Ableton a Sponsor of Mutek 2006

This summer, Ableton will sponsor the Mutek festival in Montreal by offering two in-depth workshops on Live. Mutek, a Montreal tradition for seven years running, is a showcase for experimental electronic music. The festival has become a launching pad for a number of leading Techno and IDM producers and performers, many of whom use Ableton Live extensively. This year, Mutek runs from May 31 to June 4. Additional information about the festival (including special packages and discounts) is available here.

The workshops, "Introduction to DJing & Producing with Ableton Live" and "Advanced Ableton Live Techniques," will be open to all Mutek festival ticket holders. Attendees at any skill level, from beginning DJs to expert producers, are invited to check out either session. Both events will feature a discussion forum about Live and extended Q&A time. They will be held at the centrally located Monument-National on 1182 St Laurent. The introductory workshop will be held on Thursday, June 1, from 1:45PM to 4:45PM. The advanced workshop will take place Friday, June 2, from 10:00AM to 1:00PM.

"Mutek 2006 showcases an impressive number of musical textures from a series of innovative artists, and I am proud to be Ableton's representative for this event," said Dave Hill Jr., workshop host.

Dave Hill Jr. is Ableton's Director of Public and Artist Relations, and is based in New York. Nearly a decade after purchasing his first sampler, Dave discovered the joys of working with computer audio, integrating his personal drum recordings into loops, spawning a variety of unique productions. His most recent project, "Brainboxing," fuses field and studio recordings into an organically flavored palette of melodies constructed entirely within Ableton Live.

In addition to Hill's tutorials, a significant number of Mutek performers will be using Live in their sets. Some of them include Richie Hawtin, Henrik Schwarz, ModeSelektor, Jan Jelinek, Deadbeat, Thomas Brinkmann, Akufen, and Ricardo Villalobos.

Introduction to DJing & Producing with Ableton Live

In this seminar, we'll take a look at basic concepts behind DJing and production with Ableton Live. Topics include preparing tracks for DJing, using Ableton effect devices, and learning to produce, remix, and create full musical arrangements from Live's session view. Rumor has it, Berlin-based artist Henrik Schwarz will be dropping by to fill us in on his personalized, and critically acclaimed, DJ approach.

Advanced Ableton Live Techniques

In this seminar, we'll consider some of Live's more esoteric tools and techniques, such as follow actions, clip envelopes, routing options, and sound design using Simpler and Impulse. Feel free to bring your laptops and share your musical ideas and concepts with the group. The point here is to learn from each other and encourage people to share their knowledge.