Native Instruments is the master of launching its new stuff with a lush spread of meticulously prepared words, pictures, and videos for us media types to deliver to your assorted screens. But sometimes, you just want the raw info without the smoke and mirrors, soft focus or PR hyperbole. And that is exactly and exclusively what we have for you right here.
NI UK did a very cool Kontrol D2 launch last month. Appearing in leading shops around the UK, attendees (like Dan and myself at Bop DJ in Leeds) got to see the D2s in action, but in particular see a Stems demo webcast by senior Traktor product guy Chad Carrier, live from Berlin. And we were glued to this in-store broadcast, as were the other gear geeks in the shops around the UK too.
Part way through, I turned to Dave from NI UK and said “this is what you should have put out first time round — it’s perfect”, and after polling a few people in the audience, we all agreed that this was a considerably more effective way to get the message across. So after a few arm-twisting emails and some tidying up by NI’s video bods, we have managed to arrange just that.
What we’ve got for you here is Chad’s complete webcast video with live Q&A session too, where he takes us step by step through Stems, the Kontrol D2, Remix Decks, and how they can all be combined into an incredibly powerful DJ tool kit. I do stress that this was a live broadcast, so it is raw footage with just a few edits here and there by NI to make it a little tidier, and most definitely lacks the usual glossy production values we’re used to. And frankly, it’s all the better for it. FACT — rear panel shots in our review images might not be especially arty or visually pleasing, but they get the most views by some margin. People just want info it seems.
So I hope you enjoy this video. You’ll only see it here, and we thank Native Instruments for releasing it to us for your viewing pleasure.