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!!

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.