spinning drum blog

I keep a large notepad and pen beside my turntables when I practice, just in case I find I am actually capable of prying myself from the decks long enough to write down any of the rhythm activated insights that spin through my head while playing. At the time theses thoughts seem bedecked with inspiration, spun out from the little sparks of creative impulse flying around in my brain. When I jot them down, I see them as potential starting points of which to expand upon later in my blog or in an article. While, as I mentioned before, thinking, analytically anyway, is a bit of a verboten occupation for me when playing, those eureka moments do come, even in moments of blankness (in fact perhaps they come even more so) Anyway, at times like this, my writer side demands I purge my brain on this 8×11 yellow pad.

Now over time this pad has grown in pages of little antecedents and one sentence wonders of which I have, indeed, harvested some for the blog, but a few are still owed expansion at a later time. Well that time is still later, and is definitely not today. What I do offer today is a little clear- up. In my effort to retire the over crowded pages to the recycle bin and enjoy the new year with a blank pad, signifying the ubiquitous clean slate in my mind, I have decided to give these groove rooted words a few archived pixels.

Here’s last week’s entries, in no particular order.

In music there are principles but not rules!

Playing an instrument allows you to really truly understand economy of motion

Doing anything on a repeated basis begets virtuosity, don’t perfect bad habits.

For a dj half the battle is selection, but it is entirely dependent upon context and placement; with the lean record bag still the goal, one must learn to be able to interpret a song in a multitude of ways.

(oh and this one from yesterday)
Most of the time I don’t know what I’m doing. The instrument or perhaps rhythm itself is still in the lead – as enigmatic as the first day we met. I am only a receptor – open channel- it seems the clearer I become, the simpler the instrument becomes and the more complex things I am able to do..

The chirp is an essential scratch to master – no question!

turntable daze
andabeat

I keep a large notepad and pen beside my turntables when I practice, just in case I find I am actually capable of prying myself from the decks long enough to write down any of the rhythm activated insights that spin through my head while playing. At the time theses thoughts seem bedecked with inspiration, spun out from the little sparks of creative impulse flying around in my brain. When I jot them down, I see them as potential starting points of which to expand upon later in my blog or in an article. While, as I mentioned before, thinking is a bit of a verboten occupation for me when playing, those eureka moments do come, even in moments of blankness (in fact perhaps they come even more so), and at times like this, my writer side demands I purge my brain on this 8 x 11 yellow pad.

Now over time this pad has grown in pages of little antedotes and one sentence wonders of which I have indeed harvested a few over time for the blog, but a few black waxened words of wisom are still a drift on the pad and owed expansion or atleast explanation at a later time. Well that time is still later – definitely not today. What I can offer today is a little clear- up. In my effort to retire the over-crowded pages to the recycle bin and enjoy the new year with a blank pad – the unbiquottous clean slate in my own mind – I’ve decided to give these groove born thoughts a few archived pixels and store them on my blog

Here’s last weeks entries, in no particular order.

In music there are principles but not rules!

Playing an instrument allows you to really understand economy of motion

Doing anything on a repeated basis begets virtuosity, don’t perfect bad habits.

For a dj half the battle is selection, but it is entirely dependent on context and placement; with the lean record bag still the goal, one must learn to be able to interpret a song in a multitude of ways.

(oh and this one from yesterday)
Most of the time I don’t now what I’m doing. The instrument or perhaps rhythm itself is still in the lead – as enigmatic as the first day we met. I am only a receptor – open channel- it seems the clearer I become, the simpler the instrument becomes and the more complex things I am able to do..

The chirp is an essential scratch to master, no question!

Turntable daze andabeat

Well, this December the blog has been left adrift. I have been spending all my time building nexialist.org and tweaking the spinningdrum. Major improvements on both sites, and I’m happy to say the interview section in spinningdrum is filling out. While I am the worlds lousiest transcriptionist, I do manage to translate an hours worth of dialogue, mostly monologoue, into a decent q&a, and I truly enjoy listening to each artist discuss their process in and perceptions of the electronic music world. I quite like the old question and answer format because it allows, the subject to speak for her or himself. There is only the question then the answer, and while of course every piece is written through the writer’s filter, even a q&a , it has the most chance of being the closest to a truthful account of what really went down between interviewer and interviewee.

Another drum dialogue interview is up. This one is with local favorite Jacob Cino, the man behind Third Eye Tribe. I remember seeing Third Eye Tribe maybe 6 or 7 years ago at Sungoma Arts Centre and being blow away by the solid groove and exceptional talent of each member. There were three at that time, a kit drummer, vocalist and Jacob, on an assortmant of gear. I don’t think I can fully recall what he was playing, but I do recall him mcing. Excited to discover new and local talent, I was eager to take Third Eye in again, and when I finally caught a second show, the configuration was entirely different. No vocalist, but a female mc, a violinist, and no kit drummer. There were new sounds, though the thick bass remained the same, and the crowd, just like the first time I saw Third Eye, loved them. When I saw them play again this time it was Jacob and the violinist, Kytami, and entirely different tracks. The bass rolled out as thick as ever, and the crowd per ususal packed the dancefloor ecstatic over the soaring strings and thunderous bass.

I was happy to find Wub- Suffer (Third Eye’s second release) in Vancouver and it soon entered solid rotation on my cd player, and while by this time you could call me a Third Eye fan, in all honesty, I would never be able to tell you what exactly they were going to play at a show. I definitely could never count on hearing any of my cd favorites at a show, because you just never knew exactly what you were going to get. Maybe some dancehall, a little bit of techno, some hip hop, a bit of breaks and with a splash of celtic and asian sounds throw in. No complaints from the dancefloor though because the Third Eye groove remained continuous and the bass never failed to throb.

The interview, which took place following the Commercial Drive Festival last June, was unplanned but a fortunate privilege. Talking with Jacob about life as an independent as well as his musical roots and unique approach to electronica, I found him to be a fearless fusionist and another electronica adventurer who never underestimates nor takes for granted his audience.

One day I would like to talk more about his involvement in modern dance both as a performer and musical accommpanist, and see how it informs his production and perception as a music producer.

The music on the web links pages have been up-dated in a more random fashion, but there are quite a few more entries, especially in the practice session. I came across a woman, Jamie Andreas, who it would seem is as obsessed with the guitar as I am the turntable. Her books about the The Principles of Correct Practice apparently is a musician’s must haves. Even though she is referencing the guitar, from the essays of hers I’ve read, I feel her advice carries over to any instrument. For that matter it is an approach to study and mastery that would probably translate to all disicplines. I really liked what she has to say about the role of teacher as a vessel of empowerment for the student, and I quite admire her matter of-fact committment to her instrument and confidence in her approach to writing and playing music.

In one essay she discusses the concept of “natural talent.” It’s a concept that I have pondered over a fair bit, and interestingly she comes to the same conclusion. Ultimately it has very little to do with your success as a musician. Mastery, she notes, is more dependent on perseverance and perspiration. She’s definitely a good read to get you motivated and her web site offers and impressive amount of good content.

Speaking of practice, mine has been on and off. Down to an hour a day this week (feels like strictly maintenance), as web work has me on the other side of my sound desk for the moment. I feel eager to meet my January 1st deadlines, and take on the new year with a clean plate. Also free myself to practice unabashadly without this weight of unfinished work.

Next week is Intention 7, the five day retreat at Camp Elphistone. This is my annual much needed refresh with my community and peers. It’s a time to relax and grow while one learns and networks with like-minds. It is a key event that allows many of us in the arts and activistism scene to solidfy our ties through intentional community and culture building.

I’ll be doing a sunrise set with Dj Bad called “Dawn of the Dub” and will be playing ambient rhythms Temple Night the evening of the 1st.

Before all that I will be in Victoria for xmas with my family, and see that as one of the few opportunities to chill. Which reminds me I better get ready as I have one day left before the holiday train gathers enough speed to deposit me there.