Interviews: Soleil Psychédélique – DubtilDawn

It was New Year’s Eve when I hear Dub Till Dawn get her dub on and it’s been on since there. She has a style that is dance floor fun and her energy behind the decks always makes her a pleasure to just watch if you ever take a break from grooving to look up. I took some time to ask her five questions about her music style, venue preference and gave her some space for shout outs.

Tell me how you got started djing, when did you go from buying music to djing?
I’ve been playing with mostly vinyl, since I was a teenager. It was an on again off again relationship really but, I was more of a dancer & liked to be immersed in the music. I started with some random ambient sounds fused with crazy Hawaiian surfer music to atmospheric drum & bass on to a little house music & some epic trance. It wasn’t until a few years ago did I muster up the nerve to play in front of more than just a hand full of people. I never had the equipment of my own to really delve deep into the musical stylings that I loved, so I had to rely on friends & loved ones to provide that platform. I have to say that people at the time I started playing in venues weren’t really pushing the dub/reggae sounds anymore. It was pretty difficult to find really good dub music that wasn’t completely overplayed. I’d been a long time reggae & dub lover. Anything from King Tubby to Bob Marley… one of the local groups that turned me onto the neo-dub sounds was Sub Oslo out of Fort Worth. I still collect vinyl but, I’d rather carry CDs because of shear portability & convenience.

When it comes to the music that you play, what kind of experience are you seeking for the dance floor?
When I’m playing music, which to me should evoke an emotional response in people, I hope to see people getting the message that I’m trying to relay while grooving to it. Most of the dub/reggae influenced music has a clear message. The messages I try to portray are of peace, positive forward movement, respect & tolerance for one another, the unification of us as people, standing up for your beliefs & the ability to overcome even the most tumultuous of hardships.

DJing at Quartz and Jesters

I have noticed that you have a great love of punk music and have a GRRL quality about your personality,is there any link from punk from what you play now?

Punk is a state of mind. It’s the never ending desire to do what you want, push the limits & boundaries of society; influence those around you, backing down to no one. So in essence, yes, I would wager that it’s really had a major influence on my choice in music. As you know, punk, dub & reggae are very much intertwined (think Ska, that’s a nice fusion to relate them with). They are all heavily revolutionary in my mind. Amazingly enough, the type of music I play is becoming more relevant in today’s world than I’d ever imagine it being (at least in my lifetime).

dub delights at Trinity Park

You have played at bars, club, warehouses, the great outdoors – out of those venues which is your favorite so far?
I prefer to be outdoors honestly, connecting with the earth & all the creatures, whether it’s someone’s land & we’re camping, an outdoor festival or a park party scenario. However, I won’t pass up an opportunity to play for a bar/club venue that has more of an eclectic mix of people. The more differing people & world views that are exposed to the type of music I play the better.

Are there any artists out there right now that you can not get enough of?
I’d say that I cannot get enough of the French dub producer KANKA. He has a terrific set of MCs & his dub production is right up my alley. “Kanka, he’s a dub organiza, he’s a dub constructa..”

Shout outs!
I’d like to thank some very special musical catalysts in my life: AEON, SunRay, Burl (R.I.P.), Epik, Nao & TomB. Love & Respect

Dub till Dawn will be playing at Mannafest in Dripping Spring, TX at Rec Plant

Interviews: Brian Aldridge – DJ Uhm

I started hearing the name Uhm one night on the radio when he played a guest mix on Edgeclub and since then always wanted to hear him live. 5 years ago I finally started to go to psytrance parties and eventually listened to Uhm’s absolutely balls to the wall music that had me dancing from the moment he went on and then I lost track of time & realized the sun would be coming up soon. Since then I’ve heard Uhm play all over and I believe you should hear him play out as well. Psytrance is MEANT to be heard to outdoors anyway.

Did you come from a musical upbringing?
I don’t recall any of my close family playing any instruments when I was young. My dad had a pretty eclectic taste in music, so I was exposed to a rather large palette at a young age. I grew up wanting to play an instrument, but that never manifested. Maybe one of these days I will learn how to play piano [:D]

How would verbally describe the type of music that you like to play? Hmmmm……the music I play is intense, but yet can also be laid back, it can be in your face, but yet subtle. I also describe it as sometimes twisted, sometimes psychotic, sometimes hypnotic, and sometimes incredibly beautiful. I get pigeon-holed a lot with people saying that I play darkpsy, or that I play neuro, but I really feel that labels like that don’t really fit me as a dj. I don’t consider most anything that I play as something that is dark, and neuro is something that is very much subjective. I guess the best way that I could describe my music is by saying I play music that is a microcosm of my life.

Does this differ at all from the music that you listen to while not in trancing-your-brains out mode?
I don’t really listen to a lot of music that isn’t psytrance. It is tough enough staying on top of finding music that moves me enough to play it, let alone do that with other genres of music. I can find most everything I need musically in the realm of psychedelic music. Admittedly though I have been spending a good amount of time in the past month or so re-visiting music that I used to dj many years ago. Dancing around in my kitchen making dinner while singing the lyrics to kick ass progressive house tunes from the 90s…..oh yeahhhh baby!!

Hi, I make ravers dance on speakers 6 feet off the ground.

Do you think what you are doing now is in an extension of America’s dance music history?
I think what we do is definitely an extension of America’s dance music history. Just how much of a spot in the light a genre like psytrance is given hasn’t been completely written. Thankfully there are still great people in Texas and across the country who are willing to champion the sound and continue bringing psytrance gatherings to the people. I am just happy to be a part of it all, and to play the role that I do.

While at Deep in the Heart of Trances I heard the comment that the psytrance scene was the “most hippie of the EDM” scenes.” What are you thoughts on this statement?
Psytrance is the most hippie EDM scene……hmmmm. That’s definitely a pretty common generalization. Yeah we have people with dreads, we have people who recycle, who eat organic, who burn incense, buy crystals, who meditate, and any other number of things that people could label as hippie. The fact of the matter is though that a vast number of people could fit those statements – not all of them mind you – and that wouldn’t make them a hippie. Heck, I do all of those things, and I have dreads, and I wouldn’t label myself as a hippie. That box is way too small for me to fit into. The only thing that I can say about the people that get attracted to the Atrium Obscurum gatherings is that they like the people/community, and the energetic vibe that is present. That seems to be the biggest bond, for not everyone who comes out cares for psytrance – and that’s okay.

This weekend DJ Uhm will be playing at Mannafest in Dripping Spring, TX at Rec Plant.