back-words... a manifesto, of sorts...

Friday, April 13, 2007
a manifesto, of sorts...
this evening, i watched a documentary about a musical instrument, the theremin. it wasnt the best produced documentary in the world, but it was emotionally powerful in several places and i would recommend it to anyone interested in culture, music, or the roots of edm. its called theremin: an electronic odyssey.

it struck some pretty deep chords within me. it helped put a few things together to make greater sense than what had before. it also made me reflective of myself and of my craft...

the theremin was the first electronic instrument, well before the moog. and yet it has paved paths that couldnt even have been dreamt of back then. it faced a lot of criticism and unacceptance as a musical instrument by a large part of the musical community. and yet it has done so much for us and been lovingly integrated into so much of our culture from concerts to movies to chart topping musical compositions. it has even been used in chart topping wonders by mastermind groups in the edm industry. tell me you still doubt and refuse the validity of this instrument...

people were dreaming of using electricity, which at the time powered lights, mechanisms, and radios (which were just barely coming into existence). people wanted to do something more creative and productive with it. they wanted to turn electricity into a musical instrument. that is truly a dream, if ever there were any...

over half a century later, there is still criticism and disbelief over concepts and applications within the music community. some say (edm) djs are not musicians, but merely personified jukeboxes. "oh all they do is play songs." "they dont create anything." dont they?

are they just playing songs? dont djs create lush soundscapes for listeners to find contemplation, release, and escape, among other things? i think they do far more than for which they are given credit. djs beatmatch, fade, blend, cut, scratch, filter, harmonize, sample, add processed effects, add miscellaneous sounds and instruments, and more to their work. yes, i said their work, which is bringing me to another concept that i will discuss shortly. in essence, djs quite often are acting as a producer might when they perform. djs do this in the studio and on the fly when they perform live. they have to have all this timed well in their heads, keyed out just right, and have a creative selection going so that there is a natural and logical flow from one song to the next so that the listener might might the experience more meaningful, as if a story were being told. i submit that the dj is an artist painting a sonic collage, that every composition is carefully woven in sonic textures to stimulate an effect upon the listener. i submit that the tracks the dj uses to create this collage are not merely songs, but instruments, in themselves.

myriads refused to accept the theremin as a legitimate music instrument, but it was, and still is. electricity has allowed us to evolve with lightning speed through time to do amazing things with sound electronically. is it possible a song could be used as an instrument -- a single-keyed/strung instrument that occurs only once or possibly more times -- in a composition? i think so. back when the theremin was invented and played before audiences, a cello of sorts was also making debut appearances. it was even called a cello. it was played similarly to the theremin and it also had only one key, or string, that played various notes. i submit todays edm dj does much the same thing with a song as an instrument. a dj controls the pitch, the key in which it is played, how much of it is sampled or played, and how loud it is played, not to mention what other sounds may overlap it while it is played. these tactics manipulate the song to better suit the dj's needs during the performance.

why does a dj choose a song? because the dj loves that song and wants to share it with the listeners. because the dj wants to honor that love and publicly demonstrate that recognition, not to disregard nor disrespect the maker of the song or the song, itself. the dj wants the audience to know and love the song and music that is being played as much as the dj loves it. the dj wants the audience to recognize the group that made that song. the dj is not selfish and does not declare all that one hears to be solely of the dj's own creation. the dj admits who the tracks are created by. the dj is simply being a collage artist, sharing what he or she loves with the audience in hopes that they will love it, too.

other art has met serious criticism and nonacceptance, one can easily think of several artists and works that may seem dubiously labeled as art. a white canvas with a red dot in the corner, paint thrown on a canvas haphazardly, miscellaneous media ambivalently added to compositions, the list goes on. even sculptures have befallen the same fate. djs are accused of using other people's songs in their work, yet artists are not equally challenged when they use something recognizable and often copyrighted that isnt theirs in their work, so why should it be any different for djs in the (edm) industry? in some ways, it isnt; they are artists, too, and they are also facing criticism and disapproval from members of their community. perhaps it is a dream that came to fruition before people were prepared for it. perhaps the world will never be ready to accept such a concept...

i have always had a love of music and i always will. loving music and playing music has run in my family for several generations. a dj inspired me to become a dj because i wanted to do for others what he had done for me. the things i had accomplished musically in my past suddenly made even more sense when this epiphany came to light. i wanted to become a dj and a producer. that desire has become a reality for me and i will continue to pursue this path, wherever it may lead. i have strayed away from music in the past and music has always brought me back to where i am with these vary beliefs. this is my sickness and my cure. i am an edm dj and producer who constantly pushes the envelope and challenges the boundaries of what limits were previously conceived to be, for there are no limits. i am a musician and this is my manifesto. music cradles my soul and it always will...