A couple of months ago a friend put it to me this way: DJs are the rock stars of the new millennium. At the time I agreed. The similarities are pretty convincing. Tiesto and Armin command the biggest stadiums that, twenty years ago, were the sole domain of the U2s [...]
Recently Pioneer unveiled a new feature in its venerable car audio range. Called MixTrax, it does exactly what it says on the tin: mixes tracks while you drive. Considering how much creativity a car stereo normally offers, that’s pretty awesome, even if it is no Digweedian DJ artisan. The iOS [...]
Well, well, year’s end is upon us already, and in these last reflective days between the indulgence of Christmas and the resolutions we’ll make, hand on heart, tomorrow night, we take a look back at the trends shaping DJ hardware and software in 2011, and honour the best of the [...]
The middle child in Gemini’s GVX family, the GVX-12P is a powered, pro PA speaker that aims to satisfy installation and portable buyers alike. Building on a reputation for developing fine hardware at surprisingly accessible prices, Gemini has tipped a bundle of smart features into the illusively slight [...]
We took a look at Cross 1.5 earlier this year and found it to be a very solid piece of kit, taking the fight to some much more expensive – and visible – competition. Since then, the boffins at MixVibes have clearly been busy and have just dropped [...]
The shift to digital has seen our arsenals of tunes shrink from enormous, heavy boxes of vinyl to pocket-sized hard drives and SD cards. The benefit of portability is obvious, but the way we organise our records has had to change as well, and that’s been a more complicated challenge. [...]
I was two years old when New Order released Power, Corruption & Lies, but it’s one of those musical moments that makes me wish I’d been around to appreciate it. Ian Curtis, frontman of Joy Division, had killed himself three short years earlier and the remaining members had regrouped to [...]
Future DJ, by Romanian developers Xylio, looks great. Graphically, I mean. The icon is crisp, the GUI is clear, and the colour scheme easy on the eye. Even the animations when you press a button have a rich gleam to them, clicking in and then softly springing back into place. [...]
You’ve been playing for a while and, let’s not be modest, you’re pretty damn good. Your timing is tight and you can work those effects like nobody’s business. You’re getting to the point that you even have your own sound, but you’re not a trained musician. And while [...]
With its heavily reverbed snares and fingered bass, Balearic Beats – The Album Vol. 1 may seem a little dated nearly 25 years since its release, but it’s a great insight into where the Balearic scene has come from. Opening with Electra’s Jibaro, the album settles into a [...]