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RA.939 BEIGE

Veröffentlicht
Jun 2, 2024
Dateigröße
210 MB
Länge
01:31:56

A key Detroit DJ in session.
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People tend to remember the first time they see BEIGE DJ—and a lot of the times after, too. One Resident Advisor editor described them as "doing some crazy shit." The Detroit DJ is all about playing to party rock, but also gently subverting expectations. It's a cliché now that good DJs can make whole new tracks out of blending existing songs together, but few embody this as easily or effortlessly as BEIGE, who loves to take sounds you already know and present them in a context you've never heard them in before. BEIGE starting DJing after they moved to Detroit roughly a decade ago, and has since become a vital DJ in the Motor City's ecosystem, bridging gaps, scenes and genres. Their DJing style is adaptable and versatile, but you can count on a few things: a techno foundation, rollicking drums, throbbing basslines and vocals coming at you from all angles. Their RA Podcast flows beautifully, with just the right amount of bumps and left turns to keep you from getting comfortable. And the edits? There's plenty of head-turning moments here, like DJ Chap's downtempo drum & bass remix of seminal emo band American Football, a 150 BPM version of "Energy Flash," a cheeky Skrillex flip from Darian and excellent weirdo beats from the freakier ends of the US underground, including producers like Davis Galvin, Alien D and the late Jasen Loveland. What have you been up to recently? At the end of April I graduated my project Chaotic Neutral (which had been a monthly on The Lot Radio until about a year ago) into a full-blown, properly DIY afterhours situation here in Detroit. Chippy Nonstop and Boyfriend Dick did me the honour of playing the inaugural party, and so many talented hands helped make sure that the sound, lights, projections, safety measures and art installations were flawless. Dipping my toes into the promoter pool is stressful but so far it's also been gratifying to realise that I've really been in this long enough to have the skills, connections and resources needed to actually throw a party exactly the way I think it should be done. I've also been (grudgingly, slowly) tinkering with Ableton, NOT because I plan to (maybe ever!) produce original music, but because my ideas for future mixtapes are becoming increasingly elaborate and beyond my skills on the decks. How and where was the mix recorded? And can you tell us the idea behind it? This mix was recorded in one take at my home studio in Detroit, on my standard setup of two Technics, two CDJs and a Pioneer DJM. I thought it would be fun to go a little trackier and more psychedelic than what most people probably know me for, at least for a bit (the first half features one track where the note/label I wrote for myself simply reads "ultra spiral"). But of course it wouldn't be BEIGE without some cheek. If I had to describe it, I think this mix attempts to convey the experience/sensory-memory of being at a house party, maybe as a teen, realising you've overdone it on your substance of choice and knowing there's no way out but through, riding waves of energy, existential crisis, clarity, regret, etc. in and out of focus while familiar snippets occasionally trickle in. Not to worry—we end on a wholesome note. What's one club or party that had a major impact on you as an artist? Club Toilet, a legendary queer-focused, off-Movement afterparty that happens every Memorial Day weekend, really set the bar for me years ago for just how nasty, hedonistic, raw and banging it can get. I have such a vivid memory of one year of watching I think Avalon Emerson, and it was so shoulder-to-shoulder packed that everyone's sweat was evaporating into a mist, condensing on the ceiling and literally raining back down on us all. But the music was so fire all night no one could even think about leaving. Obviously not every party could be that or should try, but getting to have an experience like that at least every once in a while when I feel ground down by self-serious industry bullshit reminds me that nightlife at its best is fierce and fun and silly and a tiny bit gross, and I can keep going. You mentioned wanting to use Ableton to try some things that are "beyond your skills" on the decks. But you are a very skilled DJ. What are some of your tricks of the trade, or signature things you do while DJing? I think because I learned on and only played vinyl for the first few years, I tend to default towards trying for long, smooth, harmonic two-deck blends. I like it best when sounds "smear" together, so you can't tell where one track ends and another begins, but more like a gradient than a clean, surgical splicing. But overall I think any signature I have is more stylistic or affective than technical: using even just one similar element among otherwise wildly different music as a connecting thread makes it possible for me, from one track to the next, make almost any leap in genre, tempo or mood. At the endpoint of a night wandering all over the map, riding the emotional rollercoaster and experiencing a full narrative arc, I want people to remember how it began and be like, "Wait how the fuck did we get here from there?" And if I manage to engineer at least one moment of shocked laughter per set, I know I'm cooking. What's one social or political cause you want the world to pay more attention to? For eight months it's been hard to think about anything but the genocide in Gaza, and I really believe we need to hang it up as a civilization if we cannot collectively put a stop to this horror and free Palestine. I know some DJs and dancers still struggle to make the connection between what we do in nightlife and "international politics," but all those platitudes about music bringing us together ring pretty hollow if we don't act in solidarity on and off the dancefloor. I encourage all of my peers to sign the DJs Against Apartheid statement, respect the venue boycott they've called, and apply to the Strike Fund if taking the principled stand puts you in a tough spot financially. What are you looking forward to in the near future? At the end of this month I've been honoured with the closing sunrise set at Get Wrecked & Carry Pride at the Knockdown Center in New York, in the biggest room I've ever played by far. I'm SO nervous because I'm in such awe of Wrecked and the Carry Nation as tastemaking, culture-keeping institutions and I want to live up to their expectations, but I'm also beyond excited and as a closing specialist I think this is probably the set I was born to play. Beyond that, Chaotic Neutral will continue at itinerant locations around Detroit whenever I have the extra bandwidth/time/money to burn. The next one will be a special edition for my 30th birthday at the end of August.
Tracklist