dj culture archeology

the following are artifacts from a culture built around music. archaically known as the disc jockey, but more recently called "DJs," these individuals are the holy men of their music and dance rituals, playing the feelings and energy of their listeners like a musician plays an instrument. to conduct their ceremonies well, DJs need certain equipment. headphones are necessary to allow the DJ to commune alone with the revelation of the music, to prepare his services. having a laptop can allow for a digital index of his canon of established tracks, and it can provide a means for communication, particularly with other DJs. before any music can be played aloud, it must be diverted through a series of electronic devices. a mixer allows the DJ to sort through inputs, whether pre-recorded or generated live. in order to give music to the crowd, the DJ needs access to large speakers to amplify it, and a microphone can be helpful in allowing him to speak directly to his listeners, an act whose very rarity gives it a good deal of weight. more commonly than the DJ talks to the crowd with words, he expresses his sentiments through a sound-generating synthesizer, to add his artist's voice, his character and his sermon, to the canon of replayed music, which often comes in the form of flat vinyl records. every DJ has a sacred duty to take what auditory relics have already been recorded, released, and overplayed, and bash them to their component pieces, freeing them from sold constraints to become something new, something different, and something game changing. a well-loved method of this dismantling is referred to as turntablism, which is the use of turntables to manipulate and generate sound, especially by scratching the record to create new percussion or a totally different rhythm to a familiar song. Having set up all the necessary equipment, the DJ constructs a full night's experience, and weaves his audience into it. and once the evening's rituals draw to a close, the crowd having been coaxed through ups and downs all night, now ready to go home, the DJ steps down from his position as a small god, and packs his equipment lovingly away so he can take it on the road, spreading his gospel in new places, and striving always to do something that no one has ever done before.

book, in its final incarnation:

all the process can, of course, be found right here.