I was disappointed in his final comments, because I think he missed something really important about music. And not in his defense of vinyl per se, but in his attempt to sum up what a DJ is. DJ's, like live musicians, are responsible for presenting music live. The physicality of carrying around crates of vinyl and getting your hands dirty might be a part of DJing, but this is only a surface aspect of DJing, and not at all the essence of what the DJ (or other live musician) does.
In my opinion the essence of what live musicians and DJ's do is to create vibrations at a particular space and time for a particular group of people. Being able to hear fully vibrations, knowing which vibrations to create, and having the ability to create those vibrations is what it takes to become a master of vibrations, whatever the genre and instruments. Theo Parrish's reference to Kung Fu is telling, for a Kung Fu master is not only one who has mastered some technical exercises, but is suppsed to be one whose discipline has led them to some level of spiritual insight. In other words, it is not just the surface actions that the Kung Fu master performs, but the state of mind from which those actions arise. For musicians, the ability to hear that is the key to mastery of music. For me their are three levels of hearing: hearing with the ear, hearing with the mind, and hearing with the soul. When you can really hear on all three levels, you will have total awareness of the vibrations you are creating, and knowledge of what those vibrations do. This is fundamental to mastering all musical practice. And it is the inability to really listen, and a lack of knowledge of great music, not the inability to spin vinyl, that is really what gets in the way of younger producers and DJ's. For me, it is essential to, at minimum, have some understanding of jazz, Western classical, Indian classical, and West African drumming. These traditions have mastered different aspects of creating vibration that are fundamental to music making in general, regardless of genre. Whether you spin vinyl, hit keys on an acoustic piano, or plug in an ipod, if you aren't fully aware of the vibration you create, you cannot master music, even if your actions are technically precise. For me, the role of a musician or DJ very close to that of a shaman. Some I have studied with, such as William Parker and Billy Hart, have emphasized the power of music to heal. This means that making music publicly requires a high level of responsibility. The world is full of negative vibrations that are used to enslave people and to produce consumer consciousness. Vibrations can literally make people sick! Responsible musicians and DJ's need to realize how powerful vibrations are and how great the responsibility to use this power wisely is... the second you leave your bedroom, you assume a part in the great spiritual tradition of music. You have just as much of a responsibility as the masters (individuals such as Beethoven, Chopin, Cecil Taylor, Ravi Shankar, or John Coltrane) did to create powerful vibrations that can heal and inspire us as human beings. ~David On Wed, Dec 9, 2009 at 9:18 AM, Martin Dust <[email protected]> wrote: > > On 9 Dec 2009, at 02:37, robin wrote: > >> >> http://blog.awdio.com/index.php/2009/12/07/theo-parrish-interview-from-djoon-paris/ >> >> >> robin... > > He's a bit like a cracked record tho... > > m
