Techno DJ Richie Hawtin (Plastikman) discusses how he got his start DJing, and his take on the current state of DJ systems:
Right now the problem I see with performing is breaking the visual barrier. I find it rather uninspiring to play to audience with just laptops in front of you. So I’m experimenting with touchscreens and flat-panel displays. One thing about the days of turntables is that you could see movement and action that you can’t pull off with a laptop, so I am checking out interface methods that enable me to do new things—ways the audience can see my human movements. I am trying to figure out ways to visualize my movements and the connection they have with the music I create.
I think that technologies such as Project Natal from Microsoft, used to drive artist tools, could be the first step into the new human / machine interaction that Richie is talking about.
Let's hope that we see these new motion technologies being used to bring us closer together through sight and sound..