viz.

Image Credit: DJ Spooky's Website

In the wake of DJ Spooky's Sound Unbound rip mix burn lecture here at UT yesterday evening, I'd like to recap some of the topics covered last night. DJ Spooky's discussion of remixing, music and sound, art, and space and global adventuring resonate particularly well with recent discussions here on viz. Above is a representation of global ocean currents that DJ Spooky presented as the inspiration for his symphonies on ice. 

Yesterday evening DJ Spooky discussed a little bit about a wide variety of his work (mainly his music and his writing) and his inspirations. From playing an old battle rap featuring Run DMC and discussing the history of experimental music and the remix from noise compositions to Stravinsky's national anthem - which Spooky points out got him arrested, though essentially the same act earned Hendrix wide acclaim at Woodstock - Spooky's lecture focused on the ways in which sounds can be changed, the dilemmas of copyright law, as discussed in the documentary film Copyright Criminals featuring Spooky among other artists (view the preview below).  

Image Credit: Stravinsky's Mugshot, from Rate My Band

Spooky also talked a great deal about space and place and its effects on our ways of approaching music and sound. He discussed his escape from his usual influences in New York and his recent trips to both Antarctica and the North Pole. Spooky's global adventurings play a significant role in his explorations of music and remixing.

 Image Credit: DJ Spooky at the North Pole, from his Facebook photos

Spooky also discussed the influence of graphic design on his outlook on remixing. He explained that design is a forum where drawing from a variety of influences is expected -- a topic discussed recently in viz  by Noel and even discussed his interest in and use of QR tags to enhance public spaces, a topic I discussed in my entry last week. 

Image Credit: Viewers interacting with a DJ Spooky QR tag at Art Basel 2010, from Mickie Quick's Flickr Photostream

All in all, DJ Spooky's visit made for an inspiring evening that wrapped up with some fantastic questions on the meaning of the remix, the significance of the act of remixing different types of media, and the future of music distribution. DJ Spooky brought up a wide variety of topics, and his lecture flowed through a number of contemporary debates and their historical contexts. In conclusion, I'll leave you with the preview for the Copyright Criminals documentary that DJ Spooky played last night: