DIY DJ

<p dir="ltr">Background </p><p dir="ltr">Historically, DJ performance involved collecting and sequencing commercial records made by music producers; the practice of DJ performance was separate to that of music production (Butler 2006). While the utilisation of Digital Audio Workstations (DAW) and digital DJ technologies since 2001 has catalysed an amalgamation of these pursuits for some DJs (Callander 2022), others remain committed to analogue formats and playback devices (record and turntables), meaning that DJ performance relies not only on music production, but also the mastering and manufacture of records. For practitioners wanting to retain the feel and sound of performing with records, how can these distinct practices be drawn closer together, and how can traditional techniques for handling analogue audio be preserved in the digital age? </p><p dir="ltr">Contribution </p><p dir="ltr">“DIY DJ” is a fifteen-minute DJ performance work comprised of nine lathe-cut records made by the DJ exclusively for the performance. The audio was produced, arranged, and mastered using the DAW Ableton Live, then etched into 12-inch discs made from PETG (a recyclable plastic) using a Swedish-made record cutting lathe—there are only two of these lathes in Australia—and then performed using a three-turntable DJ configuration. This “farm to table” approach to production, programming, and performance by the same practitioner rejects the assertion that amalgamating production and performance practices can happen only in the digital domain. Further to this, it functions as proof of concept for a new multi-disciplinary approach to the realisation of analogue DJ performance. </p><p dir="ltr">Significance</p><p dir="ltr"> “DIY DJ” was commissioned for Sono Tactile, a concert also featuring Dr Anthony Lyons, Dr Sophie Rose, Dr Monica Lim, and Dr Cayn Borthwick. Sono Tactile was presented on July 29, 2025, as part of the New Music Concert Series at Hanson Dyer Hall, Ian Potter Southbank Centre, and funded by the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Fine Arts and Music.</p>