Adam Dorn:
DJ Mocean Worker Keeps It Movin’
”I can loop down to sixteenth notes, create new rhythms… I can even make it go in reverse. I can filter and beat-match and control the EQ — all the things I used to do with two turntables and a mixer — but with much more flexibility.”
The Apple-based rig, he says, eliminates the worry about packing the right tunes. “You can have 10,000 songs on your laptop,” says Dorn. “You can take your whole collection with you. So you can judge from the reaction of the crowd what to play. Whatever they like, it’s all at your beck and call. You watch the audience, you have more control and you can make them go nuts!”
And Dorn isn’t just selecting tunes. “I have my gear set up to control my software with a MIDI keyboard,” he explains, “so it’s like I’m playing the music. With Traktor I can bring in the records in a certain way and make a new song out of two I’m mixing. I can loop down to sixteenth notes, create new rhythms… I can even make it go in reverse. I can filter and beat-match and control the EQ — all the things I used to do with two turntables and a mixer — but with much more flexibility.”
Taking it to the Stage
While DJ’ing is performing, Dorn also plays concerts that are more akin to those of regular musicians — only his instrument is the PowerBook. To set the stage, he creates visuals in DVD Studio Pro, Final Cut Express, iMovie and iDVD.
“I get clips from the news to add to my show,” he explains, “so I can tailor my video to what’s going on in the world.” The tools, he says, give musicians an edge. “Everyone I know uses Final Cut — it’s the best application out there. And the laptop becomes a very powerful way to connect with the people you’re playing for.”
The core of his show is Dorn’s unusual live performance of the music on his newest record. “I use the PowerBook to completely recreate ‘Enter the MoWo!’,” he explains. “I load every instrument used in every song onto my keyboard. The sampler lets me control the actual .aif sound files individually, and I play them in unison to create each song.”
Continues Dorn, “It is insanely difficult to do. Ten fingers are not enough. People ask me all the time, ‘Why do you go through all that, instead of just playing the recorded song?’ But if I did that, I wouldn’t be performing.” For this musician, there’s a distinct difference between effective use of samples and lazy reliance on a crutch. “The bad part about electronic music,” he comments, “is when you go to see a band and they don’t do anything live. They hit Play on a DAT machine and go to bed. It sucks.”
Playing the PowerBook
Running on autopilot is not Dorn’s style. “I make these visuals, I do sounds and samples, and I play for people on my PowerBook,” he says. “When they show up, they don’t know what they’re about to see. Then after three songs I’ll have 100 people dancing. They say, ‘All right! This is kinda cool!’ They know I’m not just being a DJ — they hear me change the grooves up, and they can tell I’m really performing the music.”
That’s the only way, says Dorn, he can achieve the sound he wants. “I don’t want to just hit the space bar and be boring,” he says emphatically. “And I’d really like to hire other musicians to play with me, but it’s too expensive. This way, I’m a one-man band. It’s the only way I can go on the road as an electronic musician and play live. That’s what the PowerBook lets me do. And it works — people love it.”
While Dorn continues to DJ, he savors the challenge of creating something fresh. “I need to do both,” he says. “The live performance is my secret weapon.”
