Here is an excerpt from a recent article about the film with the film’s director Patrick Johnson.

 

• What is your motivation for making this film?

PJ- I have to tell a story visually that is what I love to do, and if I find a story I think is unique and interesting I want everyone to see that story. Kind of like the way a DJ wants to play the cool unique unheard song. He wants to expose the crowd to it, an in doing so he gets pleasure. I am the same way with unique untold stories.

• What is the goal of the film?

PJ- We want to expose the talent behind the music in such a way to give credit to the people struggling, striving and surviving to put the music out as well as inspire a whole new generation of musicians young and old alike. I also want to show the history of this music, let people now it’s not just a fad.

• I take it you don’t think they get the recognition they deserve?

PJ- They do in certain circles but there isn’t the general recognition that you would find in other forms of music, like say rock for instance. I mean a lot of people are familiar with the music it seems you hear it everywhere these days, stores, clubs, commercials everywhere but the radio, but most people don’t give much thought to who creates it or where it comes from.

• How do you think it will inspire a whole new generation of musicians?

PJ- I think by giving the artist a platform to show their stuff. What inspires them, how they got into it, how they get the stuff out there, what is the path, if there is any, to success. Things that are pretty well established in other forms of music but are still a bit vague in this area. I mean everyone knows the path to becoming a rock band: gets some guys together in the garage, put together some songs, try and play some gigs at area bars, if all goes well get a demo to a record label, sign a recording contract, try and get radio play and tour like hell.

But with DJ’s what is the path exactly and what is the ultimate goal? I think that is less known. Also I think seeing the creative process of how a song comes together, what tools an artist uses and how they use them, those sorts of things inspire people by showing it can be done, with a certain amount of talent to be sure, but at least we see it’s not impossible.

I think a common misconception is that these guys are in multi-million dollar recording studios putting this stuff together when by and large that is just not the case. The artist is more likely than not working out of a home studio with some pretty low tech stuff.

• Are you a DJ yourself?

PJ- Admittedly I have messed about with DJing and some of the other music gear, but quite frankly I sucked at it. To be good you have to be very musically inclined, have a good ear, rhythm all that, which seems obvious but the entry point to the music is deceivingly easy and that tricks a person into thinking they have skills that they don’t.

• What do you mean?

By that I mean you can create something pretty cool sounding with little effort, then you realize everyone creates this same level of stuff and it’s not unique, that’s where skill comes in. The talented quickly get past that point and head into directions nobody ever thought of, and create the stuff that blows your mind. Unfortunately some people do deceive themselves into thinking they’ve got talent when they don’t. I was smart enough to recognize that I didn’t. But I do understand the level of skill and talent it takes to create the music.

• So is this going to have a lot about the whole rave scene?

PJ- I know the raver lifestyles and the clubber lifestyles are closely entwined in a lot of this type of music but that is not what this film is about. Sure there may be some crowd shots during a performance but we are not going to involve the crowd to any great extent. I mean take a film like "The Song Remains The Same" you get to know Led Zepplin and the crowd is a part of that experience but they didn’t dwell on that. They didn’t go out and interview kids about drugs or lifestyle, because that would have been and entirely different subject for a film. Not to mention it’s been done to death. I mean do we really have to see some kid spinning a light-stick one more time? I think not.

• What types of music are you going to concentrate on in this film?

PJ- Any type of music that is created by and for DJ’s. and is pressed to 12" vinyl. Non-traditional band stuff, no lead singer and a back up band, just electronic music, samples and records. The type of music an artist creates be it Techno, Reggae, Hip-Hop or what ever doesn’t really matter.

• What’s this about having one track being re-mixed through out the film?

PJ- My idea is to take a simple almost generic track and pass it around to the various artist and have them re-mix it, so the audience can see how each artist brings his or her own unique style to the track. I don’t think enough people appreciate what an artist brings to the table when they do a re-mix, or why certain artist are sought out to do re-mix for a particular track. People here the song and recognize the main artist but not the re-mix artist. I want to change that by revealing the art of the re-mix.

• What about the DJ world do you hope to enlighten the viewing audience with?

PJ- Everything from live mixing techniques such as beat matching, live re-mixing, patching together instruments, programming instruments, working with software, effects, filters, samples, finding samples, finding cool beats, scratching, finding songs to play, writing a song, getting it pressed to vinyl, getting the song out to others, distribution, getting booked, getting paid to do re-mixes, touring, record labels and record deals and anything else I discover along the way.

• Sounds a bit ambitious.

PJ- No, the DJ’s are the ambitious ones, I’m just recording it.