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Interview with Dave Clarke :: Skrufff.com

Surfed the net the other day, read this piece of interesting article.

Reported by Olly @ Trackitdown on February 5, 2007

Some quotes from the article

“I’m feeling very optimistic and excited about the future of music, the dinosaurs are losing their stranglehold, the superstar DJ is dying and there is shitloads of great music out there. And Myspace enables artist to talk to artist unimpeded.”

“Vinyl is dead, there is no future on a sustainable commercial level,” he asserts

Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): When was the last time you played an all vinyl set? And the last time you played a record in a club?

Dave Clarke:” About three years ago, maybe longer, it was for a boat party, they didn't have the budget for CD players, but that was a rare vinyl set as I’d formally stopped 6 months earlier. A lot of venues don't even have vinyl decks installed anymore either.”

Skrufff: What are the implications for the DJ world of vinyl disappearing?

Dave Clarke: “Adapt and survive is the message from evolution . . . that can also be applied to technology. Most DJs I know already have a lot of music on CD, so it's no great shakes, the losers will be the guys with their heads in their sand. For the past five years I have been gearing up to and implementing a digital solution, which means going from vinyl to CD so that all my music is then in the digital domain. Ecologically it also makes sense, I try to be as green as possible within the confines of my work, now I don't burn needless carbon tonnes carting around 30 kilos of vinyl every week. Vinyl is ecologically irresponsible, CDs are better and hard drives are better still on a weight and manufacturing basis. There’s no longer any need to have records driven around to stores or delivered by the postman. The winner is the environment and the DJ for having to learn new skills.”

Skrufff: Laptop programmes mean every DJ can beatmix perfectly and with not much effort these days, what impact is that process having on the role of the DJ?

Dave Clarke: “There were always skill-less DJs before, the ones that raise their hands after they pretend to EQ something or put beat-matched CDs in so they don't have to touch the pitch control and that won't change despite the democratisation of music technology. Some DJs talk gleefully about Ableton and some of those DJs couldn't mix before and now don't have too, but they are commercial and stand for nothing. Some other DJs are genuinely creating new musical soundscapes to get excited by. My personal choice is Serato because it allows seat of the pants mixing, Ableton in my eyes is a production tool and not a DJ tool.”

Skrufff: Digital downloading is transforming the music and club business incredibly quickly now, is the future of music free?

Dave Clarke: “That's a hard one, I still enjoy buying music even though I know that a lot of the money never makes it through to the artist, but increasingly I find I cannot find the music in a shop, even if I order it, so I buy it online. I don't believe music should be free, unless the artist wants that to happen. Music has a value. The artist has shown commitment and should be rewarded. If a bricklayer pirates music does he believe his own services should be provided for free? The downloading for free issue is down to the labels taking the piss financially for too long but ironically it's the artist who is also hurt.”

Source: Trackitdown.net

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posted by zann @ 5:53 PM