Re: Faster AJ, Samplers, and Me

William Jon Curtis (71333.1707@compuserve.com)
11 Jan 96 11:51:12 EST


Howdy all-

It's been a while for me, as I've mainly just been lurking about caught up in my
own affairs. Things are pretty interesting here in the Orlando home front... the
Global Groove Summit has been rescheduled for May 24-May 26, email me for more
information on this exciting AJ-related convention (though I will pass your
message on to the coordinator... I don't have much to do with the summit).
Eighth Dimension is readying a slew of releases for the beginning of 1996, a lot
of which will be co-released with other labels. And our Phat N Jazzy club night
is stronger than ever... more and more live players are showing up every week to
take on DJ BMF. The trumpet/trombone/flute three way improvised assault on BMF's
turntable beat-mastery was certainly a recent sight to behold. Life is good.

Some comments on recent posts:
Marc asked: "Can anybody recommend any faster acid-jazz released on vinyl? I'm
looking for stuff around 130 bpm with a good funky beat. Bonus points for Latin
drums, and Double Bonus for anything that runs around 160 bpm."

UFO's "Loud Minority", of course. There is some incredible Fila Brazillia stuff
in that range (such as the recent Lamb "Cotton Wool" remix...prime!). The
Mephisto Records label does some faster AJ-type material, such as the 12" I did
for them called "141 Revenge Street" which clocks in at, you guessed it, 141
BPM. Also, don't ignore the jazzier drum n bass releases as of late... check out
Alex Reese's "Feel The Sunshine" or anything on the Creative Source label for
high BPM jazzy beauty.

And then there was Dano, who claims to have learned his lesson. But there are
still things to be said in defense of the sampler... and being that I live 30
minutes from the ocean and Dano told me to throw my samplers there, I'm a bit
nervous.

There was a time when electronic music did not seem to afford emotional
expression, just as there was a time when the electric guitar or piano or
saxophone didn't seem to be emotional instruments to its new listeners. But with
time, limits become stretched, the instrument is introduced to its innovators,
and a whole new musical lifeforce becomes created. We have reached this time
with the sampler.

If you believe that a person who uses a sampler is solely 'stealing sounds' than
you obviously have had no artistic interaction with the device. For all of the
MC Hammers looping Queen songs, there are musicians using the equipment to
create sounds that have never been heard before... sounds that are, in
themselves, creating new musical forms which could not have existed otherwise.
Could jazz (in its purest definition) exist without the piano or saxophone?
Could rock and roll exist without the electric guitar and the microphone? Could
hip hop exist without the turntable? Could jungle/drum n bass (and various other
electronic forms) exist without the sampler?

And, as far as interaction goes, the sampler (and other methods of electronic
composition) allow interaction with the SELF, which in itself is a glorious
innovation in the process of musical creation. To me, this creates a whole new
spirituality in the world of music, a spirituality of the self... and being that
electronic music/samplers allow for an unlimited palette of expression, it is
assumed possible that electronic music could perhaps be the most expressive
music there is. But, of course, only in the right hands and with the right
experimentation.

To sum all this up: lighten up. There's a whole new world out there.

PEACE + KISSES

Michael Donaldson
Q-BURN'S ABSTRACT MESSAGE