DJ Yoda

DJ Yoda at Budrising- Trinity Rooms Feb 15th
The canyon separating the two significant Hip Hop related events in Limerick last week was deep and wide. Depth, the Belltables statement on Wednesdays Rap involved event. Wide, Fridays expansive audio visual Dj performance by English Dj Yoda in The Trinity Rooms. I missed the Belltable and am now like many others following the unfolding media coverage on the event, which has now the stylings of a type of performance in itself.
Yoda's rep for his Beer company sponsored Limerick visit rested on the dynamic Electric picnic set that he played at last summer. Those I knew in tonight's crowd  mentioned  this as their main reason for showing up, that and clips of his Djing on you tube had created a definite interest .My own interest was to check out his dramatic video set up and how this interacted with the Dj set he would be performing (classic Hip Hop electro stylings and ‘hits from the 80s’).Yodas well rehearsed set allows him to manipulate funky snippets from hip hop videos and trash culture against a corresponding mash up sound track. Technically it’s a sophisticated development of the Vjamm system that first allowed Djs to cut visuals in with music in a Club introduced by Coldcut 10 years ago and it historically follows on from the coloured glass placed in front of lamps projected for Pink Floyd at The UFO club 30 years ago.
The amount of Audio Visual content was staggering, but only if taken as individual snippets and this wasn't Yodas intention. As it stood it was more akin to flipping a TV remote and continuously landing on beat, with all the rhythmic fun that tends to generate .Combine a total club affect and the package undeniably got one senses working overtime. I walked in while pharoah monach's record exhorted the crowd to ‘Get the f**k up’ !! This public service announcement used footage of Will Farrell and appeared to be twisted into a visual interpretation of ‘Triumph of the Will’ directed by Pat Shortt! I deduced that this was a good thing as did those waving phones in the direction of Farrells goofy features. A ‘stupid Fresh’ balance of humourous and branded old skool visuals allowed one to get hyped or stop for a laugh while dancing. I'm convinced one guy made the sign of the cross when a sequence of Biggie Smalls filled the screen, certainly the look of rapture on his face confirmed Yoda was pressing the right buttons for a particular Limerick rap fan.
Keeping the floor mashed up and busy alienated a couple of heads who didn’t see the real hip hop agenda being delivered amongst all the Michael Jackson cut ups and actually wondered was it Yoda at all! (it was). A point, the careful Hip hop agenda that someone like Dj Shadow who has previously done this with similar technology in Dublin was never meant to be on the cards here. Yoda has no individual product to place and in a successful commercial Nightclub the Djs job is to get everybody up for getting down so if something had to be sacrificed for this the raw beats are normally the first to go .Mash ups are the current tasty snack that everybody likes and the main floor tonight certainly wanted that sugar rush.
I didn’t expect to experience Yodas visit to Limerick as a traditional hip hop gig and was surprised that crews had a few gripes. Surely a beer company has yet to promote some underground business, as its ethos is to appeal to as many customers as possible. Their sponsored artists delivery surely would reflect that and anyway Yoda has been doing that 80s thing for years and if he has amped it up circus style and it suits certain tours that’s his choice.
The facts are that now that Hiphop is niches and fragmented expressions (which makes for variety as the Belltable event showed), one persons definition of the game may not be the definitive one so an open mind is required. The enhanced environment of the Electric Picnic may have created a expectation that could not be feasibly delivered for the heads who did get some of their designated flavour with A2df in the house.

Paul Tarpey

Comments

[red]

Thought it was all a bit gimmicky myself. He can scratch but the music he used was poor i thought. Maybe a limitation of all his video gizmos. Lots of people just standing around watching video screens instead of getting into the actual music.
I kind of thought the whole mash up sound had died off in the last year or two. Maybe not.

[john]

i agree with red, the music that he played was very generic and as it wasn't the 'usual' trinity crowd that was there i felt he could have tried enlightening us with something that we hadn't heard before. that said, everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves, apart from a few dissenting voices. met people on saturday who still believe he didn't make it so they are bound to check him out the next time he comes back, don't think i'll be as easily duped.

[clom]

i saw him a year or so ago here in edinburgh doing his "dj yoda goes to the movies" schtick.

it wasn't a total waste of time but his choice of "movies" struck me as conformist- all the usual internet tropes of back to the future, star wars, gangster flicks and kung fu. the music was also a bit conservative, like a hip hop comfort blanket.

and it was chock full of young poshboys and their gorgeous girlfriends standing around watching the screens and glaring at you whenever you decided to throw some shapes.

i felt about a thousand years old.

[paul tarpey]

Certainly a far cry from Charlie 'wildstyle' Aherns
lugging his Slide projecteors to early Ny Hiphop gigs, where he would show images of breakers as
the Cold Crush preformed,, This was a an extended visual preformance by independant artists together, no fragmented crowds or confused agenda there .
Historically a little galling prehaps, for youtubed images of this time to be and moulinexed along side lowbrow Us comedy in the display for the gig in question, but i doubt this occured to the Dj who seems to have put this together as a test for all the equipment rather than a hiphop testimonial.
The package that Yoda is selling is attractive to sponsors who wearily are still chasing the look of the street comodified and packaged, yet still 'Hip hop' (definition 1993) ie something managable and currently very attractive to 'poshboys' who want it simple and colourfull. This Show is what it is but as a classic defined HipHop show? it aint. I thought everyone knew that.
Equally the Mash up appeals to advertising account managers as it recycles old prouduct under the quise of the new and its well established now in their realm for rolling out at these events.
I recommend Dj Spinbads 80s Mixes from about 7 years ago, they started all this but still hold up today. he puts a lot of work into bouncing dialogue between 80s film and pop hits while showcasing his skills and all on a Cd without visual over kill. Also for the definitive Mash up comment check cassette boy,s very funny cut n paste audio essays.

[clom]

I love Cassetteboy's stuff. It ambles confidently along the clever/stupid tightrope which I try to walk myself.

Loving the blog by the way. Makes me miss Limerick. It seems there's so much more going on there this weather.

I'm not hating on the "poshboys".
I just grudge them their supreme self-confidence, their nice threads and amazing hair.

[paul tarpey]

Another one for you. you down with the Pitman buizness? Now thats a multi media show id like to see! Also the idea of a Heavy metal or country music dj doing a Yoda would be awesome. The Late night cable ads where they do a 'you cannot buy this in the shops' round up of The best of Country is a great edit and they loop it.
Still talking to the heads (post backpackers) about Yoda and one point comes up. Now that they have grown up on Shadow/CutChemist/ peanut butter wolf perfect edits they feel its time for those 'Leaders' to Educate in a live setting. Dj craze at the Electric picnic came in for another pasting, and i think hes a don from cds but a disapointment for the heads . Now that the abstractness of recorded turntabilism has peaked consumers will dictate and demand more content( i wait their report on Andy Votel in Dublin soon.) Cheap flights and free down loads raise the game, i.e no waiting with baited breath for the heros on ones own turf.
However Qbert played up in the Midlands last year and was awesome i belive. ( his pre school break cd is another landmark)

[clom]

i'm not convinced by pitman although pals of mine love it. there's a degree of unpleasantness about his gripes that is unattractive. this is based on the first album and i did buy a few of the 7s when they first came out and i do enjoy it, but it's a bit one trick pony.

In terms of where hip hop's at just now I Edinburgh's quite a good locale with some great home grown clubs and talent some of which have been running for more than 10 years without feeling either stale or comprimising on their starting points.

the Headspin crowd plough the Yoda/Format furrow very successfully and entertainingly. 4 decks, crowd pleasing beats then there's the soul biscuits crowd who keep things close to the 4 elements with MC battles, breaking comps and the like.

then there's motherfunk who have been pushing the 7" funk for 10 years with their free tuesday night.

then you've got the more anticon style crews like David Jack and Penpushers who are doing it for themselves through their own KFM label.

That's not bad for a city that's around the same size as Cork. Sure, the place has a heritage (Plus One and Richie Rufftone are both local heroes) but it feels like people have put their own spin on hip hop culture without being particularly beholden to trends or fashion. the scene here isn't so based around guests although there's usually a big name from whatever camp every once in a while (ie Format plays headspin tonight as he does every year or so).

I was delighted with your post about "Going Postal" a few weeks ago, i used to love that mag and remember reading their write up of the infamous DMC/Wool saga and nodding my head in agreement. sure it's a long time ago but hip hop in Ireland at the time was so frustrating (i remember seeing Shadow play at what used to be Spirit and getting a good three hours of Brady/Moy with shadow playing a bare 90 minutes including far too much Latyrx call and response). It just felt the scene never had a chance to breathe and run nights long enough to develop a crowd and identity.

From a the looks of things that's changed though with Ireland seeming to have both a wealth of talent and variety coming up.

pardon the ramble!

[paul tarpey]

This sites crew were in Edinburgh a couple o years ago and went to a basement venue where the cans were good and cheap and the Local dj played one of the best funk hiphop beats sets i have heard to this day (and wasnt shy about sharing his knowledge either). Great records bought there and to see a whole section in Hmv dedicated to Corks 'Fish go Deep' when they were underground in their own country was funny and encouraging.
There is certainly an established attitude in regards to the youth taking up Rap as a persuit an d its in a comfortable post slim shady position at present. It has actually taken 20 years to shake the 'is it music'? tag in the irish commercial arena. Its now allmost part of Arts and crafts in secondary school, expression etc.
Now to put on a Hiphop gig is not the fingers crossed event it used to be. The ubiquious RnB factor at teen discos as a feeder route should also not be under estimated. The current standard revolves around those who over empahsise their energy as flow on stage to those practice at home before passing the mic, now that may seem a ludcriously reduced statement but just taking part at mic sessions is often seen as enough.
Limericks' Let the rhythm hit em 'showcased each of the above and often it was very miss. 8mile did a lot of damage in its own way. Random you tube clips of the pac man inspired more than one aspirant to prioritise getting on that site before writing a rhyme to properly present him self to the world.
There is a bit of wheat/chaff in the Limerick scene at present re Mcs, Djs and graff (mainly) guys. But the intrest is still healthy with Dj leon, A2Df and the kerrini djs playing regulary, ,J-red on the mic. Baz on the breakin n graff tip. US name Hiphoper Dedalus is also set to play soon. info and very interesting details on that on this space as the date is confirmed.

[Shane]

All good in Edinburgh, I'm sure but that venue was in Glasgow Paul !! :-)

[paul tarpey]

Hmmm. They are very close aint they! That would be the place were i heard the small record shop owner loudly say over the phone, 'very quiet today except for some guy in a dodgy leather jacket buying most of the second hand bin'..im tempted to post the photos of myself and yourself in those jackets and let people work out
the subject of his observation. Also remember a few Bobby Sands Graff pieces in Edinburgh. my parents went there on their honeymoon also, so some history there!