Made a couple of minor updates, including putting up track listings for about half the mixes. Hopefully I'll get info up for the rest soon. (It's disconcerting to listen to records one knows one has, yet not have the slightest idea what they are!)
It's always bugged me when mixes aren't supplied with track lists. The concept of 'cover-ups,' or changing/obscuring labels on records certainly has a long tradition in soundsystem culture. Yet despite the ever-growing number of DJs in today's dance scene, I don't see the need as in the ritualized competition of Jamaican soundclashes. Of course some DJs cherish their 'secret weapons' - I remember tales of a famous LA rave DJ who worked in a record store and would not only cover his records, but refuse to sell copies of particularly hot tracks to anyone else!
At the heart of the matter, it seems disrespectful to the artists who actually create the tunes going on these mixes. Yeah, the DJ may recontextualize the originals, but it's not like they're pulling sounds out of the ether. I'll entertain the argument that a turntablist is using the wax more as fodder for intricate collage, akin to timbre and tone, creating something new, unhinted by the source. And there's an unfortunate sentiment in crate-digger culture that tends to hold that breaks are sacred, and not to be revealed to the uninitiated. (or to those who haven't spent days at a time in dusty basements rifling through stacks of Perry Como albums hoping to come across The Mohawks LP). I can understand where that comes from, but don't agree with it. And for a house or techno DJ to put themselves above the artists on the decks? Naw, it just doesn't work. A DJ making self-released promotional mixes is never going to be able to actually pay to license tracks properly, but at least proper recognition might provide some exposure and new fans for the artists represented.
Speaking of crate-digging, I've got to plug my favorite Texas practicioners of the art of the recycled groove - Rehash. Their site is great - details of all of their digging adventures (with label pix and samples!) as well as their own mixes. Their 7" releases are pretty hot, too. Check it out.
Posted by Joe at January 27, 2004 12:35 AM