2009 was a hell of a year for the digital dj world. We saw a lot of great announcements but not that many great products. There were a bevy of releases and offerings that didn’t quite live up to their expected promise or just flat failed completely. So to wrap up the year, we would like to share a short list of some more notable failures and a few dj technologies that did hit their mark.
EPIC FAILS
Justice
For making djs that use controllers look bad (check out the usb cable in the photo at left)
Madonna’s boyfriend
Jesus Luz, For accepting 30k for his first gig ever (right)
Myspace
The best site to promote yourself as a dj sold to Rupert Murdock and officially became the most cliche way to promote yourself in 2009.
CDJ-2000
A potentially great product that failed to live up to the epic hype
Dj Hero
same as above
Dj Mouse
The most epic marketing fail of the year turned ugly as Dj Tech went after this blog for the remainder of the year after our fun poke at their less than stellar product idea.
Iphone Apps
Major djs jumping on the Iphone platform and not quite pulling it off
Fortunately there were a few good ones too including..
- The Mad Decent Iphone App – We liked it because they didn’t take themselves seriously
- Tonetable – a creative way to control Serato with an iphone that we covered here
HIGHLIGHTS OF 2009
There were a lot of interesting things that made us smile in 2009 and we know there is more so please share yours in the comments.
Djs getting interesting again
Live performance has been making a comeback and djs actually doing something on stage instead of triggering clips. Some notable contributors: Soulwax, Moderat, Simian Mobile Disco, Etienne De Crecy
Controllerism grows up and gets attention
People are starting to take the concepts we have pushed over the past year and integrate them in new and exciting ways. Vestax got a controller in Apple stores and Dj TechTools was featured on Attack on the Show. Look for the movement to really blow-up in 2010.
Max for Live
Live opens up the gates and allows you to create your own music world
Ritchie Hawtins Twitter Dj App
Inventive and future looking- djing goes web 3.0
The return of great house music
Classic house sounds of producers like Kerri Chandler have been making a comeback. We dig it.
Best of Dj TechTools
Here are just a few of our most talked about articles over the past year. Did we leave some out? Let me know in the comments.
MOST POPULAR
Ean invites you to dust off that Oxygen 8 to control Traktor, mapping included
An indepth look at traditional analog vs. internal software mixing
Circumventing Beatport’s territory restrictions
The venerable DJ Bento gives this insight into smart mixing in Ableton
Making chords with cue points in Traktor
Ean breaks down his “We Will Rock” you routine on the Korg Nano Pad
An introduction to song structure and phrasing to make satisfying sets
DJ Tech Tools brings arcade controllerism to the masses with the Midi Fighter
Ean breaks down a routine with Daft Punk’s “Aerodynamic” on the VCI 100
Store-to-the -floor: Organizing your music collection for optimal DJing
MOST CONTROVERSIAL
The presciently contested CDJ 2000
The DJ headphone round-up–dont forget to read the comments!
Roundup of key analysis and harmonic mixing tools
DJing in Windows: Optimizing your OS