Hello and welcome to Abletondjcourse! I'm David and I'm responsible for developing this course. I'd like to think I'm a bit of an expert when it comes to Ableton; I've been DJing for 14 years now and have used Ableton Live for 7 of those. I've worked in the music industry for the last 10 years; in music studios, teaching Music IT and doing freelance. I've recently been involved in beta testing for Novation, event promotion and in the last year I have played throughout the UK and also on the rooftops of Manila, Bangkok and Mumbai.

I DJ under the name DJR (check me out at soundcloud.com/djr-david-rickard) and I have pretty eclectic tastes; I love playing anything from jacking house and jazzy broken beat, to breaks, drum & bass and dubstep. More recently I've been playing electro-swing which mixes with a whole variety of styles. The beauty of it is that Ableton allows me to incorporate it all into one set. Initially Ableton took me a while to grasp, despite already being able to use music recording software. I needed a guide that was specifically written for DJs using Ableton, but I couldn't find a good quality course that was both sufficient in detail and easy to follow. I needed some kind of bible, so I started work on this one. I'm confident that it will give you all the information I couldn't get my hands on and it will definitely reduce the learning time of going it alone and get you straight to the fun part - mixing the music.

I am proud to present to you Abletondjcourse. Good luck and remember us when you're out there playing banging beats to your dedicated crowd of followers ...

Hey lovely ones, you've found us! I'm Jo the voice of Abletondjcourse and also the project management side. My (totally unrelated) background is in social care, research and sexual health within the public sector. I have to say that all of us here are hellishly excited to launch our first course; it's been lots of hard work and good fun in equal measure. Keep in touch and let us know how you're getting on - we'd love to think that we can influence the world's future digital DJs.

Mark (aka Nark Mule) is our font of all Ableton knowledge and has been DJing and producing dance music for nearly 20 years. Mark began his fixation with DJing by organising parties and raves in the hills of mid-Wales. Whilst at university Mark fell into the underground techno and trance scenes playing at countless free parties, raves and student events. Six years later Mark headed east and worked in South Korea helping friends organising huge parties and events bringing people like DJ Hype, Goldie and Chris Liberator to a somewhat bemused Asian crowd. Mark then travelled to many countries including New Zealand, Germany, Greece, Spain, USA, Mexico and Honduras playing at clubs, festivals and events including the infamous Burning Man Festival. Mark has been involved in organising numerous events around the globe, but the closest to his heart is the Workhouse Festival a small event held in mid-Wales. If you'd like to hear Marks own productions and DJ style go to soundcloud.com/mark-one-music or http://www.mixcloud.com/mark-adam-burnett/.

Andrea is our vivacious marketing guru and has vast experience in the fields of marketing consultancy, media marketing and live event organisation. In previous roles Andrea has been an agency account manager for CBS Outdoor and Kerrang radio and is also the Director of Indieco UK Limited. Andrea holds the Workhouse Festival Llanfyllin Workhouse extremely close to her heart having been one of the directors for 5 years. If you'd like to discuss PR, publicity or advertising consultancy with the fabulous Ms Proffitt then you can contact her at andrea@indieco.co.uk.

Phil is our incredibly gifted graphic designer. In previous incarnations he has worked in the production department for the Daily Mail and as a marketing executive for Daily Mail, Loot and the Evening Standard. Phil then graduated in graphic design with a 1st from the University of Wolverhampton and has since been short-listed for the Penguin Book Award 2008, been runner-up for the Adobe Design Awards 2008, been 1 of 5 runners-up for Computer Arts cover competition and has appeared in numerous graphic design magazines. Phil works freelance so if you'd like to discuss a commission then he can be contacted at phil_king73@hotmail.com.

Karl is responsible for our shiny photos and has launched his own photography business. He can be contacted via his facebook page

Vibe Creative provides the magic and expertise behind our website. Based in Shropshire, the company excels in web design and server side development.

The team at Vibe provide services in web design, development and on-line marketing strategies for businesses and organisations. They are extremely professional to work with and have truly gone the extra mile to understand, develop and meet our requirements. If you'd like to contact Vibe, visit the website www.vibecreative.co.uk.

James has been making movies for 20 years. Following his Film and Media course, James became the director and writer for Mr Glass Productions. The team produced short series for the BBC and a feature length film. If you would like to contact James to discuss working on a project together, visit the website www.mrglassproductions.co.uk.