OMCA Launch Party - Mixed Demographics

Last night I went to the Oakland Museum of California.  The museum was throwing a free launch party, complete with talks from artists, performances, food, $3 micro-brews, and a DJ from 10 pm to 1 am.

We arrived late missing the majority of the talks (which my friend billed as edgy artsy affairs). When we arrived, there was a line to get a little square sticker with a man posed like a flying superhero along with a wrist band allowing us to get our micro-brews.  Once through the line, we went to the large white beer tent, complete with multi-color LEDs changing hue every few seconds.  After getting a couple of Prohibition Ambers, I took a good look around at the fellow attendees.  Apparently I hadn't gotten the memo.

I was wearing a lot of fuchsia, which didn't really go with the others' black t-shirts, square glasses, and asymmetrical bangs.  Having taken too long in the line for beer, we missed the performances as well as the edgy art talks.  This was slightly disappointing because I heard they were really good, but they were so crowded that it was nearly impossible to see anything unless you were 7 feet tall.

So, we waited a few minutes more to get into the dance party.  Unfortunately the music wasn't really dance music - unless you came of age in 1968.  This was upsetting because I was really hoping for some good dance music, after all, 3$ beers is definitely the cheapest night out we've had. On top of the strange music choices and poor transitions between songs, once I left the room to use the facilities, it was next to impossible to get back in because they had more than reached capacity.  A person might have thought your superhero sticker would have guaranteed your entrance into the dance area without any hassle.  It seemed they hadn't accounted for the turn-out or the space required for the large hipster contingent that crashed long after the stickers had all been given out.

Once I got back in, my friends wanted to leave.  It didn't make sense to wait around in line any more, because even if they changed their minds, the line to get into the dance floor was so long it was likely most people wouldn't get in for the rest of the night. I left feeling rather disappointed.

You could say this was an incredibly successful event as attendance was so high, or you could say that it was meant for a much smaller group of people consisting primarily of museum sponsors (many of whom were graying and actually in attendance on the dance floor) and therefore was a disaster.  For my part, I was just disappointed by the disconnect and the lack of foresight about the potential attendance.  Perhaps this would have been a better event if it had included surrounding buildings and been more of a block party, or if they had limited entrance.  Despite the disappointment, it was a good idea.  For this reason alone, I hope they learn from the mistakes of this event and continue to have similar events for Oakland and East Bay in the future.

Techno in Pop - A Po-Mo Look at Music

"We regret to inform you, your favorite genre has been co-opted."

The conversation went much like this:

"This is like techno."
"No it is techno." The singer warbles a little more without many sound effects altering her voice.
"No it's not.  It's pop. She's singing without any sound effects and it's in a power ballad pop style."  Christian grumbles under his breath while scowling.

In the past couple years techno has infiltrated pop music like no other.  It is the background to rap, pop, and even some rock.  Techno lends itself to this mixing and blending, that is the origin of the thing.  DJs would spin beats, mix in samples, and perhaps have a live singer if they were feeling saucy.  Like rock or jazz, techno has developed its own sub-genres that have taken on lives of their own.  The family tree of techno is lush with new developments, various fan bases, and tributes that cross pollinate within the genre family as well as other genres entirely.  When I hear Gigi D'Agostino or Daft Punk sampled on the radio as part of a pop song, I find myself feeling ambivalent.

I'm not into deep trance, never will be.  Still, there is a sort of heresy in mixing beautiful music to make it into something new.  Maybe this is a natural development of post-modern culture, to continue mixing in order to pretend to be something new, while acknowledging there is nothing new under the sun.  Everything is just a symbol of a symbol of a thing that was lost long ago.  After all, every melody has already been written.  It was said and done centuries ago.  So then, is a musician just recalling something, reconstituting orange juice and putting in a splash of cranberry for a twist? Or is it something else? Is there any point in writing music at all? In painting? If there is nothing new under the sun, is it okay for things to be a reinterpretation? Is that acceptable? Should we acknowledge this and judge things based on this understood truth? It certainly changes the rating system. 

Everyone wants to do something new and fresh, but sometimes it's okay not to push things.  It's okay to enjoy a good arrangement of something old.  I can appreciate a beautifully rendered folk song from the heart of the Whiskey Rebellion in the Appalachian mountains.  I also like Ke$ha.  Some people might think these things are mutually exclusive.  But the purpose of music is many fold.  It is an expression of human experience, from something as soul-searching and yearning as a traditional melody to something as primal and superficial as a popular club song. 

So, yes, I like techno the way it was.  I also like that it has become part of mainstream music culture.  There is a lot more dancing in my seat as I drive places because of the change.  Pop music could be worse.  It could consist entirely of Banda.  Thank GOD for DJs!

Retro v. Techno, Alexis style: Take 2

It's hard to find good musical partners.  There is a courtship process, just as there is with friends and lovers.  In music it can be more difficult because of  "creative difference." That's short hand for too big egos butting against each other due to contrary vision.  If visions or personalities don't mesh, it just won't work. I kept this in mind when pursuing my musical partner.

So I went to Berkeley - land of students, mom & pop shops, organic produce, and parking that without a permit can only last 2 hours. I met my techno collaborator, who is cool and from India.  We bonded instantly over music and Indian culture.  It was awesome!  We also had a lot of the same thoughts and ideas about the direction of music while he taught me a little more about the nuances of techno vocals and how they're different than vocals in other genres.

Next week we're going to try to do some recording. So far so good. Once the track is up and out and available I'll link to it etc.  With any luck, it will go well and we'll work on some other music together.

Retro v. Techno, Alexis style

My stomach is breeding butterflies.  It might be the coffee, or it might be that I am going to UC Berkeley's campus later today.  Why am I visiting the bastion of hippy and militant student protest? The land of stinky weed, tie-dye, scholarly pursuits, and organic produce? Nothing intellectual I assure you.  I gave up that vice a few years ago.  No this is something much more nervous making.  Give me a class filled with undergraduates any day and I'll talk circles around them.  Give me a young South Asian electronic artist and we're closer to the problem, and the excitement.

I grew up in the Hudson Valley.  It is one of the two most folk musically rich places in the country, the other being in Western Massachusetts (for a general introduction to American folk click here or here.).  I performed with my dad in music festivals, coffee houses, and bars all over New England and in some other locations which are more surprising (Des Moines?!).  We even recorded a few CDs - one when I was fifteen and another when I was seventeen.

I got tired of folk music (though it will always hold a special place in my heart), and as I grew up I wanted to experiment with different music genres.  In college I had a few friends who did some jazz/funk/rnb with a huge band.  I got to sing backup and lead for a few performances and had a total blast.  I discovered the type of music my voice is MADE for.  It was too much fun.  I hadn't realized how relaxed and silly you could be on stage until I played with those guys.  It's an entirely different dynamic than writing and performing music with your parent (no offense Dad).  It was exactly what I wanted out of music moving forward and unfortunately it couldn't last. College has a definite end which came way too soon. 

In Phoenix I tried to get into music, but nothing gelled and I felt like it was a lost cause as I was planning on leaving after 2 years. Even though I desperately wanted to start playing again, it wasn't the right time. Here in East Bay, Christian and I are seriously thinking about putting down roots.  So I began looking for a few different avenues for a musical outlet.  But what type of music should I pursue? East Bay is to artistic expression as the Australian Barrier Reef is to coral ecosystems.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. You're probably asking yourself how a folk turned funk singer would have even considered techno vocal parts.  It's no mystery. When I started dating Christian he immediately exposed me to the world of techno.  I've always liked music with a beat - anything I can dance to makes me happy, especially if it has a good vocal part (what can I say, I'm a singer). Regardless of the level of lyrical wisdom a good beat and interesting composition gets me every time. I became enamored with such greats as Bob Sinclair, Paul Oakenfold, and Benny Benassi. The Ministry of Sound annual became one of the most anxiously awaited musical moments of my year. I think we have three of them in MP3 form on our flash drive in the car. Year after year of this got me thinking, if I could sing techno vocal parts, that would be amazingly fun and I wouldn't necessarily have to go on tour all the time (which is why I never pursued the singer songwriter bit - I hate doing performance after performance).  I even contemplated attempting to tackle Fruity Loops and drum up some beats myself, but I wasn't sure I had the patience.

Enter Craigslist and the infamous ad to which I responded in "gigs." I had been searching daily for something and Mr. Berkeley had placed an ad for a female vocalist in his techno project.  Sweet! Somehow I convinced him with my unusual voice to collaborate with me on this project.  It wasn't his first choice, because my voice is not a typical breathy, flat Alice DJ type of voice.  I've got soul. It required some reimagining on his part, for which I am thankful.

So here I am, in my late twenties, a former folk singer songwriter, going to meet a Berkeley student (who I have a sneaking suspicion is an undergrad) to collaborate on a techno project.  This could either be brilliant, or a really bad idea.  Cross your fingers and wish me luck.  I'll let you know how it goes.

P.S. I don't think the coffee helped my nerves.