so i just watched the new native instruments teaser for traktor updates and new hardware in 2011. great stuff and pretty exciting for anyone who wants to embrace technological advances… which was when i noticed a massive irony in the art of mixing music. in no other art form have i ever come across such snobbery against new methods and technologies making things more efficient. they’re the same people longing for betamax to make its latent comeback..

granted, a watercolour artist isn’t going to use photoshop just because it’s quicker - but at the same time he would be highly unlikely to slate photoshop for being responsible for the demise of watercolour painting. so why do so called ‘vinyl purists’ always have to be so tediously relentless in their youtube hater campaign against mixing music with a computer? it seems that to these people - regardless of the fact that it’s a frankly archaic and outdated way to mix music - two large discs spinning in front of a bloke with headphones somehow makes him more of a dj than these “useless copycats getting to much props for doing nothing” (in the eloquent and grammatically sound words of Mr. ftwnl, Youtube) - like me.

but do we do nothing? or is that even a valid perception of ‘digital djs’*? i’m pretty sure they’re wrong, but it’s their loss for being stuck in the stone age.

first things first, if you’re not a dj and you’re reading this, i ask you this: do you actually give two shits how the dj plays the tunes, as long as they’re making you dance? i imagine not for the most part. although, i wager lots of visible gear with flashy lights is always interesting to look at isn’t it? and yes, of course vinyl’s cool if the dj’s scratching (everyone loves a spot of scratch..) that’s how i feel at least! 

*unforgivable terminology.