Cybersex - 23 years later

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I got into my car this morning and decided I wanted to listen to something I mixed a long time ago. I don't tend to listen to my old mixes often but from time to time I will get a urge to listen to one of them. I decided to listen to the original Cybersex mix that I did in the late summer summer/early fall of 1993.

Electronic music was really evolving around that time. In 1992 I was getting into Aphex Twin and some of what could be more of the less straight forward techno music of the time. Also in 1992, a compilation called "Artificial Intelligence" by seminal label Warp came out and influenced me quite a bit. I found myself gravitating towards artists like, Black Dog Productions, Autechre, Seefeel, Beaumont Hannant, Locust and others. While I got myself more into this sound, I did find it difficult to play this style of music at raves. Although I did, it wasn't the stereotypical rave sound of that day. The mixtape was the key though, it allowed DJ's to not think solely of the dancefloor when compiling a mix. Cybersex for me was when I really started to think about programming and flow of a set rather than just slamming records together as that was the style of rave mixing that was pretty popular in the early 90's.

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This compilation highly influenced my musical tastes in the early 90s

Cybersex was really me getting a chance to mix the records that I wanted to without worrying about where I was placed on a lineup or the energy of the room. I just wanted to play the music I thought was cool and although I didn't know it then, was timeless. The mixtapes I created previous to this were merely promotional items that were meant to showcase my DJing skills. I took to making this tape as something different, it was a showcase of my musical taste rather then just DJ skills. This changed the way I took to mixtapes. I could play music I don't ever play out, I could just create sonic scenes that didn't have to relate to a dancefloor.

Listening to this in my car this morning I was surprised that this did not sound dated to me. I mean I could easily reference a time to this because I was there, but I think if played to new ears, one wouldn't think early 90's per se. It still sounded fresh to me. Side A was some great early tracks from Ken Ishii, Aphex Twin (under his Polygon Window name) as well as others. Side B was bit more straight-forward. I was also getting into progressive house and trance during that time and Side B was dedicated to that sound that would later lead into other tapes in the Cybersex Series.

This mix came out in October of 1993. I was 19 years old. That to me is pretty crazy in itself. To me it was one of the best moments for Electronic Music. Genres were breaking out, creating new sub genres that could become larger than the genre that spawned it. All of a sudden there were different styles being played in a night. For such a long time, it was pretty much House or Techno and now the variations and the stylistic lines were becoming more distinct. Looking back at it now, this tape shaped me as a DJ. It allowed me to be less rigid with genres which is a stance I still approach to DJing today. Good music is good music....

First Wedding Gig in Years and Musically Curating Weddings in the Future?

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I have done a few weddings my day. In High School I did a lot of mobile DJing and had quite a few wedding gigs. Over the years of DJ raves I have been asked to DJ a few raver weddings, mainly I would come on for a hour at the end of the reception so that the couple could re-live some rave memories. I haven’t done a reception from beginning to end in at least 25 years.

So last night I DJed at Rob and Melissa Wright’s wedding (CONGRATULATIONS!) and it was a blast for me. I have been nervous in taking this gig because the last thing you want to ever do as a DJ is fuck up someone’s big day. Rob left a lot of room open for me to do what I wanted to do musically. He has a few songs that he wanted of course but for the most part he just let me do what I felt was right. He told me from the beginning that he felt I would choose the right music for the moment. So last night I played classic standards, downtempo and trip hop, 80’s new wave, 90’s rock, chilled house, neo-classical and all kinds of other goodies and I kind of wouldn’t mind to do it again. I of course did a lot of the mic work and announcements but I find that very easy to do.

Best parts of last night are for me:

1. Playing DJ Krush – “Song One” – Young Asian couple asks if I am playing DJ Krush to which I said yes. They said they loved DJ Krush.
2. Playing ABC – “The Look of Love” – Groom exclaims this was his favorite song in highschool.
3. Playing Echo & The Bunnymen – “The Cutter” – Groomsman starts playing air guitar and singing aloud.

End of the night, the Event Coordinator said I did a great job. I told her this isn’t something I normally do, to which she said “Yeah I can tell, the music was good”. Made my night.

So what I am thinking is maybe do a wedding just once a month. No more than that. I don’t want to be a wedding DJ. But, I don’t mind curating a wedding musically. To me, music is essential to life events. It ties memories together. The right song can take you back to an exact moment in time. So what I would want to do is instead of strict playlist or the normal wedding bullshit music, is allow me to craft a soundtrack to your wedding that will be filled with new favorites, classics and some surprises taking the couples taste in music as a starting point. Would be interesting.

While I won’t be actively searching for wedding gigs, if you would like to talk to me about curating your big day please email me.