As a musician and as a DJ, I don’t think my life would be the same were it not for Ableton Live.
Almost a decade ago, Robert Henke started developing a program that would revolutionize the way electronic musicians perform, giving the ability to manipulate samples in real-time with only a laptop. No need to drag all your hardware out of the studio. No need to be concerned about a tin pan sound. This was a loop-based software music sequencer and digital audio work station that would change the face of electronic music forever.
I love it, I truly do. I won a copy of the original program from XLR8R years ago when it first launched, and my approach to composition changed forever. It’s been my chief tool of live improv, I’ve used it for DJing digital files countless time, and I’ve used it to build tunes with people on the other side of the world.
Simplicity in form, complicated in what it can do, it’s one of those computer programs that comes along once in a generation. Even now, after all these years of using it, I’m still astounded at the fluidity of which I can sit down and start banging something out or take a piece and completely manipulate it with the kind of ease that’s unlike anything out there. For those who know and those who will get to know, Ableton is the key to a brighter musical future.