Last week I decided to stream live while I mixed and happened to record it.  Just felt like getting on the decks and playing around.  Tons of rare grooves and cool breaks.

My remix of Saudi singer Abdel-Majeed Abdallah's "Martah:"

http://homepage.mac.com/alqahtani/.Public/drum-n-bass-in-your-face.mp3

Done live in one take. You may have been tuned into the podcast. This is my first completely DnB mix and I hope many more will come. A few hiccups, but that's okay. You can just skip past the Blaq Poet song at the beginning (I was just waiting for people to tune in).

Too Strong - Blaq Poet
Plastic Soul - Shy FX
Eye Believe - Will Miles
Big Lights, Big City - Mutt
She Likes It - Mutt
Draw On Me - Mutt
Anytime She Goes Away - Bachelors of Science
Ghetto Blues - Zyon Base
Feelings For You - Mutt
Tear You Down - Brookes Brothers
Ur In My Head - Icicle & Switch
Circles - Adam F
Racing Green - High Contrast
Homesick - Mutated Forms
Do The Right Thing - Brother
Soul Control - Dillinja
Two Drop - Calibre
Bambaata (Break Remix) - Shy FX
Moanin' - The Funktastics
The Music - Ross D
Hot Lick Squeeze (RIP Jay Dilla) - Mutt
Song For Lovers - Bachelors of Science
(We'll Be) United - The Intruders

There's a lot of Mutt there but it wasn't really intentionally; just sort of happened.

Just a quick and dirty podcast.

http://homepage.mac.com/alqahtani/.Public/web/WTRL-4-1-2009.mp3

Glamour Life - Kool Keith (Show Intro)
The Symphony - Masta Ace, Craig G, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap
New York What Is Funky - Ultramagnetic MCs
They Tell Me - EPMD /w Keith Murray
I Thought Ya Knew - Ed OG & Da Bulldogs
I Got It Made - Special Ed
Go Where I Send Thee - Masta Ace
Real Love - Mary J Blige / MC Lyte blend
Cappuccino - MC Lyte
Guaranteed Raw (Demo) - Biggie
This Cut's Got Flavor - Latee
Fly MC - Special Ed
Gettin' It On - Dennis Coffey
Droppin' Science (Hip-Hop Mix) - Craig G
Ego Trippin' - Ultramagnetic MCs
Award Tour - A Tribe Called Quest
SBX2LAX2OX - DJ Babu /w Wildchild & Percee P
Super - RA The Rugged Man
Blow the Horns - MOP
Party and Bullshit - Biggie
It's a Boy- Slick Rick

Quick links for those uninterested in reading:

http://homepage.mac.com/alqahtani/.Public/rmhh-battle-sidea.mp3

http://homepage.mac.com/alqahtani/.Public/rmhh-battle-sideb.mp3

Believe it or not, some people still hang out on usenet. Over at rec.music.hip-hop we planned a little mix battle between the resident DJs there, some of whom are pretty damn good (A to the L comes to mind). The rules were as follows. Each DJ had to submit two 20 minute mixes done in one take with no post editing. For the first mix everyone had to use 13 of the following 15 songs. Acapellas, dubs, instrumentals, and remixes were all allowed.

tom tom club - genuis of love
big daddy kanee - aint no half steppin
public enemy - youre gonna get yours
dru down - mack of the year
mc lyte - rough neck
ll cool j - mama said knock you out
lords of the underground - chief rocka
epmd - so whatchu sayin
heavy d and the boyz - mr big stuff
skee-lo - i wish
naughty by nature - ghetto bastard
main source - looking at the front door
eric b and rakim - i know you got soul
busta rhymes - put your hands where my eyes can see
method man and redman - da rockwilder

For the second mix everyone was allowed to mix whatever they desired. Here is my playlist for both mixes:

Side A - http://homepage.mac.com/alqahtani/.Public/rmhh-battle-sidea.mp3

1) Intro
2) Busta Rhymes - Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See (EPMD blend)
3) EPMD - So Whatcha Sayin'?
4) Main Source - Looking at the Front Door
5) Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love
6) Naughty by Nature - Ghetto Bastard
7) Skee Lo - I Wish (Rakim blend)
8) Bobby Byrd - I Know You Got Soul
9) Rakim - I Know You Got Soul (Heavy D Blend)
10) Lords of the Underground - Chief Rocka
11) MC Lyte - Ruffneck (BDK Blend)
12) LL Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out
13) Put a guy in the hospital interlude
14) Public Enemy - You're Gonna Get Yours (Dub)

Side B - http://homepage.mac.com/alqahtani/.Public/rmhh-battle-sideb.mp3

1) Intro
2) Al Hirt - Harlem Hendoo
3) Stereo MCs - Ancient Concept
4) Raekwon - Rainy Dayz (Remix)
5) Kool Keith - Indian
6) Das Efx - Real Hip-Hop (Pete Rock Remix)
7) DJ Revolution /w KRS-One - The DJ
8) Known Rulers - Let the Party Rock
9) Ill Bill - How to Kill a Cop
10) Street Smartz /w OC - Metal Thangz
11) MC Lyte - Cappuccino
12) Special Ed - I Got It Made (Remix)
13) De La Soul - Plug Tunin'
14) Crumb Outtro

To recapture the feeling of my younger days, I recorded both mixes straight to a tape deck. Only effects in use were my compressor and a little reverb.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rdb1hZvcmI

This video is a followup of last year's c314 scratch demo. A few months ago I moved up to Pioneer CDJ-800s. Am I able to do anything on the Pioneers I couldn't on the c314s? Not really. In fact, there's a few things the 800s lack that the c314s (and c324s) have.

For one, the c314s had four cue / loop pads and a pitch bend, two features I greatly miss. On the other hand, I gained a MUCH better LCD, adjustable loops, a position indicator inside the jog wheel, and more reliability (though I was fortunate enough to have never encountered any problems with my c314s; others weren't so lucky). The auto loop buttons aren't bad either and I must say scratches sound more authentic on the 800s than on the c314s (especially when using MP3s).

The 800s also do not lock up occasionally like the c314s did; the bigger jog wheel is definitely welcome. The bigger wheel and jog wheel LCD is a tradeoff though; while the c314's wheel was undeniably simple, it was very agile. Doing some of the same scratches on the 800 needs a little more force and adjustment. Also, it's very easy to loose your grip on the 800's platter if your palms get sweaty; the rougher finish on the c314's platters prevented this.

Maneuvering through folders on MP3 CDs is MUCH more intuitive on the 800s. The adjustable start / brake on the 800 is so much more intuitive than on the c314. While the 800 gives a finer pitch resolution, it lacks the c314's multiple pitch ranges. Instead of having the c314's option of 10, 25, 50, and 100% ranges you are only allowed 10 or 100% with CDs, and 10 or 16% with MP3s.

So those are the pros and cons of the unit feature wise. This demonstration is very similar to my c314 demo but done on the CDJ-800s. Hopefully it is of some use to you. For reference, the c314 demo can be viewed here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTAsTjd7pFo