I run an ambient/IDM weekly at a local coffeehouse (So Cal), and with
all the DJs who spin, myself included, the boundaries and definitions of
genres are much more fluid. The audience comes and goes, and dancing is
not really an issue (and illegal, actually, without a cabaret license),
so the music functions as both background music and fodder for
chin-stroking (my only criteria for curating the weekly is providing a
forum for music not usually appropriate for dance clubs). I usually
spin drone, beatless ambience, glitch, minimal spacerock (Labradford,
Boxhead Ensemble) and submerged dub for the first two hours (the hair
salon next door can't cope with the bass levels coming from my Cerwin
Vega cabinets), which allows a nice mellow transition for the next DJ,
who will branch off into heavier and louder beats once the hair salon
closes. All different types of "IDM" mentioned on this list is spun,
from minimal Chain Reaction stuff to funky hip hop electro DSP fuckery,
and even some crunchy drill-n-bass, and all of the DJs I book
incorporate IDM into their sets in many different ways. Beatmatching
joins EQ, layering, effects, scratching, pitchshifting, sampling, and
abrupt starts/stops as simply another tool in the toolbox. There is
even an element, during the late hours right before breakdown, of simply
playing a song and saying, "hey listen to this." (I think beatmatching
with IDM or downbeat is not always the way to go, especially when two
songs may line up rhythmically but clash in tone or feel or vibe.)
This melange fits perfectly with the vibe of the cafe scene here, and I
enjoy watching people nod their heads to the beat (and yes, sometimes
even move their bodies), shake their heads in puzzlement, turn their
heads in curiosity, or even keep their heads aloof with indifference.
The role of DJ is slightly tweaked, removing the mix from the context of
the dancefloor and its unending beat, or from the role of playing songs
on radio and internet. It is a much more open and freer forum for
showcasing new electronic music of many sorts (and older music woven in
and made to sound as fresh as when it was made -- Chowderhead spins a
lot of free jazz and musique concrete). It's a different animal, and I
think the audience, for the most part, appreciates it. We get our
trainspotters, b-boys asking when the hip hop will drop, knowing
chin-strokers, young women who flirt with the DJs (and men who take
notice when Miranda drops her flow, alas our only female DJ so far), and
those who have absolutely no idea what it is they are hearing, only that
they like it, or find it interesting, or even are unaware of its
subliminal effect and find themselves coming back the next week.
In short, much of the music discussed on this list finds a context
outside of the armchair devotee and into the unpredictable public
space. Labels lose their meaning, underground and mainstream meet in a
fertile interzone, and the music itself, mediated and stacked and
interpreted by the DJ, becomes alive.
G.
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