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Rating: To introduce this genius of our time, whom we are still awaiting reviews for on DeB, I propose this interview published in the book Clubspotting 3.0, edited by myself and Paolo Davoli (translated by Matteo Bittanti). PS: Actually, the questions are three, but they account for five.
Profile of DJ Spooky: A brilliant artist like few others. His name can be compared to acclaimed masters like Dj Shadow, Dj Krush, Coldcut. Abstractions, scratching, dub, drum'n'bass, hip hop: his futuristic approach has made him a superb remixer, from Luigi Russolo to Xenakis. On his album "Optometry," you can find the successful marriage between jazz and electronics; also listen to his mix CD "Under The Influence" where he cleverly combines Sonic Youth, State Of Bengal, and Sussan Deyhim. He has collaborated with musicians and composers like Iannis Xenakis, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Butch Morris, Kool Keith a.k.a. Doctor Octagon, Pierre Boulez, Killa Priest from Wu-Tang Clan, Steve Reich, Yoko Ono, and Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth. Among his most recent productions, his latest book Rhythm Science and the album Drums of Death with Dave Lombardo (Slayer), Chuck D. (Public Enemy), Vernon Reid (Living Color), Jack Dangers (Meat Beat Manifesto) are noteworthy.
1) After the explosion of electronic music to the general public, what do you think are the future developments for the electronic artist? Will they increasingly emancipate from the dance floor?
DJ Spooky: "Everything is connected. We artists must acknowledge that today kids have the same software, the same computers, and the same equipment. This, mind you, is very positive because it forces us to always be receptive, to question ourselves, to continuously update our style. There are far too many people out there who think they can get away with easy and boring DJ sets. I hope for greater variety in the future, in sounds and styles. The key word is 'creativity,' which means nothing more than truly reflecting on what you want to do. I believe that the new energy will come from multimedia, from visuals mixed by the DJ himself, not by third parties. The DJ of the future will control every aspect of sound and image. The 'dancefloor' is just one part of this process, the rest is 'ambient'.
2) The figure of the electronic artist - especially in their live dimension - increasingly embraces a type of extra-musical narrative (images, words, dance, etc.) and confronts spaces other than the 'dancefloor': sometimes they are venues with a strong social connotation (squares, museums, art galleries), sometimes with different subjective and narrative topos (theater, film, clips, animation, video games, etc.). What are the reasons that drive the artist to confront these spatial-temporal dimensions? And what are the deeper reasons for this new relationship?
DJ Spooky: Everything is interconnected. Today it is no longer possible to think of producing simple sounds. People hear sounds and 'think.' This is the most powerful thing about DJ'ing: making people dance and think. The museum is an integral part of this phenomenon, and the same goes for the art gallery. Everything will be connected to exploit the maximum potential of each medium: video games characterized by author soundtracks (the most recent example is 'Chaos Theory' by Amon Tobin, the soundtrack of the latest episode of Tom Clancy: Splinter Cell), video games with online components to facilitate human socialization processes (like Star Wars Galaxies by LucasArts, an example of MMORPG, or 'massively multiplayer online role-playing game') and more. More and more people will love this hybrid style and will start going to nightclubs, expecting to find the same things but in a party dimension. And my goal is to make people aware of the connections that exist between things, to make the process more dynamic and interactive. DJs should start directing films and commercials, creating advertising campaigns, and engaging in the design sector... And then there is always the 'artistic thing': remixes can be a form of sculpture, DNA, or architecture... Why not?
3) Time is the dimension of linear sound, followable, unfollowable; it is therefore a construction of sequences, returns, macro patterns evident, more physically exposed, more clearly and identifiably located.
DJ Spooky: There are no limits to how people consume music. I see it like this: you mix a CD and give it to a friend. He copies it and distributes it to friends. They put it online, add/remove files, and others start remixing it. Then more people download it from the net and remix it in turn. A continuous loop over which you have no control. But that's okay. This forces you to always be creative. It takes time to create new material; but time flows differently in nightclubs. It is dispersed. The same happens in mixes, files, internet sites, and list-servs of 'peer-to-peer' programs. People discover things and talk about them with others. And it's precisely this that allows culture to evolve.
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