Ready and able

The digital audio work station Ableton Live has everything a musician would need for digital recording and sound editing, but with an interface that can be played like an instrument and used in live performance. It’s like a recording studio that can be played as an instrument. And it has an object-oriented programming language embedded in it, creating even more possibilities—it’s like a sampler, a drum machine and a full recording studio all in one that can be controlled by a keyboard, a guitar, an iPad or even just a smart phone. The Ableton company also makes the Ableton Push, a slick controller ideal for live performance by DJs and electronic musicians.

Reno musician Christian Davis cites a few examples of musicians who are using the technology in innovative ways, including the beatbox performer and vocalist Kid Beyond, who creates as much sound as a full band simply by using his own voice, a microphone, a pedal board, and a laptop running Ableton, or the classic synth-pop band Depeche Mode, who now use Ableton during their live performances.

“They’re using live drums onstage, but then they have a guy sitting off on the side, everything runs over to him, and he re-synthesizes it on the fly to sound like the drums of the recordings,” said Davis. “I can beatbox into Ableton, and Ableton will translate it into a MIDI drumbeat. I can sing into it, and Ableton will translate that into a synth.”

Ableton, like the turntable before it, blurs the line between recording technology and musical instrument. A basic version of the software costs around $100.

“It’s bigger than ProTools now,” according to Davis. “It’s been the No. 1 recording software for three or four years now. … I can DJ in it. I can record in it. I can make installations. I can do video in it. I can drive lighting systems with it. There’s ways to run a megachurch with it.”

Two years ago, Davis noticed online that Ableton user groups—informal gatherings to share knowledge, techniques and ideas—were popping up in places like San Francisco and Portland. He decided to start one here in Reno.

Davis has been active in the local music scene in a variety of capacities for decades. He has played in bands, managed venues and recorded albums. He’s been involved locally with many different genres, from hardcore punk and dream pop to experimental improvisation and hip-hop. He actually first used Ableton to make real-time video art at a dance club.

He’s now the Pro Audio Manager at Starsound Audio, a local company that does sound and lighting for various events around town, including various concerts, the rib cook-off, the air races and the balloon races.

The Reno Ableton Users Group has a group page for discussions on Facebook, and meets the second Sunday a month at 3 p.m. at the Holland Project, 140 Vesta St., and then in the evening the following Monday for a jam at Lamppost Pizza, 1141 Steamboat Parkway. And other meetings and classes are in the works at different venues. Attendees range from older blues and jazz musicians, looking to learn about recording and real-time instrument looping, to teenage DJs looking to hone their craft.

Davis recently applied to become a certified Ableton trainer, and hopes to expand his educational mission about Ableton. He’s working with the Reno Mini Maker Faire to bring Ableton workshops to area middle schools.

“I see these classes as digital literacy,” he said. “Knowing how to code is more important than cursive. Fuck cursive and replace it with digital literacy.”