__home __new __what __who __what.was __what.will.be __21/22 corp __(23) __ele_ment __think
|
E L E _ M E N T A L
|
||
 |
ele_mental exists as a loose, undefined affiliation between a group of creative, technologically-oriented individuals centered in columbus, ohio. ele_mental grew out of several friendships built from late 1991 to the present, with the proposition of injecting basic, artistic elements into our local electronic dance music culture. our project officially began with an event entitled ELE MENTAL on saturday 18 may 1993, which also gave us our name (the space in the word, later to become a dash or underscore, was an arbirtary move that highlighted the _mental_ aspect of our mission). our logo, a representation of the hydrogen atom, was first used on 17 august 1995, to promote the first ele_ment concert event called (H): HYDROGEN. over the years, the atom has come to symbolize our back-to-basics approach, and our attempt to combine disparate elements in new ways. over the last 5 years, we have frequently tried to bring technology, art, experimentalism, diversity, history, and education into the party and dance music cultures we grew up in. at the same time, we have tried to reach out to wider audiences, mediating between underground and mainstream cultures to provide an opening for listeners or performers who seek to understand electronic forms. various tactics have been employed under the ele_mental name. our most visible project has been the coordination of a wide variety of electronic dance music events: from cafe gatherings, to gallery openings, to experimental house parties, club events, and warehouse-style raves. as a promotional entity, ele_mental has come to represent a certain kind of event that usually emphasizes live performances, abstraction, minimalism, and experimentalism. every effort has been made to keep most of these events simple, affordable, exploratory, and fun. as a cru of performers and DJs, ele_mental represents a similar unity. our performance fees are always low, determined by the nature of the event. the music we play leans towards the abstract, minimal, and experimental, without forgetting that dance music is intended to make people dance. most of us feel a certain obligation to our audiences, not only to keep them dancing, but also to convey the depth of electronic music (and its history), and the depth of our involvement in it. finally, we are well-known for our willingness to perform live, and to test the boundaries of what is expected. ele_mental has also existed as a resource for electronic musicians, providing each other with feedback, advice, technical support, and opportunites to contribute music. this collaborative and helpful atmosphere has resulted in several local electronic music releases, most notably those of our parallel project, the 21/22 corporation. as a conceptual entity, ele_mental has also promoted a deeper undestanding of electronic and experimental music history, as evidenced by eluna's ongoing project entitled think. in a wider sense, ele_mental is simply what we all do as individuals, unified by our mutual optimism about the growth and development of technology in our daily lives; taking the best of the new, while re-using the old. this website is a manifestation of this simple idea, and an incomplete documentation of our activites thus far. | |
|
__what-index
__what we are
__what has made us
__what is here
|