Ethnicity, culture, and life experiences are the primary components that shape & mold my musical art form. My father happens to be of African/Native American descent while my mother is Filipino/Chinese; a mish-mash of distinct cultures. In spite of these differences they share many similarities when it comes to music. Rather than go down a long list citing specific analogies, I’ll concentrate my focus toward musical aspects.
The composition titled ‘Amerikkka’ is fused with rhythms from Africa & influences from Asia intertwined with elements of Jazz, Blues & Gospel. These musical influences are genetically encoded within my DNA as are my physiological traits and personality characteristics! The use of percussion instruments (i.e. cowbells, a go go, woodblocks banging away at excessively high volumes) was deliberately done to create tension and stress throughout the song. As many of you already are aware, disparities still run prevalent in America between the rich & poor and many of the ethnic minority groups that are all viable components of America. Yes, it’s true that in 2009 we elected our first “Black President” of the United States, however, that event didn’t transform America into a colorblind society overnight!
On March 3rd 1991 Rodney King, an unarmed black man, was arrested for alluding police officers during a high speed chase along Los Angeles freeways. After finally being stopped and forced out of his car for what was supposed to be a routine traffic violation, the situation quickly escalated into a brutal savage beating by LA’s finest. This event sent anger and shockwaves across Black America. In New York I vividly recollect being let out early from work that day as management was worried for our safety in the event that riots were going to ensue, especially upon news that LA was being torched and pillaged by angry black mobs! This didn’t happen! Despite passage of Civil Rights Legislation the struggle continues! This tragic & shameful event gave me the inspiration to write the music and lyrics for ‘Amerikkka’: Amerikkka home of the brave land of the free, Amerikkka Mista Jim Crow steady holdin’ onto me.
The remaining 4 songs selected are all original compositions. I owe a great deal of gratitude and appreciation to Desmond Deis, and Jeffrey Young for contributing their musical talents and abilities on several of these tracks utilizing Texture Music Composition Software. Audiophiles please bear in mind that these songs were recorded on a 4-track cassette Tascam Portastudio back circa 1986-92 in a studio apartment in NYC so the sound quality is somewhat compromised. It will be immediately noticeable as soon as you open the music files. Again, this music was composed pre-digital age (wav/aiff/mp3 files) which is the high fidelity standard for today’s music. Some of you may have a difficult time sitting through an analog song converted to a low-fidelity mp3, file but if you would kindly indulge me and try to focus your concentration more on the musicality rather than the low-fidelity you just might be able to enjoy the music!
One last acknowledgement, I would like extend a tremendous amount of gratitude and thanks to Benjamin Brunnwho, by the way, is an incredibly gifted musician and composer! He is primarily responsible for encouraging me to share my music with you! These tracks were sitting in a box on a closet shelf for over 15 years until just a month ago when I started an email correspondence with Benjamin via Sound Cloud! Last December, I gathered up my courage and reluctantly sent him a song in low fidelity mp3 format to get his feedback. After not getting a response for several days I was convinced that he wasn’t going to bother with a novice like me. Besides, why would he care about an unknown artist? Well to my disbelief and surprise I got a reply which excited and shocked me at the same time! He was diplomatic, kind and encouraging which I didn’t expect from an accomplished musician of his caliber! Were it not for his patience, kindness and constant positive reinforcement I don’t believe I would be here now sharing this music with you. Benjamin Brunn: a BIG THANK YOU! Tobias, thank you too! Also, I would like to thank Rayna deNiord for giving me this opportunity to participate in Modyfier’s Process Series. A BIG THANKS to you too!
First of all, it's an honour to be here (take a look at the impressive list on the right). When I was invited to participate in the Process Series, I did ask myself, “What should I do?” I'm a DJ, but I consider myself a collector even more. This allows my tastes to go further than what I get to play, most of the time, in front of a dancing crowd. I was confident that I could do whatever style I wanted to here on Modyfier. This made the answer to the question of, “What should I do?” even more difficult.
It's been a long time since I recorded a Dubstep set and longer than that since I recorded an IDM set. I also realized I had never attempted a Cosmic/Balearic set before even though I collect all this stuff. Yet in the end, in the moment I made this recording, I felt most like playing some Dubby Techno. This is, by the way, the first set I have ever recorded in the morning. Not at an afterparty, but on a Wednesday morning, before going to work. I couldn't sleep anymore anyway, so I decided to attack the day (and my sleeping neighbours?) with some dubbed out beats.
This mix was recorded with 2 Technics turntables, my (t)rusty old Rodec mixer and a bunch of vinyl. There's no big story behind the track selection, just all tracks that I love. I think I could easily do a twenty hour mix of only dub techno, so of course this mix does not intend to be any 'definitive collection', just the tracks of the moment...I hope you enjoy it.
I’ve spent the most of the last 2 months trying to explain myself to people. That’s the problem with doing an album: with singles, people tend to assume it’s a mindless dancefloor exercise but as soon as you make a long player, you need a vision or they suspect that this supposed artist isn’t quite deserving of the title. The problem with musical visions is that even if you’re lucky enough to have one, they’re not always the easiest to articulate. Hazards litter the road, from pitfalls of prog rock concept pompousness to narcotic-fuelled free jazz insanity, and it can seem impossible to pick a coherent route between being perceived as a psychedelic flower-arranging communist to an over-analysing under-qualified academic.
Having swatted away questions about my opaquely-titled first album, the actual meaning of which not being something I had any interest in discussing in public, I made the decision early on that I wouldn’t lay any verbal traps for myself with this record. The title pretty straightforwardly refers to the three musical inputs that went into the writing process, one of which wasn’t there at all when I sat down to what I hoped would be, at most, a six-month process last January. The fact that I didn’t send the album to mastering until December was partly due to my own convoluted work flow but also thanks to the discovery of the third input, the series of Autonomic podcasts by DBridge and Instra:mental.
Admitting influence from something contemporary can be problematic, of course. The obvious one is the assumption that “influence” really means ripping off. There are countless examples of that, including the pertinent example of the invasion of Dubstep by producers of bad music from other genres, and it’s pretty easy to spot it happening. But the main thing that struck me with Autonomic wasn’t something entirely tangible, it was more of an attitude than anything stylistic that could be directly copied. It was a real sense of freedom which came through most nakedly in the influences sections of each podcast, but was also very much present in the mixes of new material that were the main point to the whole exercise.
Of course there was also the fact that something new and interesting was being done with what was ostensibly drum n bass. Having been heavily into that whole thing in the mid-late 90s, when nights like Innovation still had a little bit of that original rave atmosphere to them, the obvious creative cul-de-sac of the last few years has been depressing for me and led a lot more people to give up on it entirely. The notion of 170bpm slow jams, the polar opposite of the latter-day dnb kick/snare quest, was almost perverse and yet seemed to make perfect sense. Interestingly, it was partly the influence of another contemporary trend that led the authors of Autonomic down that path in the first place. DBridge has talked about how the attitude of the earlier Dubstep scene reminded him about why he started making music in the first place, not so much in a stylistic way but more in the approach to making music – regaining the freedom to discard the rules and constraints that can be so suffocating when making club music.
One stylistic element of Autonomic that did resonate with me was the use of melody. I had a conversation with DBridge midway through the year after being completely blown away by a track which turned out to be one of his. It sounded like something from the soundtrack to a movie starring Cory Feldman in 1985, and I said to him: “I’ve always wanted to make music like this but I’ve never had the balls to do it”. This track is partly a reaction to that conversation. I always find it difficult to talk about specific bits of my output, but this is the continuation of something that has been in my music since I first started writing when I was a teenager, but has never really been able to come out much in my releases. There are traces of it in an early Scuba track, Harpoon, and also in a track on the first album, From Within. But it’s very disguised in even those tracks. Fundamentally, it’s the idea that melody isn’t something that needs to be hidden, which is quite ironic since I’m currently in danger of being typecast as being a techno obsessive, something which wouldn’t always be associated with melodic freedom.
But in fact, restraint is actually one of the most important factors in creating anything. Knowing when to stop is crucial, whether it’s when you find yourself thinking more about compressing the kick drum than the whole atmosphere of the track or when that atmosphere has rendered any possibility of encouraging the listener to dance impossible. Then again, without experimentation it’s hard to learn anything at all.
This mix was an idea I had, a means to express, and to investigate my own feelings, and the feelings of others through music.
A male created counterpart was intended in the original concept, but who is to say he will ever finish his mix, or name it Juliet. His stories, as well as my own motivated and inspired the creation of this mix. He also partnered with me on the remix of An On Bast's 'Upon The Dew Drops' featured in the mix.
Each track was chosen for a specific reason, to convey a certain feeling, or tell a story, and they were chosen for the words, the sounds, and the titles. My intention was to express the feelings I've had through music, as they relate to love, relationship, friendship, and romance. I wanted to explore the diverse palette of human emotions felt in the experience of interaction.
The first track on the mix is entitled 'Why'. The moment I heard the track I knew I would introduce the mix with it. It had a deep sound that pulled at me, and it asked the question I think we all ask, at one time or another. One I have asked myself many times, especially recently. What is the answer, if one even exists for us? Can we just make it up ourselves, or do we rely on something deeper, an unseen source to provide it?
I consciously create my mixes, I always have a story I want to tell with them. I make mixes to work out my own inner turmoils, knowings, and secrets. It is a selfish act, with an unselfish aspect; that I hope it brings people some joy, peace, satisfaction, and that is causes them to feel, to understand, to expand. Music is felt. It relates to something in us, that isn't as commonplace (vision isn't really commonplace) as our everyday visual experience, which is one we often don't have much control over. Music is intended emotion.
As a multi-genre kind of women, Dubstep was calling. Coming from a 2-Step and Garage background, it was about time I made a Dubstep mix. A genre Iv worked with before in production, but have never made a mix of. If there is any message, let it be to be conscious, to be careful with each other. To realize the impact your words and actions have on others, because all of us, no matter how little we think of it, impact those people we come into contact with. Observe the shadows, and the light you leave behind.
01. Why – Original Mix – Myrkur 02. Lost For Words – Synkro 03. My Own World – Synkro 04. Upon The Dew Drops – An On Bast – Inanna and Chris Ward Remix 05. Cosmo – J:Kenzo 06. Closer – A Made Up Sound 07. Separation - Spherix, Sigha 08. Milk – Dub & Run 09. Cocaine – Afghan Headspin – Gella’s Drifting mix 10. Fading – Indigo 11. Relapse - Shortstuff 12. I Need to Know - Radian 13. Reminissin’ – Geiomix – Geiom 14. Reasonz – DJ Madd 15. Glazed – Brackles 16. Heartbreaker – Deadboy 17. Nouvelle Histoire – Von D 18. Watching You – Instra:mental
When I record a set I usually just let it roll (or at least I try to). It can be hard to find a way to admit to myself that that I´m all alone at home and it ain´t a club…no matter how many shots I drink or how loud I put the speakers on or how fast my neighbour switches the room lights on and off pretending to be a living strobe.
So, as always, I start 10 - 17 times and then just promise myself that tomorrow will be a better day. It´s quiet strange how much different it is for me (and for most of the dj´s I know) to record a set at home.Everyone complains, “the atmosphere is missing.” I try to get around this by putting a digital-picture-frame in front of where I dj showing drunken people dancing. In an attempt to make the atmosphere perfect, I ask friends to come around frequently and ask stupid question while I mix like:
"Hey , can you play something faster?" "Hey dude, I like your style but can you please play something nice??" "Can you play this tune where that guys always says - hmmm. hmm, dup, di , sharam dam dam???"
But, unfortunately, even this doesn’t help me to find the right mood. Instead, I decide to do something that I don’t often do: make a digital mix with a bunch of tunes that I just really love and don´t have the chance to play at parties, at least not very often. As a result, this is not a regular dj mix for me, but more of an influences mix. It’s a journey from electronica to indie rock and features tracks that have given me some amazing moments, which are part of the reason why I do music at all. The kind of moments where all your senses seem to be lost in someone else’s mind and you get the chills and can´t help yourself to just play it over and over again. Some of the tracks on this mix I rediscovered in my stash and was surprised to find that even though I had heard some of them a thousand times, years ago, that they still have something special that makes me feel alive.
01. Philip Glass - Kneeplay 1 (Einstein on the Beach) 02. Autechre - Clipper 03. Depeche Mode - Lie to Me (Remix) 04. Martyn - Seventy Four 05. Radiohead - Up on the Ladder 06. The XX - Heart Skipped the Beat 07. Boards of Canada - Oirectime 08. Home Video - Gas Tank (Sasha Onvol2ver Remix) 09. Julian Plenti - Skyskrapper 10. Son Lux - Break 11. Jesu - Wash It All Away 12. D-Bridge - Wonder Where 13. Lomax - Too Real 14. The Knife - Heartbeats (Live) 15. Beak> - The Cornubia 16. The Stone Roses - I wanna Be Adored 17. Animal Collective - My Girls 18. Lykke Li - Knocked Up (Kings of Leon Cover) 19. Kadebostan - Vodka Wedding 20. Frank C. Jackson - I Want To Be Alone
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