Digital vs. Analog: The New Age of the Traktor DJ

Lately, in and around the South African, more specifically the Cape Town, electronic music scene there has been uber debate on the whole digital vs. analog thing. More specifically, is a DJ still a valid DJ, with all the tacit terms and requirements that goes along with the title, if all he does is simply click “sync” on a preselected playlist from his/ her computer and move from track to track in front of an audience in this way; instead of using the good ‘ol fashioned beatmatching method of the mind (on vinyl/ cd).

Personally I find that the amount of new “Acts” or “DJ’s” popping up in and around Cape Town has been become quite laughable. Every weekend there are events in and around Cape Town where you can find performances by the dudes you know and love, who through blood, sweat and beers have worked their way up the “entertainment” ladder into a position of respect and of good repute, but, there are also those events that have been lambasted with acts whom no one has ever heard of or seen before… EVER! Don’t get me wrong, this is not a problem, as how else would a DJ get to a place of respect and repute without a start somewhere? The problem comes in, as I have noticed A LOT recently, where every new act that I see is becoming the pre-selected, “synced”, traktor/ ableton “performer”, the dudes who you watch play who DON’T even put on their headphones, as they seamlessly mix n blend from track to track! What is this? It’s like watching itunes for an evening and getting paid a whole bunch to do so!

Personally, I’m not sure where I stand on this…

I’ve been asking a whole bunch of dj’s and performers lately on their own personal stance on this new “movement”, and probably the best answer I’ve heard was from Richard the Third when he answered the question of “would you ever use the “sync” button?”, with a distinct “Yes”, followed by the reasoning: “I’ve earned my keep and paid my dues” on the “unsynced”, natural 1’s and 2’s. This is something I completely and whole-heartedly agree with. The difference between Richard and these other digital age guys is that he HAS in-fact earned his keep, he has played the empty halls, the openers, the slummed gigs, all done without aid or benefit of the digitally synchronized “winamp” performance. He has mixed his way into the hearts and souls of the people who support him and come to watch his gigs and has done so well! He can rock a crowd of 10 which in turn means he can rock a crowd of 10 000 (as the smaller crowds are the damn HARDEST to get going), so yes Rich, go bloody wild with that binary code! But the other guys amaze me, are you DJing because you like getting attention? Do you think it’s cool? Do girls dig you more? What is it? It is certainly not for the reason of playing and blending tracks that you know and love out to a crowd to share the love and joy of the musical euphoria that the song creates, making it a performance art.

I don’t know how you all out there feel about this, but for me, it can be really irritating or it can be really rad, I think it might just be who uses it that swings my vote. I mean digital technology can be awesome in terms of gear like the Akai APC-40, which allows artists to play their OWN tracks live and mix and blend these accordingly. This is different from djing other peoples music, and the reason I find this acceptable is because, as all of you who make your own beats know, it adds a new and exciting angle to live performance: The use of these technologies is not a simple “synced” performance, but an intricate setting up and usage of an entire Ableton folder filled with effects, EQ’s, loop points etc for their own tracks.

Basically what I’m trying to ask is: Has the reason for being a DJ or performer of the past changed to become a reason of self-conceited arrogance and ego-centrism? You be the judge!