italic+mixing – Cubicgarden.com…

Getting hot in Athens – My first full Drift zero mix

Ian Forrester in a local coffee shop holding up the Drift Zero with one hand

This is the first proper mix with the Drift DJ Zero while on holiday in Athens recently. It was done over two parts because of a crash with the beta firmware. Most of it in a lovely place in Athens (Morgan All Jeans) then second part on my flight to Barcelona, which attracted the eye of one of the captains of the plane!

One of the captains of the airplane has a amazed look at the Drift DJ Zero.The image has a lot of black out blocks for privacy — One of the captains of the airplane has an amazed look at the Drift DJ Zero

I asked permission to take the picture but wanted to preserve the privacy of the pilot and member of public who was in the seat opposite. I gather the staff of the plane had talked about it over the backchannel and he decided to come check it out? All I can say is he was blown away and to be honest I had similar interest while DJing to myself in Athens and Barcelona. Lots of positive questions and thoughts.

But back to the actual mix…

Its a good mix (especially since I don’t have all my tunes synced on the zero) and using the Drift Zero is smooth now I fully understand the DJ mix flow. As I’m always DJing in my headphones there is a few extra steps I have to take. A few times I forget and you could hear the cueing in the mix, which isn’t great but its human error. However I’m kinda use to it and because its still beta there’s still lots of opportunity to feedback and shape the Dj flow.

The whole mix is on my mixgarden and one day soon, I’ll get my personal mixgarden working again.

Enjoy my first full mix on the Zero, there will be many more to come I’m sure! Its not the end for the Pacemaker device but as the beta firmwares get better and better, I’m carrying around a lot less, so we shall see what happens…

Here’s the playlist

00:00:00 Fade To Grey (Moreno J Remix) – Visage
00:01:58 Everything’s Been Written – 8 Wonders
00:06:41 Believe – Eli Brown
00:10:52 Mass Noise 2015 – Fred Baker & Seb B-
00:14:54 Turbulance – Klauss Gourlart
00:20:19 Eclipse – Neo
00:23:50 Steller – Driftwood
00:28:53 Catch me – Ormus
00:31:31 You’ve Got The love (Sonny Noto Remix) – Florence The Machine
00:36:32 Never (DJ Tiesto remix) – The Roc Project feat Tina Arena
00:41:32 Earth mover – Cosmic gate

My whole DJ set from EMFCamp is now live

Following on from the post where I decide to change my DJ name to cubicgarden. Here is the whole mix live from EMFCamp 2026. I am just transcoding it for Peertube but uploaded the full 8.6gig cut to Youtube (very surprised its not been flagged…yet?)

Enjoy the incredible lasers and even fire balls! Heck the firestarter is back?

The null sector organisers are incredible and the audio isn’t straight from the desk, so you can sense how crystal clear the sound system was. Even some of the videos friends recorded, with a phone are pretty clear.

The whole set was done on the Pacemaker device, but I’ll certainly be using the Drift Zero if I’m back in 2 or 4 years time.

Beta testing the Drift Zero, how is it going?

Drift Zero on a table top — Drift Zero syncing while sitting in a coffee shop

The last few weeks, I have been beta testing the Drift DJ and its getting a lot more stable.

The hardest part I have found is my tunes are from all over, going from Rave stuff from the late 90’s to more recent stuff with decent metadata. Some of it is recorded at as low as 192k to 320k but some at a sampling rate of 32, 44 and 48khz. However the current and previous firmware’s have had problems with different sampling rates.

It makes sense, especially with the complexity of the problem with DJ accurate pitching explained by the creator in the video discussion.

This will get fixed but for now I spent a lot of time trying to work out what is a problem with my music collection and what is a bug.

I recently was working this out in a coffee shop over a pour over coffee and I had some interesting questions and comments about the Drift Zero. Its certainly eye catching and like my prototype one before, I had some really interesting comments from the public. Looking forward to a long train journey to Amsterdam again on the Eurostar in November or the long international flight to Canada in October.

I’m finally at a happy place where I can do a mix and be confident the tunes in the library will play and can be mixed. So hopefully you will my first proper mix, although I’m also going to convert all my nux tunes to Opus audio to see how that changes everything,

Look out for new mixes on here and my mixgarden…

Digital italic is dead, long live The Cubicgarden

For a long time, I have been known as DJ Digital Italic. However people have gotten very confused and so today I’m changing my DJ name to The Cubicgarden.

For a long time, I have been known as DJ Digital Italic. However people have gotten very confused and so today I’m changing my DJ name to The Cubicgarden.

DJ Digital Italic shown on a screen while people dance with lazers

Digital italic, came about when I was starting my move from vinyl to MP3’s (yes I switched CDJs because I didn’t like the format for its skeuomorphism. Even then I was thinking this makes no sense to copy the vinyl model.

Anyway I am waiting for my set recording from EMFCamp but honestly its a banger, as you can see in the video above.

I also decided to back off from self hosting my own mix site because sadly there is a bug in Yunohost’s peertube application which means every-time there is a security or feature update it breaks everything. Till then I’m going to use rankett.net, and will start making those changes including a new look soon-ish.

Drift DJ taken on a desk top — I took the drift zero apart to check if there was anything obvious

Another part of the decision is my move from the Pacemaker device to the Drift zero. Something I have been alpha/beta testing for a while. A little update is that it was going great with help from the Drift team but on my last trip to Amsterdam, it just stopped booting. I did the usual charging over night, etc but it wouldn’t boot at all. Sadly it was right before I could show Dirty Si, my friend who first pointed me towards the Drift Zero. It was a shame but ultimately, there was no way to send another prototype out, when the production ones were so close to ready.

My Drift Zero DJ production version

Then last Thursday the production version was delivered to my flat but I was on holiday and wouldn’t get my hands on it till Saturday. Then came Saturday and I got my first play with it and the latest firmware already installed. However its not till tonight I really got a play with it and loaded up a bunch of tunes.

If you want to know more about what happens next, keep an eye on this blog and of course you can order your own and learn more at driftdj.com

Polaroid photo of the Drift Zero DJ production chip with #007 written on it

By the way, my production version is quite special… Yes #007!!!

Something I’m extremely proud to own and be part of right at the start. Now comes the important part of feedback, bug fixing, learning and playing as…

The Cubicgarden…

The in & outbound train DJ mixes

The Future Is Europe 6 floor Mural in Brussels. Belgium. Maalbeek metro station — Seems Europe is a good excuse to do some DJ mixing too

Recently on a conference trip to Amsterdam for the excellent PublicSpaces conference, I took the Eurostar and it was a interesting experience with the whole outbound ride taking 11hours (its a long story but glad I over spent on food at London as it things get real when the food runs out in the eurostar’s onboard shops. Don’t get me wrong a journey which should have taken 6 hours maximum gets tiresome once you get to 11hours! But power and wireless did help, even if fresh water started getting a bit low.

However this gave me plenty of time to play with the Drift DJ Zero (upcoming post). It also gave me time to do a mix and redefine it a bit on the way back.

These 2 mixes are a bit of cheat, as one was done on the way to Amsterdam (outbound) and home to Manchester (inbound). However I redid the outbound one, with some new tunes Dirty SI recommended. It doesn’t exactly tally but its stuck now. You will notice the first 3 tunes are the same but mixed slightly differently.

Anyway here the mixes are now live on my own peertube site (which has a problem, every-time I upgrade) and on rankett webmixgarden.

Enjoy the mixes and look out for me if you are lucky enough to get a super rare EMFcamp ticket.

Leaving Centraal : the outbound mix

00:00 The storm – Interitus Dei
05:47 Tell nobody – Basil O’Glue
08:49 Earth mover – Cosmic gate
12:44 Running up the hill (jerome isma-ae bootleg) – Placebo
17:18 For your mind (extended mix) – Ferry Corsten
21:54 Remember the future – Ferry Tayle & TonKs pres. Mirage
27:15 Stresstest (John Askew Remix) – John O’callaghan
33:49 Blah blah blah – Armin Van Buuren
38:11 Bring Back The Techno (Extended Mix) – Orjan Nilsen, Mark Sixma, nilsix
41:09 Erase – Brooks Aleksander
44:40 Leave a message – Will Atkinson
48:46 Extortion (Extended Mix) – EverLight
53:06 Outlaw (Extended Mix) – Fatum

Home to Manchester: The Inbound mix

00:00:00 The storm – Interitus Dei
00:04:25 Tell nobody – Basil O’Glue
00:07:56 Earth mover – Cosmic gate
00:11:24 Fiction (Extended mix) – Jerome Isma-Ae
00:15:35 For your mind (extended mix) – Ferry Corsten
00:19:55 Remember The Future (Extended Mix) – Ferry Tayle & TonKs pres. Mirage
00:24:35 Never (H3rtz Bootleg Rework) – The Roc Project Feat. Tina Arena
00:29:33 Seven cities (V-one’s living cities mix) – Solar Stone
00:35:30 Ecstasy – Eddie Makabi fest Einat
00:39:53 Back 2 Again (Extended Mix) – Apaches
00:45:06 Grotesque – RAM & Alex M.O.R.P.H
00:51:00 Blah Blah Blah (extedned mix) Armin Van Buuren

Under a solar republica sky mix

An AI altered view of Berlin's spa (liquiddrome) With 2 people sitting on a bench looking at the unique sky

I spent a good amount of time in Berlin, Germany recently for the fantastic Republica conference.

This was recorded on a Ryanair flight (I luckily booked my flights over 3 months ago) using a number of even newer tunes. I had to do quite a bit of editing from the different times when my arm was knocked but it turned out pretty well.

I tried to recreate it on the way back but honestly, the first one was better although I did prefer some of the second mix tunes but it didn’t flow as much. I especially love the mix from Remember the future – Ripsaw!

All recorded on my ageing Pacemaker device, but the drift DJ alpha testing is getting better everyday. So look out, a whole mix might be coming soon.

The cover art comes from a shot I took of Liquidrome, near the hotel I was at. There was a football game happening and so I used Gemini to remove the football match then touched up the colours, etc myself. It was hot in Berlin all week and it was great to have the long bright nights.

The playlist is…

00:00:00 Voices In My Head x Insomnia (Stephani B Mashup) – Faithless
00:01:34 Mandy (extended mix) – 2nd Phase
00:04:38 Dare me – Hayley Parsons
00:08:54 Extortion (Extended mix) – Everlight
00:15:07 Remember The Future (Extended Mix) – Ferry Tayle & TonKs pres. Mirage
00:19:17 Never (H3rtz Bootleg Rework) – The Roc Project Feat. Tina Arena
00:24:02 Seven cities (V-one’s living cities mix) – Solar Stone
00:30:11 Ripsaw – Everlight
00:34:09 La Verità (Extended Mix) – Alex Merk & U-Mount
00:38:14 Catch Me (Aumak Extended Remix) – Ormus
00:42:57 Rise Again (Extended Mix) – Adam Lumina
00:46:02 Stresstest (John Askew Remix) – John O’callaghan
00:52:34 Adagio In G Minor (Extended Mix) – DIM3NSION

Anyway enjoy the mix on peertube either on my own mixgarden or on rankett at a lower quality.

Drift DJ alpha testing and mixing

I finally found sometime after working with the Drift Zero team, to install the latest alpha build. Things have been hectic for a while but one night I got some time to play.

It was great, although I didn’t really know all the buttons, so I was just working it out by pressing and playing. Its only today I seen the video explaining it all (although I should have spent more time on the discord group)

Drift DJ quick shot

Anyway with me feeling around, I was able to create a few mixes but found a problem where some of my tunes were cooked/garbled but I had no idea why. This is obviously the bug and should be fixed pretty soon.

Honestly the device is excellent and I’m looking forward to more time with it, especially now I know what the buttons should do and I can use the recorder. I have a flight to Berlin for Republica 2026 and a series of long trains to Amsterdam for PublicSpaces, so plenty of time to really play.

Being optimistic, I also entered a session into EMFCamp 2026 to potentially DJ live using the Zero or Pacemaker Device as a backup. Considered a DJ hackday at EMFCamp but decided maybe next time.

The shadow of concrete ruins mix

Its been a while since I created a mix on the Pacemaker device, but a recent trip to Budapest gave me some time to try out a few new tunes in a mix.

This mix is a real banger, with a lot of really great tunes alongside some classic ones to anchor the mix. Weirdly enough, the mp3 recorder ran out of battery just near the end and I had to recreate the last 3 tunes. Sadly the Pacemaker’s digital recorder isn’t reliable enough on the newer firmware’s so I use the recorder just in-case.

Hopefully soon I’ll be using the Drift DJ zero… Especially since I can now access the internal linux terminal.

Remember to turn it up loud, and I’ll upload the full quality version soon, the rankett peertube is always available.

00:00:00 – The Wolf (Extended Mix) – Fatum
00:04:24 – Turn it up (Extended mix) – Armin van Buuren
00:09:47 – Extortion (Extended Mix) – EverLight
00:14:32 – Panic room – David Forbes
00:18:00 – Energy Crash (Extended Mix) – Maarten de Jong
00:22:25 – Ripsaw – EverLight
00:26:27 – Killer instinct – Sneijder & Bryan Kearney
00:30:10 – Silver Bath (Glyn Waters Remake) – Plastic Boy
00:34:47 – Back 2 Again (Extended Mix) – Apaches
00:39:56 – Fragments – Nano Mechanic
00:43:24 – Sweet Little Girl (Voolgarizm Remix) – Mario Piu
00:47:26 – Exposed – MIKE pres Plastic Boy
00:51:52 – Bring back the techno (extended mix) – Orjan Nilsen, Mark Sixma, Nilsix
00:54:04 – Inferno – Carl Cox
59:13:10 – Leave a message – Will Atkinson

The past and the future of portable DJing in one shot

A Pacemaker device and the Drift Zero one sat next to each other on a table top. Both are turned on — The past and the future of portable DJing in one shot.

A post was recently share on the Drift DJ discord.
The pacemaker when djing went pocket sized and the world wasnt ready

Its a really good piece about the massive leap the Pacemaker device provided way back in 2008. In short the device was up against smartphones like the iphone. Smartphones turned everything down to software.

…the idea of carrying a dedicated device for DJing felt quaint when your phone could theoretically do the same thing via an app

Theres mentions of Tonium’s attempts with the Blackberry playbook, something I used and absolutely hated after my bad experience. Then the change to software, on the iOS platform with the first to have Spotify integration. But I do like the nod to the community and people like myself who modified their Pacemaker devices with a SSD, new battery and replacing the firmware with unofficial builds. I actually use one of the unofficial ones on one device and the last official one on another for live mixing and stability.

But best of all is the ambition of the Pacemaker device. Its what got me to buy my very first one back in 2007.

Looking back at the Pacemaker now, it feels like a glimpse of a future that never quite materialised. The device represented a genuine attempt to rethink DJing for a mobile-first world, to distil the essence of club culture into something genuinely portable without compromising on functionality. It had vision, ambition, and genuine innovation behind it. The execution was largely solid, the feature set comprehensive, and the user experience thoughtfully designed. In many ways, it was exactly what it promised to be: the world’s first truly portable professional DJ system.

For those who owned one, used one, or simply appreciated what it tried to do, the Pacemaker remains a fascinating piece of music technology history. It’s a reminder that sometimes the most interesting innovations aren’t the ones that achieve mainstream success but rather the ones that push boundaries, challenge assumptions, and show what’s possible when you’re willing to think differently about established conventions.

In the picture, I put the Pacemaker device next to the Drift DJ zero and suggest this could be everything the Pacemaker promised and very almost delivered on. Its clear portable DJ systems are incredible and provide all types of possibilities not realised. Maybe its time for a #DJhackday?

Drift Zero DJ, alpha testing

The Drift DJ Zero on top of a box with Ian written on it

I have been using the Pacemaker device for I believe 17 years now but I have been looking around for the next generation of DJ tools. It was Si who first sent me the Drift DJ zero and I was sold pretty much straight away.

Under a year later, I have have signed up as a alpha tester and today it came in the post from Chicago.

Its quite an incredible device, with the level of quality I expect will last even the most crazy DJ performances. Its small (its just a bit bigger a profile than my Pixel 9 pro, likely same size as the XL one) and its lighter than I expected, not pacemaker device light but easy to carry or host on a tray table on a train or plane. (Can’t wait to see the faces of KLM staff in the near future). All the buttons and nobs are solid and tactile in a way only another DJ would understand. The weighting and feedback is just right, while the screen is just delightful to see. Navigation is pretty intuitive as I haven’t looked at any documentation at all to date.

Drift DJ in the dark on a desk

As this is the alpha, its not got a lot of the features like DJing or library control but the testers have access to a git repo to upload updates via USB. Not played enough yet but I have been told I can SSH into the device for extreme levels of control. When the official build becomes available, I will also receive one for the testing my feedback; which I feel is a fantastic deal.

One thing is for clear, I really need to sort out my music library, because the Pacemaker editor was prehistoric and I never managed it.

Expect updates and who knows a mix or two in the near future…