Musings

_____The last few weeks I've had the chance to listen to more electronic music than ever before. The downside of this bargain is that I've been cursed with the ability to critique it. What does this mean for Olmec, who once knew not Tellier from Granier—Busy P from So Me—Digweed from Dorfmeister? Ignorance is bliss, and so it was for my first few forays into the DJ game. Songs were judged on the criterion of fun alone. Compression ratios, granual synthesis, and reverberative overcompensation were words as far from my lexicon as could be. Sets had neither trajectory nor purpose, but they sure were fun. Uninhibited, they wove together hip hop and electro in an effective, if not obvious, way.
_____Now, this can not stand. I just can't help but obsess over the musical merits of it all—the social and musical philosophy of the whole process. Liberal-artsy as it might sound, I know that unless you understand each and every presumption upon which your views rest, you can't hold them at all. In the next few posts, I'll probe the foundations of my understanding of DJing as an art, profession and skill set. If nothing else, it should at least help me resolve some things I've been turning over in mind. For one, the musical merits of the DJ in all of his forms. What is his role as 1) party starter 2) energy arbiter 3) musical taste-maker. How do these roles change on the internet, where highly tweaked compositions reign, as opposed to live/in the mix. Is the DJ inherently a musician and, if not, how can he become one? How does Hypemachine fuck everything up?
_____The original concept behind Olmec was HoodInternet but for electronica. Simply stated, this has not played out. My tastes are getting more snoody, pushing more towards well-developed sounds, seeking that height of sonic fidelity rather than whatever these mortals call "fun." Is this a problem? Listen and find out - new mix droppin' in short time...