Martebar - Octatrack Techno Set

Here's a demo of my live set using the Octatrack !
Thank you Joanna for the video!
The setup is inspired by a video of Four Tet (this one: • Four Tet Set Break-dow... ) explaining how he uses several tools to get his live sound. I tried to recreate part of it inside the machine, and it's still an evolving process. In there I have a track for full songs, and then the other are dedicated to loops and samples in order to build transitions between songs.
I was initially going to play with a Launch Control XL as a midi controller for the mixer, but forgot a cable and had to play with the Octatrack only, which was a good thing in retrospect since it forced me to really think about my moves and make much slower transitions.
Anyway, please tell me what you think and if you have questions, please ask them!
My bandcamp: martebar.bandcamp.com/releases
E-mail: [e-mail]
Facebook: / martebar
Vidéo: www.joannacognard.com/

[@thomasweiler5319]

There’s a great basement club in my city called Smartbar, favorite place to go and dance. You should come play so we can have Martebar at Smartbar!

[@declanallan885]

bro, this is mental! sick work dude!

[@thesnipecatcher116]

Your transition to that beat around 7:30 is fantastic! Loved this set

[@martebar6700]

Haha, I need to work on this one :)

[@TapeGhost]

Great deep techno sound! You're definitely getting the most out of one box

[@martebar6700]

Thanks a lot!

[@steelcitybudschannel2804]

I really liked this I was just watching a surgeon video on he uses it with his modular set up I didn’t expect you to be able to do this with it it amazes me how creative people can be

[@martebar6700]

Thanks a lot! Both are different, the octatrack requires a bit of preparation to have sounds ready if you want to be able to jam and have cool transitions, whereas I suspect a modular might allow you to be more spontaneous if you know what you're doing and have rehearsed a lot. Different philosophies

[@steelcitybudschannel2804]

Could you say the octatrak is still relevant

[@dankefurnichts]

@@steelcitybudschannel2804 yes it is. especially with the mk2 version that is out. Maybe Elektron will come up with a new 2.0 Version of it but i doubt it for now. But if you like the OT go grab it! I use the OT together with the MC-707.

[@weisland2807]

@@dankefurnichts Hi man! I have an 707 and an OT. Wanna launch scenes with pattern change from OT, the same way I slave my other elektrons to change patterns in sync with the OT. Do you know how I can make this happen? Is it at all possible? Maybe it's possible to launch clips with midi cc's as well. I should probably read the manual more carefully, but it's so damn boring! hehe

[@dankefurnichts]

@@weisland2807 you can do this with the last 1.20 firmware update. This allows now switch clips via PC & CC commands.

[@mariogarabetov500]

Sulta vibes! Amazing

[@biokode]

That was amazing, thanks!

[@DaWanMtp]

Merci pour ce set je me suis entièrement régalé ❤️🔥👌🎧 verry good artist !!!

[@kristofersknesis]

from a couple of videos i've seen from you, gotta say, i like your use of polymeter in your tracks. really gives it a nice flow and takes away some predictability but not too much. good stuff!

[@martebar6700]

Oh thanks! Yeah, I like how it allows you to get out of the classic four bars patterns while still being repetitive and hypnotic. Combined with conditionnal trigs, you can get very evolutive patterns with only four bars! Too bad they don"t work similarly on all Elektron machines...

[@kristofersknesis]

they don't? can you tell me more about that?

[@martebar6700]

Sure! On both machines, you can have different meters for each track, but you have to specify a "master length" after which the pattern will reset. For example, if you set 64, you will have your polymeters, but they will all restart every 4 bars, without regards for the position of each track. On both machine you can set the master length to infinity,which will allow you to have "true" polymeters. But this creates the problem that it stops you from changing patterns since the pattern has now no end. This is where there is a difference because on the Digitone there is a second parameter (ch.length) that allows you to specify when the pattern should be changed even in infinity mode. TL;DR: Digitone can have infinity polymeters and still change pattern, Octatrack can't.

[@kristofersknesis]

@@martebar6700 so the Digitone has an advantage here, right? That's good because I'm after the Digi anyway

[@martebar6700]

I think it does yeah!

[@RandomNoise]

wow, great set!

[@martebar6700]

Thanks!

[@C0DE8]

nice and relaxing techno set (well done) :-)

[@martebar6700]

Thank you!

[@AlexFainDj]

Excellent

[@MayenMusic]

Really cool!

[@martebar6700]

Thanks a lot!

[@tetsuwoooooo]

good session.

[@nicolasduchene8937]

Impressive « just » with an OT 👍😉

[@martebar6700]

Thanks, it's a very powerful machine though!

[@marcmolinamusic]

Very nice music! loving the 4:10 arps mate.

[@martebar6700]

Thank you!

[@BLUECIFER]

pretty dope

[@janwanzelius9898]

Hey, really nice set. I also dig the sound. Did you do any processing (in a daw) after you recorded the set? Keep rockin' !

[@TomTropic]

nice set

[@simonallins6010]

Sweet!

[@martebar6700]

Thanks!

[@KOIBAmusic]

Great!

[@martebar6700]

Thanks!

[@AirArtStudiosOfficial]

Wicked!

[@mattbuxter8894]

Nice.... Keep going

[@smakfly7085]

Salut))) Bien sympa))) ça fait plaisir)))

[@HelderMusic107]

Amazing set - and using only one machine! Masterful! If you don’t mind a question: how did you make the synth arpeggio in the beginning? It seems you are tweaking a synth, as you seem to change the decay and release of each note. Is it one sample played/sequenced chromatically in the octatrack, and then tweaking the decay/release/filter of that one sample?

[@noodlingaround2023]

Really nice. Thanks. I've had an Elektron Model Cycles for about a year. I was a bit scared at first cause I thought I know nothing about this machine but now after lots of dedication and practice I'm getting some decent techy stuff out of it. Do you think my experience with the Model Cycles will help me in any way to learn the Octatrack. Thank you

[@johnlopez4730]

Thank you for this video. It was exactly what I was looking for. I wanted to know if it was possible to DJ entire sets on only one machine. I guess it is possible. In your opinion did what I just say sound right to you? Can an entire set be done on the Octatrack? Are there any foreseeable issues I should know about?

[@dankefurnichts]

well its not that good for dj sets, except you use stems of your tracks. cause when you try to mix whole tracks you dont have the abbility to push / pull (nudge) it when they phase out ... you can only nudge all at once. so all tracks should be very precisly cut and maybe then this works out well.

[@aki_gong6271]

You can actually nudge tracks separate if needed, manual says so ;)

[@rodrigovalenzuela5772]

I personally liked the 3:10 bit, overall it's a pretty nice set!

[@martebar6700]

Thanks!

[@danielraiche9462]

So basically in each bank you have a full song in one of the tracks and the other tracks are different loops/fx? So each time you change bank you start a new song? A sort of a dj style set with loops & fx to add variations? Am i mistaken?

[@martebar6700]

Almost! There is only one pattern in use there, but you're correct, it's exactly a DJ style set with loops and effects, but I only use one track for my full songs and I build up stuff on the remaining others to create transitions

[@aki_gong6271]

Nice one, like the powerfull rather simple idea. Thanks for sharing.

[@7Heaven69]

Could you share some tutorial videos

[@davidread821]

That track from 7:30 or so.... Gawdam dude. Have you got that online somewhere?

[@martebar6700]

No unfortunately, this was only for that live set I was working on

[@touiarrial5823]

Would you recommend Octa to a beginner? What about workflow and learning curve? Which machine to pair to have hard tekno sound? Thanks

[@fattyboombatty7736]

It depends on how much effort you want to put in - there is no denying it is complex due to its versatility. The Digitakt is easier for a beginner, I still use mine for noodling, but the OT is so powerful. I have had mine for a couple of years and it still surprises me. It's now the control center for my DAWLess set up. If you want to enjoy making music get rid of the PC/Mac and get an OT.

[@martebar6700]

Honestly very difficult to say, the octatrack is a great machine, can be a total standalone unit and can be very straightforward depending on how you use it. However, it is also very menu divey which can be a bit boring when you want to have easy fun buying your first machine. It depends on how much time you want to invest before having fun I suppose!

[@wojciechhabdas2483]

Good stuff kinda ok

[@cyncadelic2083]

👍🏼

[@H3ath]

:)

[@hardcoreminds88]

+++

[@peladoclaus]

These tracks are bombs! Only piece of constructive criticism is being out of tune between the old and new tracks around 10 minutes. Harmonic mixing is a super big deal when gigging.. just sayin.. otherwise this is super dope. Love these compositions!

[@martebar6700]

Yeah, I think I have to mix less during the melodic parts too, thanks for the feedback !

[@td8916]

Not techno

[@martebar6700]

Not a comment

[@td8916]

@@martebar6700 not digging the music - but it aint bloody techno! lol