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Laptop DJing lacks entertainment value says top US DJsDigital Backlash
US DJs Form Collective In Protest Against Laptop DJing
Words: Terry Church
An unlikely band of US-based DJs has formed a collective in protest against the rising number of DJs using laptops.
Called ?DJs Are Alive?, the crew?s five founding members joined forces as a reaction to the lack of entertainment value that laptop DJs offer.
Dutch DJ The Scumfrog (aka Jesse Houk) is the man leading the digital rebellion. "Laptop DJing Is Boring" - The Scumfrog
?Every live electronic music performance I?ve seen in the past year and half has been laptop based,? said the producer from his New York home.
?There?s no entertainment worth in laptop DJing.
?The laptop DJs might be doing rocket science, and creating amazing soundscapes, but it?s totally boring for an audience to watch.?
Laptop DJing lacks entertainment value says top US DJs?DJs Are Alive? also includes four other well-known jocks, Texan cowboy D:Fuse, Detroit producer Static Revenger, house spinner DJ Skribble, and Las Vegas-based vocalist Kristine W.
The collective?s aim is to perform live as a band on stage, creating something that ?sounds like a DJ set, but looks like a band,? said Jesse Houk.
The group will play ?mash up? versions of classic club tracks and their own material with a massive set-up that includes two complete DJ rigs, drums, percussion, guitar, keyboards, sax, FX, and Kristine W. on vocals.
Sasha and other laptop DJs should start worrying. People Will Come To Their Senses
?To me, 2000 people staring at some guy behind his computer for four hours is crazy,? he said.
?Sooner or later, people will come to their senses and go ?shit, we?ve paid all this money to see this bloke play with his computer?, it?s boring.?
Since the rise of digital downloads, and the falling cost of high performance computers, digital DJing has become hugely popular.
It?s also led to a whole new generation of laptop DJs who put ?live? in brackets after their name when billed.
The Scumfrog will jam on guitar when the new group performs?That?s part of the problem,? said Houk.
?Traditional DJing ? that?s two turntables and a mixer ? is more live than laptop DJing.
?It?s more animated, and more interesting to watch, things can go wrong.
?With DJing, what you see on stage, is what you hear coming out of the speakers.
?But with laptop DJing, that connection between stage and sound is lost.?
The ?DJs Are Alive? group hopes to put the entertainment factor back into DJ sets.
The four DJs will take it in turns to DJ, whilst the rest play an instrument or bang on something. Dream
?This is a dream I?ve had for so long,? said Jesse.
?But I never found the right people to do it because I didn?t want musicians ? they don?t understand DJ culture.
?Us five are the right combination, we?ve all got different backgrounds musically, but have all had experience with being in a band.
?We had a rehearsal in December, and it just clicked straight away.?
D:Fuse is excited to.
D:Fuse loves his drummingHe said: ?DJs Are Alive is about pretending to be a rock star for an hour or so.
?You know, don some mascara, bang on the drums, and sing a little to the crowd.
?Maybe even sling bottles of water on 'em.?
The crew?s first public performance will be at Miami?s Winter Music Conference in March, where they hope to perform at least three dates.
If the fivesome are well-received, they may organize a tour. Experiment
?At the moment this is just an experiment,? said The Scumfrog.
?But we know it?s going to work, because dance music has been needing something like us for quite sometime.?
Interestingly, Jesse Houk provides DJmag with his theory on the current trend of digital DJing.
?The myth of the DJ died when clubbers bought decks and did it for themselves at home.
?So DJs desperate to stay ahead turned to technology, hoping that it?d be the next big thing.
?There?s two opposite schools of thought now ? those that believe technology and digital DJing is the way forward, and then a small school that believe that DJs are, above anything else, entertainment.
?We are from the second school, and for us, entertainment is the key.?
?DJs Are Alive? will perform a series of special live gigs during the Winter Music Conference in Miami, March 24th to 28th.
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