Mobilize

10 years ago, using a laptop to DJ was seen as an abomination. No one knew what these machines were capable of and their use was considered a mechanism for “cheating” because they appeared to do the work for the musician. Now this is no longer the case, as the advent and deployment of DJ technology such as Serato has infiltrated even the most niche of genres in DJing and live music production.

Apple’s latest shiny object, the iPad, represents a beacon of hope for many industries. Publishers, record labels and television networks all marvel at the revenue potential from a sleek lifestyle device that users can’t wait to spend money to augment with applications downloaded from the App Store. More powerful than an iPhone yet smaller than a laptop, the iPad is an evolution from the computing paradigm we have come to know with the advent of the PC. No mouse. Touch screen. Sleek and simple.

So, can the iPad be the catalyst to shape the future of music production and DJing? In this discussion, Rana Sobhany, the world's first iPad DJ and producer, walks us through the history of this nascent space, complete with a first hand account of what it is like to witness and influence this century's first major paradigm shift in music performance and production.