There is an urban myth that DJ’s who use laptops are making a mockery of the industry, and that laptops are making the profession easier, no skills required, the laptop does it all.

Well, what if I was to tell you that some of the biggest names in DJ land use laptops when they play.  Paul Oakenfold uses a 00DJ laptop system, Fatboy Slim the uber-cool turntablist from Brighton uses a Macbook-based system and the list goes on.  I bet you still think radio stations still play CD’s right?  Well, no…everything is played from a computer.

DJ Software has come a long way over the past 10 years.  I was one of the original pioneers back in 1997 when MP3’s first appeared mainstream.  I took out a PC with Winamp (classic MP3 player for Windows) and DJ’d from it all night.  Back then I was known as “The DJ with the computer” and it got me business! In 1999 OtsJuke DJ was released, I bought that and have used it ever since.

But enough about me…

The laptop-DJ penomena is far less “automated” than you think.  There are people all over this land who assume that the DJ compiles his playlist at home, comes to your party, presses play and sits down.  I would be lying to you if I said that the software around today does not have such functionality – but it does.  It comes in very handy for background music, or for those times when the DJ needs to visit the toilet (it does happen, we’re not sub-human!) or get a drink from the bar.  With most songs being around 3 to 4 minutes long it’s very hard to walk across the dancefloor to the bar, get the barmans attention, get your drink and get back before the song runs out.

But, steering away from automation, using software has many advantages.  It does not matter how many songs you carry.  1,000 MP3’s weighs no less than 10,000 MP3’s.  Track searching takes seconds rather than spending a few mintues leafing through endless CD boxes and wallets.  A track can be found, loaded and ready to play in 3 to 5 seconds!

Most DJ software has a “wait list” section, a part of the program where you can list songs that are going to be played.  Having this functionality is fantastic in that the DJ can look at the songs and re-arrange them into an order that will keep the music flowing and the dancefloor full.  If someone comes up and asks for a song, the DJ can insert that song anywhere in the playlist.  The DJ can also use this list to work out exactly how many songs he or she has left to play before the party ends, this way the end of the evening can be planned to perfection.

Have you ever been to a party where the dancefloor is packed out and the DJ’s CD’s are skipping due to the bouncy floor?  That will never happen in a software-based system.  The worst that can happen is either a song file becomes corrupt or the computer crashes.  Windows and Mac-based systems are very stable these days.  If you look after the computer, keep it off the internet and don’t install pirate software, the machine will never crash.

I “sometimes” use a laptop now when DJ’ing.  I mainly use it at Weddings as it ties in with the video package we also have.  For an 18th Birthday or a Prom Night where a little more flexibility is required for mixing, I use a professional MP3-based player – the Denon DN-HD2500 (pictured below).  It plays MP3’s, but it’s not a computer and is loaded with tons of features, yet is very easy to use.  It also allows you to do remarkable things, things you’ve been able to do for years with CD’s.

DJ software is the next natural progression from CD as was CD when that appeared and took over from vinyl.   A lot of people said “it would never happen” – and it did, and same people are saying it now.  The fact remains, would you rather carry 3 huge flightcases of CD’s or a skinny portable hard drive?  I know which option my back would choose!

It’s pretty late, i’m not normally awake this late but I was doing my usual rounds of the many different blogs I read and suddenly felt the urge to post here.  It doesn’t happen very often, but an urge I felt so we’ll see where the keyboard takes me.

Had a weekend off, needed it.  The week before I did Thursday to Sunday and the week before that I did Wednesday to Saturday so I was feeling pretty knackered.  This weekend is a bit sparse with bookings only on Friday and Saturday, both at Upwaltham Barns near Midhurst.  I absolutely love that venue, it’s my favourite without a doubt.  There are a load of barn venue’s around Sussex but this one has “something” that makes it a really beautiful venue.

Oh, something exciting!  I’ve just struck a deal with a software house to start offering a fantastic piece of software designed to make wedding planning an absolute breeze.  I’m going to start designing a special web page for it over the next day or so so keep a look out for that.  Planning a wedding is a very tiresome job, or at least this is the information i’m getting from my clients.  This software helps you plan everything, it keeps track of your suppliers, invitations and RSVP’s, your Gift-list, budget planner, a timeline system for keeping track of things that are happening on the day, and more!  On top of this it’s an absolutely visually stunning piece of software and very easy to use.  Naturally it will be available at a special price to all current DISCOfever clients, and at just £19.99 it won’t break the bank, but it will surely help you plan your perfect day!

Something that some of my clients have been asking for will be coming to the website shortly.  It has been asked on several occaisions if I can put online some basic information and pictures of the DJ’s we use here at DISCOfever.  Not a problem at all, but getting DJ’s to stand still long enough to take a nice picture is a headache in itself!  I’m compiling all of the information together and will be putting it online shortly.  Remember, DISCOfever is not an agency and doesn’t work in a secretive way.  If you want your DJ’s details we’ll give them to you and you can call them direct rather than pass messages to them through me.  One of my biggest critiscisms about agencies is that they will never tell you who your DJ is and what his telephone number is.  The main reason for this is that they don’t want YOU going to THEM direct and cutting out the middle man.  It does happen unfortunately, but not at DISCOfever.

I think that’s pretty much it for now.  The e-mail machine has stopped bleeping which means that everyone must be in bed and it’s time for me to knock off too.  It’s still raining as well and the outlook doesn’t look too good for the weekend either.

Goodnight!