The Scene
BERLIN — The debate over AI’s impact on art is hitting dance floors in Berlin, where DJ veteran Christian Becker keeps the crowd grooving at a trendy bar, manually transitioning between indie throwbacks and electronic tracks.
Within the city’s iconic and diverse club scene — best known globally for its techno culture and industrial raves — the reception and adoption of AI among professional DJs is mixed. Some find the tools harmless and helpful, while others question whether AI has a place in the DJ booth. It’s part of a broader debate among artists, musicians, filmmakers, and authors on what role the technology should have, if any, in the creative process.
“It wouldn’t work,” Becker, a 33-year-veteran and co-owner of Bohnengold in the buzzy Kreuzberg district, said while taking a break from his set on a recent Saturday night. “Because you’re connecting with the people … you have to watch the people, how they dance.”
Software companies that make DJing platforms are increasingly adding AI capabilities, giving DJs the option to automate tasks they normally do themselves, like choosing songs or mixing and transitioning tracks.
“There is always pushback from the purists and the guys who want to hold onto the past,” said Angelo Tun, a world scratch DJ champion and the head of brand at Algoriddim, a Munich-based DJ software company leaning heavily into AI. “It started with vinyl. They were against digital tools. Innovation is happening in every industry now.”
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Algoriddim updated its popular software Djay Pro this summer, making it easier to automate song transitions by adjusting the vocal and instrumental levels of different tracks. Rekordbox, another popular software, can now automatically set a song’s cue points — specific points in a song that a DJ might want to skip to.
René Noé, also known as DJ Grzly Adams, is a fan of an AI function first created by Algoriddim that allows DJs to separate layers of a song in real time, isolating the acapella vocals or instrumental beat of a song. He also uses a feature on Djay Pro that suggests songs from his library based on whether it fits what he’s currently playing.
“I’d rather listen to a good mix from a software than a bad mix from a DJ,” Noé said.
While Benedict Faber, one half of Berlin-based electronic music and DJ duo Kon Faber, sees some benefit in using AI, he said too much loses the artistry.
DJing is full of choices, and “the more choices you outsource, the more you give away what is unique about you as an artist,” he said.
The View From The dance floor
Some patrons at Bohnengold didn’t care whether the DJ was human or a bot, so long as the set had a good vibe, while others preferred to see a live person in the DJ booth.
Solu Fida, a 24-year-old Berlin native, said she appreciates a good live DJ set, so “you can see when the DJ has a good crowd and feels, and maybe spontaneously makes changes and stuff.”
J.D.’s view
DJing is a form of live, performance-based art, and good DJs know how to read a room. It’s a deeply human skill and it remains, for lack of a better term, a vibes-based art. Software can’t fully replace vibes.
AI tools lower the barrier to entry for DJing, but I don’t think they’ll make live DJs obsolete any time soon. I played around with Djay Pro and its AI tools, and I’m nowhere close to being able to even DJ the Semafor holiday party.
Room for Disagreement
For smaller bars or lower-budget parties or events, AI DJs could replace their need to hire a human one. “The DJs might become obsolete, because the software is becoming that good,” Noé said.