DJs' perspectives on interaction and awareness in nightclubs

Several researchers have recently proposed technology for crowd-and-DJ interactions in nightclub environments. However, these attempts have not always met with success. In order to design better technologies and systems in this area, it is important to start with an understanding of how nightclub interaction currently happens. To build this understanding, we carried out an interview study focusing on DJ-audience interactions. We interviewed eleven DJs from several different cities, and asked them to discuss the ways that they interact with the audience, and the ways that they maintain and use awareness of the audience. We found that DJs gather a wide variety of information about their audiences, and that this information is important to them as they plan and shape the evening’s musical experience. DJs are adept at gathering visual information about the audience, despite poor lighting conditions and a heavy workload of selecting and mixing music. Despite the difficulties, DJs took a ...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2006
• Where: ACMDIS
• Authors: Carrie Gates, Sriram Subramanian, Carl Gutwin
• Keywords: ACMDIS 2006, Interactive Systems, Nightclub Environments, Nightclub Interaction, Several Researchers