BBC Radio One DJ and true pioneer of the dance music scene Pete Tong popped by Point Blank this week for his second visit to the studios. After having done a quick bit of recording in studio 5 he kindly took some time out of his busy schedule to meet some of the students from our sound design course
Pete with CEO Rob Cowan & Admissions Manager David Reid
We are proud to have a DJ of such legendary status show his support for our college and online music production courses. He assured the students that they had chosen the right place to study saying "It's a very competitive business these days… If you're serious about your music, then Point Blank is where you want to be".
He also promised to come back for an extended Q & A session at one of our regular celebrity master-classes. These master-classes are free supplements to the Point Blank courses available to all students. Past guests have included Basement Jaxx, Anne Savage, Carl Cox, Quentin Harris, Krafty Kuts, Marshall Jefferson, Pete Tong and A&R men from labels including Atlantic and Sony BMG. Find out more about our past VIP visits here.
As a valued customer of Pioneer (have a look at our DJ studio to see what I mean) we at Point Blank were lucky enough to be invited to the hotly anticipated launch party for their new CDJ-2000 and CDJ-900 decks, and DJM-5000 mixer at The Ministry of Sound in London last week.
The build up to the launch has been shrouded in rumour and mystery as Pioneer teased the baying DJ community with cryptic videos from the likes of James Zabiela, The Swedish House Mafia, Roger Sanchez and Paul Woolford. What we could work out from these clips was that one of the major benefits of the new CDJs would be negating the need for DJs to lug around their valuable CDs and laptops, however it was only last night, when we were able to try them out for ourselves, that we could see exactly how they would go about this.
As we milled about Ministry, gladly taking advantage of the free bar, there was a buzz of excitement in the air as the multitude of DJs began to get to grips with the CDJ's new in-built screen and Rekordbox file management interface, realising the new possibilities it could open up in their performances. The software essentially does the same job as your Traktors and Seratos but instead of having to hook up your laptop to a controller, you can simply plug in your USB memory stick loaded with your tunes and you are ready to go. There are loads more new features such as quantized beat looping and needle drop for quick scanning through tracks but these are perhaps best explained in the following promotional video:
Sounds exciting! The big clubs have surely put their orders in already for these, and I'm sure it won't be long before smaller bars and clubs follow suit.
If you want to learn how to fully harness the power of Pioneer CDJs, we have the best DJ courses for beginners through to advanced. Taught in the state of the art Point Blank studios, you will learn from experienced industry professionals and have access to the equipment 7 days a week whilst you are studying. Before you know it you’ll have the confidence to emigrate out of your bedroom, and be DJing in-front of adoring crowds of ravers! For full course information and enrolment details please click the following link: DJ Courses
On June 18th 2009 a group of nineteen young Israelis and Palestinians came together in Tel Aviv to show that music can overcome conflict by creating a unique track and video.
Acclaimed producer and Point Blank tutor, Ben Medcalf (aka The Rogue Element) is featured in iDJ magazine this month, revealing some of his essential production tips and tricks. Click on the picture for a large version. If you want to find out more of the secrets behind his sound then Ben will be hosting the Music Production Masterclasses throughout the summer.
Pete with CEO Rob Cowan & Admissions Manager David Reid
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