Buzz Word Alert: What the hell is Controllerism?

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estevan carlos benson
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Buzz Word Alert: What the hell is Controllerism?

Post by estevan carlos benson » Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:26 pm

I was stumbling around YouTube and I came across something I dread is a buzz word: controllerism. No offense to DJs but... I think DJs made up the word and I suspect it has no meaning. However there are hash tags of it on Twitter, a website dedicated to the "subject" and I came across a blog post that "defines" sub-categories of "controllerism".

Does anyone know what it means? I'm fascinated and concerned because I love the subject and theory of interfaces, musical instrumentation and it's relation to composition and of course electronic music. It feels like a waste of a good term, controllerism, if it actually has no meat on the bone. There's robust theory on the subject of user interfaces and if there's a scene built around it, I need to be involved.

http://bandesnaci.com/2011/09/16/final- ... ification/
http://twitter.com/#!/Controllerism
http://www.controllerism.com/
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antarktika
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Re: Buzz Word Alert: What the hell is Controllerism?

Post by antarktika » Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:38 pm

Moldover is a ableton user who is into this, and likes making videos about it, such as:

http://vimeo.com/2578226

perhaps that helps?
Last edited by antarktika on Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Buzz Word Alert: What the hell is Controllerism?

Post by memes_33 » Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:38 pm

i think it is sort of a term that indicates "turntablism" but with midi controllers. in other words, controllerism is skills in the button-punching/knob-turning department in a live situation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYv5jqHM ... r_embedded
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estevan carlos benson
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Re: Buzz Word Alert: What the hell is Controllerism?

Post by estevan carlos benson » Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:41 pm

memes_33 wrote:i think it is sort of a term that indicates "turntablism" but with midi controllers. in other words, controllerism is skills in the button-punching/knob-turning department in a live situation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYv5jqHM ... r_embedded
Oh okay. I think the blog post on the subject through me off. It talks about sound sources as opposed to control devices as a means of defining it.

So is it about the art of performing with control devices? Or is it about the theory of user interfaces?
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Re: Buzz Word Alert: What the hell is Controllerism?

Post by H20nly » Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:42 pm

it's about posturing and posing in most cases.

if not, it would still be called 'making some adjustments'.
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agent314
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Re: Buzz Word Alert: What the hell is Controllerism?

Post by agent314 » Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:54 pm

it's about posturing and posing in most cases.

if not, it would still be called 'making some adjustments'.
Basically this. Even premier controllerist Ean Golden talks about how it's important to make a big show of pushing your buttons, for dramatic effect.

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Re: Buzz Word Alert: What the hell is Controllerism?

Post by estevan carlos benson » Wed Sep 21, 2011 7:29 pm

agent314 wrote:
it's about posturing and posing in most cases.

if not, it would still be called 'making some adjustments'.
Basically this. Even premier controllerist Ean Golden talks about how it's important to make a big show of pushing your buttons, for dramatic effect.
GRRRRR.

I'm irritated. The other day I was thinking about writing an essay on the subject of how electronic music theory and practice lacks serious discourse on the subject of the interface. We've mastered synthesis and we're barely thinking about the interface now. Unfortunately too much of this is dictated by consumer demand and it's weird too me that people settle for knobs, buttons and sliders. We could do so much more.

An instrument includes the sound and a means of controlling it. We're practically using certain interfaces by accident and necessity (mouse trackpad, qwerty keyboard, traditional keyboard, knobs). Our music and performance would be so much different if we conceptualized the sound/synthesis in relation to the interface instead of separating the two issues so dramatically. I don't suspect the buzz word "controllerism" has anything to do with that.
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Felonius
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Re: Buzz Word Alert: What the hell is Controllerism?

Post by Felonius » Wed Sep 21, 2011 8:09 pm

Controllerism is an economic theory, based on pricing everything so as to end in 99 cents, which will cause the stupid consumer to think of the current dollar figure of the price, rather than the dollar figure which is only one cent more than the total price. That is: $39.99, the droids will repeat that number, and not have sense enough to round it off to 40 bucks in their minds. Controllerism is just one small tecnique in the larger phenomenon of consumerism.



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condra
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Re: Buzz Word Alert: What the hell is Controllerism?

Post by condra » Wed Sep 21, 2011 8:49 pm

Some people perform very skillfully executed pieces using ...controllers.
...controllerism...

I'm not a huge fan of buzzwords, but this one doesn't bother me, especially considering how badass some of that shit is. People are doing some really interesting stuff.

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Re: Buzz Word Alert: What the hell is Controllerism?

Post by Tone Deft » Wed Sep 21, 2011 8:51 pm

labels + art = debate
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login
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Re: Buzz Word Alert: What the hell is Controllerism?

Post by login » Wed Sep 21, 2011 8:58 pm

As a traditional dj this controllerism is just BS.


All those tricks doesnt work on the dancefloor, people get bored of it.

Dj's are just trying to be more cooler.

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Re: Buzz Word Alert: What the hell is Controllerism?

Post by condra » Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:00 pm

Tone Deft wrote:labels + art = debate
lol

so true

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Re: Buzz Word Alert: What the hell is Controllerism?

Post by memes_33 » Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:21 pm

login wrote:As a traditional dj this controllerism is just BS.


All those tricks doesnt work on the dancefloor, people get bored of it.

Dj's are just trying to be more cooler.
yeah, that's what 'real' musicians said about turntablists 20 years ago.

i think there is a lot to be said about putting on an engaging performance. there is a big difference (to me at least) between a guy behind a laptop occasionally making micro adjustments vs. a dynamic performance where the artist is constantly moving and adjusting, even if that constant moving and adjusting is only making micro adjustments. it gives a performance a level of interaction between artist and music (and, therefor, artist and audience) that being hunched over a computer doesn't provide.
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23kon
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Re: Buzz Word Alert: What the hell is Controllerism?

Post by 23kon » Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:35 pm

The art of Turntablism is an analogue and hands-on skill.
You've got to know your records, know your tools and be quick, fast and skilled with your hands.
i.e It takes practice or it can come naturally and not everyone could 'make it' as a turntablist.

Controllerism on the other hand could literally be mastered by anyone as it's your computer or hardware that's doing all the REAL work - all the timings, calculations, effects etc.
All you need is the right hardware, right controllers and the right effects/glitch patches etc.
Oh, and of course some hipster clothing and stupid gestures in time to the music and emphasise your tweaking to the max!

In my opinion, Controllerists that DO deserve kudos are the guys who make their own controllers or create/program their OWN patches.
This does take some skill - technical skill.

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Re: Buzz Word Alert: What the hell is Controllerism?

Post by Tone Deft » Wed Sep 21, 2011 10:06 pm

23kon wrote:The art of Turntablism is an analogue and hands-on skill.
You've got to know your records, know your tools and be quick, fast and skilled with your hands.
i.e It takes practice or it can come naturally and not everyone could 'make it' as a turntablist.

Controllerism on the other hand could literally be mastered by anyone as it's your computer or hardware that's doing all the REAL work - all the timings, calculations, effects etc.
All you need is the right hardware, right controllers and the right effects/glitch patches etc.
Oh, and of course some hipster clothing and stupid gestures in time to the music and emphasise your tweaking to the max!

In my opinion, Controllerists that DO deserve kudos are the guys who make their own controllers or create/program their OWN patches.
This does take some skill - technical skill.
you've never seen a good controllerist at work.

technical skill to build a controller? bullshit, that's just following schematics and wiring shit up until it works. (I design/tweak electronics for a living.) it mostly takes time and patience.
In my life
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At people who I'd much rather kick in the eye?
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