So I found an ipod shuffle my work had given me (at my previous job) just a 1 GB pink deal I hadn’t seen or touched in forever. annnd well it’s just a little time warp.
I was bouncing along until..this mix slammed into my face. I was floored. I had totally forgotten how dirty nasty sick it was and I had to share it..so, I uploaded it for free download on my soundcloud. (YEP I SACRIFICED PRECIOUS HOTSPOT DATA. and it was worth it.)
It is an hour and a half promotional mix featuring the ones Gridlok, Hive and Dieselboy on the decks, promoting the launch of Project 51, Gridlok’s new label!
The radio krew did get some interviews in at the end of the mix, but be prepared to go 0-174 in .000 seconds.
The mix also promoted f-Sound’s party that evening featuring the one Photek as well!
Sick, sick mix and definitely the dirty neurofunk grime you know you love.
This is where my dnb heart is. THIS.
this is my pied piper.
Download it while it’s hot!!
Even if I take it down from soundcloud, I’ll host it free on the site.
He’s “here” at genuineindividual.com, about to school and re-school the massive with an exclusive personal interview!
>>>>>NOTE! I do NOT mind and infact ENCOURAGE the copying/pasting/spreading/infiltration/translation of this interview!! I claim no copyrights! BIGGUPS DNB/EDM FAMILY!
My interview request (begging) began after I caught sight of a tweet by AK on twitter that stated “@ak1200 my idol as a young dj was Carl Cox. who are these brand new edm fans idolizing and how much depth do next generation dj’s bring?”
Screenshot here:
The tweet that kicked off a questioning that spurred this interview into existence
I was on this tweet like hot cakes. The anthropologist in me, much less the bass head in me couldn’t STAND to sit idly by and let that tweet go unanswered.
So, today, the one and only AK1200 is going deep in-depth with genuineindividual.com to answer his own question, as well as a few more I’ve cooked up for him.
Here is a recent mix, live by AK1200:
BG: Welcome, & ezz the one AK1200! So glad you’ve agreed to this Q&A session and I hope you can set the record straight…or perhaps, back on the deck where it belongs.
Q:First, a warm up set of questions. The artist in me is dying to know…what is your favorite color? smell? taste? sound? feeling?
AK: I like blue and green, well any combo of them both. I love the smell of OG Kush. I like something that starts sweet and finishes hot. I like the sound of rain. I like the feeling of accomplishment and appreciation.
Q: For those that might not know you, how long have you been DJing/spinning? Can you summarize briefly your history in the EDM scene? Also, an essential question..do you have a favorite set or performance, is it recorded, and can we download or purchase it?! Readers: I will include a full Discography at the end of this interview.
AK: I started DJing in 1989. It was after I discovered a club night called Aahz. It was a whole new world to me, and I was hooked. It was all about the vibe, and
when these kids from England making tunes started using hip hop and jazz loops all chopped up, I found my passion.
I followed these people and this sound through all of its cycles until it became known as drum and bass. My passion has always been more for the music and the ability to expose it to people who otherwise had no idea of it. Even now I find my true devotion is to the music, not to being a DJ, or else I would be playing something more crossover. I have always tried to push the music and especially the American artists creating the music. Through the years, it has been a battle not only to get people interested but to keep them interested. It hasn’t helped that some of the core fans became too snobbish about “their” scene, and constantly put people off of it with the elitist attitude and constant bashing of things that aren’t exactly what they want to hear. I guess it is like that in most scenes, but I can’t say it hasn’t affected me through the years, especially on message boards. At the end of the day, all I care about is the longevity of DnB. I do not have a favorite set or performance, they all seem to blow right by me over the years. There are loads of sets out there of mine for people to grab if they look around.
Q: Going quickly to the nitty gritty, can you answer your own question that you asked on twitter? “Who are these brand new EDM fans idolizing and [more importantly] how much depth do the next generation DJ’s bring?” Also, how exactly does a DJ bring depth, what did you mean by that?
AK: Sometimes it gets frustrating to see new artists come in and not care about the history. To them, its only their own history that they bother with, so their inspiration is limited in the sense that they don’t have much interest in anything other than what is popping off right this minute.
It took a long time to get to where we are, and there have been thousands of pivotal tunes, not just in DnB, but in all genres of Dance Music.
People used to make tunes influenced by Roy Ayers or Kraftwerk etc. people made tunes with influences deriving from soul, hip hop, reggae, funk, rare groove, disco, rock and roll. That was a huge wealth of knowledge all having the same basic foundations. Music theory was a big deal. knowing how to layer sounds and create moments, and write music that drew you in and drove you around. Now, it seems much music is made for novelty, who can get the noisiest lead line or heaviest bass sound.
They focus so much on the technical details, that they lose the stripped down basics of it all: the vibe, the melody, the movement, the feeling, the soul.
Once upon a time people recorded stuff onto a reel to reel tape and spliced pieces together, then samplers came and you could actually cut loops or use filters. Go back and listen to some of the dance records made from 1989 to 1992, any genre, it was all so similar then, it was house or techno or breakbeat or whatever, but all those tunes were made on shitty computers and samplers. People werent able to make the tunes with such high quality like now, yet I bet you anything you can listen to those old tunes over and over again and still appreciate what the artists were doing and how they did it. I feel like some music is just dumbing people down, and it takes away from the significance of the art inside music.
It seems like all of this “BASS” music has just been forced inside its own little bubble and people boxed themselves in to what should sound like what and who should use what synth and so on. it was never ever about that until about 4 years ago, and it seems like now, when EDM is at its biggest, the bubble has to break and influence needs to come from deeper places.
Can you imagine what some young computer hotshot who knows abelton backwards and forwards could do with music if they spent a year researching the bands that made all these breakbeats that people sample or the vocals they use, snatched from accapella sites?
When I said Carl Cox was who I looked up to, it is because this guy was just someone playing all kinds of music and making it his own, he was using 3 decks, and he was fusing techno beats with breakbeats and with accapellas and with house grooves and was having the time of his life doing it.
He would dig for records from all over the world just to have something cool to throw in. Nowadays, it just seems so one dimensional. Maybe the internet allowing things to become so accessible has made people lazy, well not lazy, but took the time away from the thrill of the hunt and instead spent on seeing how deep inside of a plug in they can get and lost the whole plot, lost the general vibe, the freedom of expressive music.
Look, so many dnb tunes sound either like fast dubstep tunes (drumstep), or they sound like pitched up deadmau5 or Skrillex tunes with cheesy lead sounds and dirty bass. Now it’s to the point to where people are calling themselves “BASS DJ’S” ??? What the fuck is that all about? Yeah, man, lets play 40 tunes in a set that vary in tempo but all pretty much sound the same and we will melt peoples faces off… The whole thing to me is absurd. You may say, I am stuck in the past or I should deal with it because it is the way things are now, but does that mean it is really doing anything for the state of dance music? great so now people of every genre can mix and match and play the same tunes….
you just lost all of the creativity the rest of us spent over 20 years trying to develop,
and now you are inside your own little bass bubble where everything can work, and then what? Where does it go from there? I guess thats what I was trying to say in that tweet.
Q:What do you suggest these new EDM fans start listening to–not only DJs active in today’s EDM culture, but also some old-school/OG DJs that helped build the EDM scene from its infancy?
AK: I think people should go back and listen to music of all kinds from all ages and find the common bond between that and every other music form and incorporate it into the dance music they make, so instead of a fad, people are coming with substance, music that will matter 20 years from now, and give kids inspiration to move music forward. I just want people to look outside the box and not regurgitate the same stale dance sounds from a 5 year period of an art created centuries ago. honestly do you think so much of yourself that a tune you make in 2 days will in 40 years be as well received as say, a Led Zeppelin tune that took the band 2 days to write and record? no, and they don’t even care. Why don’t people care? That bugs the shit out of me, all of these talented people making simple little throwaway tunes just for the novelty of “killing” the dancefloor 4 minutes at a time.
I just think the more people who buy into the current state of the scene without trying to expand it, the less chance dance music has to become influential to kids 20 or so years from now.
If we are the “rockstars” of our day, it is certainly our obligation to leave a legacy behind, not just a bunch of slop that tarnished the face of what could have been one of the biggest music forms to spawn new genres of future music.
Q:What is your definition of a DJ? Any and all definitions!
AK: A DJ is the person who plays the music for the people who came to dance. At this point I dont care how they do it, as long as they care what they do. DJing can be the most rewarding thing in the world, but
stand for something, whatever it may be, don’t just be a human jukebox.
Be your own person, look at how shit has gone down for the last few years, between the big fad of using old names but switching the first letter of each around to everyone using the same font in their logos, it shows how little effort people really put into their career, and the kids lap it up like it’s the best thing in the world. It’s mental,
I mean the whole Paris Hilton thing, JESUS CHRIST!!!!
really that is what we have been reduced to now?
And its these asshole superstar dj’s like afrojack and david guetta and swedish house mafia or whoever else that piss all over their fans from the main stage, who turn this scene into a big joke and all the fans are just “their” flock of sheep who will follow them and love everything they do and you can literally watch them see how far they can go and still get away with it.
Steve Aoki throws cake at his fans and they love it? now people behind Paris Hilton can literally stage a whole set for her, and she can now be a dj who charges ridiculous money and wastes precious stage time that a real DJ should be on. how far is this shit gonna go before the jig is up?
Q: How would you say technology has changed the art, the "touch", of being a DJ? Please, jump on everything from Serato to CDJs to Midi Controllers & the original analog turntable. I know DJs today have to be happy not to have to lug around an absolute ton of vinyl! Not to say it doesn't have its place in my heart!;)
AK:
I am all for whatever technology can help people get the job done, i don’t really care.
I use cd’s. they sound good, and they are light, and I can burn a tune on cd and play it right away. The real thing I care about is the craft, and how much you care about the position you hold. I think I covered it in my rant about these main stage festival dj’s: they are taking the piss, giving people false senses of hope on what the music industry is about, and they are sending the wrong message. Have you seen Molly? GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!!!!!
I dont care what you play on or what you play, but give a shit about who you play for and stand by what you play. Own it and represent properly so you can maybe be an inspiration to someone who really wants to be a DJ.
Q: The dubplate culture was very specialized and exclusive. Can you explain to the readers what exactly a “dubplate” is, what the culture as a whole represented, or what it meant to you? How has technology through the years such as Napster, Limewire and finally Beatport & other legitimate mp3 download sites have affected the scene? What is your reaction to a “DJ” that rips youtube video sounds and attempts to “spin” them? Are there any methods producers or djs used to “fight back”, especially during the Napster/Limewire years? Have sites like Beatport created a monopoly for exclusive tunes or are there still leaks in the system that make VIP mixes or tunes difficult to keep exclusive?
AK: A Dubplate is an acetate test plate used for mass producing vinyl, its the reference disk. In the dancehall community, these record cutters saw that you could just go and burn a tune and play it out, it maybe got 20 plays before it started to lose its grooves. that way they could decide how big a tune could be and press a number of tunes accordingly. Over the years it became the essential tool for soundclashes and battles between dj’s, who could have the dopest newest shit available only to them exclusively on this plate they had cut. In the jungle scene, it was similar, when you were given a tune or the ok to play a tune, the dat would be left at a plate cutter and you could go and get it cut, or you would get a dat in the mail or handed to you and you could cut your plates from that. Then it became cd’s people would send and you would cut a plate from the cd’s but
it was still something exclusively given to you and out of respect, or “the dj’s code of ethics” that you would not give that out AT ALL.
When the internet got big with file sharing, tunes would get leaked in a really big way, and all of a sudden people would be playing tunes they were not meant to have and had no permission to play. Once upon a time you could get hurt for something like that, but again the way things are nowadays, all that went out the window and music is expected to be free and for anyone to grab whether the artist wants or not. God forbid the artist gets pissed off that his/her shit got leaked, then they become the asshole for not wanting people to play it yet.
I think people gave up on fighting it, and now its just a free for all, that is why most producers only make money from performing, and DJ’s dont sell mix cd’s anymore.
Q: I personally have heard of several DJs calling themselves or others “Button Pushers”. What does that mean to you and what would you say if someone called you that? Why do you think this particular phrase has stuck around or taken off so much recently? It just seems to be a term that is everywhere, do you agree? Its prevalence seems to be giving the term a nearly “acceptable” place in the world of DJ culture. What are your thoughts on such a linguistically embarrassing word becoming prominent in articles, interviews or discussions of the DJ as a musician or artist?
AK: I think what people mean by button pusher is someone who doesnt mix traditionally, that they use auto sync or they watch the waves instead of listen to the sounds to get something on beat. I dont think about it as it does not pertain to me, I have never been called a button pusher and if I were, I could give a fuck. I mix tunes, actually I am to the point to where I make a habit of turning the channels up before i throw the next tune on so people can hear me start the mix and get it on as I go. I dont quietly get it on beat in the headphones and slowly fade it in, fuck that, you can hear what I hear in the headphones, it may be sloppy for a second but at least you see what is happening.
Q: Alright, I have to bring this up. Deadmau5. “We All Hit Play”. Rolling stone interview. Gut reaction? Instinct of wanting to tear his mousey head off? *ahem* How does it make you feel to have this “prominent” EDM “DJ” say the things he has about what you (and I) consider to be the art of DJ’ing?
AK:
I never read it, I could care less, I dont buy into anything that kid says, he made a shit ton of money off of these fans and he is just encouraging people to make this an even bigger joke. He is telling everyone how dumb they are and how easy this is, and you know what, he is right.
What is happening now is easy as fuck and anyone at all can do it, he is proving it, paris is proving it, all of em are proving it, the difference is to me, is what the fans will stand for…. if you want to buy into all the stupid shit, then expect to be treated accordingly.
If you want to be serious and passionate about music, then follow dj’s and artists who give a shit about the music and its history and more importantly, its future.
Q: Would you agree with me when I say that 2012 has been a pretty big year for EDM in general, one of the largest examples being that a newly prominent EDM Producer named Skrillex was awarded 3 Grammys? How do you think Hollywood has or possibly will pervert the EDM scene? What of Skrillex himself and his fan base? Quite frankly, it pissed me off and seems that Hollywood has opened a bit of a pandora’s box by awarding Skrillex the Grammys. I feel, personally, that Skrillex is standing on the shoulders of giants in the EDM world (you being one of them imho) and that if they are going to start passing out EDM Grammys, there needs to be some sort of retroactive award business going on. Thoughts?
AK: Again, I stopped thinking about all that.
I am happy for Skrillex. He is a really nice guy, often misunderstood and always thrown under the bus.
He made a groundbreaking record that got the worlds attention. For that he earned the grammy’s and all the accomplishments and accolades that go along with it.
I think like all things, EDM because of its popularity will become exploited and every drop of blood squeezed from it by the powers that be, and what you will have left, lying in all the rubble, is the rest of us,who want to keep pushing the music forms we care about and the art it stands for.
But honestly dont blame skrillex or deadmau5 for that. they took shit to a new level, and i think part of what deadmau5 was frustrated with, is who else is gonna come up and offer something more than what they did, not from what they did, but what was inside the artist from his or her creative ability to bring sound to life in a true form.
Q:Speaking of Hollywood…what in the world is your reaction to Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian announcing DJ tours? How does the hottest, newest DJ/Production technology tie in to these Reality TV/Hollywood Stars turned “DJs”? It seems as though their “DJ tours” just came out of nowhere. Are we looking at pre-programmed laptop sets? What gives? (aside from me gagging)
AK: yeah i covered that extensively above
Q:What would be a list of some *essential* listening you’d suggest to any or all new EDM fans? I’ll give you a headstart: Drowning by AK1200!
AK: I just posted up a mix a friend uploaded from a tape of mine made july 1992, I have listened to it 3 times in a row. I dunno really. I mean i get ideas from old music.
I like all kinds of music and i try to find the common bonds between that and what new music has, and i follow those bonds.
The brilliance of music in itself, is it recycles and grows at the same time. its like drawing little circles over and over and then slowly expanding the size of the circle.
That is what music should always do and always be doing. Just like how a record spins, music must go on and on. Take what you need and start something fresh, let it go on and on. Years from now people will take what we did and make something fresh and it will go on and on.
Q:I remember when I first spoke to you, I expressed my distaste for DJ rivalries. What is your take on trash-talking in the EDM scene between producers or djs or promoters? Is there a place for rude or blatant criticism to be constructive, and if so, what is, or is there a way to walk that fine line? Do you have any “beef” with any DJs or Producers or “Wannabe”s in the scene now? If so, who, and….why? How should he/she/they act instead, or do you have any advice to them..or is it just past that point?
AK: I thought about this for quite a while, and
I realized its just not even worth the time to try and get people to see your own points of view.
I don’t have any beef with anyone, however, I will say whatever the fuck I want to say about whoever the fuck I feel like saying something about. I tell it like it is straight up, as you should be able to tell by this point of the interview.
I think its more of a general respect thing. We were always told to respect our elders, I understand that now probably because I am the elder. I respect what people feel passionately about. If they truly believe what they are saying, then I am all about it. What I don’t like is when people try to use someone elses name to get themselves attention. I dont believe in riding coat tails, and I dont believe in starting fake beefs for attention. People that do that are transparent. Again this is where the fans come in, or should come in. People are only going to give you just enough to keep you there, and if that is good enough for you, so be it. for me and the people i came up with and around, we do it differently.
We know about the struggle and we know how hard it is to be taken seriously so we can see the humility in our success and our failure.
At this point, i dont give a shit, you guys go knock yourselves out and out “bass” the other or whatever the fuck you wanna do, create the bride of dj frankenstein and turn a socialite into a main stage millionaire. I am gonna be here doing what I do for the fans I have, the only fans that matter to me, fuck all the rest, they get what they search for.
Q:What role should a fan have when supporting a DJ? On the dancefloor/in the club as well as online/in social networks? Can idolization be dangerous or is it welcomed in such a way that that is how a DJ builds his/her fan base? How has social networking changed the face of the Underground EDM scene & the perception/idolization of DJs? I know for me, when I was first in the scene, only very specific papers or online forums had the “in” news about the upcoming shows–now it seems to be much easier to promote…would you agree?
AK: I totally agree.
I think this is a fan based world, and without fans you are nothing, thats why i get so animated about these assholes who treat their fans like they are stupid sheep.
I expect more out of a fan if they are going to be a fan. Dont just sit there and get cake thrown in your face and tweet about it happily. Fucking support the music and the artists you like, go see them, send them a FB message, share a link to their page or just go out to see them when they are in the area and tell them that they mean something to you. Hopefully it will be someone like me who would appreciate it and be humbled by it, and not a fucking ego maniac. I guess I should say i understand the ego thing, you get caught up in always being told how good you are or whatever, and so many people come up to you, you start to see right through them onto the distance behind them, and dont pay attention or whatever, and yeah i guess if you have a crowd of 60,000 people at any given night, it’s difficult to individualize people…but you got to do your best to try and maintain a connection between you and your fans. I learned the hard way that I should be thankful for what I have, and I try my best to give back as much as I can whether its mixes or tunes or just a little bit of my time. You will see how some of these people will change their game up if they were to all of a sudden lose a grip of their fanbase, then they would treat you all better, and make more of an effort to live up to their name.
Q:I myself contacted you via a social network for this interview–it seems to make you, you masters of the craft, such highly, highly regarded legitimate DJs so much more…down to earth and…real! A bit of mystery seems to be taken out of the picture. How do you feel about that sense of mystery and of your near absolute necessity to remain accessible to your fans via social media?
AK: I dont even know to be honest. I mean, on one hand I am glad people can see who I am as a person and relate to me during my ups and downs, we are human, and very real. On the other hand, it is difficult to separate the husband and father in me from the persona I have as a professional.
I guess in the grand scheme of things, it helps more than it hurts and it is probably one of the things thats kept me going this long.
Without all the support I get on a daily basis through my various sites etc, I would have probably given in to the anonymous hate of message boards etc and quit altogether. At least this way, there is an identity to associate the person talking to you, rather than a fabricated screen name who just creates an account to blast people all day long.
Q: I’ve always seen or heard your live sets and consider them to be, seriously, works of art. How would you describe a true DJ’s role or, responsibility even to the crowd, the fans, the scene when it comes to spinning or building/performing sets? How much feedback does the crowd really have at a live show? How should a true DJ act during a performance, or is there a way to act? Have the demands of a true, legitimate DJ changed over the years? Do true, legitimate DJs answer to those demands, and if so, how?
AK: For me personally,
I feel it is my obligation to create a unique experience for each and every crowd I perform for.
I can understand if I was a band and we played all the songs that made us famous. but I am a DJ and I play mostly other peoples tunes, so why on Earth would I play the same tunes over and over again in the same pattern?
A DJ to me, is the person who comes in the room and looks at the crowd and figures out what they want to hear, and follow the crowds lead and play to them specifically.
Some things work better in different regions, you cant just go do what you wanna do and leave. I get shook real easily when there is no crowd, I trainwreck, I fucking get all nerved up. or when there is the one person deep in the crowd who looks like they arent having a good time with their arms crossed giving me the stink eye. It is truly my intent to please each and every person that comes to see me or happens to be at a place I am playing. Of course I want to leave a good impression, and I want to come back, I dont want the promoters to lose money because of me or my lack of crowd, so i try as hard as I can to give the crowd as much of myself as i can. Again, the mixing thing, this is kinda why i drink and get on the mic and mix with the channel up and start the mix on the beginning of the mix point and you hear it all and hear it get into sync and out of sync and whatever. I am just a dude playing tunes that i think you want to hear and we all have a good time together. Thats it.
Q:If there is any advice you would give to the NEW DJs or button pushers of the EDM scene, what would it be? Do you have any advice for the NEW EDM fans? I certainly think they should learn their history, but it seems to be so scattered about or disjointed, as if there is no one place to learn & absorb EDM Culture’s broad & varied history.
AK: Ok, if someone absolutely loves Skrillex, take the time to learn what it was that influenced Skrillex, then learn about them and find out who it was that influenced them and learn about them and so on. It’s not hard to do especially now. If you can scan the web for tunes, certainly you can scan the web for artists and influences.
If you are a new DJ, try to find an angle that sets you apart from others. If you are a new fan, embrace everything you hear. When you go to a show, go early and see the opening dj’s and open your ears to what else is out there. Support your local promoters and their weeklies.
These people lose money every week because they believe in a genre of music or scene and cant do it without your help. Be the bigger person, and always try to learn something from every situation. Respect those who came before you and the efforts it took to make things possible for you to do what you love. Learn the tunes, learn the artists, learn the scene, expect more from the people you pay to see. There are people making more money from EDM now more than ever, while some of us make half as much to work twice as hard. Is that me sounding bitter? Maybe, but it’s reality, and it only changes when the fans dictate the change.
Q: Drum And Bass Movement is a website, championed by you, if I’m correct, located at www.drumandbassmovement.com. It is a social media, content driven website dedicated to uniting the Underground Drum and Bass EDM Scene Worldwide. Can you tell the readers a little bit more about why you decided to start the movement and what your plans are for DNBMovement in the future?
AK: Actually it was something that i was brought into early on, I havent been on there in a minute, I should be but regretfully i have been too consumed with all the other aspects of my life, both professional and personal. I guess it did what I anticipated and became a freestanding format to run on its own by dedicated lovers of the music.
Q: How do you tell an old-school head from a new EDM fan? Magical Powers?
AK: Aside from age, I guess its their taste. I am so thankful that EDM is so popular right now,
I can only help guide the people into different areas of the audio spectrum. I keep my head down and bust my ass in hopes that at some point they will give DnB a chance, and if they do, my job has been done.
Q: What legacy do you want to leave behind as an artist? What legacy do you feel you already have left behind and what can your fans look forward to in the future? If I don’t hear something about the epic tune “Drowning” in this historical/legacy-oriented response, I might cry!;)
AK: I always said,
I just want to be known for being someone who gave as much as or more than he ever got from this industry.
Honestly, my heart has always been in the right place. Would i love to get rich from music and never work again? ABSOLUTELY. is that gonna happen? No. Every day of my life I try to do something to further the message that DnB sends. I represent this music as best I can, and I have been true to myself and to my fans.
Drowning just sort of happened and I became associated with it, but it wasnt mine. I am glad it became such an important song to so many people and am honored to be associated with it so closely.
It certainly helped me get to where I got, but it means nothing to any of the new crowd, they dont know the tune, and even if they hear it, the vibe of the scene is not like it was when the tune came out so they dont truly identify with it.
I hope I am remembered as something much more than the guy who made Drowning famous.
For Reference, Cleveland Lounge’s “Drowning” remixed by the one AK1200
Tune via Youtube:
Hah, My final and only comment about this wonderful interview and mainly the last question: No AK, No. You will definitely NOT and are definitely NOT only remembered for Drowning! (As you stated, that was just one of my favorites of the time;) I even remember it being one of the first tunes I let my little sister listen to!)
::::I guess this about sums it up for round one of AK120 vs BassGeisha here at GenuineIndividual.com… I hope you all enjoyed it and feel free to submit any questions you’d like to see in a possible “round two” with AK1200 in my email: sarah at genuineindividual dot com. Thanks for reading guys, and a
HUUUUUUGEEE MASSIVE BIGG UPPPPS TO THE ONE AK1200 for this AMAZING INTERVIEW!!! BOH!!!
AK1200, Gridlok And Danny Breaks – Porn Star Feeder / Dub 4 Dub ◄ (2 versions) Project 51 2008
Junior’s Tune ◄ (3 versions) Big Riddim Recordings 2009
AK1200 Feat. Terra Deva – Fake (Subsonik & Smooth Remix) (12″) Subsonik Sound Recordings 2011
Funky Sounds (12″) Phattraxx, Phattraxx Unknown
DJ Mixes
Untitled (CD) Not On Label 1997
Sub Base Classics: The Drum & Bass Mix By AK 1200 (CD) Sub Base Records USA 1998
Fully Automatic – Drum ‘N’ Bass – Continuously DJ Mixed By AK1200 (CD, Mixed) Moonshine Music 1998
Prepare For Assault (CD, Mixed) Moonshine Music 1999
Lock & Roll – A Drum & Bass DJ Mix (CD, Mixed, Comp) Moonshine Music 1999
AK1200 W/ MC Navigator* – Mixed Live: Moonshine Overamerica, San Francisco (CD) Moonshine Music 2001
At Close Range (CD, Mixed) Run Recordings 2003
Weapons Of Tomorrow (CD, Mixed) Moist Music 2007
AK1200 & Gridlok – Autopsy (CD, Album, Comp, Mixed + CD, Album, Comp) Project 51 2008
Miscellaneous
Drowning (Curtis B Remix) (File, MP3, 320) Zone Records 2010
Drowning (Terravita Remix) (File, MP3, 320) Big Riddim Recordings 2010
AK1200 Biography
AK1200 BIOGRAPHY
The longest running D&B DJ in the USA. Member of the infamous Planet of the Drums crew. Founder of Big Riddim Recordings. Dave, AK1200, has been a driving force within Drum and Bass culture in America since its inception. From his legendary mix CD’s to his extensive list of high profile remixes and original tunes, he has maintained a presence within the scene for more than 20 years. For lack of a better term, AK is a “classically” trained DJ, mixing live for each crowd. Every set is unique and completely dependent on what gets the best reaction from the floor that night.
In a time where the EDM scene has completely reinvented itself, AK1200′s explosive sets have been spreading the fever to a whole new fan base. These new fans, hungrier than ever for the absolute best in electronic music, are steadily looking not for their house, but for their home. Once they hear “the one” set that changes everything, they will have found it. AK1200 plays those sets, trust! And D&B will become your home, it always does.
AK, alongside Bill Hamel, and Meaux Green have recently formed a new project titled 2against1. Under this moniker expect a constant surge of electrifying d&b tunes aimed straight for the neck, and when they hit, they gonna hurt. AK1200 and 2against1. that’s two names you best get to know, cos shits about to go down.
Welcome to the Bass Sermon Documentary Page for 423 Bass Love’s latest party, hitting town on Saturday Night, June 23rd, 2012!
Milele Roots, a local reggae band alongside DJ Odi from NYC and Sarah Burns from North Carolina were headlining not to mention
(in alphabetical order) Local Legends:
DJ Akaiu
DJ Antares
DJ Era-Step
DJ KRRS24
DJ Obelisk
DJ Noted!
DJ Rischaad
!!!!!
The night was massive, and the venue packed to the rim–I did not talk to the venue owner/manager but can assure everyone that Bass Sermon had the placed PACKED OUT.
I decided, (Since I used to be the photographer & then my boyfriend DJ Antares decided to pick up DSLR photography–therefore, kind of putting me “out of business” so to speak if only by equipment trumping alone!) to use my Flip Video camera that was given to me as a Christmas gift to document the nite. Why did I choose this night? I suppose because it just goes to show that it doesn’t matter if you’re a huge promo/booking company *ahem* AC Entertainment (yes the ones behind bonnaroo)*ahem* that decided to CANCEL a show that had been promoted for THREE MONTHS STRAIGHT rumor is due to “low presales”…that the Underground EDM Culture in this city will always persevere.
I personally have been in the scene in this city for oi, a decade at least?? if not two!! (scary to say) and can attest to our resilience despite the many pitfalls and trap doors sprung on the promoters of the shows before, during or after promises had been made.
Thankfully, we seem to have steadied ourselves out and although Bass Church (promoted from NC) did not go down and in fact was CANCELLED 2 DAYS BEFORE (so lame) and actually, to add to that, this is the SECOND time it has been cancelled at all…. our scene, promoters, djs acts & all went on to kick serious butt and take names the night of. Also, while I’m on my soap box, fliers..oh heavens the fliers were coming out at every show (for Bass Church) and out of every orifice it seemed. Thank God they were well designed. Big Ups Cole! Now, while this documentary video of the required 15 minutes on youtube did not include any and everyone’s opinions on the last minute change of events, it is my hope to eventually snag scenesters (wow is that a word?) aside and ask them about their experiences in our local scene, what could be done to imrpove it, etc etc.
Anyway, Bass Church being cancelled was definitely bittersweet, as the one DJ Noted so aptly put it. It forced our attendees to a 150 head venue from a 3500 head venue. Not even the largest shows which are no longer but were named Banger’s Ball were pulling 600-700 heads maximum.
In a previous post I went off about how a headlining Dubstep DJ – DJ Caspa was booked to play at the same venue Bass Church was slotted to go in: Track 29, and there was absolutely ZERO local talent on the bill. Here is a link to the previous post: http://genuineindividual.com/2012/02/from-tomorrow-with-love-why-it-is-essential-to-promote-local-talent-alongside-headliners-in-the-local-scene/ (Opens in a new window/tab)
As far as the documentary video goes
#1, it is a youtube HQ video and was filmed with a Flip Camera.
#2, I am not 100% satisfied with this iteration of the film, but in an effort to get it out asap, here it is. There are areas of the film that are way too dark and it possibly has something to do with the compression of the video. In the Flip video, not only on the camera itself but also on the computer and viewing the raw .mp4, the film is much brighter & you can tell what is going on/what you are looking at.
#3, I WILL be going into iMovie and reuploading this video if apple’s video editing software is that much more superior. Granted, I did use a very intuitive piece of free software (for non-commercial use) for PC. So yes, if iMovie can retain the sound and brightness/color quality of the film, I will update this post and show the comparisons. So in a way, this is an experiment for me and for my viewers!
The Bass Sermon & nun imagery that you see on this post are NOT the original flyer design. They are designs I made specifically for genuineindividual.com. Hope you enjoy To note, they, as is a majority of a designer’s work, are photo manipulations. Please see explanations and credits at the end of the article.
Promotional Image Bass Sermon by 423 Bass Love: Documentary by BassGeisha on Chattanooga’s Underground EDM Culture – click for full size
If you click through to the Nun Stock Imagery I used, it contained a nun licking a gun. I completely edited the gun and well, even her tongue (because it made no sense to have her licking the air) out in reverence to certain gang problems we have been having in the Chattanooga area, that and well, the nun already had headphones on–which got my point across easily. Our Underground, EDM Culture here in Chattanooga, well, to be honest, has never had anything to do with guns. In all honesty it goes against an old school scene saying (I will explain shortly). And I did not want that imagery or any other sort of violent imagery associated with our humble EDM Scene in Chattanooga.
Yes, out of reverence for those who were victims in the recent or not so recent gang violence that has become an issue in the Chattanooga area, I removed the weapon. Besides, our Underground EDM Culture already has enough issues throwing parties, although we seem to have finally reached a plateau with the law enforcement in the area. They recognize we aren’t all a bunch of underage kids trying to drink…that it is a legitimate scene, with legitimate adults that are plenty old enough to join in a 21 and up party at a club, whether it is RAW or JJ’s Bohemia. I may take a moment to also mention that it was due to gang violence and weaponry that Chattanooga’s Underground EDM Culture suffered the loss of a decent venue. However, to our credit, we abandoned that venue when they began giving the promoters problems with which area of the venue to rent. Then, it wasn’t long before their “church”/entertainment venue (which I might add hosted black metal to hiphop/rap to edm etc) was called out by city officials and BUM BUM BUM shut down due to well, irresponsibility.
We Underground EDM scene heads know and generally respect the saying of PLURR – Peace, Love, Unity, Respect and Responsibility. Sure, there are people that absolutely are well, crappy people and don’t care and do not show the DJs or promoters respect, but that I could argue, is the case many places or scenes..or in life in general??.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the video installment.
I am not 100% finished. This is actually a preliminary trial-run so to speak.
I am not 100% satisfied with the way the compression? or some other bit came out with the brightness/lightness or contrast of the video. I will be tackling iMovie very soon.
I hope to continue this trend of Documenting our Underground Scene. If a picture says 1000 words, then I wonder how much HD/HQ video can say? That and I just LOVE the fact that the video is not distorted as though it were taken by camera phone.
As a first blush review of the Flip Camera, I am very impressed!
NHO’s Software of VideoPad was really quite intuitive and I caught on very quickly. I was excited to use their software as well. It is free for non-commercial use.
I just,
I just can’t much comment on how funny this ridiculous podcast truly is.
It is definitely something I look forward to every Monday!
Join in the #teamsexy chat at 8pm GMT (UK time) at http://www.new.livestream.com/rankinradio
This next monday i definitely hope to join in on the craziness, lmao!
No telling what to expect, that is truthiness.
I’ve not even made it all the way through the podcast and I’ve been dying laughing.
There’s some interview on this podcast that I #1 have no idea who it is of/about..some English “bloke” I believe is the word… and at times it is definitely hard to understand anything He or the female interviewer says because #1 well, they’re english & sound funny regardless. (story after the podcast in a moment) #2 it was done in a club with loud music in the background and #3 the ridiculous dude was drunk apparently off of vodka and cranberry.
So, just something to look forward to this go around!
Hit up these two #teamsexy bassheads on twitter:
@HighRankin @Pryor_27
Back once again with the ill behaviour, Rankin is joined by the endlessly sexy, James Pryor. Rankin airs his interview with Guetta where they talk butt-plugs and making love to 20k people at a time. We take a trip into the world of Danny Dyer, Hammish writes James a beautiful poem and all the usual offenders do their thing. Jingles as always by Tigerlight.
Tracklist:
J Majik & Wickaman – In Pieces (Mike Delinquent Remix)
Saul William – List Of Demands
EL-P – Drones Over Brooklyn
Technotronic – Pump Up The Jam (Eptic Remix)
Drumagick – Easy Boom
Danny Daze – Your Everything
Temper D – Face The Door (Out soon on Suicide Dub)
Dom & Roland – Can’t Punnish Me
Alright, here’s my non-English speaking, English speaking moment for you all.
I used to work at a company that had half of the establishment in the UK. It actually proved quite annoying to work with R&D since there was a small window of time I could actually contact them.
Anyway, Two English co-workers came to visit along with the other Englishman who already transported/moved over to help on this side of the pond. It was the three of them PLUS their female counter parts and guess who… me. I, being the “native” of my city took them to a good bar/pub where they could all sit, talk and have some drinks.
I swear, I was sitting at this table full of English folks and I swear to you on all things I could not understand a single word they were saying. What really hurt my brain is that I KNEW they were speaking the same language I was used to speaking!!
It was the most surreal non-English/English moment in my life.
I could MAYBE catch a word here or there but they were all from Leeds, UK and I have no idea what dialect of English that is, but it is definitely one that I do not understand when spoken at high speeds! lolol.
I personally live in the Southeastern USA and so, even compared to my Northerners aka “Yankees”, I am usually considered to speak quite slowly in comparison–especially in comparison to the English co-workers I was in charge of escorting around the city!
I can hardly imagine what my southern accent must sound like to an Englishman. It must be quite hilarious and I can understand why Southerners must sound stupid–it isn’t because we ARE stupid… it is because of how “slow” and drawn out our phonemes, morphemes and other linguistic characteristics are. However, do not ask me to explain why it is that southerners speak slowly and with drawls? sp?
After hearing a table full of English co-workers babble on and me finally giving up on not understanding a word they were saying, It gave me a quick preview into what in the world it would be like if I crossed the pond and experienced the mother country of England for myself.
In fact, it took me several minutes of High Rankin and James Pryor in my first episode of Rankin Radio to understand what the heck a Jobby/Jobbies are/were. Yes, yes, I finally get it. ffs.
Anyway, I’m not nearly as funny as the podcast I embedded.
quit reading and go listen
bassgeisha out
I ended up, somehow, on a proclaimed “Indie Music News, Mp3 Downloads, Music Videos, Reviews” website called “Stereogum”.
I’ll admit it loud and clear, I am a Smashing Pumpkins fan. Probably always will be one.
The quoted article below is by Michael Nelson entitled “Premature Evaluation: The Smashing Pumpkins Oceania”
I have copied the critique in full below, followed by MY personal comment/response as well as an issue of the entire website for you to view yourself.
It’s easy to rag on Billy Corgan for being a hypersensitive narcissist who says ridiculous things, but he’s been doing that for two decades now. (The first time I cringed at a Corgan comment? In 1994, when he reportedly said to Kim Thyail, after an uncomfortable interaction with the Soundgarden guitarist, “You hurt me deeply. You hurt me deeply in my heart.”)
But Corgan’s post-’90s music really shouldn’t be judged alongside that aspect of his persona. No, the essential problem with the latter-day Smashing Pumpkins records (starting with 2000′s Machina/The Machines of God) is that they fall prey to what Rob Mitchum — in his review of the band’s 2007 album Zeitgeist — called “the ‘Zero’ dimension.” As Mitchum (accurately) assessed it, Corgan had left behind his band’s softer side, to the music’s detriment.
That was only a problem, of course, to the extent you didn’t enjoy songs from the “Zero” dimension … until the first couple EPs from the Pumpkins’ ambitious Teargarden By Kaleidyscope project emerged in 2010, which suggested not just a nadir for Corgan but popular music in the 21st century. Today, it’s easy to look at the quote-unquote Smashing Pumpkins and look away in disgust: There’s ol’ Charlie Brown (front, center) with a bunch of demographically diverse scrubs, at least two of whom probably never even saw the inside of a studio while the music was being recorded.
He’s made such a mess of things that really, how do you even accurately catalog Corgan’s, um, catalog? The new Oceania is technically the band’s ninth studio LP, but that seems misleading: It leaves out 1994′s Pisces Iscariot, a collection of early non-album tracks that is better than the majority of the music released in the ’90s, yet it includes Machina II/The Friends And Enemies Of Modern Music, which was never released to stores and is plainly an addendum to the more traditionally distributed Machina. And how to account for Teargarden, an ongoing “album” of which Oceania is considered a segment? Furthermore, what about Corgan’s 2005 solo album, TheFutureEmbrace, which shares at least as much DNA with the Pumpkins as the band’s own fourth album, 1998′s Adore, or the lone release from Corgan’s Zwan — 2003′s wildly underrated Mary Star Of The Sea — which shares even more of that DNA?
In terms of its personnel, Oceania may be a “Smashing Pumpkins” album in name only (Corgan is obviously the only original Pumpkin left in the patch), but from a musical perspective, it feels like it deserves that name. The album opens with “Quasar,” and the guitar-bass-drums interplay with which the song begins recalls two other Pumpkins album openers: “I Am One” (from 1991′s Gish) and “Cherub Rock” (from 1993′s Siamese Dream). It’s a far cry from those classics, of course, but it’s a good omen — an announcement that, maybe, Corgan has exited the “Zero” dimension. Like much of the best Smashing Pumpkins work, the album never settles on one sound, although it’s blatantly dreamier and less rat-in-a-cage raging than any other Pumpkins’ LP released this millennium. The album’s entire second quarter — “Violet Rays,” “My Love Is Winter,” One Diamond, One Heart,” and “Pinwheels” — is composed of ballads, but their tones and instrumentation vary (from acoustic guitars to Adore-esque synths). The title track is a proggy marathon that tries to squeeze about half of Melon Collie into its nine minutes. And the album closes on three ferocious guitar-heavy anthems that veer in and out of the “Zero” dimension without getting stuck there. All along, new drummer Mike Byrne serves as a more-than-passable stand-in for departed skinsman (and Corgan’s only real collaborator) Jimmy Chamberlin. The album’s immediate highlight is “The Celestials,” a sweeping, swelling, quiet-loud-quiet ballad that kind of makes me feel like I’m flying; it’s easily the catchiest song Corgan has written since “1979.” (If radio and MTV still existed, they might even play the thing.)
It’s typical to overreact when a once-great artist — previously believed to be deep into his dotage — hits that sweet spot again, but I don’t think I’m being hyperbolic when I say that Oceania is Corgan’s best album since Mary Star Of The Sea, and the best Smashing Pumpkins album since … Melon Collie? (Adore apologists will take exception to this.) He’ll never again reach the heights of those first three albums — who will? — but it’s good to hear, at least, he’s climbing.
Written by Michael Nelson for Stereogum.com http://stereogum.com/1063892/premature-evaluation-the-smashing-pumpkins-oceania/franchises/premature-evaluation/comment-page-1/#comment-7767121
OKAY
So, Not that everyone isn’t allowed their opinion but, oh, my, god how many times have I heard or read an article similar to this one? About how the Smashing Pumpkins will never return to their former glory, they are stuck in a hole bla bla bla..
Well, I was just slightly fired up enough to where I critiqued the critique. haha.
Also, let me lead you here so that you might know what else I am referencing:
Apparently Billy Corgan said he would piss on Radiohead.
Here’s the quote:
I can’t think of any people outside of Weird Al Yankovic who have both embraced and pissed on Rock more than I have. Obviously there’s a level of reverence, but there’s also a level of intelligence to even know what to piss on. ‘Cause I’m not pissing on Rainbow. I’m not pissing on Deep Purple. But I’ll piss on fuckin’ Radiohead, because of all this pomposity. This value system that says Jonny Greenwood is more valuable than Ritchie Blackmore. Not in the world I grew up in, buddy. Not in the world I grew up in.
So I find myself defending things. Is Ritchie Blackmore a better guitar player than me and Jonny Greenwood? Yes. Have we all made contributions? Yes. I’m not attacking that. I’m attacking the pomposity that says this is more valuable than that. I’m sick of that. I’m so fucking sick of it, and nobody seems to tire of it.
Alright, while I’m not going to touch Billy’s quote of pissing on radiohead, for the irony, I DID reference it in my critique of Michael Nelson’s critique of the Smashing Pumpkins new album that I still have not heard yet. For the record, however, I have a lot of respect for Radiohead, although they are by no means a favorite band of mine. (sorry, they just aren’t). That does NOT mean that I don’t have any albums on Compact Disc by them!
Here it is:
Smashing Pumpkins Oceania
bassgeisha | Posted at 9:12am 0
Ugh well, nice critique I guess, but it makes me rather sick.
ZERO was a f*king epic tune that whether you like it or not, still has shirts in production *today*. Which I think its rather crazy considering it was released in 1995?? That’s nearly 20 years later. So getting stuck in the “Zero Dimension” as you call it, I can’t exactly agree that is a bad thing. If everything they crank out sounds the same then sure, but I personally don’t believe this is the case, even with this album and I haven’t even heard it yet >.<
I personally LOVED Corgan's The Future Embrace, and in fact got my musical production name from it. No, I'm not sharing it yet, sorry.
The Smashing Pumpkins will forever be in my heart as a strong, alternative rock band straight from the 90's that kicked a$$ not only because I have their albums & songs memorized but also because —it showed me & other girls/women at the time how D'arcy Wretzky could set an example for all females to engage in massive bass bada$$ery!—- Even when she left & was replaced yadda yadda, having that female bassist was almost a Smashing Pumpkins expectation or look expected from the band.
To harp on Corgan because his music is changing is like punishing a teenager (or younger/older, I suppose) for growing, learning, and being shaped by life’s events.
Are you the same person you were 1 year ago? 5 years ago? 10-20 years ago? I’m going to generalize and say OF COURSE NOT.
So WHY do you expect the same lot of music from a band that has been through a lot of changes, been affected by the same world events, and their own personal events? You speak of the Zero Dimension. What if they were stuck in a Cherub Rock dimension? You’l be slapping them on the wrist for that too!!
This article sounds quite like a LOT of other opinions/websites where the author(s) is jaded or cynical about Corgan/The Pumpkin’s past glory, and wants to see them achieve similar status. I believe this could very easily affect the way the album is perceived/heard.
Yet oh my god when it comes to (i’ll use RADIOHEAD–simply because I do enjoy irony)…radiohead you are so far up their a$$es that you can’t see straight and praise every single strum of their guitar or vocal that comes out of Thom Yorke’s throat. Give me a break.
Michael Nelson, perhaps it is time to revert back to your childhood (yes, I’m going somewhere with this). Go play Operation or Jenga or some other childhood boardgame like Sorry. **Find a way to view the world in a new light, in a new perspective,** instead of from your jaded Stereogum article-writing-cynical opinionated being that youv’e engendered.
Then, maybe if you rewrote the article, listened with fresh, new ears and MAYBE tried to perceive what Corgan was after with the album, it may be a constructive critique that I enjoy, that maybe even Corgan would enjoy and might acctually have an effect on the band as is stands today.
Is this not the essence of a critique? to get inside the heads of an artist with a fresh, objective, constructive opinion? That’s how I was taught in art school. And while this is a music website, I’m sure you can see the symbiotic relationship!.
This is very unfortunate because I am brand new to your site. Seeing such opinionated journalism is one thing — seeing something that has been rehashed and rehashed over and over again “ohh the pumpkins aren’t as good as they were with Siamese Dream, etc”… it gets old before I even finish the article because I’ve heard it so many times before. Not to mention it threatens my “new user” status. I don’t know how many people or hits you acquire each and every day, but it does make me wonder if/how/why you lose viewers and/or if you are even remotely interested in keeping them. (can’t help it, it’s the marketing & advertising and possibly the anthropologist specialist in me).
bassgiesha signing out.
Click on Expand on the ISSUU PDF Viewer below to see the entire website including my reply.
So, as on most mornings when my car (poor widdle new beetle !#%)&!#%thing $$$$$) is in the $hop, my boyfriend Antares & I ride to work (well, rather, he drives me to work) in his car. He prefers to listen to NPR on a nice soft volume. (I’m a totally different story. I blast anything from DNB/Dubstep/EDM to rock n roll cranked up as high as it will go on my way to work) Anyways, today we happened to hear a particularly wonderful interview of ICE-T. When we tuned in he was discussing the difference between MC’s and Rappers. He even called Dr. Seuss a Rapper, lol.
Thrilled with this history of Hip-Hop (leading to Breakbeat) culture, I immediately jumped to the NPR interview page and immortalized the interview via ISSUU PDF. All credit due was given, of course. I DID take it directly from their website. (durh)
Below is a mostly direct transcript of ICE-T’s interview with NPR Morning Edition.
I do *know* that this transcript is edited. ICE-T talked about a brief history of Hip Hop culture and did discuss how breakbeats, DJing and breakdancers came about. Another thing I can also attest to is that when he describes “us” in the next quote, he was talking about himself as an MC (that is, unless I heard incorrectly.–will verify with Antares what I heard.) Unfortunately, NPR I KNOW did omit in my opinion, important portions of the interview that clarifies exactly what he was speaking of. Here is the quote I am referring to about MCs:
“I guess you consider us poets,” says Ice-T. “I would say competition poetry — a verbal gymnast — because a lot of the great poetry doesn’t rhyme and here rhyming is essential.”
Below are two ways you can read the interview. I have also included a link back to the npr music website where the transcript was copied.
I decided to immortalize the article in ISSUU PDF format, which is at the end of this article.
My personal favorite quote is basically the last paragraph that is (definitely edited) recorded in this version of the transcript. To paraphrase: Ice-T speaks about how rap and/or hip-hop has become irrelevant to today’s current events. I couldn’t agree more.
I may as well take this moment to also say that I knew when Rihanna came on the scene, that the way the African American community treated this beautiful, bright rising star would define their legacy of how they treat women for at least a decade. Great job Chris Brown.
(Asshole.) I will never support him, by the way. Okay, Okay, you can’t base an entire culture’s legacy on a single person’s inability to conceive of respect for women. I mean, Beyonce and her sisters haven’t even endured what poor Ri Ri has. It’s almost like the Tina Turner era all over again with Rihanna. (yes I am a fan of hers, and yes I have almost every album of hers on Spotify–great service btw, generally speaking. Aside from the fact they removed Pink Floyd’s Pulse Album AND Dieselboy’s Project Human and Sixth Session. GRRRRRR. On top of that, don’t even try to expect a response from Spotify’s “customer service”. it is a joke. Soundcloud is equal to if not better. But only for the hottest/latest tunes.) ANYWAYS On with the edited article.
To note, I did just leave a comment on the article’s page about the edits/cuts from the transcript. Particularly about the development of breakbeat culture and break dancing. I’m assuming it should be posted eventually (pending moderation now). How interesting that NPR claims to be such a pure news reporting agency or conglomerate & yet they blatantly edited this simple article? What are they running out of KB to hold the entire transcript? Give me a break. text is the smallest bandwidth hog there is today.
UPDATE! Finally my comment posted (so I also updated the ISSUU PDF Please read the comment below.
Bass Geisha (BassGeisha) wrote:
I am quite dissapointed to see that this transcript has been edited/chopped/shortened. I just heard it on the radio on WUTC this morning and I specifically remember him talking about breakbeat culture, break dancers and how they came about.
We are an underground culture, but dang, if ICE-T says its a part of history, who will you listen to and credit as saying that it is?
I am very much a part of the underground culture/scene including breakbeats, drum and bass and dubstep (NOT JUST SKRILLEX AASDFASG) break dancing used to be very popular, atlanta was especially well known in the early 2000′s as a breakdancing hotspot! Here in my city, we have just a few now. I blogged about this article as soon as I could get to a computer. Also, why can we not embed/share the interview vocally? Just wanted to say, just definitely dissapointed by the editing/cropping of this interview.
Thursday, June 14, 2012 8:05:57 AM
ANOTHER UPDATE, this seems to be changing by the minute – to the point where I haven’t even officially posted this article. Just tweeted @MorningEdition and expressed my aggravation at their edited content of the interview. They replied 28 minutes ago and said the full interview would be up soon. When this happens, I will update this article and the ISSUU yet again. Thank god for social media?! Below is the screenshot of the conversation:
Morning Edition NPR Twitter Conversation about ICE-T Interview editing
I will try to download and possibly upload the interview and embed the audio if possible in an attempt to replicate, duplicate, infiltrate and immortalize, but for now, please visit the website as quoted below.
Okay, off my soap box. Read on!!!
I hope you all enjoy!
****REMEMBER! You can always read it as an actual article/PDF by clicking “Expand” on the ISSUU at the bottom of the page!
~ bassgeisha out.
ICE-T and Chuck D NPR Morning Edition - From Something to Nothing Article on History of Rappers, Hip-Hop and MC's
UPDATE #3 6-18-12
NPR Finally put up the ENTIRE TRANSCRIPT of the ICE-T Interview. Please view it below. I am also updating the ISSUU.
Let’s hear, now, about a documentary with quite a soundtrack. The hip-hop artist Ice-T wants you to think about the art of making rap music.
ICE-T: This film isn’t about the money, the cars, the jewelry, the girls. This film is about the craft – what it takes to write a rap, what goes on inside the head of the masters.
GREENE: Ice-T has come a long way since the time 20 years ago, when his lyrics to the song “Cop Killer” sparked a huge, national controversy. He has a new documentary out that took him from Harlem and the South Bronx to Detroit and South Central, Los Angeles.
Ice-T talked to artists like Doug E. Fresh, Ice Cube, Snoop Dog, Run DMC. And he focused on how these artists go about creating rap lyrics and beats. Ice-T joined us from member station WABE in Atlanta. Good morning, and thanks for talking to us.
ICE-T: Hey, thanks for having me, man. It’s cool to be here.
GREENE: You said that this was a film that you just had to make because, as you put it, rap music saved your life. Can you explain that?
ICE-T: Well, you know, before rap came along, I was, actually, actively in the streets; getting in trouble, doing the wrong thing. My father died early. My mother died early. I started hanging with the gangs. I’m on the streets; I’m committing crimes. And the music came along, and this music just took me on a different road. I mean, now you see me, I’m on television. I’m on “Law & Order”; I’m playing the cops.
I mean, if it wasn’t for rap – that was my first step into the legitimate world. Now, people look at me like oh, I love him; he’s so respectable.
(LAUGHTER)
ICE-T: You know, I was a pretty bad person early in my life.
GREENE: Rap, there’s a lot of – I mean there’s a lot of anger that you can hear. Was it a way to express the anger and frustration of, you know, a tough life on the streets?
ICE-T: Well, rap is rock ‘n’ roll. Rock is when you push the buttons in the system; when you say, I’m not going along with what you’re saying. That’s rock, whether it’s done with guitars, or it’s done with just beats. So rap is rock – and there’s anger in rock. There’s anger in punk. It’s a real voice, uncensored, and you will hear anger when you uncensor the voice.
GREENE: Let’s talk about the creation. You do call rap an art, and I wanted to play one clip of what rapper Big Daddy Kane told you in the film.
(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, “SOMETHING FROM NOTHING: THE ART OF RAP”)
ICE-T: What’s the difference between a rapper and an MC?
BIG DADDY KANE: Well, a rapper is, you know, someone that rhymes. I mean, you can consider Dr. Seuss a rapper.
ICE-T: Right.
BIG DADDY KANE: You know, that’s someone that rhymes, you know? You rhyme cat with hat, you know, then you can be considered a rapper. MC is someone that either has that party-rocking skill or that lyrical skill.
ICE-T: Right.
BIG DADDY KANE: Doug E. Fresh, Busy B…
(LAUGHTER)
GREENE: I don’t know if Dr. Seuss would love every bit of the rap that you guys make. But I guess I wonder, I mean do you consider you and other MCs poets? Is that the art that we’re talking about?
ICE-T: Really, when you say the word MC, people don’t even really know what that word means. See, back in the day – I’ll give you a little, quick history lesson.
GREENE: Yeah, give it to us.
ICE-T: Back in the day, DJs found out, with the use of a mixer, that they could play the breakdown of a record. That’s the part where the record goes (Singing) Get down, do-dum, do-dum, do-dum.
And they usually – there’s no words over the break. When you’re at a club and the breaks happens, that’s when you try your best moves. That’s when you dance the best. So the hip-hop DJ found out that since that’s the best part of the record, why play any other part of it? So before you know it, the DJs are spinning Steve Miller Band. They’re playing Aerosmith. You know, I used to have my DJ play Black Sabbath, like (Singing) Dun-dun, do-dun, dun, boom-ta, boom-boom-ta-boom-boom.
OK, the kids that really danced off it were called break dancers. That’s what breaking means, the dancing off the break of a record. Now, the DJ is doing this incredible thing. He hands the mic to somebody and says, tell them how great I am.
(LAUGHTER)
ICE-T: That’s an MC, a master of ceremonies. Now, the MC would say hey, the DJ is good but you know, I’m kind of fly. And he slowly stole the show, and he’s supposed to be rapping about the DJ. So when we say a rapper, a rapper can say a rhyme. But an MC can rock a party, you know?
And I guess you consider us poets. I would say competition poetry – or verbal gymnast, because a lot of the great poetry doesn’t rhyme.
GREENE: Here, rhyming is always important.
ICE-T: Here, rhyming is essential.
GREENE: The evolution of your life was kind of – I thought – captured in a New York Times Book Review, when you came out with a memoir last year. They said you’ve gone from robbing people to rhyming for them; from singing about killing cops, to playing a cop on camera. And you, of course, on “Law and Order: SUV,” as Fin. And I guess I wonder, being a cop on screen so often, and looking back to “Cop Killer” 20 years ago – I mean, what do you reflect about?
ICE-T: I mean, honestly, I’ve never been a cop hater. You know, when I was breaking the law, the cops were the opponent. I just thought I could outsmart them. Anybody who speeds thinks they can outsmart the cops. So at that time, you know, I was breaking the law. I knew what the law was; I was breaking it. Why am I mad at the police?
“Cop Killer” was a song about brutal police. It was a year before Rodney King, and I was living in the world where the cops were snatching people out the car, beating their (BLEEP). So I was like, what if somebody went on a binge after y’all, after the brutal cops. How would you feel about that?
GREENE: I want to play one more clip from Big Daddy Kane in the movie.
(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, “SOMETHING FROM NOTHING: THE ART OF RAP”)
ICE-T: If you were going to personally train a rapper to be great – you met a new cat – what would be the first lesson you’d give him?
BIG DADDY KANE: Well, the first thing I would try to teach him – the very first thing would be originality. You know, say – I think that is so important because it’s like it is – whenever you’re following a trend, trends come and go.
ICE-T: True.
BIG DADDY KANE: So, when that trend is gone, you’re gone.
You’re basing your career on a banging beat and a catchy hook. So you know what you just did?
ICE-T: What did you do?
BIG DADDY KANE: You just made your producer a star.
GREENE: And I – that last bit right there – you just made the producer a star – I guess I wonder, what is rap and hip-hop today? Is it less about lyrics; and is it more about the beat, and the producers getting more attention?
ICE-T: Yeah. Truthfully, you know, a weak rapper can hide behind a lot of production. And that’s why, in the film, we didn’t have them rap with music. We always did the a cappella version so you can actually hear the lyrics.
I think all music – not just rap – has fallen into this very diluted, delusional state, where everyone’s singing about money and having cars, and having all this fun; when really, people are losing their homes. You’ve got the Wall Street situation, the sub-prime situation. You’ve got a black president. We’ve got wars. We’ve got unemployment. But the music doesn’t reflect that. And I challenge anybody to show me a music that’s on the radio that reflects that.
GREENE: Ice-T, thank you so much for talking to us.
ICE-T: Church.
GREENE: That’s rap musician Ice-T, speaking to us from member station WABE in Atlanta about his new documentary, “Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap.”
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
GREENE: This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I’m David Greene.
1) What is your full name and your alias? How did you come up with your alias?
My name is Thomas Numprasong and my Producer / DJ name is LOGAM. I was watching some show on TV…might have been…No Reservations. Regardless, the episode was filmed in Sweden and they were talking about their language and how this one word Logam was used a lot which represented how they are a people who believe in doing something because they love to do it and not because they are trying to prove they are the best or better than everyone else. They also mentioned that it had multiple meanings; one of which meant a perfect balance, and in some parts of the country… it wasn’t a positive thing lol! They didn’t say how to spell it so i just guessed. However after I already promoted myself with my spelling I saw somewhere online that they spelled it Lagom…soooooo..I kind of unintentionally created a play on it. Like Korn or Big Boi or Lil Wayne or Lil Big Boi made of Korn named Wayne.
2) I’d really like you to go into what changes you’d like to see in the music industry. What innovations have made the biggest difference for you? What would you like to see product-wise in the future?
Changes in the industry? Well one is obvious I’d say lol! NO MORE CAR ALARM CHICKEN MC NUGGET DUBSTEP PLEASE!!! in regards to that though I think a lot of it has to do with the musical background of the artists who are making that kind of Dubstep. I would say either they forgot everything they knew about how music works OR they don’t know anything to begin with. Making tracks is a lot like cooking. I might like spaghetti, chocolate, graham cracker crumbs, celery, mustard, chili paste, and ice cubes but that doesn’t mean they should all be piled on to a plate and served all at once. It’s the same when making a track, in regards to the type of tracks that I was mocking, it’s not necessarily that the sounds themselves are bad (although some of them ARE just awful), it’s more that they are placed one after another and they don’t fit, they don’t make sense together. Isolated they may be fine but all together it’s garbage. Now there are artists such as Skrillex who have many different sounds one after another and it works because he knows what he’s doing, he obviously has some kind of musical background. So in reference to cooking again, if Skrillex were to be the Chef in this analogy he would use spaghetti, chicken, salt, pepper, olive oil, tomatoes, basil, parsley, and parmasean and the result would be a delicious meal which contains a lot of different ingredients as well BUT the main difference is that it works. Amateur Pasta dish = garbage, Skrillex Pasta dish = success.
I’d say the innovations that have made the biggest differences for me would be the introduction of Laptops and software in the DJing world. Pretty much what has happened is that anyone is a DJ now. When Serato came out I thought it was pretty awesome. I was all about it. I don’t have to carry my crate around anymore and I can still play on vinyl? SICK!!! When Ableton came out and I saw that Pendulum was using it to do Live shows I thought that was super freakin cool. But now …it’s just ridiculous. People are making mixes ahead of time on Ableton and just bringing them on stage with a midi controller. Basically hitting the space bar and using knobs and faders to make sound effects. My beef isn’t necessarily that laptops are on stage now, my problem with it is that they aren’t DJing at all. Who the hell couldn’t do that? There is no room for error now. Train-wrecking, which is the main thing we all try to avoid when DJing, has been completely removed from the equation. Aside from being able to pick songs that sound good together, beat matching is the toughest part of DJing. It’s like going to see a pianist at some symphony hall and instead it’s a guy up there with one of those old western automatic playing pianos and the crowds going wild and praising him for being an awesome pianist…Ha!…I said pianist. It’s just ridiculous. It’s a dead give away because they don’t even have headphones on. How the hell do you DJ without hearing the tracks? That’s a new one on me.
So basically what has happened now is that every !$@#!%^@&&# in high school (some are older) is a DJ now and all their friends love Dubstep because it’s cool and so now they are all promoters and DJ’s too. So that means that a lot of these kids (not all) start throwing shows and having their best friends “DJ” at them and then they book someone like me, or another actual DJ, to play as well but when we get there they have no turn tables, no CDJ’s, no reference monitors, and no clue what they are doing. It’s a nightmare and they are still raking it in because these new fans don’t know any different. It makes it quite frustrating for all the actual DJ’s and especially the real Promoters who put a lot of time and MONEY in to bringing the real fans the music we want to hear. The scene is some what of a joke now. If you make rock music you’re in the clear. No one has made a guitar that plays awesome solo’s for you AND if they have it is NOT socially accepted. At least I haven’t seen it.
Product wise there isn’t anything I would like to see, I’d just like to see the decline of AUTO Dj’s being booked and the increased education about “how it all works” with the fan base in America. With that being said, doing a LIVE set is nothing I’m against personally. That’s a whole different ball game that I know very little about. My shit talking is directed to those who are making pre-made mixes and playing them live and calling themselves DJ’s. Mistabishi did it and was publicly and nationally mocked. Why? Because he was in Europe, where the fans know what’s up. As far as I know, there are ZERO Dj’s out there playing premade mixes on laptops and getting away with it. This is all about RESPECT to the craft and the scene itself. I just wish that the American so called “Fans” would understand what the craft is really all about. When I was at Borgore last year, I heard multiple people say “is this the Borgore? Is this the Borgore Band” First off, NO it wasn’t. Secondly, he is not a band. Thirdly, why are you here? Because it’s the cool place to be that’s why. Yes, there is always going to be new faces at shows and a lot of them are going to be uneducated. I think its’ great when people come out to check it out and see what it’s all about but this has gone beyond that. When I was in metal, regardless of what band it was, just about everyone at the show was there to see the bands that were playing and they bought tickets to see specifically those artists. The scene is like a family and now the kiddie table at the family reunion is eight times the size of the adult table and they’re all there cuz they heard we have alcohol and Uncle Jessie is gonna let them have some….when ever they want it.
Yes, I do realize that I sound like an old man who is sick of having kids flood my scene and It sounds like I’m saying that you need to be confirmed as a fan before we let you in to our shows and obviously that would be stupid.I don’t hate ALL the young fans, I’m just irritated by the “posers” if that’s the right word. I guess I’m just super passionate about music and i take it too seriously and it pisses me off that the scene doesn’t feel real or genuine anymore here in the states…for Dubstep that is. We’re good in the DNB scene, they don’t like really like it lol! There’s not any Yoyoy synths lol! …except in Drumstep….ahhhhh….shit.
3) What is your goal as an artist? Like what is your mission statement as a DJ/Producer/etc.?
I don’t really have a goal actually. I mean there are Record Labels that I would be thrilled to be on but I’m not trying to take over the world with my music or anything like that. I just make what i like to make and I am thankful that some people also dig it.
4) If someone doesn’t “get” dubstep or dnb, how would you go about introducing it to them or explaining it to them to where they may understand it better? (Just wondering from a dj/producer perspective)
I really don’t try that hard to recruit people. If they ask me about what kind of music I make I usually just point them to my soundcloud page or give them the names of artists that i like so they can check em out. If they dig it; great. If not; great. People like what they like and some have open minds and others have shunned all electronic music all together. To each is own.
5) When you are DJ’ing live shows, how have you learned to feel the “vibe” of the crowd? How do you know what they like and don’t like? Is it just the cheering or do you think there is more to it than that?
Yeah it’s pretty much based off of whether or not they are really dancing hard and making epic bass faces when they should be. Loud noises is a give away. When they shout “Reeeeeeeeeewind!!!!!” I think that’s a dead give away lol!
6) Do you prefer small venues personal or big sold out venues and why?
I think both are good. In each situation if there is no one there then of course there is NO vibe at all which sucks. It’s REALLY bad when it’s a large venue and you can hear yourself fart. It really depends on who’s playing too. We could never have Doctor P in a small venue because it would be uncomfortably packed. But if I was the headliner then it work better in a smaller venue as opposed to the arenas. Quaint venues are great for week nights when you just want to go out for a bit and see some friends and hear some great tunes. The vibe of a sold out big venue is amazing though when you are the artist on stage. I have yet to experience that as a DJ, but when I was doing metal we played for some pretty large crowds and it was an amazing feeling, one that i will never forget.
7) What is your favorite track at this hot moment?
State of Mind – Ronald Reagan
AWESOME track!!! Can’t get enough.
8) What is the funniest memory you have regarding DJing a show? Like funny/weird/strange/obscure/wtf
One time a bunch of us drove down to Florida because this guy booked us for some “Epic” event with multiple “Stages”. When we got there the show was in a restaurant / Bar and the stages were folding tables, one inside the restaurant and one outside in the parking lot. On top of that, he didn’t have any sound gear, such as …I dunno…SPEAKERS!!! So my friend Dave and I drove around town collecting equipment from people he knew for this event and then when we finally got it all the promoter admitted that he also didn’t have any cables to connect it all. lol!!! So this time I sent HIM to go buy the cables and told him exactly what to get. Of course he did not get the right cables so i had to use this other guys hunting knife to splice them and wire them to the speakers manually lol!!!! What a joke. Annoying then; hilarious now.
9) What producers do you look up to in your genres and why?
State of Mind is at the top. I just can’t recreate their sound no matter how hard I try lol! Their tracks are always so energetic and funky and I just can’t get enough. I really dig Icicle as well. I find that his sound is quite original and usually odd but funky at the same time. Spectrasoul is another heavy favorite of mine. Loving the minimal vibe lately and they have a nice smooth and tight sound. Mad respect for Noisia of course. They are amazing producers and have always created new levels for everyone else to try and reach. I have to give props to Skrillex as well, dude really came out with his own sound and just dominated the scene. I personally don’t play a lot of his stuff live but you can’t deny that he has certainly put his mark on the Dubstep scene forever. Everyone wants to be him right now. I always liked Skream too. When he came out with his track “Where you should be” i had it on repeat all the way to work for the entire day, a total of an hours worth of driving. Amazing track, really knows how to capture a vibe in general and the lyrics on that track really hit home with me.
And last but not least is Mayhem. This dude has more or less been my mentor for the last year and has really taught me a lot. There is pretty much NO sound that he cannot create from scratch, nor a genre that he could not make a hit track in. MAD talent. He has really helped me understand the method behind the madness and also how the scene works from a business perspective. I wouldn’t know what I know today without his guidance. Thanks A Bone!
10) How did you learn to DJ? How long have you been DJ’ing?
Ahhhh well I was at my friend Scott’s house one day and we were playing poker. This freakin hippy douchebag kept winning every hand. A week later I was at that same friends house and this same hippy was DJing on his turntables. I had never heard this type of music before and I thought it was pretty awesome. I became friends with this guy and he invited me over to his house where had a plethora of vinyl records. He started educating me in the ways of Drum N Bass and taught me how to DJ with Vinyl. A few months later I bought some tables off my friend Dave and started practicing on my own. About a year later my Hippy friend and I moved in together and he continued my education. This hippy friend goes by the name….PLOYD Thanks brother!
11) If you could be any musical note, what note would you be?
Interesting question. Technically notes are written on paper and tones are what we hear. So i think If I were a tone I would be E because I make a lot of my tracks in E since the power of the Sub note makes my balls shake and also when I play along to a lot of my favorite metal tracks I have to tune my guitar to E as well. If i were a note, I’d be a whole note because it looks like an O and I’d want who ever was on the receiving end of what ever it is that I am doing to have an O face….you can analyze that how ever you’d like. :p
12) What was the most annoying thing a fan can do in your opinion? What is the coolest thing a fan can do for you?
I would say it gets a little old when people keep asking me for my tracks for free. If you are a close friend or a name in the scene that is different. Hate to make it seem like there is a VIP group or something but honestly…there is. You know who get’s to eat out for free at the best restaurant in your town? The friends of the Chef, or other known Chef’s in the area. That’s just how it goes. It’s also a business. If I’m giving them to you, why not just give them to everyone and bypass the signing off to labels and distributors? That’s not how it works. Sorry.
Coolest is when people tell me that they just heard some track of mine and they love it and just shared it and / or played it in their set or something along those lines. When they ask me for production advice that’s pretty sweet too. Makes me feel like i somewhat know what im doing.
13) Did you collaborate with anyone on Your Mom makes Dubstep or was that all you
That display of idiocy was alllllllllllllllllllllll me. lol!
14) What is your “official” reaction to the responses you’ve gotten from “your mom makes dubstep”?
Ho…lee….crap…I had no idea it was going to blow up like that. lol! I really just did it for sheer amusement of it and because I was sick of hearing those kinds of tracks. I’m amazed at how many people agree with me and not at all surprised that some people got the wrong idea. However it sure is nice to see how some have talked trash about me or about the track and then everyone who agrees with me stands up for me and shuts them down. Pretty awesome. I really appreciate that!!! Thanks everyone!!!
Now some have said that my message is that you should not use pitch down voices or put hip hop samples in Dubstep or that Dubstep sucks which is incorrect. The particular style that I was mocking just happens to generally have a pitched down voice right before the drop, as well as some kind of vocal thing at the end of the measure, as well as some random hip hop thing that doesn’t even fit the track. I’m not saying you shouldn’t use any of those things in songs. I’m saying if you do use it, do it right! Sampled voices are always going to be in our music, it’s a part of our sound. Just not every single song. Hip Hop and Dubstep or Hip Hop and DNB go great together…when done properly. Don’t just grab any ol sample and throw it in there. It should fit your theme and / or make sense. I also had a kick drum, a snare drum, and hi hat in that track. Does that mean that I think those things are also stupid? Obviously not. Wouldn’t be much of a track without drums in it.
Thanks again for all your comments and I’m glad that you found it amusing and agree with me! Can’t wait to hear the remixes!!!
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