Forget Vinyl: You Can DJ Like a Pro With This New Mac App

Algoriddim

You don’t need fancy equipment and boxes of vinyl to DJ like a pro (although purists may disagree). With a robust music library to source from and tools that make song transitions seamless, even a n00b can keep a house party jumping into the wee hours. The new Djay Pro for Mac offers both of these features, and a ton more, and caters to both DJ padawans and professional mixers.

For starters, the app lets you pull music from iTunes and Spotify’s library of 20 million songs if you’ve got a premium membership. Algoriddim first added Spotify integration to its Djay iOS apps in May before launching an Android version earlier this fall.

“To the DJ, content is everything,” said Algoriddim CEO Karim Morsy. “By giving them infinite ingredients, they can make anything.”

Of course, that does mean your computer needs an Internet connection in order to access this trove of tunes. If the connection’s spotty, well, hopefully your iTunes library isn’t skeletal.

Assuming your libraries are in order, the app’s interface and automated features make blending those millions of songs into a seamless jam session super simple. The app opens up to a pair of onscreen turntables which you can drag and drop songs to play on. It then uses beat and key matching to keep the flow of each song continuing as it shifts from one tune to the next; you can also have the app auto suggest songs if you’re not sure what should come next.

If you want to get more advanced, you can switch to a waveform viewer in the upper right, so you can effectively transition songs yourself (here you can also switch to a view of up to four decks, all playing your songs simultaneously). You can adjust the levels, loop portions of a song, shift pitches up to one octave, and adjust the crossfade between tracks, among other things. The app also has 30 built-in audio effects, and support for external audio, mics, and MIDI controllers. The visual experience is excellent, optimized for Retina displays, and the layout of the onscreen buttons and adjustments are logical, aided by a plethora of keyboard shortcuts for speedy musical tweaks.

Basically, the app has enough granular controls for an expert to nerd out over and enough automated features that a beginner can hop in and start playing without the music turning into an awkward, choppy failure.

You can grab Djay Pro today for $50 from the Mac App Store.