The iPad is many things to many different people. From a news reader, to an ebook reader. From a game console, to a learning center for kids. From an email device, to a task manager. From document creation device, to photo gallery. From a movie and music device, to a video communication device (with iPad 2). With so many different uses, there was bound to be some pushing of the limits. There was bound to be companies who saw certain functionality…such as IK Multimedia and their line of Amplitube software and iPad hardware add-on’s like iKlip and iRig.
Then there are the users who push the boundaries. When iPad first came out there was the iPad comic, which was funny and interesting, but I’ve not seen nor heard much of it since. Recently I had the chance to talk to an individual who uses the iPad in another interesting way, as a 100% iPad DJing and performance artist. And it’s pretty interesting, and amazing.
His name is Alexander Azzi, aka Atroa. He loves the iPad, and loves electronic dance music. He’s been at it since the 90?s and has adopted his new style over the past year (since the iPad’s release), and while it may not be everyone’s “cup of tea” in terms of music, it certainly shows just how much this device can do, and there are even record labels taking notice.
I recently had the chance to discuss this with Atroa, and thought I’d share.
1. What prompted you to explore using iPads in this fashion?
Well I have been a DJ and Producer since around 1998, and one of the things that has kept me fresher than most is that I always am looking for the next big thing in the form of performance hardware. Naturally I had no choice but to start with vinyl in the beginning, but once the MP3 generation landed, there were new options coming out of the woodwork everywhere, from CD players with MP3 data recognition to fully dedicated media controllers that played MP3?s and WAV files exclusively. Once the iPad was released, and after I took some time to listen to what others had to say about it, I started to research what the iPad could do for me as far as live DJ performance. DJ apps were hitting the iTunes store at a pretty quick pace, but all of them seemed very amateur. further more they all were, for the most part, developed to use one iPad. The problem was that, though the iPad has the workflow power, it lacks the inputs and outputs that a DJ would need to make DJing on the iPad a practical format, but I kept looking, and found, The traxPad. The traxPad is a Dj app that has a single playback engine, with every professional feature I needed to mix a song into another, assuming I had 2 iPads to make that happen. It was worth the risk, and I bought 2 iPads. All in all, it was the app I found that convinced me it was worth the investment to go forth in this performance format.
2. What do you call this type of performance?
Currently the only snappy catch phrase I have come up with is: “Dual iPad DJ Performance”.
3. What gear do you use? What would someone interested in this need to get started? What is your “setup”?
This is the great thing about the iPads, less gear; The music and the app to run the music off of are all self contained in the iPad so really all you need is the two iPads, The traxPad app from the iTunes store, and a mixer in between. I recommend the Pioneer DJM series mixers as they are the industry standard for Club and Mobile applications, however any mixer that has two “line in” inputs will do. Other than that, just a couple stereo headphone jack to RCA cables to line out from the iPad into the mixer’s RCA inputs, and a pair of good headphones to monitor the mix. I use the Sony MDR-V700DJ headphones personally.
4. What apps are you using?
As stated above, The traxPad app, easily found via search in the iTunes Store, now retailing for 29.99. I also had a hand in helping develop, creatively (not coding wise) the newer updates to the app to make it even more “industry standard” for the professional mixing DJ.
5. What are the limitations of the device or setup?
If you are a traditional DJ like myself that prefers straight mixing, without all the bells and whistles of the software doing all the work for you (ie: auto sync beat matching etc.), which I feel is a way of cheating, than this is quite frankly the perfect hardware/app setup to combine if you are looking to go the way of the iPad. When in performance, I do not experience ANY limitations in this format at all. I do want to say however, that although I am sure running other iPad apps in the background will not disrupt the flow of the DJ app, I personally haven’t risked that myself, only to find out the hard way that an app I forgot to shut down decided to pop its head up and say hi in the middle of mixing live. I have NO apps running other than The traxPad when performing. In fact, I keep all stock sounds off, and the network connectivity is always set to airplane mode. Dedicating all processing power to the task at hand (DJing) can insure that there will be no unexpected interruptions during live performance.
6. What is the reaction of people when the see or hear that you’re doing this with iPads?
Sometimes I wonder what takes precedent when I perform live, the uniqueness of the utilization of iPads for DJing or the DJing itself as a performer. The attention this setup gets is staggering. It goes from countless people peering into the DJ booth to take glance at how it works and taking pictures, to the local MC getting on the mic to announce that I am DJing on nothing but two iPads with a mixer in between, as if the entire room must know this is actually possible. Ultimately no matter what way the attention is promoted, I am just overwhelmed in how positive the reactions and feedback is in general.
7. How long did it take your to really feel comfortable enough using this particular setup for performances?
Once I brought home the two iPads and loaded in the app on each, I was able to mix comfortably within the hour, if I had a gig that same night I would have been able to mix a full set without any hesitation. In fact I would have preferred it that way, so if there were any glitches or setbacks, I would have be able to experience them immediately in a live environment and quickly decide if this was the right move or not. In the end however, it was the best move and the setup has run flawlessly since day one.
My Final Thoughts!
As I stated before, I’m sure this isn’t for everyone, obviously…but the fact that the iPad can really do this is pretty amazing and I’m sure there are more people ready to do this same thing. Thanks to Atroa, maybe the information he provided will inspire someone to take this up and give them that push that is needed.
Be sure to check out his website at: www.AtroasFury.com
Want to see a video, here’s a great link: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/13054994
The author of this post is Jonathan Norman"Jonathan" aka "ReDMoSqUi" aka "Jon" aka "Jack" aka "Red" holds a degree in Business Education and is a Computer Technology teacher in North Carolina. Jon has worked on various websites since becoming interested in webdesign in the mid 90's, including sites for bands such as Incubus and Dredg. "Red" is married with two children and has a weird obsession with technology, music, and Pittsburgh Penguins hockey! Contact me via email: jon(AT)theipadfan.com
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