spinning drum blog

Sunday’s revolutionist practice was more meeting than jam. All in agreement that while the four of us were present in one room, the real value would be to devote our time to talking about logisitics and structure. The first half of the session was a virtual revolutionist round table. We touched base on our days and schedules, we confirmed dates, venues, guest artists and even delved into future hopes and fears. By the time we hit the beat jam, we had a hip hop intro and a transition into breaks worked out. It was funny that it took two hours to get the first three tracks right. Four heads are probably better than one, but of course sometimes it also makes things a lot more complicated.

Hooked up between Tim’s dj booth and a technics laden coffee table, plugged into his mini-system, Revolutionist’s practice spin included a rap and a bit of scratch q & a between Tim and I. The last was brief but invigorating, and as our styles are so different it made me itch to do a call and response session. Rooted in hip hop, Tim’s scratch is heavier-handed and more drum based. Clear and well-executed, his scratches are more pared down than mine, which tend to be speedily executed on my fingertips and quickly go down high-toned execurisons for better or worse. Having said that, there is a distinctly melodic sensibility to my scratch that comes from jamming along to all styles of music from klezmar to cajun, d&b to techno, with admitedly only a brief stop at hip hop in between. For the last, while not my forte, I offer the ultimate respect for where it all began.

What has always fascinated me about turntablists, and I suppose it goes for any instrumentalist, is each has their own unique way of playing. However, within turntablism, based on manipulation of a non-traditonal instrument, this aspect is amplified by a skys the limit mentality that thrives with no school, almost no written music and virtually no one to tell you what you can and cannot do on the tables. If some one tries the later, you have every right to tell them to go get lost in some sheet music! It really is up to you to determine what you can throwdown and say sounds cool. The scratch after all was an accident. And so it might be said for many great inventions. But the word play in conjunction with the turntables has a very direct meaning to the tablist. Djaying at its best is a free style adventure where the emotive aspect is front and centre, and the individuality of the player as well as their grasp of risk is what truly serves the art.

Having said that, mimicry besides being a great ode to its subject is also a serious skilz enhancer. Everytime I jam with another scratcher my skilz improve. Sometimes it’s just a skip across my present musical plateau; other times it’s a leap and bound into new musical territory. Revolutionists, a virtual vinyl-sided call and response, is in itself a goldmine for skilz cultivation. I think all of us are pushed as we attempt to come together as a unified in-tune and in-time force. For Revolutionists, two step beyond the tag, four/four on the floor will never have the same meaning again.

Well, I’ve enter the web blog world. Website is up. Links and articles are coming, and at this point I feel as if I’ve made html leaps and bounds into the digital hinterland. Nothing like managing a website to show you what’s what on the world wide web.

My aim is to set-up the blog as an exploratoy tool for understanding the relationship between practice, process and performance. While journalistic style articles can be found on my site www.spinningdrum.com, this blog is a free write tool – part diary, part practice log, part thesis and part digital art.

Communicating into the digital ether, I hope to offer a little example and a dash of theory to those who visist. In sh’allah there is a little something for everyone here…