Local Autonomy

[localautonomy-blog-blog]

"Music is like oxygen, or language. It’s how I live and communicate. It’s my hustle. It’s been that way as long as I can remember. I’ve been in the band I’m in now over a decade, but I’ve been playing in bands for over twenty years now, and have been booking shows for eighteen. Everything positive that’s ever happened to me has come from music, and music has literally saved my life many times over the years. It’s also probably indirectly responsible for plenty of the bad shit I’ve experienced too, but, what’re you gonna do?" Kevin Failure Kevin Failure sat down with me in advance of the Future Maudit show tonight with The Fallen, Glacial Communications, Jacoti Sommes, Tyrant Manque, & Kaptin Kirk. He presents us a wonderful interview full of insights about his views on music and culture. Make sure to also click through to see the info on the Night Mode show with Conner Campassi & Dustin Knellperforming next door to this show at the Summit. Long Live the SUMMIT.3 Sector! Long Live the Underground! http://localautonomy.wordpress.com/2013/12/13/a-closer-look-kevin-failure/

[localautonomy-blog-blog]

"So, in a way, my concept of a music label for the coveted jungle sound and culture surpasses that of just a music 'label'- but a statement that it needs no label-- it grows wild and roughly unconfined just like the depths of any natural jungle..." -- Scott Hinton

Got a Great Interview for you today about local jungle label Labelless Records. It speaks of deep issues of vinyl, history, and the legacy and continued relevance of jungle music. Hope you enjoy it.

A Closer Look: Labelless Records

[localautonomy-blog-blog]

"For me, experiencing music is just another part of being human. I feel like if you have ears and you don’t seek out music or get anything out of hearing it then you must be some sort of soulless animal." Conner Campassi Been working on th...is one with Conner Campassi for some time now. Very excited to share it with you all before THE VOID this weeknd. I think this gives a very excellent look into the thought behind his approach to music. Can't thank him enough for being nice enough to contribute to the project. Hope you all enjoy it. http://localautonomy.wordpress.com/2013/10/08/a-closer-look-campassi-the-void/

[localautonomy-blog-blog]

"A live performance should, and I say SHOULD, be an experience that isn’t pre-recorded, pre-determined or just mailed in by someone who spends the entire set looking at his computer and simultaneously checking their Facebook account. The crowd should be able to ‘see’ and ‘hear’ the process, warts and all. This to me means allowing for mistakes. I believe that so many people now hear live performance and expect that they’ll hear something akin to everything they’ve heard before, performed by someone else. That’s not what you’ll get with FBK, Plural or The Fallen. If we don’t know ‘exactly’ what it’s going to sound like…you shouldn’t either."FBK

Local electronic music artists Fbk & Plural Sit down to talk to me about The Fallen, Live improvisation, and the importance of Live P.A. sets for our music community ahead of their performance this friday at Future Maudit w/ Mancontrol, The Fallen, Circuitry Room, Tyrant Manque & Mike Shiflet At Cafe Bourbon Street.

Read the interview HERE

[localautonomy-blog-blog]

We are lucky to have Atlanta based DJ, producer, ndatl label label founder Kai Alcé coming to Columbus to perform this Friday (8/2) at Big Bar alongside many other amazing artists (Event details HERE). Alcé has been in the thick of U.S. dance music for over twenty years and has used this pedigree to craft his own and Atlanta’s distinctive house sound. He has his roots sunk deep in numerous cultures and communities, as he came of age in what he termed the Golden Age of dance culture in New York, Detroit, and Chicago. Alcé talked about how he got his grassroots education in sound immersing himself in the dance cultures of these cities in a recent interview with Juno: “Well in New York I grew up in the midst of disco and the emergence of hip-hop, then in my pre-teen years I moved to Detroit and got into the high school party scene. I linked with Chez Damier, we were hangin’ out at the KMS/Transmat/Metroplex building and eventually worked at the Music Institute. I was also travelling back to New York and also checking out Chicago, so I saw the main three breeding grounds of this sound during their golden years. I was seeing Ron Hardy in Chicago one weekend, the heading back to Detroit and checking the MI, and going to New York places like MK’s Red Zone Mars.” It is evident from this statement that Alcé got much more than lessons in dance music. He garnered a PhD in the chemistry of sound, as from an early age he was influenced to synthesize diverse musical sounds and ideas. As he traveled from city to city, his was immersed in teachings on the fundamental elements that each city drew on to create his own distinctive voice and sound. These lessons would serve him well once he moved to Atlanta, as he was able to refashion these building blocks he learned across the country to help build a community and sound that would cement Atlanta’s reputation as a house music destination.

Read the rest of the article and interview here

[localautonomy-blog-blog]

"First, music inspires, stimulates and opens my mind to new ways of perceiving reality or giving shape and sound to a reality that may only exist in your head. Dance music, techno in particular, tends to either paint a picture of the reality in which the artist exists or create an alternate reality that the artist has dreamt up. Detroit techno is the textbook example of the first; guys writing tracks about the decaying, technology-driven city in which they lived. The whole minimal-Perlon-Ricardo Villalobos camp really exemplifies the second; guys writing tracks to give shape to some exotic alternate reality or future that exists in their head. Both approaches allow me to experience realities and aesthetics that aren’t my own and open my mind to a bigger world of ideas than the one I naturally inhabit. It’s a great experience to listen to a piece of music that conjures up the image of another time and place in your mind." -- Tony Fairchild Tony Fairchild was kind enough to answer some questions and put together a mix for me. I think the result is very special. I hope you enjoy his words, his sounds, and my meditations on the importance of our inner music compasses in our highly mediated age. http://localautonomy.wordpress.com/2013/07/13/a-closer-look-tony-fairchild/

[localautonomy-blog-blog]

This essay is the culmination of all my time in the Columbus, OH dance music community. This is the voice, longings, and heart of all the people I have talked to. In trying to use my words to explain what our collective soul is and why it matters, I am in-depted to all of you out there that so patiently teach me, read my words, and respond to my thoughts. I cannot thank you enough for the world you showed me. It is far richer than I could have ever imagined. I stand on your shoulders and use these humble worlds to celebrate what unites us all. I hope you take the time to read the essay and consider the ways our collective souls call us to break down the divisions in our community.

http://localautonomy.wordpress.com/2013/07/04/the-collective-soul/

[localautonomy-blog-blog]

"There is a ritual for everything that has to do with vinyl. The process of making vinyl is a scared ritual. Digging, listening, selecting, carrying and playing vinyl are all sacred rituals. When creating art, you should consider your talent as a blessing and develop a sacred ritual for producing your art. Never take it for granted and don’t allow others to take it for granted either." Whodat

Very honored and humbled to be able to share the thoughts and sounds of Detroit-based producer, DJ, Record store owner Terri Whodat McQueen with our Columbus music community before her performance next friday at Musicality w/ Seth Dedikate Carter at Double Happiness.

A Closer Look: Whodat & The Sacred

[localautonomy-blog-blog]

"House music has just never stopped being a source of happiness for me. I couldn’t tell you a specific thing about it that has made it stick. I like that it’s this under-the-radar source of positivity in a world that’s mostly dominated by superficial commercial music made for the lowest common denominator. Good House feels like a genuine celebration of living that’s not driven by any kind of selfishness." SPARROW

Check out the rest of the extensive interview with ORORO, DiNGO8, and SPARROW about the origins, development, and thoughts behind Columbus' own Restart House Music before their show tonight (EVENT DETAILS HERE). Its a great read about the importance of keeping the soul of the music you love alive for yourself and your community:

Click Here to Read the Interviews

[localautonomy-blog-blog]

New Mix from Single Action that builds on his first mix for LA

[localautonomy-blog-blog]

“I believe there is a spirit and energy in everything. That’s why the trees make noise with the wind blows, we have personalities, and you can hear somebody walking. I am trying to say that energy is just energy. All energy falls into a rhythm if you let it. That’s what makes music so beautiful. It’s an expression of energy.”

Seth Dedikate Carter was nice enough to sit down with me in advance of Musicality May and share his thoughts on music and the energy and rhythm of life. You have to check this out if you are any way interested in electronic music in Ohio, the midwest, Columbus, etc. We are alive and well here in Columbus and the Midwest. Our 4/4 heartbeat still goes strong! We feel and extend the Soul of our community in our common activities.

http://localautonomy.wordpress.com/2013/05/31/a-closer-look-dedikate-musicality-our-collective-soul/

[localautonomy-blog-blog]

"For me, ele_mental really allowed me a forum and venue to bring things together not only to benefit my own growth, but to nurture growth in others. I think its impact on Columbus, and other places here and there, is almost undetectable, but is secretly incalculable. No one did anything even remotely resembling what we were doing at the time, and few have even tried since. The reason it didn’t leave much of a visible impact was because it wasn’t really designed to. It lived on (and lives on) in the idea of collaboration and sharing itself, rather than in some need to prove how influential we were. We’ve never lived in the past, or in the need to prove anything, and we’re not about to start doing that now, even as we’re entering a new phase of understanding our own history." -Ed Luna

Check out the reflections on ele_mental from Ed as well as Charles Noel, Jeff Chenault, Mike Textbeak, Scott Litch, Steven Wymer, Todd Sines, and myself in advance of the ele_mental 20 show this weekend. The music will start at 8 PM at Kobo Live and presales at 7 dollars.

http://localautonomy.wordpress.com/2013/05/15/a-closer-look-ele_mental-20/

[localautonomy-blog-blog]

Dezi Magby, aka DJ Psycho, is a prolific DJ and producer from Flint, MI. He has been honing his craft ever since he was 11 years old and picked up the turntable as his instrument of choice and started wielding records like sonic weapons. He is affiliated with the all-important Detroit Techno Militia, which has helped carry the banner of Techno music for that city and for all of North America for some time. He is a part of a new collective of artists called Convergent, which focus on sound production and DJing that pushes the boundaries of arbitrary music rules. They also just found out that their releases will be distributed by Underground Resistance/Submerge. Even with this techno pedigree, he is not one that can be so easily put in a box labeled “techno” and placed to gather dust in this genre classification in your brain. He spins EVERYTHING. I do not exaggerate here. In my short time immersing myself in this form of music, he finds connections in beat and sound that I have heard few people even consider. Check out the rest of article and the interview at the jump below in advance of his performance at Victory's this saturday (May 11)

A Closer Look: DJ Psycho

[localautonomy-blog-blog]

"I have not consciously made the decision, but overall, the music i buy and experience fully more often than not, is live performances. I get to meet the person behind the art. I learn about them and not just some image they are projecting for a time. It means a great deal to meet in person those whose work i admire. Usually, that image i project dissolves into the reality that they are human, too and perhaps ordinary, yet doing extraordinary things. So for me, that reminds me people are more similar than different. That it’s okay to be “ordinary”, one person among many, simply trying to create something with the time they have…" --Tactil Vision

Got a great, in-depth interview with local musician Tactil Vision up for you today to read, listen, immerse yourself in HERE.

[localautonomy-blog-blog]

Listening List -- 3/25

The Fallen (FBK & Plural) -- House Test ONE

ASC --Deep Space 5

[localautonomy-blog-blog]

"Money comes and goes, things come and go… clothes, people, etc. move in and out of our life all the time. But listening to rain hit your window while you’re trying to fall asleep in a foreign city stays with you, also the sound of trains coming and going as you sip on a coffee in a station waiting for yours to come and take you away to see a loved one. These are the sounds we sometimes take for granted in our life." 

Little excerpt from Walleye interview. Read the rest of the interview and listen to his 2 hour mix at the jump: http://localautonomy.wordpress.com/2013/03/23/a-closer-look-walleye/

[walleyemusic]

A mix for Local Autonomy.