While the purists out there would claim that scratching is strictly for turntables and real vinyl, there has been a concerted effort to duplicate the skills using newer technologies. CDJs, controllers and touch screens have been able to mimic the feel of analogue vinyl to some degree for a while now. But the next stage of entirely touch-free air scratching is also gathering pace. Check out Jonathan Hammond‘s Myo based air scratching in Serato Scratch Live.
This is a teaser so real info is thin on the ground, but it looks like the Myo software is doing some direct MIDI magic within Scratch Live. But this isn’t the first time we’ve covered Myo in a DJ context. You may recall DJ Player being controlled with a Myo back in April this year. You may also recall DJ Qbert busting some air scratches using a Leap Motion controller a while back.
So on one hand, turntables are making a comeback, and on the other wireless controllers are doing their level best to reduce the need for decks altogether. Based on what I’m seeing so far, I’m pretty certain that the lifespan of decks isn’t being threatened by these developments. But it’s cool nevertheless to see this sort of technology being developed.
I feel that like most advances, they’ll never succeed in isolation. But being used with existing technology would be a very cool use. Baby scratching the next track in while raising the other hand to change a filter has merit — sounds great and gives a DJ another visual dimension. Perhaps a gesture flick to jump to a new cue point for the next scratch sound would work too.
Air scratching – would you?
Wearables are most definitely a thing, but would you use them in any capacity at all? What cool uses can you think of that you might actually consider?