Thanks to the bionic chip released by Apple in 2017, we’re on the cusp of a new era in DJing: signal separation or ‘demixing’. The tech has finally hit DJ software, and it probably won’t be long before we see stem separation a standard feature in Traktor and other leading software. Get on board with the new direction in professional DJing and check out what’s now possible.
DJay Pro AI
DJays Neural Mix is billed as the world’s first AI-powered DJ feature. The feature allows users to separate the stems of a single track into its component parts in realtime. It’s not a particularly new trick. Software like Melodyne and AudioSourceRE have been able to perform demixing for years. What makes it impressive is that it’s now available for real-time playback on mobile devices. It’s a serious win for DJing.
The community
There’s a community for everything now. Including those who aim to make signal separation a standard feature in all audio processing in the future. The Signal Separation Evaluation Campaign are leading the field in demix research. They’re even tackling non-DJ-specific fields such as clearing up background noise and distinguishing between multiple people speaking through different microphones.
Acapella gold
The usual slew of concerns around intellectual property aside, it’s an increasingly awesome time for acapella hunters. Being able to rip a high-quality vocal stem from your new favorite track is fast becoming an accessible option. We can expect even more creativity to be shoehorned into the crowded marketplace of DJs. Our advice? Start getting creative with them acapellas now, before the race gets going.
Push a button and the vocals disappear. Flip a fader and the vocals come in solo. It’s apparently that easy. Which means everyone’s racing to get on it. So if you’re along for the ride of career DJing, get up to speed with a course by DJ Courses Online today.
John Bartmann is a music producer and DJ.