DJ JAY is busy sorting CDs and equipment onstage at the Alliance Francaise DigiArt event on November 14. Just a few moments later he creates an impressive electronic music performance alongside fellow artists from France and Germany. Two days after the concert Timeout caught up with him to discuss the show, and his experience creating music.
What did the three of you do for this last concert?
We’ve been preparing for this concert for a month. We didn’t use any of our old songs written before, and instead made brand new material for the show, about five or six songs each. We then chose the best songs and arranged them into seamless transitions. The one bad thing about the day of the event was that I didn’t have time to change, I just performed in the clothes I was wearing that morning when I arrived to organise our equipment. We worked very hard, so I’m really satisfied with our performance.
You only had four weeks to prepare, was it enough?
It’s true that there was just a four week period during which we worked and discussed together in person, but before that we were always talking about music on the internet. And we didn’t really perform our typical individual styles that day, we created “digital art,” a different musical style, which is a little different for all of us. I included only one song with my own style that night.
What new things did you learn from your cooperation with the visiting French and German DJs?
I was really happy to work with them. We are so frank with each other whenever we discuss music. If I don’t like what they are doing I tell them that, and why. They also do the same with me. And then we try to figure out how to make the best music together.
Why did you use the Myanmar song “Shwe Pyi Soe” that night?
We mixed traditional sounds in with our music, just like the graphic artists did with their projects which were shown at the Alliance that night as well. For example they combined the photo of the girl with thanahkha (a plant traditionally grinded into a powder and worn as makeup and for sun-protection) with newer modern imagery. Art has to take older things and give the audience a new way to experience them.
Did anything unplanned crop up during the performance?
Yes, it did. There are always a few moments where we need to improvise and play what we want, so we have to have eye contact on the stage, you might have noticed.
What is the idea behind the gas mask you all wore at the show?
That is my trademark. I am going to release an album called “Dhamma Phunk” with my friend DJ Breeze in Los Angeles. We were thinking together with Breeze about how to put a creative stamp on our style, so we decided to wear gas masks to look different.
When do you intend to release your album?
The overseas release is plan-ned for some-time next year, and it will come to Myanmar sometime after that.
What we heard that night is quite different to the electronic music that we normally hear here in Myanmar?
Yes, it is quite different. Most electronic music has a fast beat, because that really distinguishes is from normal music, but I think this will be the future for electronic music. Nowadays many young people in Myanmar like hip-hop very much, and even though this music is different, I think they will both follow the same trend.
Do you want to say something about the photo you made in which you appear as a buddha image on the internet?
They can think what they want. If they think it’s simple, it is simple. If they want to think it’s complicated then it will be like that.
