About the event

Paul D. Miller, a.k.a. DJ Spooky, has spent the last 15 years between two (sometimes three) turntables and a mixing board, authoring books and essays, as well as lecturing at the European Graduate School in Switzerland. His books, Sound Unbound and Rhythm Science contain the pillars of his artistic approach. As opposed to most DJ’s, who select and mix choice cuts of music, Miller sees a broader role for himself. In the multi-stream flow of art, culture, media, and entertainment, Miller suggests the DJ act as ‘cultural filter’ to help forge order from chaos. A mix serves to bridge distant, often seemingly incompatible, ideas – not necessarily musical. Miller has been known to lace his innovative  soundscapes with spoken word by James Joyce or William S. Burroughs. In this process, the selection becomes the narrative itself, as mixing two elements generates new meaning and quality.

Miller’s foray into moving pictures is a natural outgrowth of his musical development. His biggest multimedia project, Rebirth of a Nation, premiered in 2004 (now released on DVD). Rebirth is a remix of D.W. Griffith’s classic The Birth of a Nation (1915), which entered the annals of cinematic history for its innovative cinematography and directing. Now seen as a propagandistic and racist film recounting the story of an America coming together after the Civil War, Miller also suggests it began the era of media manipulation. Though much shorter than the original, his Rebirth of a Nation provides rich commentary (including Miller’s own compositions, performed and recorded by The Kronos Quartet) on America’s social ills. Miller subtly deconstructs the film’s meanings to ask the elementary question of what is truth.

Kamil Antosiewicz

More beats and treats after the show at club Eter, October 20, 2010, 10 p.m. Shake your thang on the dance floor to a live set by DJ Spooky!

Tickets:

DJ Spooky, photo: Mike Figgis