Disc jockey (DJ)

A disc jockey (DJ) is a type of musician who creates original music by mixing recorded songs using equipment such as a turntable and mixer. DJs also play music for events, such as weddings or bar mitzvahs, or at dance clubs. A DJ can also refer to a person on a radio station who plays recorded music for an audience. However, in the modern sense, DJs, sometimes called producers, are musicians who transform recorded music into original pieces and perform at live events. Many musicians of all different genres, such as hip-hop, rap, pop, and electronic dance, use DJs to enhance their sound.

Brief History

In 1857, a Frenchman named Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville invented a device called the phonautograph, which recorded sound. Several years later, American inventor Thomas Edison designed the phonograph cylinder, which played back recorded sound. In the early years of the twentieth century, the first radio station broadcast debuted. In 1909, Ray Newby, a teenager from California, became the first disc jockey (DJ), playing records on a radio station.

The term disc jockey was coined more than twenty years later. English DJ Jimmy Savile was credited with throwing the first DJ dance party in 1943; he kept guests entertained with jazz music. He was later credited with using two turntables to keep the music continuously playing. By the end of the twentieth century, several dance clubs that featured music played by DJs had opened in cities throughout the world. These became very popular, and many people packed nightclubs to dance.

Radio equipment known as a mixer was introduced in the late 1960s. This device allowed DJs to combine music in a controlled way. DJs also began to develop other techniques, such as beatmatching, which was invented by American DJ Francis Grasso. Beatmatching uses beats to create a transition from one song to the next. Grasso later became popular for using slip-cueing, or holding a record and dropping it at a precise time to ensure the music flows seamlessly. When dance clubs lost popularity by the end of the 1960s, DJs moved the clubs to the streets, creating block parties.

DJ Kool Herc emerged in the 1970s, drawing huge crowds to his block parties. He began using turntables to mix two identical records at the same time to extend certain portions of a particular song. This technique became known as break. Around this time, turntablism, or the use of turntables and a mixer, became very popular with DJs, who also became known as turntablists. DJs were no longer known for simply playing music; they also created it by manipulating existing songs into extended beats. This created a new style of music, which blended well with existing genres like hip-hop. Dance clubs again began to favor DJs over live musical acts.

In 1975, a DJ known as Grand Wizard Theodore accidentally invented another DJ technique called scratching, which involves manually moving a record against the needle of the turntable to manipulate the sound. In the 1980s, DJs continued to reinvent themselves. A new sound called house music emerged in Chicago. This disco-like music contained dance beats, electronic elements, drum machines, samples, and a heavy bassline. Around the same time, a new sound emerged in Detroit. Known as straight techno, this type of music contained no disco but mostly electronic elements.

By the mid-1980s, several musical festivals and competitions began to feature DJs. They became popular outlets for DJs to show off their skills. Some of these, such as the DMC World DJ Championships and Ultra Music Festival, continued to be held into the twenty-first century. While the turntablism style had been introduced years earlier, the term was not coined until the 1990s. This technique became very popular—especially in hip-hop music—throughout the rest of the 1990s. Also in this decade, house music evolved into acid house. This type of music became popular at rave parties, which emphasized continuous dancing made possible by DJs. Digital technology of the 1990s further helped DJs enhance their sound using CDs and digital audio files (MP3s). DJs also became featured in other genres, such as hard rock.

Topic Today

In the early 2000s, the final scratch method appeared, allowing DJs to use digital audio files on a computer with records on a turntable. A mixer was added to this program a few years later. Plug-ins worked with the scratch programs to allow DJs to manipulate music videos to be shown on the walls of clubs. Additional turntables were used, allowing DJs to work on more than two turntables at a time.

Dance music continued to gain popularity in the 2000s and 2010s, and it was featured in nearly all genres of music. Many bands and musicians added DJs to their lineups to keep their music fresh and interesting. They manipulated and deconstructed popular songs to create new and sometimes live versions of these reconstructed selections. The electronic dance music (EDM) trend that began in the 2010s increased the popularity of DJs and computerized music. Popular DJs performed for large audiences throughout the 2010s and 2020s at festivals such as Coachella and Lollapalooza Coachella, Electric Daisy Carnival, Ultra Music Festival, and Tomorrowland.

Some DJs began to replace their turntables and records with digital music, computers, controls, and electronic tables. Computer software, such as Rekordbox, DJ.Studio, Traktor, Virtual DJ, and Serato, and touch technology began to influence DJs who used touch turntables and tablets to create tunes. This technology also allowed DJs to edit music, add sound features, change tempo, and offer visual effects coordinated with the beat.

The young Swedish DJ Tim Bergling, known as Avicii, was a leader in the industry in the 2010s. His first single, "Levels" (2011), began his career, topping the Swedish Singles Chart in 2011 and appeared on top ten charts in several other countries. His song “Wake Me Up” (2013) also became a global sensation. However, he retired in 2016 due to health concerns, and in 2018, he died by suicide. His final album, Tim, was released in 2019 after his death.

Another type of DJ, the producer, emerged in the twenty-first century. The main difference between a DJ and a producer is that producers create their own original music in a studio, unlike DJs, who mix versions of others' recorded music, usually in live settings. Most of the time, the lines between a producer and a DJ are blurred. Many of these artists gained fame in the twenty-first century. DJ Magazine's Top 100 DJs listed Martin Garrix as the year's top DJ in 2016, 2017, and 2018. He is best known for his single "Animals" (2013). In 2011 and 2020, French DJ and music producer David Guetta ranked first on the magazine's list, selling more than ten million albums and sixty-five million singles during his career. Israeli DJ producer and musician Guy Gerber is known for his lengthy sets (he performed for twelve consecutive hours at the 2014 music festival Burning Man) and for his integration of house, techno, and progressive house DJ music.

The twenty-first century also saw the rise of female DJs. Belgian DJ and producer Charlotte de Witte pioneered the techno music movement and is known for performing dark, aggressive, and minimal techno. American DJ, producer, and Black musical tradition advocate Honey Dijon is known for her hardcore techno style that incorporates multiple genres. In the 2020s, she was one of the only Black transgender women working in the industry. Her 2022 album Renaissance won the 2023 Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album. Other important female DJs of the 2010s and 2020s include Alison Wonderland, Deborah De Luca, Amelie Lens, The Blessed Madonna, Olivia and Miriam Nervo, and Nina Kraviz.

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