Pete Tong Uses Ableton Live for BBC Radio 1
Known around the world for his epic Ibiza sets, Pete Tong was a household name even before he became a pop culture phrase. For his weekly radio show on BBC's Radio 1, Tong has turned to Ableton Live for syncing, mixing and generally taking your body on a ride that it won't recover from for the rest of the weekend.
"My radio show, The Essential Selection, has started the weekends for BBC Radio 1 since 1991. It's all about getting people into their weekend, finding out what they are up to and involving as many of the world's top DJs as possible."
Whether Tong is in his studio or on the go, Live lets him quickly arrange his sets: "The fact that I can now create mixes and radio shows from my laptop is great. I'm a busy man, and it's really allowed me to turn a lot of dead time into creative time."
As Live handles the beat-matching aspect of mixing, Tong can get creative with the contents of his tracks, using Live as a tool to creatively blend music: "I'm using Live to build different sweeps and mixes and features on the show. I can really see it taking over. The whole speed-warp-marking skill was the biggest breakthrough for me. Once I cracked that, I was really addicted to the program."
Good news for Tong and other new users: Live 5 features auto-warping and MP3 support, making life that much easier.
The Essential Selection is broadcasted on BBC Radio 1 every Friday night at 6 p.m. (GMT) and every Sunday morning at 1 a.m. Both are also available on demand at Radio 1 online via the Listen Again player.