Wharton Journal

Issue date: 2/19/07 Section: Insider

On February 13th, despite the falling snow, Wharton accommodated one of the most intriguing guest speakers of the year, Paul Miller aka DJ Spooky. Paul is more than a DJ and a producer; he is an artist who combines various aspects of artistic work from music to film production to writing.

Having earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy and French literature, Paul approaches music in a completely different way. His mixes are attributed to illbient genre, which is the combination of hip hop slang "ill", meaning good, and "ambient." Although I do not listen to or play his style (I love progressive trance), it is always worth exploring new horizons in electronic music.

He gave me his recent mix of Indian music with hip hop, drum and bass, rock, and Jamaican tunes. It is, indeed, unusual. If you want to listen to this promo mix, go to DJ Zone group under WhartonLink.

He started his speech with the reference to the roots of electronic music and mixing. I especially liked the fragment from an early 20th century film where a man copied himself and formed a band, playing different musical instruments simultaneously.

This is exactly what DJ'ing and mixing are all about. With the advancement in digital music technology, today's DJs can sample the best tunes from a variety of different songs. They produce sounds that push the limits of our imagination. For example, I was very impressed by Deep Dish's mix of the Azan, the Islamic call to prayer.

However, the technological improvement and the change in artistic taste are facing a huge hurdle. According to Steve Gordon, an entertainment attorney and consultant specializing in the media production, and DJ Spooky, the heavyweights of today's music industry hamper the free flow of music and the emergence of new talents with their Digital Rights Management (DRM).

It is sad to learn that recently a local DJ in New York was arrested for mixing and playing copyrighted tracks. As a lawyer, Mr. Gordon advocates the radical change in DRM. Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, has already begun pushing music industry leaders to change their policy. Let us be hopeful that the change will occur someday in the near future and that the music industry will shift to a totally new stage of its development.

For those who are interested in electronic music, Paul advised budding DJs to build their own record label company, rather than cooperate with large ones. In fact, all major producers have been following the same strategy.

For example, Armin van Buuren with his Armada Music and Tiesto with his Black Hole Records have been able to reach their fans much easier and attract more young talents to their respective companies.

The event was very helpful in terms of shedding light on controversial issues of digital music industry and the future of electronic music, in particular.

In fact, DJ Spooky sees the trend evolving towards the convergence of different genres into one diverse sampling. I am optimistic and confident that creativity will be rewarded, and the new "masters" will take us to untouched places in our dream world. Keep dancing…

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