Paul D. Miller is best-known to the world as DJ Spooky (and sometimes That Subliminal Kid). His music, video, and prose creations are all indicative of a drive to mash up culture, both popular and intellectual. He’s released dozens of albums, remixes, and scores, and collaborated with everyone from Thurston Moore to Kronos Quartet.
In addition to his constant creative output, Miller teaches graduate classes in Switzerland, edits collections of essays by the likes of Brian Eno and Chuck D., and is setting up an artists’ retreat in the South Pacific. It goes without saying that he’s passionate about what he does, and that comes through when he speaks. That’s why he was a perfect choice to take part in our Interactive Interview Series. Click through and control the video interview all on your own.
Music has always been a tool for social change. Critical Beats, a project that promotes preservation of the Amazon rainforest, pairs producers with indigenous artists from the area to, “spread awareness about the critical state of our most cherished environmental resources and the communities which act as caretakers of these places.” Artists including DJ Spooky and L.A.-based electronic musician Jupit3r have remixed tribal sounds and rhythms to create mellow, danceable beats for a new album, Critical Beats for the Climate.
Flavorpill talked to the Jeremy Jensen, co-director of the program, about the dire state of the rainforest and the role of music in activism. Read our conversation, find out more about upcoming Critical Beats events, and learn how you can get involved after the jump.
Despite abnormally wet and chilly weather — even for Seattle — and a seemingly light lineup this year (read: Sheryl Crow), Bumbershoot 2009 stood up to the annual hullabaloo. Adorned with rubber galoshes, rain slickers, and in a few cases, full waders (and nothing else!) fans of the three-day music and arts festival turned out in true Northwest fashion. Read More »
One might think that after the Venice Biennale opened, Art Basel came and went, and the Athens Biennial added more to consider, the art world would be ready for a summer break, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. After returning from Europe, New York has offered one art event after the next. Read More »
Were you ever forced to watch D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation for a class?Considered Hollywood’s first “blockbuster,” the silent black and white film takes place before, during, and after the Civil War, and is controversial because of its positive portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan. It also clocks in at three hours.
Composer/multimedia artist DJ Spooky (aka Paul D. Miller) has created a cinematic deconstruction and remix titled Rebirth of a Nation that will be playing at the Museum of Modern Art from June 22nd through the 28th; he emailed with Flavorpill to explain what he hopes you take away from his post-Obama version of a 1915 classic. Read More »
Next week, three-day media-action and radical-entertainment festival The Influencers returns to Barcelona’s Center of Contemporary Culture for its fifth edition. Touted as “a talk show that can’t be seen on TV,” the event is dedicated to guerilla communication, culture jamming, media interventions, and, of course, art.
Since 2004, The Influencers has presented a pack of renegade projects, archived on its website with statements, videos, and links to the artists’ sites. Anti-consumerist preacher Reverend Billy of the Church of Stop Shopping was a first-year highlight; prankster group the Yes Men and social-activist magazine Adbusters were 2005 standouts; cultural remixer Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky, and DIY merchandisers/musicians Chicks on Speed took part in the 2006 lineup; and video gamer Brody Condon and social agitators Laibach participated in last year’s mix.
JEFF KOONS brings an enormous inflatable lobster into the Chateau de Versailles as part of his new exhibit there and Parisians find the whole thing totally cute. [Blackbook]
DAMIEN HIRST collaborates with British rock band THE HOURS, creating the artwork for their new Web site; he’s friends with lead singer and ex-junkie ANTONY GENN and paid for the band’s studio time on NARCISSUS ROAD. [Brand Republic]
SHEPARD FAIREY is teaming up with college buddy DJ SPOOKY for a new exhibit at Washington D.C.’s Irvine Contemporary gallery called REGIME CHANGE STARTS AT HOME; expect a mix of crazy Obama homage and prints from DJ Spooky inspired by his recent trip to Antarctica. [Wired]
TERRY RICHARDSON snapped a publicity photo of KATE “I Kissed a Girl” PERRY posing with a knife to promote her debut album ONE OF THE BOYS that has everyone in a tizzy across the pond. [Yahoo Music News]
