From eluna@coil.com
Date: Thu, 5 Sep 1996 07:51:26 -0400 (EDT)
From: eluna <eluna@coil.com>
To: mwraves <mw-raves@taz.hyperreal.com>
Subject: garnier as "best dj" + thoughts

> On Wed, 4 Sep 1996, Davis Bassan wrote:

> He does not put out mixed tapes...he has not done that in the last 12
> years and I don't think it will change any time soon....but yes he is
> the best dj in the world...to bad some people can't appreciate talent
> French E

this pretty much sums up one of my main problems with the so-called 
"rave" scene.  garnier is a top-notch dj, to be sure, but the response 
above remains unsubstantiated and highly subjective.  

for those of you who dont know, garnier's approach towards spinning
consists of very long, overlapping mixes and a slow, almost organic
building of sounds throughout his 4-hrs-or-more marathon dj sets. this
durational aesthetic is pretty engaging to dance to, especially over long
periods of time (he's "the master builder" in a sense), and the music he
plays is often the kind of thing i like a lot (hardtrance with weird
sounds)...but this style is only one approach among many.  there's a lot
of other ways of manipulating the sounds from records (or CDs), not just
the garnier style and the "smooth school" of mixing that he represents. 

for example, he does very few "tricks" with the records themselves; he
pretty much just cues them and slides each track in smoothly.  mixer
tricks are also minimal, although he occasionally cuts over from track to
track on the beat, and fiddles with the equalizer subtly.  maybe this lack
of tricks is a virtue; i'm sure some people hate when djs try to show off
and do weird shit, but in my eyes there's a lot more to explore.  so to
say garnier's the "best dj in the world"  needs a hell of a lot of
qualifying in my book.  best "smooth" dj, surely.  best dj?  never.  what
the hell does "best" mean? 

along these lines, i'm noticing a disturbing trend among midwest djs, in
that almost anyone who can match a beat is suddenly on the tables at
parties and getting their names on flyers.  i'm not trying to discourage
anyone from spinning (quite the contrary)...there is obviously the whole
DIY side of things, but there's only room for so many djs in the world,
and too many of these new people bring with them little or no sensitivity
towards the art of dj-ing ...so a lot of the finer points of what i would
call "being a good dj" get lost in the rush to be the next "big name" (or
even medium-sized name). 

in my way of thinking, the dj is an artist, a "sound sculptor" in the
great tradition of all instrumental musicians (from the piano to the
gamelan).  the only difference is that instead of using an instrument
which is limited in its sound possibilities, in the case of the dj, the
performer has almost unlimited sounds to work with, by taking pre-recorded
material and making something new out of it.  sometimes (most of the time,
probably), these sounds are presented in a situation that requires them to
entertain people or make them dance, but that's only one side of it.  just
like with the older instruments, the sounds obtained from the use of the
turntable (or CD mixer, sometimes) are the result of the performer's
approach towards playing it...and limited by the technical apparatus
itself.  just as a violin or a japanese flute will sound different
depending on the intentions and artistic mindset (ineptitude, mastery,
culture, etc) of each player, so too will the results from turntables
sound different with every individual.  or at least that's how it ought to
be... 

the point is, dj-ing is capable of amazing levels of artistry which seem
to be sorely lacking in the aspirations of most of today's dj crop.  maybe
it'll come in time, but given the mindset of most of the new djs, which
seem to be concerned more with their own recognition, i'm not encouraged. 

some of the few djs that seem well-aware of this creative aspect to
spinning are the now-roomless ambient djs.  almost everyone who creates
those kinds of atmospheres has a definite sensitivity towards sculpting
sound, whether they can beatmix in the traditional sense or not.  but the
"beat djs" probably see this lack of beatmixing ability as a crucial flaw,
almost unforgivable.  that's a load of hooey, of course, and the truth
lies somewhere between those who are only concerned with beatmixing and
those who are only concerned with atmosphere.  but it is just one example
of how the new boys (and yes they're 99% boys) have made dj-ing less of an
art and more of a personal conquest or competition or something like that. 

in art, there's an almost infinite array of options in the making of art
objects, from all the -isms (impressionism, surrealism, post-modernism,
etc) to the deeply personal and ahistoric approaches towards art which
allow for an infinite variety of results.  what i'm hearing in midwest djs
is a curious lack of personality, lack of deliberate intention, and lack
of artistic vision.  it feels as if everyone's spinning the same kinds of
records...and even if they're not, they're doing the same few tricks, and
taking very few risks.  this goes not only for the new djs but also for
many of the older, more established names as well.  what's up with that?! 

there's some discouraging consequences to all of this...for example, as i
already mentioned, there's the virtual loss of the ambient/chill room. 
why?  because the new djs have taken over.  i talked about this whole
death of the ambient room in a post from a few months ago, but to
summarize briefly, i lament the loss of the 2nd room as being a place to
chill out.  nowadays, you need a 3rd room or even a 4th if you want to
hear anything remotely ambient/relaxing.  of course the new "beat djs" 
need a place to be heard, and a 2nd room for dancing is nice if you dont
like what's being played in the main room, but there's a limit to
everything.  again, there's too many people who are just content in their
ability to beatmix, who dont really see themselves as _artists_. 

and as i just said above, most djs (new or old) seem to be playing what's
safe, and take chances neither with their selection nor their mixing
style.  of course, i know a big part of dj-ing is the "party thang" and
the idea that you gotta play what people will dance to, but again, that's
just half of the equation. there's all kinds of issues to think about in
being a dj, most of which aren't necessarily consciously planned if you're
naturally talented, but which often _are_ planned if you take dj-ing as a
serious art form and work towards its mastery. 

the most obvious issue is deciding what to play.  you can spin fun party
music, or you can spin serious, cerebral music (and every shade in
between).  you can spin some of both styles and make them work if you feel
adventurous, or you can read the energy of the crowd to help you decide
what to play.  you can plan your set totally in advance, or just have a
vague idea and again, use the crowd energy to take you where you want to
go, improvising like the best jazz artist. 

then there's the issue of how to get from point a to point b.  you're on
the decks...mixing in the next song.  do you do a smooth mix?  a backspin? 
do you try to overlap the two songs entirely?  do you cut it up?  do you
do some scratching?  do you change records halfway through if it doesnt
sound how you want it to?  do you do some mixer tricks, like squelch the
e.q. a bit?  do you try some _really_ wacky stuff like stopping the record
with your tongue or flipping the needle upside-down (dont try it at home)? 
and so on. 

dj-ing seems pretty simple on the surface, but when you think of all these
options, the variations are staggering.  yet most of what i hear nowadays
is smooth, risk-free mixing that maxes out the sound-system and challenges
no one.  *yawn*

and there's so many styles, too...not just specifically in mixing, but an
entire "dj mindset" so to speak.  there's the punk approach, where the
intention is to annoy the audience into submission.  there's the hip-hop
approach, where the dj tricks themselves are as important as the music. 
there's the ghetto approach (frenche's favorite;) which pushes
sound-systems as loud as they'll go.  there's the atmospheric approach,
where it's more important to evoke a mood than make people boogie.  the
"educational" approach, where a dj chooses records to "teach" the crowd
about history or their own musical aesthetic, and so on...with infinite
individual variations on all of these. 

all of these approaches (which inevitably overlap) are just a few of the
ways of taking two (or sometimes three) sound sources, usually turntables,
and creating a new, extended piece of music which is called "the dj set." 
to claim that someone's "the best" is to ignore the whole spectrum of
mixing styles entirely. 

so i'd say that before anyone claims that someone's "the best dj in the
world," they'd better explain what that means, because in my book, laurent
garnier's "smooth style" is somewhat boring, because he's simply not
exploring every option there is.  in fact he's only exploring one or two
at the most.  he may be the master of "smooth" but compared to a turntable
terrorist like claude young, garnier seems downright conservative.  i know
taste is subjective, but i've just explained why i feel the way i do...so
frenche, now it's your turn to explain why garnier's "the best" in your
book.  dont say someone's "the best" unless you have something to back it
up. 

another unintended consequence of the current state of affairs is that
women djs have a hard time breaking in.  since dj-ing is predominantly a
"guy" thing at the moment, it's really hard for women to just jump in when
everyone's fighting over tables.  i dont want to sound condescending at
all by saying this, i know plenty of grrls who can kick ass, but the
general sense i get is that women really don't want to get involved in
such an attitude-filled scene.  i've heard women tell me they dont feel
"qualified" to try, they feel uncomfortable making mistakes, or dont want
to make the big investment towards equipment. this idea that women cant or
shouldnt do it is a bunch o baloney programmed mostly by a sexist society,
of course, but us djs sure have done our part to make the climate
unwelcoming towards females who want to spin...we have to do better to
encourage people where we can and allow openings where women can feel
comfortable (and yes i said "allow," just to rile up the feminists into
action ;)  i have the feeling that female approaches towards spinning 
would probably do something to push the idea of "dj as artist" into some 
of the realms i'm talking about (and as-yet-unpredicted ones).

for my part, i just do what i do.  i no longer claim to be a dj because i
hate the connotations which that idea now carries.  i'm a sound sculptor
(forgive the self-indulgence).  i also play mostly _for myself_, creating
combinations of sounds that i think are neat, with a small dose of the
trickster and "educational" approach.  it's hard to find a place and time
that this kind of music can work, but boy i do find it satisfying when i
can get away with it, like at the end of our GENERATOR event last april.  
now that was coool.  people still come up to me and tell me they liked 
that set!  *beams with rare dj-ish pride*

i hope all of this spurs a little discussion.  :)
++ 
e d

ele-mental.coil.com/