Date: Thu, 24 Dec 92 20:06:51 PST To: sfraves@soda.berkeley.edu From: "Pat Dote" Subject: VIZINE: december 92: introduction 1/7 Welcome to Vizine, version 1.1, formerly It's Just A Phaze. This is the december 92 issue in this issue: interviews with DJ Lime from SL2 DJ Dag from Frankfurt's Dance 2 Trance DJ Spun from San Jose Brian Behlendorf from SFraves anatomy of liquid oil projection music dance community textual collage edited by doom@stanford VIZINE/ ItUs Just A Phaze is xeroxed monthly 4 worldatabassconquest & Peanut Butter & Jelly Productions we would like 2 thank U 4 reading this far, & would like 2 apologize in advance 4 the uninteresting quality of the layout. Exams & LN (lack of experience). but we ^gure UUll B looking @ this @ some mid single digit am hour, & will B thankful weUre pretty basic. please move along & enjoyI Some Logistics & How 2 Contact Us letters, submissions, reviews, artwork, the whole 9 encouraged & welcomed. please include an SASE if you would like your material returned. MAIL ALL PRODUCT 2: VIZINE PO 04307 Stanford, CA 94309 cm.kgm@forsythe.stanford.edu back issues available @ $.60 an issue. 3 month subscriptions available @ $3.60. advertising is accepted: $10 per business card, per issue. our distribution is 1000 & weUre free & easy we do windows weddings & bar & bat mitzvahs. Read, Relax, Respond, RecycleI The next issue is going to be unbelievable: Interviews with Smash Hunter from New Breed Records, Groove Academy, & Save The Robots Tony Largo from LA The Twitch Remix people from SF Harry Who? from the South Bay DJ Lime from the U.K.'s SL2 SL2 is probably best known in the states 4 the silver disk import on a ragga tip - 1 of the 1st widely distributed tracks 2 ^nd a sharing ground between breakbeat house & regg>. an upcoming domestictly released remix of on a ragga tip has DJ Lime very excited. afterall, heUs on the same import label (XL) as breakbeat chartbusters, the prodigy. heUs seen their success, & knows the power the sped up hip-hop drum tracks have 2 move a crowd. in the uk, breakbeat is the take control style of the moment w/ DJ Lime as 1 of its most well-known & respected pioneers. Lime is convinced 1 national hit will put breakbeat on the scene in force in the u.s. & he hopes ragga tip will B that cut. in the u.k. breakbeat has been on the rise 4 2 or 3 years, crowds the size of 39,000 bob their heads across 4 square mile, 4 sound system events while Lime mixes the boom-tis, boom-tis of a Swicked ruff rhythmS. Why is it taking so long 2 cross 2 the states? Lime explains the comparatively small size of the u.k. makes a trend a rather easy & total process once it begins in any scene. the u.s. is another marketing world altogether, rich in its own styles, its own trends moving across the coasts @ slowed down speeds. Lime sees the u.k. as a bit ahead: while many in america R still getting used 2 a space devoted 2 phun across social barriers, that consciousness has begun 2 wear off 4 the crowds Lime knows, not because the project of peace & love failed, but because everyone has ^nally begun 2 accept it as what should B going on in the sober normal. likewise the americans still focus on the trance rhythms of the boom boom boom. & while Lime knows their power & vibe, he feels they can only bring U 2 a peak & carry U along that trance line. breakbeat, however undulates & adds a percussive depth moving dancers in & out of different rhythmic spaces. Lime has been 2 the u.s. once b4 2 spin in l.a. he dOsnUt change his approach 4 an american audience, & he feels, @ least in l.a., they respond well. he left a day b4 the king riots, from 1 of the hotels subsequently damaged. peace & love in the sober normal remains only related in certain places on the underground of multiple layers of injustice, pain, & legitimate anger Twitch Records: all your favorite techno/ acid/ rave tracks cd#4: react 2 rhythm % young american primitive % jam & spoon % skin up % sonic boom % rabbit city % zero b % direckt % sonz of a loop da loop era % after dark % nebula II cd #5: dop % gat decor % rozalla % rough & raw % darwin chamber % studio x % m to the third % kid unknown % m17 % run tings % tasti box Twitch Cd's are $20 (UPS shipping included) Send check or money order to: Twitch 584 Castro Street Suite 600 Sf, CA. 94114 for a free catalog, please phone 415.751.6740 DJ Dag from Frankfurt's Dance 2 Trance listening 2 Dag spin is an intense trip through the frequency modulation & steady beat underpinnings of a trance/dance tourguideUs focused navigation of deep rhythms feelable right in in the bosom. Dag de^nes 2 sorts of DJs: the club DJ & the mix DJ. the mix DJ hurriedly alternates between cuts, creating new sounds & combinations with the start of every bridge. the club DJ has a relationship 2 each track & wants it 2 work the crowd through its own peaks & changes. i guess the distinction is like soloist 2 conductor, & Dag places himself as a conductor. perhaps he is so attentive 2 the ways a track works with itself because he writes, & produces, he lays out tracks as totalities, stories 2 B told 2 an audience, & cutting them up 2 tell new ones is not something in his style. his ^rst release was called hanta yo. itUs sioux 4 the joker. Dag says heUs very involved w/ native american issues, & was attending an anti-columbus day demonstration when he me the people who would eventually B responsible 4 global rythym festival. although, 4 the most part his music is lyricless, ranging from the super parodic odd couple cover swinging in trance 2 his more mesmeric staples Q Dag recognizes the importance of being conscious & active 4 change. DagUs most recent single: however, moves away from the completely hypnotic & seems 2 offer a critique of american culture & in being thought provoking, Dag also manages 2 keep the vibe, & throw the beat Q itUs a subtle balancing maneuver that might bring new consciousnesses 2 the bass cabinetsI i asked Dag what makes an event happen, what gets people the energy? he said a good sound systems has the power 2 overcome almost any crowd, & plunge them into a pheel good phrenzy. even the perfect mix would have trouble moving anyone if it was coming out of a realistic*. secondly, the crowd has 2 B non-aggressive, & ^nally theyUre shouldnUt B 2 many DJs. Dag feels DJs need @ least 2 hours 2 really B able 2 relate 2 a crowd, & 2 work with a crowd 2 bring them through different areas of dancing, trancing, tripping, feeling happy. there R many emotions shared among the crowd Q the DJ has the ability 2 relate these into a shared experience & constructed narrative. BPM music factory dedicated 2 da underground cd's vinyl cassettes 1141 Polk St (between Post & sutter) 415.567-0bpm sf, ca 94109 DJ Spun from San Jose Spun works every style he can throw on the tables: from acid 2 tribal 2 laying out some miami bass & freestyle beats, Spun considers DJ equipment an instrument through which he creates sound collages. the idea of DJing as a creative process comes 2 Spun out of his earlier days of strictly hip-hop spinning, & hip-hop gives Spun a distinctive way of locking on 2 _ows between tracks based deep in their percussion. he describes working w/ crowds as always unique experiences: sometimes he enters the evening with a Sde^nite tripS he wants 2 impose out musically, sometimes he tries 2 read the crowdUs energy & take it further or just different places. thereUs no magic formula 4 Spun. i had the chance 2 catch up w/ him last week during deep space, a new weekly he headlines every thursday night @ the san jose oasis, & if thereUs no magic formula. @ least there is an almost magic ability 4 him 2 consistently relate 2 a crowd, taking them around the worlds of powerfully distinct rhythms while keeping his set a related whole moving from intense 2 tranced 2 tripped out in sync w/ the energy moods of the crowd. his anticipation 4 when an audience wants 2 pick the pace back up, or mellow out through a few mixes is uncanny. Spun feels house music has changed many peopleUs lives 4 the more positive. just being able 2 lose it 2 some beat & work it as community w/ a dance _oor of strangers is a good thing, & Spun is excited the scene is continually growing, getting bigger while still getting better. according 2 Spun, the music has de^nite ability 2 bring people together because itUs completely apolitical Q no one has 2 get with a certain opinion of the lyricist, they just have 2 let themselves be moved by the thousands of watts of bass & an already present vibe. itUs ironic that the least conscious of the scenes has done more 2 bring people together on a consistent basis than any of the overly-thought out programs of contrived togetherness. Fri: jan 8th Caffiend harry who? shaun unknown francesco plastech 415.497.1214 free - all ages 8pm - 4am Brian Behlendorf from SFraves SFRaves, what is it? perhaps virtual community is an apt descriptionI itUs an electronic mail network of about 250 people communicating 24/7 about the bay areaUs emergent rave scene. the conversations include everything from quantum physics 2 virtual reality 2 the music, the djs, the people, the drugs, the love, some more of the music, etcI 4 the people who participate, its become a vital way 2 stay in touch & feel the warmth during the off hours away from the dance _oor. 2 check it out , get access 2 internet & ask 2 be a member by addressing a post 2 sfraves-request@soda.berkeley.edu. brian is the person who created SFRaves, as well as being a prime helper in the creation of other networks in the north-east, mid-west, south-east, u.k.,& southern california. weUve had the chance 2 correspond over the net, & the rest is a collection of thoughts about the uniqueness & conditions of the bay areaUs scene: RWe are the tv generation. we grew up with technology. we grew up without fearing it either. We know the H-bomb itself is not dangerous, it's the people who launch it who are. We know that without technology you just can't get that clean bass sound, that super acidic "funky worm" sound et cetera. The presence of computers in creating a lot of the visuals at raves is also significant - thanks to fractals and computer graphics. i think ravers are beginning to see that computers are _not_ cold and rigid and difficult to deal with, but instead tools we can use to expand our mindsI [in terms of community] all I can say is, we've got to watch out for each other, we've got to keep ourselves from doing stupid things that can hurt our scene, to remember not to focus on the money but focus on the party, and to keep acting like a family. If you see someone huddled in a corner with their head in their hands, by all means walk over and say hi! If you see someone dancing for hours suddenly turn pale and weak, pull them off the dance floor, get some water for them, and help them. The scene is starting to mature... our danger now is of getting to big for our britches, getting too many people with dollar signs in their eyes. Don't be lulled by the big parties and the big names - there's an INCREDIBLE amount of DJ talent in the bay area. Find the smaller joints. Go for the MUSIC and the PEOPLE. The drugs are extra. Don't let them be your reason for going to parties.Keep it alive! I [& about consciousness] it's hard to not be swayed towards certain ideas, such as becoming more environmentally aware, having a greater concern for your fellow humanbeings, etc., and of course, drug legalization. I remember Come/Unity on Nov. 6th, the night of the election. People were incredibly happy about George Bush being kicked out of office". LONDON JAMAICA every tuesday: 12pm - 3pm on kzsu stanford 90.1fm rave ticket giveaways guest djs like jeno, garth, spun, thomas the newest dancehall, the hypest rave with djs unknown, francesco, & indoton request line: 415.723.9010 techniks: fun with technology liquid oil projections itUs a beautiful day in the neural netI hi kids, let me kick off my birks B4 i suit up 4 the clean room. todayUs topic: how they make those help-iUve-tripped-&-canUt-get-down oil splotch rorsach visuals - or kinetic liquid projections 2 the pros, so hey, donUt use this kinda language if UUre untrained, U could poke someoneUs eye out. 1st: ^nd an overhead projector like the 1 your 6th grade teacher used 2 teach UUall about sex w/. quartz-halogen lamps do the trick 2nd: put a dimmer on the main power & ^nd an additional fan 2 insure proper ventilation. 3rd: get 2 bowls/dishes/old clock faces that R clear glass. make sure 1 is larger than the other. 4th: pour some water & oil based dyes into the larger bowl/dish/clockface type structure. anilyne dyes can B used 4 the oil colors & photo retouching solutions can B used for water based dyes. 5th: put the ^lled glass thing on the projector, place the smaller glass thing bottom down on top of the solution. 6th: fade up the dimmer, focus, mask off the edges of the screen area & move the top glass thing in rhythm 2 the musicI hunt around 4 some different color solutions that might come cheaper & easier, say olive oil & balsamic vinegar. although they can work, the color intensities might not B the droids UUre looking 4. NEXT MONTH: the naked intellibeam HEAL: smart wear watch 4 it the interactive pro-active t-shirt cold stone lamping w/ dj plastech during my 24hr mosey through this neighborhood of history i like 2 call the carbon conspiracy - when iUm in a jolly mood, 4am always strikes me as an impenetrable brick wall & i stare @ it: deer in the headlights, rat whose maze has been changed, barbara streisand @ the oscars, dan quayle watching the polls. like when i saw star wars 4 the 2nd time & just couldnUt believe obi wan kenobi would let himself lose again. & iUm just never myself until the liquor laws kick back in & i can have my 6oUclock-rolling-rock* & bust it out 4 some ny house Q the really cheesy stuff 4 on the _oor RiUm so in love so in love [beat] in love whoooo-ooo-oooS, the muzak of the2020Us, i can picture little children having their 1st teeth pulled 2 loleatta hollowayI well itUs 4am now, iUm kissing brick, so i go 2 the kitchen 4 another bowl of coffee, U see, iUm multitasking, writing my thesis & this simultaneously & i want both 2 hit the streets, ohhh i dunno, in about 12 hours. sometimes i wish i lived in bklyn Tcause then iUd @ least know therUd B sleep in @ some point in the phuture. & i decide i want food, & hereUs where my mind takes a vacation U see i only eat 1 meal a day, itUs this 18 hour snack, & i think iUve already had enuff shit today, letUs try something healthyI well i just bypassed that box of 1000 chocolate chips we keep around 2 torture little kids with, went straight 4 the tofu wieners & then it hit me, hey, lucky charms R healthier than chocolate chips. well that was just 2 much. so i threw some chocolate chips on top of the lucky charms & here i amI chubbing out. so i was thinking a lot about spirituality, personally iUm a practicing atheist, i havenUt learned how 2 dribble between my legs yet (ba-dum-dum ohhh!) Q but it, seems 1 of the many, yet also 1 of the predominate currents in the Bay Area scene is 2 explain the @ often times very tangible positive energy of raving in metaphors of mysticism from other cultures. words like RZenS. RshamanS, RtribalS R dropped like beats in hasty attempts 2 clarify an unexplained divergence from what amounts 2 a person's consistent norm. & rather than doing the hard work of forging a language based on the particulars of unique experiences, the effort walks the easy way of already tread paths of conceptual imperialisms, of bringing in culture w/o concern 4 context & respect 2 a hodge-podging, pick & choosing of a media ready vocabulary of simulations. 1 reason the west often looks 2 other cultures as symbols of deep thoughts on the unexplained is because the west has had an impossible time understanding otherness: the west reads its confusion in a mirror, translating confusion as other cultural RmysticismsS. obviously, raving is diverse, & @ best can multiply handle a plurality of cultural in_uences Q thats probably a big reason why it continues 2 grow & people continue 2 stay. but i think 1 of the challenges facing raving in the united states as anything more than just an intense new trend in phun management is its ability 2 have phun while learning that having phun is more than just being able 2 next 2 & with histories & peoples & cultures. in this corner, weighing in @ 151 pounds, 5.7S, the teutonic typhoon w. f. nietzsche who w/ jim mckay the other weekend said god is dead & i have killed god. & entering the ring, weighing in @ a combined mass of the entire universe, the one who is, & still champion of world, but a no show 4 the past 200 years god almighty, @ 1 time famous 4 sticking live camels through holes in needles. donUt go away folks, weUll b right backI peace 2 the vibe & all the vibrators. To: SFRAVES@SODA.BERKELEY.EDU