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Setting The Pace

We're first to get to grips with the Pacemaker - a pocket sized DJ revolution.

We've just had our hands on the first prototype of the Pacemaker pocket DJ system, and you can see it in action in our exclusive video online at djmag.com.

It's no surprise that technology freak Richie Hawtin is hot for the Pacemaker. After spotting it at this year's Sonar festival, in Barcelona, he was hooked.

"We saw this big crowd buzzing outside the main building," explained Richie. "They were following this girl walking down the street wearing a stereo. When I got closer I could tell through her movements that she was DJing with this little gadget in her hands. I thought, 'If this is real, then it's really fucking cool.'"

The Pacemaker is a complete DJ set-up, with twin decks, mixer, EQ, filtering, monitoring and more - in one specially designed interface.

"It's the first portable music player specifically engineered for the DJ. It's a totally new interface that interprets your movements and brings that into the musical realm in a way that really works for DJs. It's a real step forward," enthused Hawtin.

"The guys at Pacemaker have come up with a great feeling layout," continued Richie. "After a few minutes I was already mixing with it, pushing and pulling the beats, adding filter sweeps in an intuitive way that makes you feel that you are working with the music.

"Move your finger round the pad faster or slower and the Pacemaker senses that and responds accordingly. It's easy to get into a phase of creating something interesting with it."

The Pacemaker is so small that it can fit in your pocket, just like an iPod.

"I can pull the Pacemaker out any time and start playing around with new mixes and testing things out," added Richie. "Or if I show up to an after-hours party, hotel room or friend's house, I can plug it into the system and start mixing or play a pre-recorded mix."

One of Richie's favourite features is its ability to pause the whole set - even during a mix.
"I can go off and have dinner, come back and pick up where I left off!"

The computer software lets users edit mixes, add effects and upload them to share with friends. Richie's verdict on the Pacemaker is pretty clear.

"Anything that opens up the experience of DJing to people is important and the Pacemaker just nails it. I'm sure we are going to see some killer performances at next year's Sonar, where someone gets up and starts totally fucking it up with a Pacemaker; that's just going to happen."

SPECS

PRICE
£tbc

RELEASED
October

CONTACT
pacemaker.net