The fully automated DJ!

The fully automated DJ!

It’s Saturday night, beer is flowing, the beats are pumping, I’m in the middle of getting my freak on as I am listening to the DJ, pulling off yet another smooth transition, when all of a sudden I look up and realise that there’s no one standing in the DJ booth. Suddenly I wake up to find myself in my own bed realising it was all just a bad dream. But in the near future this might all change…

Two young Dutch entrepreneurs have developed an app, that might possibly make DJ’s as we know them obsolete. This new smartphone app called Synkick analyses the musical tastes of anyone who downloads it and adjusts the music that is playing accordingly.  Not only that, but Synkick is said to also be able to calculate the average of everyone’s musical tastes that is present in the room, for example a club. By using this method, it is possible to play the music that everybody loves. However, the owner of a club still has the last say in all of this, he can for instance make a list what music can and cannot play, to prevent jokers from instantaneously liking Justin Bieber.

Dutch DJ’s have conquered the world with their tracks and excellent mixing skills. For crying out loud, even in the top 10 list of the worlds best there are 6 Dutch DJ’s. You would think that would mean something. Is it in our DNA? Perhaps. The guys behind Synkick have stated that they want to lead the pack in a new era in which computers will share the role of a DJ.  Synkick is meant to be the worlds first real fully automated DJ. However, I have to say that it lacks the charm of a human DJ and will probably fail to get a crowd as hyped as any DJ could, but it will be quite a bit more affordable than hiring lets say a Hardwell or Armin van Buuren.

Currently Synkick is still in its beta phase, which means that they will now test it with a live audience to get the last kinks out of its system.  Club Poema’s manager Jean-Pierre liked the concept so much that he decided to host this first test for a live audience at his club together with Synkick’s founders. When the test proves successful, it will become a returning monthly event at club Poema, where computer algorithms will fill in the role of the DJ.

For the time being it would seem that Synkick is only limited to use in bars and small clubs, but what is to say that the day won’t come on which technology will eventually replace DJ’s playing at festivals? I for one am looking forward to that, watching peoples years of hard work get ruined in a matter of minutes. In order for DJ’s like myself to remain relevant we will have to develop certain skills that a computer for now cannot. I will now take my leave and practice my poses in front of the mirror J!!!