Data Jockey
Data Jockey is a software project that I have been working on for some time. It is in essence a digital disc jockey tool which leverages audio meta-data (both computed and manually added by the user) in order to allow for new approaches in content selection and juxtaposition. While there are other software tools that allow users to DJ digitally, none focus as heavily on search and comparison between audio works using audio meta-data.
By providing its users with access to content meta-data and tools to filter work selections based on this data, Data Jockey encourages them to search for interesting combinations of audio works that they might not otherwise find. It also allows users to quickly search in a large collection of audio recordings for works that fit a specific criterion, encouraging exploration and providing ways to create more meaningful play-lists. Instead of searching for works simply based on a title or an artist's name, users can search for works based on qualities of those works and their relationship to other works in a mix. I expect that access to content meta-data will help users learn what is compelling about these works and their combination and, in turn, help them to create more interesting mixes.
While I have been developing Data Jockey for some time, having used it for several performances and always intending to release it with a free license, it has not yet reached the point where it is mature enough to share with others. However, it is almost at that point and I would like to mark the first official release of this software at Piksel 08. I would give a presentation of Data Jockey, provide demos and hopefully find others to collaborate with for a audio/visual performance where we could explore new approaches to content selection and create information visualizations of the results.
Artist name:
Alex Norman
URL: