As electronic dance music continues to flourish, DJs are now seen in the same light that Barry Bonds once was pre – Jose Canseco’s new found guilt complex. Companies like Native Instruments, Serato, Ableton and Apple are the big players in the DAW and Live DJ Software industry. When it comes to experienced and new DJ/producers alike, we at SoundCtrl are always looking to discover what’s next in the development of their respective softwares. Traktor has enabled newbies to skip the learning of beat matching (auto sync feature), which at one point was what DJing was all about. This now makes DJ Joe Schmo from down the block the master of mixing 4 channels even though he’s never puts on a pair of headphones. Ableton has made remixing as easy as chopping up an original production, rearranging it in different ways with minimal original input, then clicking and dragging a few automation effects to provide the inexperienced producer with his or her first remix.
So, what’s next? There will always be new VST’s, software updates and midi hardware (and software) to take the production experience somewhere different. But more simply, I have been searching for the next stepping stone into a new live setup. That is to say, some future music technology that takes DJing from just using CDJs and a Mixer and recreates the Chemical Brother’s mind-boggling setup was 10 years ago. Technology must go foreward to evoke the awesome of going backward.
Enter a new piece of hardware called the Reactable Live! (€9,700). The original concept was conceived by a research team at Pompeu Abra University in Barcelona around 2003. After a couple years of development by four researchers, it was finally unveiled at International Computer Music Conference in 2005. Following this event and the release of demonstration videos shortly after, the Reactable spread like wildfire throughout the musical community. Eventually being dubbed “Hot Instrument Of The Year (2007)” by Rolling Stone and also winning a number of other prestigious awards, the Reactable was ready to move out of development and into the marketplace.
What is it? The Reactable is a platform that enables users to manipulate sonic structure and sound waves while offering a refreshing way of making music. Boasting a hi-tech intuitive software which works through a circular translucent table, the Reactable brings “hands-on” to a whole different level. The concept is based around the ability to use tangible objects called “pucks” to interact with one another while they serve different functions. From synthesizers to loopers to effects, these pucks represent all aspects within the production tool shed and can be used in any way the composer sees fit. Everything is done on the actual table, which is touch screen. The makers of Reactable boast a multi-touch feature as one of the key aspects to the table’s functionality. Multiple fingers can be used at one time at any place on the table without interfering with one another. Essentially this means that the table can handle being told multiple different things at once without an issue.
Although the Reactable has slowly entered into circulation with a small number of artists incorporating it into their acts, it has still not gotten the attention of the more ‘mainstream’ DJ pool. Although that might remain true, it wouldn’t surprise me if in upcoming years the boundary pushing producers like Richie Hawtin or Dubfire never pick up a Traktor controller again. “Conventional” was once learning with two Technics and some vinyls, but eventually graduated into a laptop and X1 controllers being the new starter kit. As technology enables artists to do something that was once considered a speciality occupation, it is these boundary pushing concepts like the Reactable that offer true experimental musicians an avenue of uniqueness to set themselves apart from this over-saturated crew of button pushers.
And for you aspiring DJs out there who’d like to give the Reactable technology a try, if the €9,700 price tag is a little too steep, don’t worry. Reactable has a mobile version for both iOS and Android for just $9.99.
Check out Reactable’s demo video:
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