DJ Hero, a game modeled after Guitar Hero, is making tracks as one of the first video games where the DJ is the central character. And while there were other hip-hop themed games, this one focuses on scoring points. However, I can’t help but think that I saw this turntable concept before. So, let me thell you about a game that was actually an earlier and stylish form of a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software that came out way before DJ Hero, Guitar Hero… even the music producer games such as MTV Music Generator for the game systems. Allow me to (re)introduce you to: the Mixman.
Back in college (1997/98) when the Internet was literally for the bleeding edge geeks, I was rapping and performing shows in the Virgin Islands. After performing songs over other artists beats for a while, naturally, I wanted to remix and create my own beats. So, I studied music production by getting any information from the Internet and music equipment store back on St. Thomas. While I managed to collect a keyboard, I was never able to get two turntables and a mic that isn’t a computer knockoff. The next best thing was to get a DAW and while Acid existed back then, it was expensive. So, this is where the Mixman came in.
Continue reading ‘How Mixman Failed to become a DJ Hero’
