Quite a few products come with lofty claims of being ‘the future of DJing’ and so on. But the new djay app for Meta Quest feels like it might be a taste of where things are headed in the world of DJing.
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There have been a handful of attempts at getting DJing into the virtual reality world with mixed success. Algoriddim has had a go before with djay for the Apple Vision Pro, and perhaps the most notable was Tribe XR. The biggest issue with all these previous DJ VR apps is that they just put you in a fully virtual environment with virtual decks in front of you.
While you could still control all the functions this way, waving your hands around in front of you and pretending to DJ is a bit like playing air guitar vs. the real thing – quite a lot of fun for a while, but people will get fed up with it pretty quickly.
This time around, djay is taking a slightly different approach. The key difference is that you can still use a real-life physical DJ controller, which enters the virtual world through mixed reality.
That means that while you’re virtually surrounded by an adoring festival crowd and all sorts of information about your tracks, you can still look down and see the actual controller you’re mixing on.
Getting set up
Djay is available as an app for the Meta Quest from the Meta Horizon Store. You don’t need to use this alongside another computer or mobile device – all you need is a Meta Quest 2, Pro, 3, or 3S. Then, just load up the app, and you’re set to start mixing on the virtual decks.
Connecting a controller is very straightforward as well. It supports a wide range of industry-standard controllers, including beginner-friendly options like the DDJ-FLX2. You simply connect your DJ controller via USB to the Meta Quest, it will automatically recognise it, and you’re good to go.
Included with djay is a library of over 5000 free tracks to get you started. On top of this, you can also get over 100 million songs via streaming integrations with Apple Music, TIDAL, SoundCloud, Beatport, and Beatsource. You’re also able to play music that’s stored locally on your device.
Mixing in mixed reality
You can still use this version of djay in the old way with completely virtual decks. You control these by moving your hands around in the virtual space to adjust the different elements. This is quite fun and can be a good way to get started if you don’t have a controller, but it’s nothing new and isn’t really what makes this new version of djay special. Lacking the tactile feedback of having real controls makes it feel much more like a video game than authentic DJing, so you’ll likely get bored more quickly with that mode.
Djay lets you pick from 8 different environments to DJ in. These range from pretty standard DJ setups like the club, through to something much more exotic like outer space. It’s surprising how quickly you adapt to these virtual worlds, and after a few minutes, you’ll find yourself completely lost in these spaces. Some of these feature a crowd dancing to whatever you’re playing. It’s hardly a complete replacement for the real world just yet, but compared to mixing in your bedroom, it’s much more immersive and engaging.
The environments all feature some kind of interactive elements such as fireworks or, in this case, space lasers.
If you choose the ‘Mixed Reality’ mode, you can see the space you’re in coming through with everything overlaid on top.
When you’re mixing with a controller, all the controls are recognised, and everything works exactly as you’d expect. However, you can also use hand gestures to control all the parameters as well as browse through a virtual record collection. This is especially useful for manipulating effects, which essentially turns the space in front of you into a massive 3D control pad, like a suped-up version of the XY pads on some mixers.
Moving your hand up and down, left and right, or forwards and back controls different parameters of the track’s effect.
Having this ‘hybrid’ sort of approach to VR DJing is super powerful. For the more traditional and tactile aspects of mixing, like beatmatching and EQing, you’ve got the physical controls right in front of you. For the things that can be more fiddly, like adjusting effects or picking your next track, you can use hand gestures.
Is this the future of DJing?
A lot of the big drawbacks with djay on the Meta Quest are the same drawbacks of VR more generally. Some people may find that it can make them feel queasy, especially for extended periods.
There’s also no getting around the fact that it does look a bit silly to wave your hands around with a big chunk of plastic on your face. The reactions when using this thing in the Crossfader office were best described as mixed in terms of how cool we thought it was.
The promotional video from djay featured someone wearing this while DJing at a house party and everyone loving it. That seems like a bit of a stretch – I’d imagine the reactions would be more along the lines of ‘why is that person wearing a VR headset at a party’ than ‘what a cool showcase of bleeding-edge technology’.
While the technology’s impressive, society might not be at a point where we’ll see this scene anytime soon.
The best use for this isn’t performing live with it, though, so it seems unfair to judge it on that. As something for home practice or for beginners to learn on, it’s a real game-changer. Being able to virtually transport yourself out of the bedroom and into a different space makes it so much more engaging. Above all else, though, it’s a lot of fun. If that turns DJ practice from a bit of a chore to something you actively look forward to, then we’re all for it.
VR as a whole is still in relative infancy, though, so getting on board now feels a bit like buying a first-generation electric car or an original chunky iPhone. The goal is clearly to get to a stage where we’re wearing small glasses-sized units, and when we get to this stage technologically, we’ll likely see much more adoption of VR in the DJ space.
Watch this space, though. Mark Zuckerberg recently announced the Orion glasses, which promise to shrink this technology down into a much more compact form factor. There’s no release date as yet, but it’s clear this technology is moving fast, and we’ll have to adapt in the near future.
Is djay for the Meta Quest worth buying?
Overall, if you’ve already got a Meta Quest, this is a no-brainer download at just $19.99. For complete beginners who’ve never DJed at all, it’s a great place to start. You don’t need any extra hardware, and the integration with streaming sites means you can get mixing straight away.
If you’ve already got a controller and you’re looking for a fun and engaging way to practice DJing, and with Meta Quests starting at just £289 for a 3S, this might just be the final push to buy a headset and join the ‘Metaverse’.
Hopefully they add this mixed reality option to their Apple Vision Pro application in the near future…