Live electronic music, and DJ sets in particular, are often maligned for their lack of “live” performance. Reuters reports that Prague’s Karlovy Lazne Music Club have taken that idea one step further, by removing the human element of DJing altogether.
DJ KUKA, a modified robot arm from the automotive industry took to the decks at the Czech club for the first time earlier this week.
One club attendee told Reuters that they were a bit skeptical of the performance, saying “It can’t feel what the people want to dance to. There is no emotion behind the music. When there is a real person, they know, what fun is like.” Harsh, but still nicer than a Resident Advisor commenter. Sounds like DJ KUKA has their work cut out for them.
In addition to being DJs, KUKA robotic arms can be programmed to perform in full bands, like the Nigel Stanford helmed power-trio Automatica. In 2016 a dancer performed with a KUKA robot during the Opening Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. The arms have also been modified to become roller coasters. You know the auto industry must be going through some tough times if even the robots are looking for new work.
You can see the robotic DJ’s set in the video below.
