DJ Rafik Technical Difficulty at Red Bull 3 Style Finals. NI

Anyone know what happened with Rafik at red bull?

https://www.facebook.com/deejayrafik/videos/10153655827707104/

Sounds like he had some equipment issues?

 

if you watch the video its a major crash and burn scenario which may have costed rafik dearly. go to 44:44 they say the mixer is f up due to it being so hot? Really?

On Rafik FB page he says:

"my laptop was destroyed and now I'm battling crazy technical issues with a new laptop and DVS/OS issues (that's nerd talk sorry). Due to this, my computer completely f up me up this weekend"

Sounds like the Rafik hit some of the major Traktor issues reported on this forum. I could be wrong but sure looks like it. Really feel bad for the guy as he was a contender to win hate to see this happen to anyone. This is a huge embarrassment to NI and rafik. unless he is a being sponsored by NI i would guess Rafik will be on serato or Rekord Box DJ when red bull 2017 rolls around.

Anyone have more insight on this love to hear it and how to prevent this from happening.

 

damn that sucks, and this is the reason i haven't upgraded my laptop I'm scared that nothing is going to work right when i finally upgrade

 

yap. and it's as easy as embarassing: the setups were standing behind the curtain where a door was open and pretty cold.
the venue was very hot, especially in front of the LED wall it got very, very hot over the time - and there was a huge amount of water condensating on the mixer which led to the malfunctions. they ended up drying the mixers backstage with hairdryers and ventilators. #truestory

 

So there was no spare Z2? You would think Rafik and NI would be better prepared for such a big event.

What was the DVS OSX issue rafik mentioned in his Facebook?

Why where the pioneer and rane mixers not impacted by the LED Wall and condensation?

#realquestions....

 

as far as i know the pios and the rane Mixers weren't affected ;-)
the other Problem was that he switched his mac to a Windows Setup due to massive Problems with Traktor and captain (megalatency etc.) it worked well on Windows but the Laptop was poor build Quality (same as the z2) and he got massive Problems with the trackpad due to the humidity and the Laptop tended to overheat :-/
next time on a ThinkPad and a pioneer or a rane mixer and all will be fine.

 

Since DJ Fresh Fluke seem to know more about this crash and burn that rafik had.. @DJ Freshfluke ....You got answers to my questions?

 

i spoke/wrote directly with him after the Desaster ;-)

 

So I've taken a look at the videos and it does seem like Rafik was using a PC laptop (as can be seen around 43min36sec of ESKEI83's video on Facebook). In Rafik's video above I can only assume that this was taken prior to his MacBook Pro dying, therefor it was actually taken well before the Red Bull event ... Or he has since the event gotten his older MacBook Pro fixed. Either way I find it hard to believe that a person of his stature in this industry, or any of his management team would allow him to change from Mac to PC that soon before a major event.

I also find it hard to believe that he wouldn't have a spare MacBook setup and ready to go. I do however seem to think that he purchased a NEW MacBook Pro after his older one died. In the video above it's clear that there are 2 USB leads coming from the side of the MacBook Pro, and so I can safely say that he was not running a Retina MacBook as all of these only have 1 USB port on the power supply side. This means he has previously been running a MacBook Pro (13" or 15", not sure but probably a 15", maybe @Daniel Ventura can clarify) that was from mid 2012 or before, and all of these are capable of running OS X 10.8.5 stable with various versions of Traktor Scratch Pro 2 that support the Z2 mixer and Maschine.

From trawling his FaceBook he received some new Control Vinyl from NI on the 17th of April, on the 19th he posted about looking forward to the BASS EN MASS event on the 23rd. On the 25th he posted a short video where he looks to be using a "NEW" MacBook Pro as he also added the following text:

So I need to say something about this.

BASS EN MASS in Magdeburg/DE is one of the most amazing parties I've seen in Germany recently. I was sooooo hype to go - unfortunately a week ago, my laptop was destroyed and now I'm battling crazy technical issues with a new laptop and DVS/OS issues (that's nerd talk sorry). Due to this, my computer completely fucked me up this weekend , like for real.

I promise my damn A-Game next time I come. And huge thx to SicStyle for jumping into a nice b2b session to save the night.


Further down in the comments we see the following:

Karl Yankovic El Capitan? tongue emoticon
Like · Reply · 27 April at 04:09

Dj Rafik exakt smile emoticon
Like · Reply · 30 April at 23:02


So from this I would say that there was a decision to scrap the new MacBook Pro due to known issues with El Capitan and move over to Windows, and as people like
@DJ Freshfluke
use Windows successfully it was probably a fair call, however who knows what OS and version of Traktor he was able to get going, even Freshfluke in her signature shows that she's using Windows 7 and TSP 2.7.1

Personally I would have found a good condition second hand MacBook Pro of the same model that I'd been using and loaded up my external drive backup of my running system. YES, you can make a complete bootable external backup of your running system and plug that into any Mac that supports that operating system. You can also "restore" that backup to another Mac that supports that operating system so that it will run from the internal drive. This stuff is not rocket science these days.

Regarding the apparent mixer issues and condensation, why the hell didn't Rafik use the same mixer as Pro Zeiko who ran a faultless set 20 minutes before? He ran with the same turntables (you can see stickers on them that are the same for both sets). At the 19 minute mark Pro Zeiko's DJ table is wheeled off stage to the right. At the 28 minute mark of the ESKEI83 video you can see Rafik's white Maschine being put into place on the DJ table behind the LED screen, at the 39 minute mark this DJ table is put into place on the front of the stage.

I've done a large amount of event work here in Melbourne for club and festival gigs for local and international DJ's (most recently Carl Cox's Pure event at Shed 14 where I was stage manager) and I have never had condensation be an issue. There could not possibly be that much temperature difference between the front and back of the stage. And if by chance some idiot "put Rafik's mixer in the drinks fridge to keep it cool" then the stage manager and/or dj tech doing changeovers should be sacked.

Anyhow, I'd say that Rafik (and all DJ's for that matter) should have a disaster plan in place should your computer be broken, lost, stolen or go up in smoke, one that makes sure that you can continue EXACTLY where you left off so you're not having to fault find before a major event, be it a world championship or your mate's back-yard BBQ.

Hopefully the recent update to El Capitan to 10.11.5 with reference to "IOAudioFamily" will finally fix the issues with El Capitan and we can update/upgrade our systems. I will be trying it this weekend with a fresh install on my Mac Mini, with my MacBook Air 10.8.5 plugged in ready to go should anything pop up.

Anyhow, enough of my crap, time for me to do a reinstall my Mac Mini

 

The other one was as wet as number one. Like so wet that your hands are wet by touching it. I wasnt there - that's what i've been told by two participants. So then they started using a hair dryer to get the mixers dry again...

if you want to blame someone, then definitely not rafik or NI - i mean, on how many events have you been with such conditions?

i dont know and also i dont know which exact mixers we are talking about - AFAIK the other mixers were standing on the other side (since it was planned to change between ssl and traktor with every dj) and did not have such a drastic temperature change, but cant tell for sure.

 

Actually, it's possibly that he used the exact the same mixer, i didnt ask. The venue was simply not that heated at the time Pro Zeiko played and in between the sets the setups were brought behind in the cold. Meanwhile the LED wall did what a LED wall does.

Ever been to Germany? It was quite a cold weekend, actually, for the time of the year. Also, i've seen condensation a lot in my DJ life.
I've been doing DJ workshops for a certain company for a while who had the whole technical stuff in a car. In Berlin winters that means also huge below-zero-degrees. When we then went into the schools, the technic stuff got wet. We never started the devices directly, we always waited a while. Actually, a weekend before i had my laptop in the car for a while and let it acclimate to the temperature in the venue for over 30 minutes before i turned it on. And that room was not SO hot and sweaty. So, it does happen, but I agree - that extreme, it's pretty rare.

 

How many events i DJ for in those conditions is not relevant. All I know from the live video is that many DJ using non NI software and hardware went on before and after rafik with no major issues in the same conditions.

 

Here a video of the actually set that he had planned. Bad ass set. He easily could have won.

https://www.facebook.com/deejayrafik/videos/10153655827707104/

 

well, my information comes from the DJs that were actually in that contest. i talked to two of them and they both said the exact same, so...

anyways, i share your feelings that rafik should/could have won.

 

And where is the Video to see the whole episode? I couldnt find it.
Please share it.

Thnx in advance!
Cheers!

 

Troy DJ Fluke makes money off of DJing. You might want to listen to a professional and someone that actually DJ's professionally.

 

Then you might just accept that I spoke with Rafik himself and Grzly Adams about what happened? Thx.

 

Fluke just answered your question.

 

He didn't ask a question you numbskull, he made a statement and it isn't any less relevant. Being a professional DJ doesn't mean you know **** about computers or gear.

You are a seriously odd individual.

 

Well if the pro DJ is making money with traktor for a living I'm pretty sure he knows about computers and gear.