DJ Shiftee in Total Kontrol — skills not included

DJ Shiftee doing what he does best - tearing it up on turntables and NI hardware. Is this the Kontrol Z2 demo your were waiting for?

First it was controllerism courtesy of Ean Golden. Then came DJ Craze’s full on turntablism set. And now we wrap up with DJ Shiftee, seamlessly welding both disciples into one coherent soundscape. See how he brings his considerable arsenal of skills together, and welds old with new gear to create something different. Also see just how ballin’ he be by using a rare white ‘n wood Maschine as a stand for his new Gold Maschine MKII.

This set is insane. Not everyone’s musical taste of course, and most likely draw flack for that. But you cannot criticise the skills. And this is rather my point about all DJ gear – all this stuff can perform wondrous acts of netxlevelness, but without the pre-requiste skills, it’s just a bunch of expensive tech with pretty lights that does nothing.

DJ Shiftee in Total Kontrol Z2 Maschine

Looking at this, it’s hard to fathom exactly what’s going on. But what is clear, and keeps popping up in Shiftee’s sets is Maschine. While currently Maschine can only be mapped to one row of buttons (I think that’s all that Shiftee is using in the clip for Remix Decks, although to be honest he’s moving so quick I can’t be sure), it’s becoming increasingly clear that Maschine and Traktor are becoming very close friends. I don’t know if it will happen soon, but I’m quite convinced that Maschine will become some sort of Remix Deck übercontroller.

Enjoy and do try this at home.

Mark Settle
Mark Settle

The old Editor of DJWORX - you can now find Mark at WORXLAB

Articles: 1228

31 Comments

    • I agree. Am I the only person who finds all this button pressing really stale? Especially towards the end, just cycling frantically through the same pre-programmed notes.

  1. I am a Shiftee/NI fan but a little disappointed to see this is not a one-take video: Ch.1 Flux mode on @1.53, then off @1.56 then back on @2.00 I know this is a little pedantic but its mistakes like this which make me think how DJs are meant to transition these skills into their own performances when even the best guys need editing!

  2. Well I respect his swift hands and control. But I really didn’t see this as music. Seems like NI is on a mission to sell different units by creating such videos. Fact of the matter is when you’re in a club, this is pointless. I agree with Mark on this matter.
    NB: Mad respect to Shiftee. Great skills indeed. No pun intended

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