the cosmos, Hawking's insights serve as a guiding light, reminding us of the power of human intellect and the endless mysteries awaiting discovery. Although the Earth is our playground, and our individual psyches are our own individual universes, in reality we're a completely insignificant spec within the immensity of everything. But don't let this get you down. It didn't get Stephen Hawking down.
I put up a version of this track on YouTube. The visuals accompanying the track were done by a human this time, although the music is my own of course:
To check out and/or download any of my other tracks, visit:
Today I want to share another of my techno tracks, which is called Inca Stargazer. I'll have download links below.
Here's a link to the track on SoundCloud. You can also click on the down-arrow in the top right to download this track directly from SoundCloud:
Once upon a time, in the high mountains and lush rainforests of South America, the Inca civilization thrived. Picture this: A realm where clothing was brilliantly colourful, and llamas were the real VIPs. When I think of it, it almost reminds me of Burning Man.
The Incas were master builders and engineers. I also like to think that they were party planners, managing to improvise massive feasts on terraced farms that would make any modern-day event planner green with envy. They had a knack for cutting trails across mountains without horses or wheeled chariots. Instead, they relied on the strength of their legs. Think of all the time that they spent running up and down steep mountains! Every day was a leg day. At a modern rave, they'd be on the dance floor all night.
I have no doubt that the Incas' social gatherings were the talk of the Andes. Chicha (a kind of beer made from corn) probably flowed freely, and drum-based music that we can only dream of understanding. Imagine their tunes, probably a mix of melodic rhythms that could make a stone statue dance.
What would happen if a DJ could go back in time to visit an Incan party with a set of turntables and a collection of techno music? Assuming that they didn't run in fear, the scene would be electrifying! The Incas, ever curious and innovative, would probably be baffled by the strange sounds coming from the speakers. But it wouldn't be long before their innate sense of rhythm and love for a good beat had them all facing the booth, grooving to the four-on-the-floor beat. They would probably dance all night, grooving under the starlit skies.
And that's where we stand now. Inca Stargazer evokes an imagined dream of what could have been, if only the Incas had a pumping sound system.
I also put up a version of this track on YouTube. The visuals accompanying the track were done by an AI, although the music is my own of course:
To check out and/or download any of my other tracks, visit:
I'm posting this page to share one of my techno tracks, which is called OCD. I'll have download links below.
Here's a link to the track on SoundCloud. You can also click on the down-arrow in the top right to download this track directly from SoundCloud:
In the realm of techno, where each track is itself a voyage into the unknown, "OCD" is a mystical odyssey, etched with vibrant hues of eastern oriental landscapes. It isn't just a song, it's a trip through the sonic landscapes of the mind, where the familiar repetition of techno beats meets the mystical allure of the East. The track unfolds as an amalgamation of digital and traditional, where the beats blend seamlessly with the melodic hints of eastern instrumentation. This fusion isn't just music - it's a journey. Think of it as a meditative loop that lures the listener into a state of relaxed tranquility, akin to those repetitive rituals that provide comfort to those with OCD. And I know about those rituals.
At the heart of this musical tapestry is a line that, at first glance, seems misplaced in the context of a techno track: "You broke my heart, my dreams are broken too. So why am I still thinking of you?" You may search for a deeper meaning to this lyric, and wonder what dissatisfied bewilderment is rooted deep in my soul. Well, the truth is, there's no meaning to it at all. It's just a sample that I found, and I certainly wasn't thinking about anyone that this could allude to.
Regardless, in the grand scheme of "OCD," this lyric transcends its apparent simplicity, perhaps becoming a metaphor for the relationship between the artist, the music, and the intricate dance of creation and obsession. It's not referring to a lost love - it's about the frequent frustration of the creative process, the relentless pursuit of perfection that terrorizes producers. I often advise other producers that, "You've got to draw a line somewhere. The track will never be perfect. At some point, you have to acknowledge that it's good enough and then move on to the next track." Just as a person with OCD can fixate on specific thoughts or actions, a producer can be drawn to a search for perfection that may never be reconciled. Nor should it be. We're human, and our tracks shouldn't be mathematically and sonically perfect. So basically, this lyric recognizes the paradoxical bond between creation and obsession, where the very act that creates can also destroy. In "OCD," I present to you not just a simple little track, but a reflection on the nature of art, the dark power of obsession, and the never-ending quest for creative acceptance.
I also put up a version of this track on YouTube. The visuals accompanying the track were done by an AI, although the music is my own of course:
To check out and/or download any of my other tracks, visit:
I'm posting this to share a track that I just shared publicly, called "Hacks" (techno):
A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, there was a DJ code-named Bolivia who decided to mix up some beats for his coder friends to listen to. A whole series of "Music To Code By" DJ mixes resulted. One day, a fine gentleman by the name of Dan Fernandez (at MicroSoft) shared a link to the mixes to his significant following of fellow coders, and the rest is history.
What is a hack? A hack, by itself, is neither good nor bad. It just is. But when it is freed by its creator to run in the wild, it may in fact cause problems. Hacks in general have a bad reputation due to this niche.
But there are a lot of hacks that are used for good. A hack can be a creative way of accomplishing something. It can be a physical manifestation. Sure, something can be "crudely hacked together," perhaps with baling wire and duct tape (or Perl). But a hack can also be a neat trick, a creative way of accomplishing something more efficiently.
I'll leave it to the listener to form their own opinion on what type of hacks I was thinking about when this song was being created. But in the meantime, hopefully my rambling here triggers the search engines to bring a few more hits to this post.
I'm posting this to share a track that I released a few weeks ago, called "Dark City" (techno):
You can listen to this on Soundcloud:
Or watch it on YouTube:
Note that while the music is mine, I used an AI generator to come up with the graphics for the YouTube video.
You may wonder about the inspiration for this track. Let me tell you a story ...
In the heart of a sprawling metropolis, where the night never sleeps and the neon lights paint the streets in a kaleidoscope of colors, "Dark City" comes to life. Imagine a dimly lit studio, cramped between two age-old skyscrapers, where a young producer named becomes the unwitting architect of this new anthem. Let's pretend that his name is Jonathan. And let's humour him when he mistakenly describes himself as young.
In this studio, the air is thick with creativity. Or maybe it's radon gas at 212 Bq/m3, due to questionable ventilation. Either way, Alex is too engrossed in his craft to care. Surrounded by vintage synthesizers and a laptop that's seen better days, he channels the pulse of the city (a small town, really) and translates it into sound.
The track starts with a sultry beat, like the heartbeat of the city itself, slow and steady at first, then growing more insistent. It's the kind of rhythm that makes you want to move without quite knowing why. Into this, Jonathan weaves horn samples, not the polished kind you'd hear in a jazz club, but raw and edgy, stolen from the city's cacophony. These horns speak of midnight rendezvous and whispered secrets, of secret card games and cheap whiskey, of the kind of stories that only unfold under the cover of darkness. It's as if the city itself is whispering in your ear, telling you tales of the unseen and the unheard.
The track is a nod to the urban jungle outside, with a touch of humor that says, "Yeah, this is serious music, but let's not take ourselves too seriously." The track, "Dark City," becomes an underground cult classic, a tribute to the nocturnal world where the lines are blurred between the mundane and the magnanimous. It's a reminder that in the right hands, even the sounds of the city can become music, and every night holds the promise of a new story. Jonathan, with his unintentional anthem, carries on - oblivious to the chill of the night.
Francis & I just finished up a new techno track recently, called Berlin. We're offering free downloads of the track, and also of the Ableton project files and a Stems pack.
First, here are two versions of the track. The structure of both is the same, although I prefer the instrumentation and mixing/mastering on the Self Isolation Remix:
Now if you're a producer/remixer and you're looking for access to the Ableton project or the Stems, we have them set up in Dropbox. Go to my public account at djbolivia.ca/dropbox and then look in the "Bolivia's Remix Projects" folder. There are four archives there for Berlin. The two Ableton archives have the same contents (despite different archive sizes), but we wanted to make them available as both RAR and ZIP archives, because some people prefer one type over the other. Same deal with the Stems, both archives have the same contents. There's also a rich text file that gives a bit of basic info about the source files, ie. things like key, tempo, external effects and processing, etc.
If you make a remix, feel free to share it online, but please use the following for a filename format: "Urban Francis & Bolivia - Berlin (Your Remix Name)"
A few weeks ago, I played a set at the Mount Funky Music Festival in Nova Scotia. This is the seventh year that the festival has been hosted, but the first time that I had been able to play or even attend.
It has been a while since I've accepted a request to play a set. I was hesitant to accept this gig too, especially since I only found out about it 72 hours before the show, and since I was in British Columbia at the time. For those of you who aren't familiar with Canadian geography, Nova Scotia and British Columbia are pretty far apart (about 5000 kilometers), as they're located on opposite coasts. However, I had a short three-day gap in my schedule, so I decided to put in an appearance. And I was really glad that I did!
Incidentally, the reason that I've been pretty low-key on the DJ scene and YouTube production scene for a few years is because I've gotten even more heavily involved in reforestation than I was even just a few years ago. For instance, last winter, I released three planting-related books on Amazon, which you can find if you want to visit my new author website:
Also, I've recently started another reforestation company, but instead of focusing on post-harvest industrial scale reforestation that is mandated by government policy, this one will rely on the generosity of global sponsors who donate money to have trees planted solely because it's good for our planet. Check out this website if you're interested:
Anyway, back to the music. Unfortunately, the stage wasn't recording all the DJ sets that night, and I forgot to bring a personal audio recorder. So I'm not able to share a recording of my set. However, for those of you who were interested, here's a set list:
01. Frank Kid - Happy Funker (Original Mix).
02. Enrico Sangiuliano - X Pollination (Original).
03. Adam Beyer & Mark Reeve - Nine Of You (Original).
04. Shake Inc. - Reaktor (Alex Senna).
05. Diego Lima - MadaFuckers (Original).
06. Phonista - Union Square (Original).
07. Christian Smith - Blast Off (Victor Ruiz).
08. Umek - Incinerator (Original).
09. Umek - Mechanical Blade (Original).
10. Hoxton Whores - Stand Myself (Kevin Andrews Remix).
11. Hoxton Whores - Welcome To The Whorehouse (Hoxton Whores Burlesque Club Mix).
12. Jay Lumen - Warehouse Trip (Original).
13. Jhony Rivers - Zerotonin (German Agger Remix).
14. Vic Ben - Return (Djahir Miranda Remix).
15. Alberto Ruiz - Room (Original).
16. Urban Francis & Bolivia - Hijack (Original).
17. DJ PP - Has To Be Done (Handzoff Remix).
18. Clark Fable - Midnight Marauder (Milo Zanneti Remix).
19. Olivier Giacomotto - Bipolar Star (Victor Ruiz Remix).
20. Rydel - Beat The Men (Original Mix).
Incidentally, here's a video for Hijack, a track that I did with Urban Francis, which I played in the middle of the set.
Anyway, the festival was a great time, and I was really glad to be back DJ'ing again.
I'm Jonathan Clark, known online as DJ Bolivia. Do you want to learn more about DJ'ing and music production? If so, visit:
I just sent the following letter out to all of my production liaisons at the various terrestrial and internet-based radio stations that host Subterranean Homesick Grooves:
Hi everyone,
I've just returned from a period of several months with extremely limited internet access. As you're aware, during this time I found it impossible to keep up with regular production of Subterranean Homesick Grooves.
I regret to inform everyone that I will probably be dealing with similar problems over the next fifteen months or more. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to do a proper job of producing the show on a timely basis, and I don't like to do a poor job if I'm working on a project that I really enjoy (or on any task, for that matter).
Therefore, effective immediately, I am unfortunately going to have to change the show to a monthly production schedule, rather than a weekly one.
I realize that most of the broadcasting entities that carry the show expect programming on a weekly basis, and that you'll probably have to drop the show from the lineup. This is not my preference, but I understand that it will be inevitable. This is an especially hard decision when I reflect upon entities such as CHMA FM in Sackville (the first station that carried the show), who have shown such strong support over the past seven years.
I know that the audience for the show in the upcoming months will now be reduced to mostly just my iTunes podcast audience, and my internet shares of the show through direct links and through SoundCloud.
I hope that starting probably in 2019, I might be able to commit to moving the show back to a weekly format. If/when that happens, I'll let each of you know, in the event that you might consider reinstating the show into a regularly weekly slot.
Thanks so much for all of your support over the past several years. I've truly appreciated everything that you do for the listening public.
Sincerely, - Jonathan Clark (DJ Bolivia) Executive Producer, Subterranean Homesick Grooves
The radio stations have already released broadcasts up to episode 360, which is about seven episodes ahead of what internet listeners have been able to see so far. So even into September, any internet listeners will once again be getting new episodes frequently (every five or six days) until I catch up to the radio schedule. After that point, the internet shows will go online monthly, to accompany radio release.
Starting in 2024, I've copied all of the content from this old blog post onto my main website. Any future updates will take place there, rather than here. I'd recommend that you continue on the main website rather than here, unless you like the formatting of this blog post better. Here's the link:
Thanks for visiting my blog. This post will be part of an extensive
tutorial for beginners about Virtual DJ, a software package for both windows
and Macs, which is suitable for both beginning DJ’s and professional
performances. If you want to watch the videos for this series, instead of reading this blog post, the links to the six videos are near the bottom of this page.
You may wonder why I'm qualified to teach this, so I'll introduce myself. I’m Jonathan Clark, also
known online as DJ Bolivia, and I’ve been DJ’ing both as a hobby and
professionally for over twenty years. I've played shows on five different continents. I
have quite a few different video tutorials on YouTube, about everything from DJ’ing
to music production to audio engineering tutorials, plus a lot of fun stuff
like music videos, performances by other DJ’s, and stuff like that. You can find an organized list of all
those videos on my website at: djbolivia.ca/videos
Let me be very up front about something right away,
because a lot of “professional” DJ’s who learned to beat-mix on vinyl and CD’s
can sometimes look down on DJ’ing with software on computers or mobile devices. They might say that only amateurs would use Virtual DJ. I understand that mindset: I played on vinyl at clubs and at warehouse
parties for about fifteen years before I even touched a pitch-controlled CD
player, and even then, with some reluctance.
I felt the same reluctance before I did my first live show using Ableton
Live software to perform. But having
recently started playing with Virtual DJ (just for the sake of this tutorial
series), I’m seriously impressed with its capabilities.
The equipment that you use as a DJ is just a set of
tools. Ultimately, although your dance
floor does appreciate the technical skills required to mix songs together
seamlessly as you progress through your set, the most important part of your
performance is your programming, which refers to the music that you pick. In my experience, ninety percent of what a
dance floor judges you on is your programming, and only ten percent on technical
skills. Let’s be clear here … you DO
have to have good flow to your set, with no gaps between songs, no times when
two songs are playing simultaneously and clashing badly, and a consistent beat
as you flow from song to song. And you
need to make sure you have a consistent volume as you flow through your
set. That’s what your DJ'ing tools help you
with, and it doesn’t matter if you have turntables, CD players, or DJ’ing
software. After you control those
things, what’s most important is the music itself.
Don’t get me wrong - I’m not against learning the skills
of beat-mixing on traditional equipment.
In fact, if you want to become a professional or even a
semi-professional DJ someday, then I highly recommend that you DO eventually learn to
beat-mix on CD’s player or turntables, or both.
However, I feel that most people reading this post and watching these
videos are probably DJ’s who are just getting started. If you’re in this “beginner DJ” category, you’re probably not going to be getting booked to play festivals or major clubs for a while. You should assume that you’re going to have to devote
some time at home to practicing the basics before you play your first public
event. And assume that most of the first
dozen or so public performances you do might be at house parties and for
friends, before you get your first booking for a public gig with an audience that paid to be at the show. I want you to
realize that if you’re going to try to become a professional DJ someday, then
absolutely yes, you want to think about beat-mixing on CD players or vinyl
within a year or so. But using DJ
software is a great way to get introduced to performing in front of people, and
takes away some of the pressure of the technical aspects, so you can focus on
learning how to read a crowd, knowing how to get through the difficult task of
performing when you don’t have anyone on the dance floor yet, and dealing with
people hounding you for requests in a dimly lit and noisy environment when you’re
trying to cue (queue) up the next song.
Having set the scene, let me emphasize that this post and
videos are for BEGINNING DJ’s. If you
already have experience as a performing DJ, and you’re comfortable with
computers, be aware that you can probably figure the program out pretty quickly
on your own. The pace of this video
series will be too slow for you. I’m
going to assume that the audience here is beginners, and I’m going to take my
time and explain everything as clearly as I can, and try not to make any
assumptions. If you’re an experienced DJ
and you want to watch these videos anyway, to make sure you’re not overlooking
anything, well … I thank you for your patience.
The videos to accompany this post consist of a four-part series. The first video is basically
saying exactly what this post is explaining, so if you read through this whole post,
you can probably skip the first video. I’ll describe what I’m attempting to teach, cover an overview
of what the software can do, and I’ll wrap up with a quick
demonstration of installation and licensing (installation/licensing is in the
video only, not in this blog post). In
video #1, I’m basically just talking to the camera.
The next three videos are more technical. They're not transcribed into this blog
post, because they rely on visuals. In
those videos, you’ll be looking at screen captures most of the time. Here’s what I covered:
1 – Overview, comparison with other DJ software, installation
2 – The console, controls, and the media browser
3 – Basic mixing, using both mouse and controllers
4 – Going through the settings and preferences
Above and beyond that, I have links to a couple of
other videos. At the moment, there's one video where I record a full episode of my weekly radio show
(Subterranean Homesick Grooves) using just a simple Numark Mixtrack controller
plus the keyboard and mouse, and a second video where I get a bit more fancy
and use a full-fledged professional DJ mixer, the Allen & Heath Xone 4D,
with integrated soundcard and controller panels. I may add some more Virtual DJ performance videos in the future.
If you’re just starting out with DJ’ing, I’m going to try
to keep things simple, but I’m going to have to make a few assumptions in these
videos and assume that you know some of the basics already. There may be parts where you’re confused
about things that I’m talking about. If
you get to any point where you’re getting confused about what I’m
explaining, I want you to pause the Virtual DJ video and do some side
research. I have a bunch of other videos
already online that I think will teach you just about everything you need to
know. If you’re starting totally from
scratch, you may need an entire weekend to watch them all, but they’ll give you
a firm foundation about what you’re getting yourself into, before you learn
exactly how to use Virtual DJ.
Basically, I have five other individual videos or sets of videos that
will help you learn everything else you need to know. Here’s what they are:
First, my DJ’ing for Beginners series is a set of four
videos designed for complete beginners, which covers a complete overview of the
basics of the DJ industry. This series
covers dozens of topics, including all of the following: Different types of DJ’s, different ways to
perform, equipment, vinyl vs CD vs digital, basic beat-mixing &
turntablism, mixers, headphones, turntables, pitch control CD players, digital
performance equipment, effects machines, controllers, amplifiers, speakers,
subs, monitors, compressors, equalizers, lighting, microphones, licensing, programming,
set flow, DJ software, Ableton Live, working with promoters, getting booked,
demo mixes, producing your own remixes and original tracks, and more.
If you’ve never used a DJ mixer before, my UnderstandingAudio Mixers & DJ Mixers video will teach you about all the different parts and
capabilities of a mixer, so when you first start using a real mixer, you won’t
be intimidated by the dozens of knobs and faders and other controls. Understanding this video will give you a very
good understanding of how the Virtual DJ on-screen mixer works.
I have two videos about beat-mixing. The first video is for CD’s
and the second video is for turntables. You only
need to watch the first one, since that video is the one with all the theory
you’ll need to know about counting beats, understanding phrasing, and knowing
how to blend two songs together smoothly.
The same principles that I explain in that video are used in mixing
within Virtual DJ, although the benefit is that Virtual DJ makes it much easier
to match up the beats.
If you’re starting to use Virtual DJ at home, you may be
doing all of your mixing with the keyboard and mouse. That’s cool.
However, the one drawback with a mouse is that it only has one cursor,
so you can only change one thing at a time.
That’s where a controller comes in.
A controller is a separate piece of physical equipment that you attach
to your computer, and the controls on your controller can change settings on
the laptop. The two best things about a
controller are that it’s very hands-on, and is more physically intuitive to use
than a mouse. You can also control more than one parameter at a time,
because you have two hands. While a
controller isn’t necessary to use Virtual DJ, it’ll make your life a lot easier
as a DJ. There are hundreds of different
types of controllers available these days, and my Using MIDI Controllers video
will help you understand your options and how your controllers work with your
computer.
Finally, I have a series about Mobile DJ’ing. That seems somewhat unrelated to learning how to use Virtual DJ, but I know that after a month or so of
practicing at home, you’re going to be really eager to perform in front of
other people. Playing for friends at
house parties is a good start, but you may also be able to get some paid gigs,
as you start gaining confidence. I don’t
think the two videos in my Mobile DJ'ing series are critical to learning about Virtual DJ,
but I think they’ll be very important for you to watch during your first month
after starting to use Virtual DJ. These videos talk
about things like types of events, vehicles, licensing, insurance, costs of
gear, setting prices, accounting, marketing, contracts, deposits, competition,
and a more detailed run-down of gear that you may need to bring with you to
shows.
Why Use Virtual DJ?
Ok, let’s start to focus on the software. Who is Virtual DJ good for? Well, I’ve heard a lot of people say that it’s
just designed for amateur DJ’s. Nothing
could be further from the truth. I’ve
seen DJ’s do excellent performances with Virtual DJ at very large shows. I know DJ’s who are professional
turntablists and excellent at beat-mixing, who use Virtual DJ as a legitimate
tool. I’ve seen Virtual DJ being used in
hundreds of performances at house parties, weddings, university events, clubs,
and festivals. Unless you’re a top tier
A-list DJ getting paid tens of thousands of dollars per gig, or a highly
skilled turntablist, Virtual DJ is professional enough to meet your needs quite
easily. Don’t judge it as being amateur
software. It may have been so at the
start, but it’s come a long, long way in the past couple years. It’s used by professionals, but it’s still simple
to use and has a very easy learning curve.
Virtual DJ competes in a space with a couple of other
well-known programs, especially Serato and Traktor. Let me see if I can give you a good
comparison about the strengths of these three programs, although all three are
great programs that will cover all the basics.
Virtual DJ is a great all-around program, and perhaps the
easiest for a beginning DJ to use. If I’m
talking to someone who has never touched turntables or pitch controlled CD
players before, and they’re interested in DJ’ing with digital DJ software for the
first time, I’ll usually recommend Virtual DJ to them, at least ninety percent
of the time. Even though it’s an
all-around program, it can handle more complex tasks like integrating with
traditional direct-drive turntables using time-code vinyl.
Serato is a system that’s fairly similar to Virtual
DJ. The on-screen display is slightly
different, but the basics are the same.
Serato was traditionally viewed as being more of a professional DJ’ing
platform, but Virtual DJ has really closed that gap. However, a couple places where Serato might
still have a slight advantage would be in the quality of in-house effects, and
in ease of communications with various pre-mapped industry controllers. Also, if you’re a music producer and want to
integrate elements from Ableton Live, or integrate live performance aspects,
Serato is especially flexible.
Traktor is the final package of the “Big Three” digital
DJ’ing platforms. Quite a long time ago,
there was a package called Final Scratch, put out by Native Instruments in a
partnership with Stanton. That was
really the first time-code vinyl experiment to merge traditional turntables
with digital music. I had a Final
Scratch system in the early 2000’s, and played with it a lot. Around 2005, Native Instruments and Stanton
parted ways, and eventually Native Instruments moved forward with Traktor. Although Traktor basically has a lot of the
same capabilities as Virtual DJ and Serato, its roots were in the time-code
vinyl ecosphere. Any DJ whose main
talents and intended use tend towards integration of traditional turntables with
your digital DJ software will probably gravitate toward using Traktor.
I'll eventually try to produce a series of videos about Serato, and another series of videos about Traktor (plus some advanced Virtual DJ tutorials).
Purchasing Options
Virtual DJ has a huge strength that other DJ’ing software
packages don’t have: If you’re a home
user, using it without external controllers, it’s free. Completely. Forever.
That sounds too good to be true, but as long as you’re not using the
software in a professional sense (ie. paid gigs), and you’re just using a basic
computer system, you qualify.
Many DJ’s will want to move past that point, sooner or
later. If you start playing at paid
shows, you’re supposed to upgrade to a professional license. Is there any way for them to prevent you from
using your home version at a paid show?
No, not really, although I’m pretty convinced that even though a lot of
young DJ’s are perpetually broke, you’ll soon see the value in paying for a
license.
The free home version does have one restriction
that will affect some DJ’s. It won’t
work with any external controller unless you pay for software licensing in one of three
ways. Do you need an external controller? No, you can do everything with a mouse and keyboard, although a controller is more convenient. Naturally, a lot of people will
want to start using controllers eventually, so you’ll probably want to pay for
a license at some point. This becomes
almost a certainty once you start playing at paid gigs. Even though you
might feel that you want to try to save money by not buying a license, I recommend that you should get a license, and also step up your game by integrating
a controller, to make it easier to perform.
Let’s assume that you’ve moved past the point where you
can rely on the free home-user version.
You now have three options: (1) Buy
a per-controller license; (2) Buy a full
life-time license; or (3) Buy a monthly subscription license that expires 30 days after the start of your subscription, unless you set up a credit card to do automatic monthly renewals.
If you go with a per controller license, the cost depends
on what controller you want to use.
Basically, the lower the retail value of the actual controller, the
cheaper it probably is to license. The
cheapest controllers are $49 to license, and the most expensive can be as much
as $199 USD. Virtual DJ recognizes and
has rates for just about every known controller produced anywhere in the world
today.
If you start using more than one controller, your cost
may start getting pretty high. For example,
I currently have six different controllers that I want to integrate with
Virtual DJ, plus a seventh that I’m considering. Most of these are between $99 and $199
apiece. Here’s a list:
Whoa! That’s super
expensive. But don’t worry, Virtual DJ
has a deal for you. If the cost of the
different controllers that you want to use comes to more than $299, you can buy
an all-inclusive Pro license which is good for all time, and lets you use ALL
controllers with the software, with no restrictions. Therefore, $299 is the absolute maximum cost
to buy a full pro license for the Virtual DJ software. When I have the $299 full pro license, I can use all seven of the controllers that I listed above, plus any other controller available on the market.
A final option, if you don’t have enough money to pay for
your controller license or a full Pro license up front, is that you can pay for
a monthly pro subscription. It runs for
30 days from the time you start it, and you can keep renewing. This subscription costs about $19 per month in USD. I'm in Canada, and rather than bill in USD, they bill me $27.99 per month in Canadian dollars. You can turn it off if you don’t use the
software for a few months, then turn it back on when you need to use it
again. The best thing is that
Virtual DJ keeps track of how much you’ve paid in monthly subscription fees. If you eventually reach $299, they give you a full permanent pro
license. The monthly subscription is a
good way of letting you test the software for a while with no restrictions, and
it’s also a good way of financing the cost of the program if you can’t afford
to pay for it up front.
Content Subscriptions
The final thing that I want to talk about, before we go
into a run-through of setting up and installing the software, is content
licenses. A content license is different
than your software license. The software
license, which I already talked about, is related to your permission to use the software professionally or
with controllers. A content license is
completely separate, and it is NOT mandatory.
It’s just convenient for DJ’s who need a lot of music for their
performances.
DJ’s can sometimes need hundreds of songs every month for
their shows. It can be extremely
expensive to buy all this music outright, especially since you’ll sometimes play a particular song at only one show during your entire career. This is a really prohibitive cost for anyone
considering a career as a DJ. So certain
organizations have come up with a solution, and Virtual DJ implements what’s
called a “Content Unlimited Subscription Plan.”
Virtual DJ has three separate Content Unlimited
Subscription Plans, as follows:
If you subscribe to one of these plans, you’re allowed to
download/stream content from the Content Unlimited organization for a full month, and have
access to pretty much any music in the world.
The Audio Plan has literally millions of songs available in every genre,
with tons of different remixes, and everything is in appropriate quality for
you to play at a gig. Obviously, the karaoke
and video plans are different types of media, but the concept is the same.
Imagine that. Ten
dollars per month and you have legal access to a global catalogue of content,
with absolutely no risk of running into copyright issues for playing music at
public performances! Well, depending on
what country you’re in, you may technically need an annual performer’s license
for your country, just for the right to earn money at public performances. But this Content Unlimited Subscription
through Virtual DJ ensures that you’re not going to get into trouble for the
specific music that you’re playing. What
a time to be alive! I can’t emphasize
what a great deal this is for DJ’s, and many DJ’s won’t appreciate the
challenges that myself and other DJ's had in building our music collections twenty years ago,
before the internet and digital music even existed. I won’t go into these plans in any more detail here, but if you need a
broader selection of music, you can look at the details on the Virtual DJ
website.
Installing the Virtual DJ Software
I’m not going to go through the steps required to install
Virtual DJ in this blog post. You should
be able to figure it out, and get things up and running on your own. If you need help, I did demonstrate the
process of downloading and installing it onto a Windows system in the Part 1 Overview
video. Basically, the steps that you
need to follow are:
1.Set up a free account when you go to the Virtual
DJ website. You’ll need this if you
eventually do any software or content licensing.
2.Download and install the software on your
computer.
3.If you’re going to play professionally or use a
controller, pay for one of the three types of licenses to get you up and
running (monthly subscription, permanent pro license, or per-controller
license).
4. [Optional] Start a Content Unlimited subscription, if you want to use one.
By the way, if you DON’T have one of the three software
licenses that allow you to use a controller, you can still make the controller
work temporarily in a basic “demo mode.”
When you connect your controller without a license, it’ll work for ten minutes before Virtual DJ shuts
it off and reminds you that you need a license. The only way around this is to
reboot the software, which obviously can’t be done in the middle of a
performance. So if you want to make sure
things are working properly at a public gig, I highly recommend that you just
accept the fact right now that you’re going to want to buy a license.
The information that I've talked about so far can be found in the following video, if you'd like to review it again. But if you've read this far, you can skip this Part 1 video:
Tour of the Console/Controls, Basic Mixing, &
Settings/Preferences:
All of the rest of
the stuff that I want to explain can’t be done very easily in a blog post. So at this point, if you’re set up and ready
to start learning how to use the software, I’d recommend you watch the
following three videos:
Ok, that pretty much summarizes things. At this point, you should have a pretty good
idea of what Virtual DJ is all about, and how to mix music with it. The best way to get better is to practice, so
if you’re trying to prepare for your first gig, I’d recommend that you try to
set aside 30-60 minutes per day to play with the system at home, until you’re
completely comfortable with using it.
If you want a “hot tip” on how to become a better DJ, I recommend that you record some of your practice sets, and then sit back
and listen to them with a critical ear.
Were the volumes consistent from track to track? Did you avoid any dead air between
songs? Did the mixes sound smooth when
you were transitioning from one song to another? Did the “flow” of the set (your programming
of music choices) seem logical, or were you jumping rapidly back and forth
between genres? Weak programming might clear
your dance floor, so pay a lot of attention to that.
If you find the time to practice for about an hour a day on average,
I don’t see why a new DJ wouldn’t be ready for a small public show in less than
three months. I’ve occasionally seen
someone pull off their first show in just a few weeks, in an emergency,
especially if they already knew a lot about the music that people would want to
hear, and can practice for several hours each day during those few weeks.
I’m going to leave you with a couple of demonstration
sets that I recorded. These were a
couple different episodes of my weekly tech-house and techno radio show,
Subterranean Homesick Grooves. For the
first set, SHG 351, I used just the mouse and a Numark Mixtrack controller
during my performance. For the second
set, SHG 352, I used an Allen & Heath Xone 4D mixer/controller. I also have a popular Xone 4D Tutorial Video about how to use that mixer.
And in the meantime, here are the Soundcloud links for the two mixes that I created with Virtual DJ in those two demo videos. SHG 351 is tech/house/techno, but with an emphasis mostly on upbeat house and tech. SHG 352 is a slightly darker and more techno-oriented mix.
You can find track listings for each of those mixes in the description on SoundCloud, and you can also see them track-by-track as you watch the two videos.
I'm Jonathan Clark, known online as DJ Bolivia. Do you want to learn more about DJ'ing and music production? If so, visit:
