The march towards standalone music production devices continues. Staring at a screen and using a mouse to generate musical ideas and perform live just aint that cool. Not with all the other toys available to DJs now. Let’s continue our own march towards a successful career in DJing and check some of them out.
MPC Live II
Akai Professional once again tops the list of device manufacturers to declare war on the laptop. Their latest offering? The MPC Live II. It offers built-in stereo monitors in a battery-operated standalone unit with a small touchscreen LCD, allowing you to sequence and play beats wherever. Built in wifi and Bluetooth allow you to connect up to Ableton if need be, but the idea here seems to be that you play it like an instrument. One that now makes its own sounds. Check it out.
Synthstrom Deluge
Perhaps one of the most unexpectedly cool things to ever come from New Zealand, the Deluge is an all-in-one grid sequencer which makes the improvisation of electronic music a remarkably productive process. At a tidy 1.5kg and currently costing just $899, Deluge looks like a ton of fun and is certainly one of the more hands-on DJ controllers on the market. Check it out.
Elektron Octatrack
Elektron’s eight-track sampler upgrade brings an improved hardware build to their previous release. Despite a lack of new features, the device is arguably unbeatable from a performance point of view. Placing creativity at the heart of the process, the Octatrack does seem to require a little more brain power to operate. But in return you’re rewarded with a deeper level of sequencing and automation than its peers, along with great effects and a comprehensive song and pattern-building system. If the goal is to go screen-free, this might be the way. Check it out.
Based on how things are going, it seems to be the goal of DJs to fully escape studios and return to natural environments, where the inspiration flows more freely. Freshening up your gear is one way to level up. Another is to sign up for a DJ course by DJ Courses Online and figure out some of the skills you don’t know you’re missing.
John Bartmann is a music producer and DJ