Gabriel & Dresden: Remix Magazine & Ableton Present "Tracking Treasure Down" Remix Contest

San Francisco-based artist/DJ/production duo Gabriel & Dresden are responsible for a long list of dance club favorites. From Dido and Depeche Mode to Madonna and Britney Spears, they've found a way to turn strong vocal performances into dance-floor classics. As DJ's, they have toured the world and broadcast a weekly show on Sirius Satellite radio. In 2004 they released their mix CD Bloom on Nettwerk Records, DJ-mixed the soundtrack for the popular FOX TV series Nip/Tuck, and launched their indie record label Organized Nature. With their 2006 self-titled artist debut release, they've delved into original productions, finding just the right formulation of progressive house to make the night last into tomorrow morning.

To download a remixable Live Set (version 5 or higher) of "Tracking Treasure Down," please click here.

Interview with Josh Gabriel

How did you first hear about Live?

I go to the NAMM show every year.

How do you use Live?

We use Live in a number of ways. First off, we use Live as a DJ tool. It's the heart of our performance when playing in clubs worldwide. Since we make most of the music we play out as DJs, we have the ability to have special mixes of songs, like drum-only and music-only mixes. This allows us to combine things on the fly in very creative ways.

As a production tool, we love to map the knobs on our Moog to effects parameters in Live. This allows us to perform complex processing in real-time and then use that as tracks in our music. Also, we used Live to put together our artist album. Since the tracks blend together seamlessly and change tempo in between, Live was the perfect way to do things.

You've used other DAWs in your production process, now you're using Live too. What features attracted you?

We love the sound of the filters and the speed of using it. Once you get good at it, you can just zip around and get stuff done fast before you lose the vibe. Of course, there's also the time-stretching. The complex time-stretching algorithm is great. Also, we like the way it's so fast and easy to map keys and MIDI to different parameters.

Do you use Live in any unusual ways?

We use Live as a sound design tool, using Warp Markers and drastic tempo shifts to create interesting effects.

What ways does Live help you as a music composer?

The most important thing for us is that Live makes making music fun. When you're having fun, you're making better music.

For more information, check out www.gabrielanddresden.com.