If you’re into electronica, you’ve likely grabbed some sets from your favorite DJs. And while DJ sets are a great way to get fresh content from some of your favorite artists, they all suffer from one annoying drawback: a set is usually a single file devoid of any track information. What’s more, it’s usually a huge file spanning one or more hours. As such, listening to these cutting-edge digital sets becomes, ironically, a very traditional linear experience akin to listening to the radio. You don’t know what you’re listening to or what’s coming next.
Mugasha, a new service focused on the world of electronic music, hopes to improve that listening experience by taking those long sets and parsing them into something you can use.
Unlike the bevy of Web-based music sites that simply replay existing content, Mugasha actually improves listeners’ access to DJ sets by splitting them into individual tracks. Using the service, listeners gain access to the exact same content, only now it contains track listings, artist information, the ability to jump around the set as they would like, and – if something strikes their fancy – the option to purchase a particular track.
Compared to how we’re accessing DJ sets today, it’s a leap from that linear radio format to the modern user-controlled listening experience to which we’ve all become accustomed. And it’s provided in an interface that is intuitive and aesthetically pleasing.
Mugasha was originally conceived and prototyped during Portland Startup Weekend in May 2008. After several months of development and testing, it’s been made available to a limited number of users.
If you’re interested in more about the thinking behind the service, you can listen to co-founder Akshay Dodeja describe the service to Robert Scoble during an interview conducted last year.
For all the upside to Mugasha, however, there is still one drawback to the young service: a limited number of sets and genres. So, it’s likely that some of your favorite artists aren’t yet available on Mugasha. That said, the collection continues to grow. In fact, the service just added a new series of Trance sets. And there is the promise of new sets being added on a regular basis.
Even with the limited selection, there’s still days and days worth of music available to test the service and get a feel for what Mugasha delivers. No matter what your preferred genre, we’re sure you’ll find the service a compelling addition to your available musical resources – especially if you’ve been among those listeners dealing with hours of cryptic sets.
But why take our word for it? If you’re interested in listening to some of Mugasha’s current sets, we’ve got some good news: ReadWriteWeb has been allocated 500 invites for the private beta that will get you behind the velvet rope.
The invites are first come, first served. When they’re gone, they’re gone. Simply enter the beta code “RWW” at sign up and start making some sense of the latest DJ sets.
