[FOUNDER INTERVIEW & PRODUCT REVIEW] DJ.Studio: Shaping The Future Of Mixing
Whether you are a professional DJ, bedroom DJ, or somewhere in between, making mixes can be difficult and stressful at times, especially when you are on a tight schedule. Providing a remarkable solution to this industry-wide issue, DJ.Studio is leading the charge and redefining the way DJs create, share, and curate their sets.
We were fortunate enough to try out this multifaceted product and quickly learned that it has far more applications than simply shortening the time it takes to create your sets.
One thing to note is that you should have a solid background of DJing knowledge and skills, along with a basic understanding of music production, before using DJ.Studio. This will make navigating the application much easier and maximizing all the tools it has to offer, outside of the main ones.
If you are brand-new to DJing, then dive into DJ.Studio's extensive library of resources and tutorials on their YouTube channel. We recommend practicing DJing and watching additional tutorials on how to create mixes on your board as well, prior to trying out this app.
A major highlight of DJ.Studio is that they are consistently innovating their platform and working with new collaborators every week. Even though their application is already a great weapon for DJs, the DJ.Studio team is determined to keep evolving it into the best version it can be. They also do unique content with a wide spectrum of DJs, contests, and giveaways.
We were amazed at how simple it is to plug in tracks and create a high-quality mix. However, do not mistake DJ.Studio for doing all the work for you. As a DJ and curator, you still should be putting effort and planning into your song selections in order to reflect the vibe you want to emit from your sets.
Our favorite features were the arrows that indicate the change in energy level and the seamlessness of how each track blends into each other. These arrows will tell you if the mix is picking up in energy, staying the same, or taking a dip, which will help you bring your audience on a sonic journey.
It also allows you to pick your starting and end tracks. Using its top-notch AI-driven system, DJ.Studio will then compute all the different combinations that your set can be ordered in, taking BPM, key, and other factors into account. It will provide you with a sufficient mix that you can workshop into its final product.
Again, DJ.Studio is a fantastic tool but should not become a crutch for your project. Use it to amplify your sets and save time on them, but adapt your style into the mixes that it provides for you. This usually means making minor changes in the types of transitions between tracks, adding in loops and effects, and shifting around the order a bit.
In addition to our thoughts and experience using DJ.Studio, we chatted with its founders to gain professional incite on this game-changing application.
Check out our exclusive interview with DJ.Studio's founders below.
iEDM: What sparked the original idea for DJ.Studio? What was the toughest challenge you faced when creating the first prototype and how were you able to overcome it?
DJ.Studio Founders: MixMeister stopped support and didn’t run on M1 anymore. We were able to get our own team back that we have been building software with for 10 years and launch DJ.Studio.
The toughest challenge was making DJ.Studio work on all different kinds of machines and setups with a variety of external libraries and other components.
iEDM: DJ.Studio 2.0 introduces an AI-assisted approach to DJ mix creation. What inspired the development of this innovative software?
DJ.Studio Founders: It cost me a lot of time to create a playlist for my DJ sets, so I decided to build a software tool to help me to get an ordered playlist and to be able to quickly create great sounding transitions.
iEDM: In what ways does DJ.Studio differentiate itself from other AI-driven tools for DJs, particularly in terms of workflow efficiency and mix quality?
DJ.Studio Founders: The DJ.Studio app is built specifically with DJs in mind and is focused on the playlist-ordering and crafting smooth sounding transitions. There is no tool in the market built with that goal in mind, so that makes the workflow very efficient.
We also differentiate us with our very experienced team with more than 20 people. There are not a lot of development teams in the audio software industry with so much development power. That’s why we are able to create a lot of new features that our customers are asking for.
iEDM: Can you elaborate on how DJ.Studio Academy empowers artists to master the program and create exceptional DJ mixes?
DJ.Studio Founders: The academy helps customers to master the basic features of DJ.Studio. Our YouTube channel is also really popular, which features tutorials and lessons on how to use DJ.Studio. https://www.youtube.com/@djstudioapp
iEDM: The DJ.Studio blog offers valuable resources and information. How does this section of DJ.Studio share how its platform contributes to the DJ community? What blog articles or Academy videos would you recommend for DJs and producers that are at an amateur level?
DJ.Studio Founders: This YouTube playlist has all the videos in it to learn about the basics of DJ.Studio at an amateur level.
Other really cool videos (and features!) are these:
- Prepare your live DJ set for rekordbox
- Stem separation ( NEW)
- And our new beat detection that just went live!
iEDM: Support from influential figures like Laidback Luke and DJ Carlo showcases DJ.Studio's impact. How do these partnerships shape the future of the platform? Why are these great artists to represent the usefulness of DJ.Studio?
DJ.Studio Founders: It is important for a new product like DJ.Studio to have these wonderful ambassadors to spread the word about the existence of new tools that will benefit both amateur and professional DJs. They are really excited about DJ.Studio and use it in their own workflow. That makes people think, “hmm.. I should try that!”
iEDM: More specifically, how does DJ.Studio utilize AI technology to streamline the process of creating professional-quality DJ mixes? Is there a step-by-step process?
DJ.Studio Founders: AI is integrated in the software itself. AI can be a very fast way to execute functionality, for example, Stem separation. Being able to separate the vocals, drums, bass, and melody in a track helps DJs make very creative edits in their tracks, for example extracting the vocal from one track and playing it on top of another. That makes it very creative and a lot of fun to work on your DJ mixes. This AI technology now enables people to make mashups.
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iEDM: Could you explain how DJ.Studio's integration with Mixed In Key enhances harmonic mixing for DJs?
DJ.Studio Founders: Harmonic mixing is a basic step in creating seamless mixes. If the keys of the tracks are aligned, and the BPM is not too far apart, the chance that a transition will sound good is almost 100%. That is why we partnered with MIK to be able to show the Camelot notation in DJ.Studio.
There are a lot of DJs who already use Mixed In Key to analyze the key of the tracks of their songs. We integrated with MIK, so that any track you add to DJ.Studio gets analyzed with the same algorithm.
You can also see MIK energy segments and cue points in DJ.Studio, to help you find the best mix in points. Next to that, DJ.Studio also has its own key detection algorithm which is also very good, so it is not required to also have MIK license.
iEDM: With the versatile export options offered by DJ.Studio, how does the platform enable DJs to reach a wider audience across different platforms?
DJ.Studio Founders: With DJ.Studio, it is easy to reach a wider audience, because you can create one mix in DJ.Studio and use that in lots of different ways: You can use that one mix…
- to prepare your live set (where the playlist order is the most important)
- to export it as a Mp3 or WAV file that you can upload for example to your SoundCloud
- export it to Mixcloud to reach another group of listeners
- or add great audio-reactive visuals to make a video of it that you can upload to YouTube.
This helps you reach your audience on the platform they prefer.
iEDM: How does DJ.Studio's online mix sharing feature facilitate collaboration and networking within the DJ community? How does DJ.Studio’s active community and support network enhance the user experience?
DJ.Studio Founders: Creating a mix is a lot of fun, but the end goal is to have people listen to your mixes. If you create mixes with YouTube videos or Beatport or Beatsource streaming music, you can share them within the DJ.Studio community, so others can listen to your DJ mixes.
Other DJs even use this as an inspirational source to find new tracks that they like. You can even re-use some of the mixes to see how the other DJ created his great transitions, which also adds an educational element in our community.
iEDM: The video creator feature in DJ.Studio adds visual appeal to mixes. How does this feature contribute to the overall experience for both creators and listeners?
DJ.Studio Founders: It makes a DJ very proud to have their DJ mixes uploaded to YouTube with the potential to reach thousands of viewers. We had one customer reaching more than 700K views with one of his mixes. DJ.Studio enabled him to create a lot more mixes in the same amount of time, creating more content.
We also have a lot of DJs who create a DJ mix and connect their laptop to their TV, so that on their small house party, everyone can enjoy the beat-matched cool visualizations. You can add these to your videos with the 35,000 Shadertoy options that are out there. We definitely recommend trying them, they are really cool!
iEDM: Looking ahead, what future developments and updates can users expect from DJ.Studio, and how will these advancements further revolutionize the world of DJing and mix creation?
DJ.Studio Founders: We have a very experienced team of more than 15 developers who are building a lot of new features, week over week. So you can imagine there are a lot of new features coming up.
A new beat detection algorithm that will support all music genres and that even handles variable beat grids to make sure you always have beatmachted transitions (check it out here). Also very exciting is our new stem separation that will be released just came out in March (check it out here).
With spot-on beat detection combined with stem separation and phrase detection, DJing will be revolutionized, allowing you to make mixes that the world has never heard before.
Last week, we were able to mix jazz music in a totally seamless way! We were blown away. And when you add phrase detection to the mix, it will be possible to find the best mix in points even easier.
Last but not least, our new mobile app will help any DJ to create your mixes on the road.
These advancements will make sure that DJs can work smarter, not harder, while getting a lot of creative tools at their fingertips.
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Photos courtesy of DJ.Studio.
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CONNOR PHILLIPS
Read More...Fueled by his passion for EDM, Connor’s life revolves around dance music and its ability to bring people together. Raised in upstate New York, Connor was deprived of festivals and raves until he attended Florida State University, where he was instantly hooked. Fast-forward to today and Connor has become a house and melodic techno DJ, an avid EDM-based interviewer and writer, and has worked PR for the likes of Matroda, Bleu Clair, and other new-wave house icons.
Outside of music, Connor loves pretty much any sport (huge Knicks, Yankees, and NY Giants fan), going on hikes, traveling, and food. Based in Florida, there’s a good chance you will eventually run into Connor at one of the popular festivals and clubs throughout the state.