DJ James Hype teases a 16-deck setup and says we have been thinking too small

James Hype has posted a tease of a DJ setup that puts him inside a ring of 16 decks. "Maybe we've been thinking too small," he said, which is a fairly pointed thing to say in a scene where two CDJs and a mixer has been the standard for two decades.

The obvious objection is that nobody has enough hands. EDM.com, reporting the tease, argued the rig would have to work like sections of an orchestra rather than as 16 simultaneous mixes: a handful of decks carrying full tracks while the rest hold loops, samples and vocal acapellas ready to be dropped in.

On that reading the skill on display is selection rather than beatmatching. With 16 signals available, the work becomes deciding in real time which ones reach the speakers, which is closer to live production than to a conventional DJ set.

Hype is a reasonable person to attempt it. He is widely regarded as one of the most technically capable DJs working, and he has form for building setups that stretch what the format can do rather than settling into a touring rig.

He was also candid that it might be pointless. "This might be the best idea I've ever had," he said, before adding that it could equally be the most unnecessary, and either way it was too late to stop.

That restlessness is something he has talked about before. He told EDM.com last summer that there had been periods where he reached the thing he had always wanted and found he was already over it and looking for the next one, which is a fair description of how a 16-deck rig gets designed in the first place.

Hype gave no detail on whether this is a one-off stage build, a residency setup or something he plans to tour, and no manufacturer involvement has been mentioned. More dance coverage sits on our electronic hub, and confirmed dates land on the tour guide.