Speaking of the folks at DJ Tech Tools and modding controllers, my friend Matt Moldover is pushing a new term he’s coined, “controllerism.” Moldover, pictured here with his hacked-up Novation ReMOTE keyboard at the last Handmade Music event from CDM, Etsy, and Make, has a rig that combines custom Reaktor ensembles, Ableton Live, and modified controllers. His idea is I think to separate digital DJs using vinyl (following in the steps of the original turntablists) from those adding other performance elements unique to computers.
For more, here’s Ean Golden’s feature for Remix Magazine:
MUSIC MANEUVERS: Discover the digital turntablism concept, “controllerism,” compliments of Moldover
I’m curious to hear what people think of the idea. I enjoy what Matt’s doing, but I’m less into trying to put a specific label on it. Controllers have long been a part of computer music performance in all genres; I’m not terribly into the term “laptop music”, either, for the same reason. I’m not even into throwing out vinyl yet, either, especially when it can be used to power vibrating chairs and installation art with tree trunks — to say nothing of the folks who are still better at scratching vinyl than most of us are at, well, everything else. (Ironically, here at Create Digital Music I think we tend to be less pro-digital than Ean is, when he suggests anyone not embracing digital is a dinosaur.) Then again, I’m not all that into separating DJs from, you know, music. But regardless, maybe controllerism is a good term. Certainly, having seen Matt play, I think “musician” works pretty well, too.
Matt I know meant to be provocative. So I’m very interested to hear what you think.