The winner of The Pitch Ultra Music DJ Contest is... these guys!
Photo by Emily Moore (www.emilylaurenmoore.com)
Woo! Congratulations, Nomathmatics. You guys rocked this past Friday night at NV. Enjoy your trip to Miami. Send us a postcard.
To the other DJs: Thank you — you were all phenomenal.
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have you seen the stage the winner gets to play on in miami. none of this matters anyway because the stage sucks and maybe 20 people stand around all night.
good luck rocking the "dozens" of people that will actually see you NOMATH.
I love how a (comment section) gives people who have nothing else better to do with their time a chance to act like they know everything.
People who still find the need to post comments acting like they are the authority on whats hot & whats not or this dj is better than that dj, really need to get a life. Someone actual posted their credentials in this comments section....wow
It just comes down to personal preferrence... is the nomath crew for everyone....NO! but a lot of people like me who go to their shows always have a great time!
dawgs...why you gotta get all salty over some genre terminology? i'll call the shit whatever i want and treat it like i feel it needs be treated. i go for versatility in the tunes i ride for and it sounds like you do too. don't get so asshurt by someone labeling shit. good lord.
and fuck it if we're offtrack. we should be talking about music here and blog house is all nomath played at the battle. i was relating my feelings about house music as opposed to everyone else who thinks justice and all the shitty spin offs are the end all be all. if you're so on point with your tunes, spread your gospel then. if laidback luke, bart b more, axwell, etc AREN'T killing it in the 4 on the floor game right now...who is? i'm interested to know...
and what "trend" is that, "stillspeaking for hipsters"? You haven't a clue, as I haven't said. Who made any argument about internet hype and shitty music? I could give a fuck if ed banger never put out another record, I've never played a justice track at any of my nights, and I never will.
"The shit is blog house"? What, are you fifteen? Or just a slave to what turntable lab tells you is in this month?
We're off track here.
jp...
ride your trend homie. ain't much substance there and you know it. and if you can honestly back up an argument telling me that all the ed banger's/kitsune's/modular's/etc of the world didn't IMMENSELY benefit from every tom, dick, and harry blogger on the internet, I'd be willing to listen.
the shit is blog house. end of story.
While a lot of really, really good DJ's didn't enter the competition, and are therefore out of the discussion (save for the valiant efforts of a few), there really can't be discussion of the "best" DJ's in KC that doesn't include Joc Max, and I would throw Darryll Edwards in there as well.
stillspeaking...yes, I got the drift, friend. My point is that anyone saying "big room house is the shit" or who then invokes "blog house" in any way shape or form is not someone that I'm taking musical advice from.
"Blog house"? No.
jp...
big room house was thrown out there as the hype shit right now. it's a combo of a lot of styles of house music (much like blog house) with a much higher standard for production and sound quality. and no...it's not the only thing anyone should play. if you took the time to actually digest what was posted before mentioning a hot new style...VERSATILITY is the key to surviving in the dj game. so yeah...adapt and play some new shit but everything dope from all styles and points in time is fair game.
trust that in 6 months and your still hearing justice followed by some shitty remix of daft punk followed by some shitty remix of justice followed by another shitty remix of daft punk is gonna run a little thin. open up your mind son.
Haters are so cute!
All the djs rocked that night! Congrats Nomath!
Have fun in Miami!!!
p.s.
your show on thurs. was SUPER FUN!
Fucking amateur hour around here.
I can't wait to see how next years battle goes! HAHAHA
The sad thing is everyone that competed is really good in their own way, and this should have been the best battle yet. I guess the cheating allegation will remain just that...
Whats Ssion's motto again? Talent is a state of mind? How fitting....no wonder the hipsters love them so much.
Oh yeah in case you haven't noticed the pitch ultra contest is screwed up every year anyways so i don't know why anyone is surprised.
at least they didn't send a hip hop DJ to represent KC at a electronic music festival
fact: they allowed a duo to play
rules state no duos
other duos weren't allowed to play so thats bullshit
its not like no mathematics has any impact on the ACTUAL dj scene in KC so it really doesn't matter.
sure they may have a good show every once in a while but they aren't the caliber of DJs out there hustling playing day in and day out to the people of KC.
this ain't about sore losers, its about poor winners
"And if you knew the deal...Big Room House is where it's at right now."
That's it? That's "where it's at right now"?
For who?
So all dance nights should endeavor to jump on the band wagon of *one* musical genre?
No thanks.
As a person who has been to see dj's spin in major markets, I have to agree with the person who said the house is where it's at. I have heard Tactic and Sku both rip some nights with great house sets and mixes. There are many types of dj's, but I think the winner of a contest should be whoever was/is the most skilled, versatile and ahead of the game, not what has trickled down to us from NYC or CHI....although I expect the majority of the hipsterdom comes from LA. I would like to hear more indie hip hop mixes being played out here, but that's just me.
I was there the whole time and DJ Sku was definitely excellent and I look forward to dancing to his stuff in the future. I've heard Tactic spin many-a-time. DJ Clockwork was fine and dandy. I'm not going to put down any of them, I'm just here to defend a group that I have much respect for.
This board seems a bit contrived and if you are going to keep throwing out the word "hipster" because people are equated differently than yourself, that's where I start to shut off. I've never been a person to give a damn about who or what you spin or who you hang with just as long as you can get my body to move and from my perspective NoMathmatics did a tremendous job at that.
Again you can boast your credentials and personal opinions all you want but this doesn't sway me otherwise. I know NoMath as friends and professionals in the "biz" and they have gone through a lot of shit to get to where they've gotten, and this bash-fest is just another turd to add to the pile.
"Would one nomath dj really win the competition by himself? that will never be known..." I don't know if you've been reading but one DJ was spinning in the group, so I guess we do know.
"Everybody has a niche, but NoMath represents what's hot right now"
^^^Really? Are you sure? Blog house and this new fangled hipster electro shit has beeen around for more than a minute. I seem to remember a certain Justice 12" coming out and starting this whole trend in 2005 but maybe that's just me. KC is notorious for being at least 2 years behind the curve and this is a perfect example. Nomath is gonna do what they're going to do, but I'm really interested to see when this trend goes away (already happening in a number of markets) and what dudes like Nomath are gonna come with. The dj game is cut throat and those djs with versatility are the ones that survive. Talent and music knowledge is more than just a state of mind.
And if you knew the deal...Big Room House is where it's at right now. Any dj dropping that shit in KC (Tactic is already on it and rinsing amazing tunes) knows what the fuck is up.
just saying...
having been a dj for over a decade now....i have seen the technology change tremendously. its much easier now for anybody to "beat match" any songs. on serato and all programs like it, if you use the internal mode, you don't actually have to do anything. one mouse click and the tracks are all tempo matched. one click and they are all key matched. they even remember cue points so you can drag and drop mixes. live...really? hours of "practice" means you just planned a set. that stuff should be more classified as a live PA than a dj set. Not that there is anything wrong with it...its just not really djing. now is the place where you doubt my credentials...
Shane Potter aka
Mr. Solve
Drum and bass DJ/producer
Weekly radio show www.leetradio.com
Owner of Acumen Records.
Recording Engineer for Chapman Recording
timeslots and technology aside....
what is this contest really about?
one dj wins the competition not the group.
would one nomath dj really win the competition by himself? that will never be known...
I know he was there to see all the DJ's, and not to just support NoMath. He is no longer a club kid, I'm just saying he's been around the scene for many a year.
When you say "Once they learn the software, it really makes everything so much easier," I'm assuming that you yourself do not use it, or you would have said "Once I learned..."
RE: "Also, just about any DJ that is not playing a prerecorded set can mix in a song you want to hear if it is possible, if the bpms match up, etc." .... Yes, well my point in making that comment was that their sets are not pre-recorded. Thank you for backing me up.
Just to be clear, I'm all about the music. I'm all about supporting local. What I'm not about is jumping on a bandwagon to slam a couple of guys who work their asses off to do what they love. I'm not an old-school vinyl purist. I'm a music purist. If they happen to mix .mp3 and plastic, so be it. If they happen to use the newest technology to create beats that move feet, so be it. The game is changing. It doesn't mean they don't put in any fewer hours or have any less talent than the people that have been doing this since the 90's.
If you want to use semantics, then change the name to "The Pitch Ultra Music Turntablist Contest."
Support local...
"NoMath set rocked everybody's face off. He said all the DJ's were good, but NoMath brought the business that moved the most people. Not surprising."
Yes, they got the people moving because there were people there at that time. Was he there at 8pm?!
I tend not to take a "rave kids" advice on what is good, as they tend to be on drugs while the dj is spinning, so almost anything sounds good.
Imma have to agree with i or j, whatever that letter is, on this one. And no, it does not take as much skill to use Serato as it does vinyl. Once they learn the software, it really makes everything so much easier. That's like saying well, a manual transmission is harder than a 5 speed because you have to learn to drive it. Way off. Also, just about any DJ that is not playing a prerecorded set can mix in a song you want to hear if it is possible, if the bpms match up, etc. The thing with a nomath set is that all of the songs are so similar it is not as hard to mix in a song, as they are all up in the same range, as it would to mix in, say, work from some 98bpm to like a 128 that is typical dancy stuff, for instance, smoothly. When they start doing stuff like that off the top, then they deserve to go to FL.
I wasn't at the event, so I can't tell you any specifics from the night other than a friend (and LONG TIME club/dance/raver kid) said that the NoMath set rocked everybody's face off. He said all the DJ's were good, but NoMath brought the business that moved the most people. Not surprising.
What I can tell you is that I've been to many a NoMath show, and tend to spend a large portion of the time behind the deck with Sheppa and Johnny D. I point to a track I want to hear, and they make it happen. I watch the screen as the music happens. It's definitely not recorded...
It takes the same amount of talent as spinning vinyl (or more) to not only learn to use the software, but mix tracks, match beats, and switch media...
Everybody has a niche, but NoMath represents what's hot right now.
We're lucky to have them in KC.
N8- the reference to NoMath having "hipster" fans was in response to all of the NoMath fans posting in this particular comment section, proclaiming that NoMath had the best set of the night. Technically, they DID NOT. And, if as you said, it should be based on how hyped the crowd was and how much love and excitement they showed- then that was based in part because NoMath went on in a prime spot- Sku went on at what, 8:30? Who goes to a club at 8:30 wanting to dance? No one, I'd have to say. And for the record, no, I do not want the same "Trance/HipHop spinning" that has been going on. Have you been to hear Sku, Sike or Tactic? For that matter, when Konsept was still here and at Nara, he played VERY "hipster" influence music. As far as that goes, Shaun Duval plays a very progressive mix of house, hip/hop, hipster mixes that are as smooth and consistent as anyone could want. I think a knowledge of multiple genres and the ability to seamlessly let them flow together, that to me is a good dj. Mainly, this duo, as fun as they are to see, are not at a national level yet. Playing ONE SPECIFIC GENRE only pigeon holes KC's music scene. At the DJ Shadow show, I swear Kid Koala mixed in "Pound That Beer" a song from a local MC. NoMath is not the best choice to represent KC. The decision was based solely on the drunken hipster Pitch employees and not by anyone who actually might have been able to make a sober and coherent decision that night. Sku by far had the best set.
J, your aristocratic DJing viewpoints are astounding and seemingly contradictory. You assume people who like NoMathmatics have no knowledge about DJing and yet you call yourself a NoMath fan. That, in itself, makes your whole argument null and void.
But assuming you do know something about DJing and music I'll gladly retaliate. Your arguments seem based more on taste of music rather than DJing. If you want to bring down a DJ-duo for the kind of crowd they attract and their lack of 80sRap/Gangster, then by all means do but remember that's your own personal opinion.
DJing is defined as "Disk Jockey" and since it's dawn has been an art that has been judge by not just the DJ himself but also by the crowd's love and enthusiasm for the party he/she brings. Who gives a rat's ass what DJ plays what and for what type of people. That night there was a mixed crowd and that night a huge group showed their love and excitement for a great set and that's what it's all about. Being a DJ doesn't require anything but playing music and the right music for the people who are there to enjoy it.
And "gimmicks???" Jesus! The whole DJ scene could be declared a "gimmick." You might as well label the NY Hip-hop scene a "gimmick" when they were first introducing scratching! If you want a DJ to just sit there and spin music, you're a purest and that's fine, but you can't go bashing DJs because they incorporate sight AND sound in their sets, because they use different and efficient equipment to spin with, or because they jump up and down and dance to their own shit. If everyone thought like you do the DJ scene would not be where it is today. They'd all still be in boxing spinning vinyl for radio.
Honestly if you want the same kind of Trance/HipHop spinning that's been going on for the past few decades, great, but don't let the future scare you. Maybe it's just time for you to adjust a bit.
First off I have to say that I do enjoy going out to NoMath events. They are high energy, fun nights.
That being said, they have a very specific following- KC "hipsters" that base their knowledge of spinning on NoMath shows. Any other night they are at a Republic Tiger or Roman Numerals show.
I do not think it was fair for Brent to up in the booth alone. One "main" deejay is not the same as ONE DEEJAY IN THE DEEJAY BOOTH. This was not fair and I believe the Pitch is to be blamed for this.
The "video" show was not needed. This was to be a contest showcasing deejay skills, not flash design short films.
And if we are going to go THERE JohnnyNoMath....how about we throw out the Serato, voice synthesizers, audio visual gimmick b.s. and next year the competition is done sans Serato. I'm putting my money on DJ Sku.
In regards to DJ Sku- by far had the best set. He was the only one able to cleanly mix the hipster fluff of JUSTICE with top 40 gangster and classic 80's r&b. Two years in a row he has had to go first, two years in a row has lost.
How many DJ of the Year awards has he won? If we are going by "who won what," then Sku is the one who needs to be on that trip. Respect to all of the others, but this was a DJ COMPETITION and of the single person non recorded sets, his was flawless.
Enter hipster Pitch readers telling me I know absolutely nothing and that I am a sore loser. Just so you know guys, I'm not a DJ and never have been. I am a NoMath fan and I am an open minded music fan, anyone who was there that night who knows ANYTHING about live DJ sets would know Sku deserved that. I believe had Tactic performed as a group, NoMath wouldn't have come close as a strictly live no frills DJ duo.
What a ridiculous controversy. It's interesting that the biggest detractors - the first ones to mention these spurious claims against Nomathmatics - are themselves pseudo/wanna-be/failed DJs (just look at their myspace pages). Sounds like sour grapes to me. When I see someone who's better than me at something, I celebrate their talent and try to learn from them. Just a tip.
And let's be real here: Nomathmatics are the best DJs in Kansas City, not only because of their talent and mixing skills, but because they do something original. All of the other DJs in the competition were good, but aside from Clockwerk, they all sounded so similarly generic that you couldn't tell one from the next. That is not the mark of a great artist, electronic or otherwise. Nomathmatics' set stood out above the rest, and that's why they won (duh).
I'm excited that people outside of Kansas City will get to experience the bitchin dance party Nomath brings every time they play. Have fun in Miami guys, you'll totally rock it!
Imprint,
Exactly "one main dj". What does that mean? Did they really find it necessary to have one of them just trigger samples over the actual mix. They themselves created this controversy. Dude should've laid back and played his part. It's whatever at this point. Good luck in Miami Nomath......
Quazar,
If you read correctly, JohnnyNoMath said when they got to the event, they heard Brent from Tactic was the only one going to perform, so then NoMath performed with only ONE main DJ. Get your details straight.
It's obvious the Pitch should be held responsible for such a faulty competition. I mean it says right above me in "johnnynomath" response that the Pitch let them have both dj's in the booth to perform. Tactic by definition is a duo. Why didnt the Pitch allow them to perform together? What a crock of shit!! I was there at exactly 9pm and listened to everyone perform. Everyone blew me away! I doubt there will be any credibility left towards the Pitch for such awfully judged event. I also doubt the areas finest dj's will ever compete in this again....
PITCH YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS!!!!!
In response to the rumors floating around on a few blogs "Was our set prerecorded?" The answer is simply "no". To add to this response "It's ridiculous". We worked on that set for hours prior to the event just like everyone else and quite frankly, could and would easily mix it again LIVE in a heartbeat.
The irony in some of these allegations is that Sheppa couldn't even get his CD player to work to play a prerecorded CD. That was the technical difficulty that we were having before we started, thus our delay in the beginning. As a solution, he ended up just using his laptop (using Serato/Scratch Live) as a sampler to randomly throw in Nomath vocals while I was mixing the set LIVE. And if anyone in the DJ booth paid attention to me while I was spinning, I don't know how you could mistake it as anything but playing it LIVE.
Why were there 3 people in the booth?
For starters, when we submitted our mix CD we asked the Pitch up-front, if BOTH of us could play if we made the finalists. They said that this would be okay, with the understanding that if we won, the Pitch would only be covering one trip to Miami. However, when we
arrived at the event we found that Brent was going to be the only one representing Tactic, WE made the decision to have myself be the main DJ and Sheppa would throw in random Nomath vocals over the top of the set. The third person who was up there with a laptop was our regular Nomath VJ Phillip Beretta, who was mixing video LIVE on the screens
behind the crowd (which we also asked if it would be okay and the response was "yes").
In response to BUCHO:
"No less than 10 people told me that they barely touched the mixer or their records?"
Considering the DJ booth was above the crowd and there were only a few people behind us, I don't know how this is even possible except that it's completely made up. There were no records because we (as many) played in INTERNAL MODE via SERATO which means no vinyl. Its one of the several options of mixing with Scratch Live but sorry BUCHO, its still mixing! We've found that it gives us added features you can't do with vinyl and more control on a creative side. Look it up on-line if you still don't believe it. It isn't anything new.
I guess overall we're disappointed that any person or person(s) would think this of us. As our fanbase knows, we work hard and have over the years putting shows together around town trying help the local scene grow. It's sad when there is a great competition like this and the focus becomes this. We respect our fellow local DJs and would believe that this whole thing has been made up by some anonymous coward who probably didn't make the competition.
Come to our show on Thurs. Watch us DJ if you want. Judge for yourself. We are and always have been about having a good time and
it's a shame that a few people apparently couldn't that night.
Johnny D. & Sheppa of Nomathmatics
you know...nomath did get the crowd hype. but a majority of them were their own crowd. you can't sit there and wave fingers at sku or even clockwerk for that matter because they had to play before 10pm (not the ideal clubbing hour). but those two dudes killed it and had more variety in their tune selection than nomath. so if this wasn't taken into account...shame on the judges.
now...without acknowledging the rumors surrounding the nomath set...they do have their gimmicks as well. hipster hair and clothes. relentlessly pogoing in the booth (how much mixing can you really do when you're dancing around so much...just curious) and playing nothing but loud ass electro house from the blog world that made some people actually cover their ears and complain about the sound. pulling out the gimmick card definitely can get thrown back in your face, so it's probably worth it to drop that shit right now.
so we move on to the other two guys...yeah shaun flo had some of friends do the intro with the sparklers. i didn't fucking mind it a bit. and whether you dug it or not...his set was clean and exactly what a lot of people in that club wanted to hear. he was up there as the place was really filling up and had as many folks dancing by the end of his set that nomath had. dude from tactic probably had a very minimal loyal following there but got lucky to play last. had the whole place vibing over many different styles of music and was working incredibly hard to push the tempo and mix a bunch of different shit up.
so all the djs "rocked out" in my opinion. if you've got your bias...you're entitled. but there's so much more to djing than just that. and to sit there and think that nomath won that contest hands down is ridiculously, no matter what went down up in that booth.
sore_losers_suck:
thanks for letting me know about a program i've been using for the last year and a half. had no idea that feature existed!!!
Hey Bucho and SphereX,
You act like you've never seen a DJ use a laptop before. When was the last time you went to a club?
Serato has a feature called "Internal Mode" where you don't really need to touch the turntables but you are still beat matching cueing like normal. Hell, you don't even need turntables. I know the vinyl purists are scared, but it's no different than the synth, the electric guitar, or any other music innovation. Get over it.
Here's a link to the Serato manual; check out page 12:
http://www.rane.com/pdf/sslman...
Anyway I'm pretty sure this wasn't a turntablism competition - that is what DMC is for. It was about making the crowd dance, and hmm... Who did that best?
It's incredible to me how one malicious and loosely based rumor could deface a talented crew like NoMath. "Pre-recorded" is a horrendous claim that deserve no recognition. If any of you had any sense to even go to a previous NoMath show you'd realize that this set was no more fantastic than the ones they've mixed in the past. They are incredible DJ's who take pride in their art who strive for seamless mixes and delicious beats to dance too. This winning set held the same integrity that all of their sets have had in the past and if you are so willing to jump on the bandwagon to criminalize these DJ's and good people, than I say
1.) You really don't know who these guys are and what they stand for
and
2.) Your lack of respect for them mirrors you lack of respect for the entire DJing community here in KC.
Besides all this, I'm glad NoMathmatics is finally getting some well deserved recognition! Congratulations to you guys and best of luck on your DJ-quest to Miami.
Cheers,
N8
there is no contest when it comes to talent and dedication. NoMathmatics won fair and square, there were no fancy sparkler shows from employees, or over gelled hair trying too hard to "look the part" as a good dj, it was just a great set pure and simple. Their music got everyone in the crowd on their feet dancing for the whole set. Even photographers for the pitch were feverishly handing off cameras so they could come and dance. It was a good competition, a great show by all, but nothing compares to true talent.
Good job guys, it was an amazing evening. You will do so well in miami, way to put kc on the map!
Was there really any contest?
For all ya haters, it ain't about the technical issues, it's about rockin' out! And these guys know how to rock the house!
Get ready Miami!
much love from NYC,
m
It's no coincidence that NoMathmatics won "Best DJ set in Kansas City" a few months ago and won the Ultra Music DJ contest too. hmmm. I see a theme here. Perhaps they ARE the best dj's in the KC scene right now?
Awww....seems like there's some jealous haters posting here. The other dj's just weren't as good as NoMathmatics. End of Story. oh, you poor sore losers. NoMath really is the best dj set in the city...and they are getting the reward they deserve..a trip to Miami to put KC on the map. GO NOMATHMATICS!
cheaters must be scorned, may these two souls be struck down by the wrath of satan
so two guys win the Pitch dj competition?
i could've sworn it's been one person per entry for the last several years. guess the rules didn't matter this year?
not to mention, i had no less than 10 people tell me later that night that the guy(S) from nomath barely touched their mixer or their records, which tells me they dropped a pre-recorded set down. correct me if i'm wrong, but i'm pretty sure that'd be against the rules as well.
i hope they represent kc better than that in miami. otherwise, our city just ends up looking like chumps who don't know anything about anything. and people wonder why bigger electronic acts don't come through...we can't even take ourselves seriously.
a 30 min long pre-recorded mp3 in serrato doesnt show skill, and they won with it =/
there was some math done, subtract the talent aspect, add 2 sceno hipsters = FARCE!
This contest was BULLSHIT!!! Nomathmatics had 3 people in the dj booth with laptops!! WTF??!! TACTIC could've played a duo set and murdered these fools!! SKU killed it on all his own, and set the bar high from the get go!! LAME LAME LAME!! I even heard Nomathmatics set was pre-recorded!! LAME!! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
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