It’s rare to see computers playing along to musicians on stage. In this brilliant demonstration at TEDxUmassAmherst, Owen Biddle and Zach Danziger of Mister Barrington mix audio and MIDI together so that you can’t tell where analog ends and digital begins. As … Continue reading →

A few weeks ago I stumbled across a cool script that turned the Novation Launchpad into an Ableton Push emulator. I studied the download page for it real hard in hopes of finding out more about it. And I did! … Continue reading →

Thanks to Thavius Beck, I recently came across this cool script for the Novation Launchpad (and its new version, the Launchpad S) that turns it into a mini Ableton Push. It’s painless to download and install, and a lot of … Continue reading →

A few weeks ago I stumbled across a cool script that turned the Novation Launchpad into an Ableton Push emulator. I studied the download page for it real hard in hopes of finding out more about it. And I did! … Continue reading →

Want to try your hand at remixing a Moldover track? It’s not going to get much easier than this! All the sounds plus synchronized videos for SAY IT have been released as an Ableton Live pack. Chop up audio and … Continue reading →

Finally! I managed to put together the third Controllerism.com podcast. This one’s a bit of a departure from the exclusively electronic music thing, mostly because I really thought the tracks fit together in an interesting way. We all love British … Continue reading →

So Beardyman’s apparently talking about hooking up the legendary Herbie Hancock with a version of his amazing Beardytron 5000 live performance system.

Well, here’s an unlikely collaboration. Imogen Heap teamed up with Joel Zimmerman a couple of months ago and produced the deeply chilled track “Telemiscommunications”. Imogen crowdsourced the video for the song, choosing 20 unique animators to work on it in … Continue reading →

Ableton Certified Trainer Christopher Willits has just started a YouTube video series called CREATE, where he explores and explains tools that he uses and that capture his imagination. His second episode focuses on the Ableton Push note mode, where the … Continue reading →

Thanks to Thavius Beck, I recently came across this cool script for the Novation Launchpad that turns it into a mini Ableton Push. It’s painless to download and install, and a lot of fun to use. I’ve got a Push, … Continue reading →

One of our favorite LA controllerists, Yeuda Ben-Atar a.k.a. Side Brain‘s recently finished filming a live performance with Ableton Live tutorial for Lynda.com. Fortunately, there’s also a video demonstrating his skills and it’s free to watch on Lynda.com’s Youtube channel … Continue reading →

Time for some shameless self-promotion. However, shameless or not, there aren’t a lot of Ableton Push videos on the interwebs yet, thanks to the overwhelming demand for it and Ableton backlogging orders until August. Although Ableton are currently showcasing community … Continue reading →

It’s easy to get lost in all of today’s flashy gear and high-budget promos, but just a few years ago, the only way to get our tools to have some of the features a lot of us of us currently … Continue reading →

Want a Robocaster but can’t afford it? No problem! Our top contributor Sunny Haair’s figured out a way to use a MaKey-MaKey to augment a regular electric guitar.

The Beardytron has landed. After a year and a half of sly references and teasing, we finally get to see Beardyman’s awesome new custom live rig. There is nothing more to say, really. I, for one, am a bit awestruck.

20 years ago, the original Novation Bass Station was rocking dance floors with rich, meaty bass sounds that helped define the ’90s dance scene. Based on that, Novation have just finished reinventing the monosynth into the Bass Station II, which … Continue reading →

Here’s an incredibly awesome pic of Roger Linn and Dave Smith jamming at the March 2013 San Francisco Electronic Music Meetup. Photo courtesy of Carson Day and Animusic SF.

Novation have just released the new and improved version of the Launchpad, now brighter and class compliant (so no more pesky drivers). Watch Matt Derbyshire a.k.a. KillTheRobot create an amazing live music and light show out of it below:

In late 2011 when I was just discovering controllerism, one of the most interesting things I came across was a piece DJ Shakey wrote covering this cool custom made horn claw controller that Patrick Flanagan made for use with his … Continue reading →

Look, I know we’ve been telling you about how awesome Ableton Live is and all that jazz… but today I feel like I’m finally about to break. I need to tell you guys the truth about controllerism! Everything we’ve told … Continue reading →

Our series of monthly features focuses on different controllerists from around the world that are either pushing the envelope of electronic music and live performance in some way or another, or accomplished performers with an unmistakable sound. (Yes, I know we … Continue reading →

You’ve probably heard of Ableton Push by now, but have you heard that the initial Push prototypes were built with Lego pieces? In a recent interview with macProVideo.com Push co-creator Jesse Terry revealed that early prototypes were built with MIDI … Continue reading →

Check out this cool video of Livid’s founder Jay Smith having a chat with Moldover about his controllers, controllerism, the electronic music performance scene and a bunch of other stuff.

Start off the week with a video from DJTechTools sensation Mad Zach, promoting his latest volume of high-quality sound packs. This is a cool video to watch not only if you’re planning to buy the full pack and see what … Continue reading →

We’ve featured the Buenos Aires-based company of experimentalists Yaeltex here before. They’re currently working on a massively epic controller series titled Metropolis, which will consist of 5 pieces of gear: Manchester (pictured above while being built), Athens, Belfast, Milan and Damascus. … Continue reading →

A few weeks ago Native Instruments began teasing us with short videos. First giving us a sneak peak of an upcoming synth. Then uploading a vague video featuring some samples. Now, we no longer have to speculate, because along with revealing … Continue reading →

Introducing the second installment of our monthly podcast series. Included is a picture of myself acting weird. Why, you ask? You know… because of the face. This time, we feature the likes of Jeremy Ellis, Aphex Twin and Side Brain … Continue reading →

For those of you who didn’t know, Onyx Ashanti is nuts. Start off the week with this: You can read about what he talks about wanting to build here. His Indiegogo crowd funding campaign focuses on raising money to build … Continue reading →

Max Mathews was called “The Father of Computer Music”, and is the reason Max is named Max. In case you don’t know about him, I highly encourage you to check him out. he’s done some very, very awesome stuff during … Continue reading →

Reason has been a longtime favorite of many producers, so Propellerhead‘s announcement of the upcoming Reason 7 has created waves of excitement among musicians. “The Reason rack has seen an exponential growth over the last few years with the introduction … Continue reading →

The folks over at Native Instruments have just released a short video that gives us a sneak peak of an upcoming addition to the world of Komplete. “The sound of the 21st century comes wrapped in a futuristic user interface, … Continue reading →

It doesn’t get much more minimal than this. Julien Bayle’s a virtuoso coder and lover of all things minimal. In case you don’t remember him, he was the focus of our last controllerist feature. Besides being one of the few … Continue reading →

With all the latest and greatest technology announcements at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, you may have overlooked the USB 3.0 Promoter Group announcing that USB 3.0 speeds will double to 10Gbps. With the future of both Thunderbolt and FireWire … Continue reading →

We’ve been invited to cover the Code Control festival, hosted by the Phoenix Arts Center in Leicester, UK on March 23rd and 24th. The whole thing’s organized in collaboration with Cycling ’74, so there’s more than a good chance that … Continue reading →

Starting off this week is this little routine done by French controllerist Steo Le Panda, using Liine’s Lemur running on an iPad and controlling Ableton Live 8. Although the timing isn’t perfect, I know I’d sound way worse if trying … Continue reading →

I know it’s kinda old news, but for those of you who didn’t know, Imogen Heap is awesome. Besides innovating live music performance and helping establish the image of the live solo artist (as in being alone on stage and … Continue reading →

A cool Effects Rack for Ableton Live featuring eight one-knob effects has been made available by musician and Ableton Certified Trainer Yehezkel Raz. The effects are: DROP ME - pitch drop CHOP ME - 8-step chopper ECHO ME - reverberation HIGH - high-pass filter … Continue reading →

Native Instruments has welcomed a new member to the Traktor family in the form of an iPad app. Traktor DJ introduces the heavy-hitting world of Traktor to iOS users with an easy to use mixing application that loads your iTunes … Continue reading →

I discovered J. Viewz while looking for controllerism performance videos about two years ago. The first thing of his that I saw is this, and it made me into a fan instantly. He’s only just posted the following video on … Continue reading →

Meet Hermutt Lobby, a collective of electronic musicians that has been innovating beat making and performing sick tracks since 2003. The most notable fact for us is that they play beats with faders. And they also have an iPad app … Continue reading →

Ableton have officially announced March 5th as the date of release for Live 9, the newest version of their flagship product. Besides making the announcement on their website and making my heart skip a beat (“OMG! So soon?”), they’ve also uploaded a … Continue reading →

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the first episode of our new monthly podcast, titled “Beyond Control”. Starting this year, we’re introducing a series of interned radio episodes dedicated to awesome music and news occasionally interrupted by a … Continue reading →

Ignacio Gracián is a musician/composer/guitarist from Buenos Aires, Argentina with a uniquely refreshing and minimal approach to controllerism. With a set-up consisting of a Macbook running Ableton, an iPad running Lemur, and a guitar utilizing the New Standard Tuning, his music is created … Continue reading →

Long-time MIDI guitar creators Starr Labs have been making amazing tools since 1993, but have only in recent years been starting to get more attention, thanks to artists such as Lou Reed and The Chemical brothers picking up their instruments … Continue reading →

The Launchkey is the latest release from Novation, being marketed as “the next generation” instrument for computer and iPad. Sporting 16 velocity sensitive Launchpad-style pads, as well as 8 potentiometers, 9 faders (only 1 on the 25-key version)and a bunch … Continue reading →

Moldover teamed up with Video Guitar creators Visionary Instruments to create the final version of the “(!)” signature Robocaster, a guitar that’s been two years in the making. Here it is, demonstrated at this year’s Winter NAMM. Video courtesy of Digital DJ Tips.

Following up on a recent teaser announcement, the people at Livid Instruments have revealed their newest controller, Base. Housed in an all aluminum enclosure with no moving parts, Base is a sturdy and impressive piece of hardware. It is a … Continue reading →

Just before the end of 2012, we had the pleasure of interviewing the guys over at Greece-based controller creators Vavdo Interfaces. You can admire their beautifully crafted minimal controllers both further into this interview and on their website. Controllerism.com: What … Continue reading →

On my recent trip to Germany I had the chance to meet Stephan Schmitt (founder of Native Instruments) who is working with Daniel Tzschentke at the newly founded Nonlinear Labs. Some wonderful instruments will be coming from that team soon, … Continue reading →

Bitwig have just published a video on their YouTube channel demonstrating the use of the NI Maschine as a step sequencer with Bitwig Studio. The description of the video mentions Bitwig’s open controller scripting API as allowing to hack custom … Continue reading →

Our series of monthly features focuses on different controllerists from around the world that are either pushing the envelope of electronic music and live performance in some way or another, or accomplished performers with an unmistakable sound. This month we’ve done … Continue reading →

There’s a new Ableton Push demo video on the Ableton Youtube Channel, revealing more in-depth information about the workflow when sequencing drums with the new controller. Although previously demonstrated at the Ableton preview event, there haven’t been a lot of details … Continue reading →

Andrew Shum first came to our attention with episode 2 of his Beat Challenged series. After making episode 3, however, he took a long break from making videos, fortunately broken with this new episode, where he expertly chops up Korean … Continue reading →

Although most major MIDI controller manufacturers and software developers market and sell their products using primarily the English language, creativity, hacking spirit and innovation in controllerism and music technology are obviously not limited to the English-speaking world. The language barrier … Continue reading →

Nektar has announced the newest addition to it’s line of Reason integrated keyboard controllers in the form of the Panorama P6. The 61-key P6 essentially expands on Nektar’s wonderfully received June 2012 release, the 49-key Panorama P4. The Panorama will … Continue reading →

Originally written on November 29th, 2009. Links updated for context: As a professional DJ, I feel that it is important to not simply practice and stay proficient at what you do, but to stay up on the new technologies and techniques … Continue reading →

If you are a fan of downtempo electronic music with solid grooves, be sure to check out “Drift” on Renegade Lights. This upcoming 8 track compilation features a beautiful handmade quality overall. The character of the sound holds an analog … Continue reading →

The latest video from former Black Eyed Pea Will.I.am features an impressive number of brands and products (aside from Britney Spears) that includes cameras, cars, a large number of Apple products and even 3D printers. The big surprise, though, is … Continue reading →

Highly successful DJ and producer Dennis Ferrer posted this rant to his Facebook page a short while ago, condemning “push-button dj’ing” and auto-beatmatchers: “Push-button dj’ing or “Controller-ism” I suppose is the term for it now. Every time I see this … Continue reading →

The DigitalDJTips Youtube channel uploaded this video a few months ago, but the explanation they’re offering for controllerism and button mashing is pretty sensible and relevant, as well as the advice.

Nashville-based instrument designers Artiphon have announced the Instrument 1, a new musical controller designed to work with the iPhone 5. Freshly-released teaser shots of it show glimpses of a design that includes hardwood, a fret board and a guitar pickup. The … Continue reading →

ETHNO TEKH | live at Enig’matik Vibrations [Melb,Aus] 2012 from Ethno Tekh on Vimeo. The last time we saw a kinect performance this well developed, it was sponsored by an energy drink company (see The V-Motion Project). Ethno Tekh‘s take … Continue reading →

Ableton Certified Trainer Julien Bayle (based in Marseille, France), has had access to the Ableton Live 9 beta version for quite some time now, and he’s had the awesome inspiration of showcasing it via his YouTube channel. This video is … Continue reading →

Native Instruments released a new video on their YouTube channel today, unveiling a new format of tracks to be sold via Beatport. This Remix Set is designed to be imported into Traktors new Remix Decks, with different bass, drums, synth … Continue reading →

A lot of the tracks I produce are designed to also be performed live or recreated using my controller rig. So instead of pressing play and letting the tracks flow, I create controllerism routines out of them. The best example … Continue reading →

We’re starting a series of monthly articles focusing on different controllerists from around the world that are either pushing the envelope of electronic music and live performance in some way or another, or accomplished performers with an unmistakable sound. Our … Continue reading →

(The theater room at New People Cinema) SF Music Tech: More About the Business, but the Music Lives On. SF Music Tech is a conference in its eleventh year, that brings together musicians, developers, educators, businessmen and tech geeks from … Continue reading →

HIFANA is a breakbeat project from Japan, composed out of KEIZOmachine! and Juicy. They both work MPC-style pad machines (sometimes MPCs, sometimes the Maschine) and the turntables, as well as adding live percussion to their sets. They’ve a lot of amazing, … Continue reading →

As Moldover’s SuperVillain US Fall tour concludes, after 33 events all over the US and many adventures (including an unfortunate incident involving a deer), there’s finally a new official Moldover video on YouTube. Knocksteady asked Moldover to perform an exclusive … Continue reading →

As Moldover’s SuperVillain US Fall tour concludes, after 33 events all over the US and many adventures (including an unfortunate incident involving a deer), there’s finally a new official Moldover video on YouTube. Knocksteady asked Moldover to perform an exclusive … Continue reading →

Keith McMillen Instruments just launched a Kickstarter campaign for a new keyboard controller, the QuNexus. This super-portable controller features the same depth of control found in other controllers from Keith McMillen, but in a more conventional keyboard layout. The 25 … Continue reading →

After announcing the software in January and then starting beta testing a few months ago, Bitwig Studio updates have been few and far between. Therefore, the latest video uploaded on their official YouTube channel, detailing Bitwig VST plugin support and … Continue reading →

The CNTRL tour bus, being prepared for the tour and sporting the CNTRL colors and logo. Photo courtesy of: DJ Tech Tools Controllerist and DJ Tech Tools founder Ean Golden, together with legends Richie Hawtin, Loco Dice and a series … Continue reading →

With multiple software and hardware releases, the people over at IK Multimedia have had a pretty busy year. The products in their iRig line for guitarists, vocalists, and DJs have made waves for offering quality production power to musicians on … Continue reading →

As if to answer the question posed by our previous article and along with a massive overhaul to their website, Ableton announced the launch of two new products today: Ableton Live 9 and a new hardware controller, Push. This upgrade … Continue reading →

It’s been more than three years since Ableton released Live 8, and there’s been a lot of online speculation about the possibility that Live 9 would be a completely rewritten version of its predecessors. As if to confirm those rumors, … Continue reading →

Ableton & Controllerism.com are proud to be partnering with ‘The Godfather of Controllerism’ Moldover for five free and exclusive West Coast workshops. The practical tools and skills Moldover will be demonstrating are designed to ignite your enthusiasm, advance your workflow … Continue reading →

More than a month ago, we posted a video demo from the amazingly talented Radio Wonderland, in which we were given an in-depth look at his radio based live setup. After the demo, we sat down with the man behind … Continue reading →

Tired of plain old buttons and knobs? How about something a little more natural? Disney Research has developed technology that turns living or artificial plants into expressive multi-touch controllers. As you can imagine, this can be used to control any … Continue reading →

Are you ready to become a taste-maker? Want to share some of the tasty nuggets of info you find around the net with other controllerists? Would you like the opportunity to test drive the hottest new gear, interview well respected … Continue reading →

Do you need more time to finish your album? Are you boggled by the thousands of samples, fx, plug-ins and software options available these days? Have you tweaked and tweaked your tracks till your tear-filled eyeballs fall onto your desktop? … Continue reading →

In February, we asked what the next unconventional sensor to work its way in to controllers would be. Shortly after that the Midi Fighter 3D was announced, and a little while after that the Leap was introduced as a new way to interact … Continue reading →

Earlier this year, we met up with artist, composer and controllerist mastermind Radio Wonderland to see a demo of his custom, radio-based live rig and ask him a few questions. During the demo, he shows us the basics of his … Continue reading →

We don’t normally post editorial about celebrities, but this really grinds our gears! In a recent post on his personal tumblr blog, Joel Zimmerman aka Deadmau5 writes a spell-check-free rant admitting that the best part of his live shows are … Continue reading →

This video has been a long time coming and I’m very excited to finally share it with you. If these instruments interest you, be sure to take a look at all the other amazing projects at jamboxes.net I’m curious to … Continue reading →

Big changes can happen when money gets involved. Controllerism is working its way deeper into the mainstream, and one major sign of the times is use of the word “controllerism” in marketing campaigns. Check out examples by Novation, Propellerhead and … Continue reading →

By now, most of the world’s tech-aware public has learned first hand that touch screens are a great interface for many computer-related tasks, but certainly not for everything. Entering text, playing action-oriented video games and, of course, making music are … Continue reading →

About a month ago DJ Tech Tools held a contest offering the first MIDI Fighter 3D to come off the production line to whomever made the best performance video using a free Drum Rack for Ableton Live made by controllerist … Continue reading →

Livid’s brain now supports rotary encoders, LED rings, RGB LEDS, velocity sensitive pads, and standalone (non bus powered) MIDI. AND that’s not all… Watch the video below for full specs and video footage of some amazing DIY controllers that utilize … Continue reading →

Who wants to see another BATTLE!?!?

All the details on the evolution, design, building of The Mojo are now in one delicious video! Download all the design documents, parts lists, and Ableton Live templates here. …and here’s an expanded time-lapse of the building process with technical … Continue reading →

I was very keen to get my hands on the new Akai MAX49 controller keyboard ever since I first caught wind of it back in January. I read the specs, watched the videos and was very intrigued, but I knew I … Continue reading →

As far as we’re concerned, the days of quietly hiding behind a laptop are over! Controllers help make electronic music performance exciting to watch. So why are most controllers designed to lay flat on a table where no one can … Continue reading →

Showing some love for NI and Traktor. P.S. Download my album for FREE

David Cross from 60-Works tipped me off to a wonderful instructable to help DIY’ers build their first controller. It begins with a nice list of links to components and proceeds through all the steps to make a custom Teensy Arduino … Continue reading →

Our friends over at 60 Works have just created a gorgeous new custom controller for the Minimoog V software instrument from Arturia. Built with classic Moog styling, The PMM controller puts all of the powerful software controls at your fingertips. … Continue reading →

WALA has performed at parties and festivals all over the US and Mexico. Although she has only been in the bass music scene for a little more than a year, Bay Area controllerist and producer WALA has already shared the bill with … Continue reading →

You can watch the full live stream of the show tonight, starting at 7pm PST. Don’t miss all the awesome live electronic musicianship, including: Mad Zach, Deep Dimension, Moldover and Rich DDT. Watch live video from deepdimension on www.justin.tv

We always love to see what these guys are up to, and this time Edison and Anon Day are jamming together! And not only are they together, but they’re using awesome hardware: the DSI Tempest and the Teenage Engineering OP-1! … Continue reading →

We always love to see what these guys are up to, and this time Edison and Anon Day are jamming together! And not only are they together, but they’re using awesome analog gear: the DSI Tempest and the Teenage Engineering … Continue reading →