DJ Spooky Scores Film With SONAR 3 Producer Edition

Paul Miller, who is best known under the moniker of his "constructed persona" as "DJ Spooky that Subliminal Kid," is one of the most intriguing voices in electronica. He has recorded a huge volume of music as DJ Spooky, and collaborated with a wide variety of pre-eminent musicians and composers such as Iannis Xenakis, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Butch Morris, Kool Keith a.k.a. Doctor Octagon, Killa Priest from Wu-Tang Clan, Yoko Ono and Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth amongst many others. Paul recently added a PC to his arsenal and chose SONAR 3 Producer Edition for his multitrack recording software. Paul's first major project using SONAR was to score his film, Rebirth of a Nation, which premiered July 23-24 at Lincoln Center in New York. In our exclusive interview, Paul discusses his scoring process, the philosophy behind the film and his art, his recent book Rhythm Science, why he likes working in SONAR, and what he views as the DJ's role in society. Listen to a rough cut of one scene from the score.

Cakewalk: Some of the Cakewalk users may not be familiar with you, could you tell us a little about your background?

Paul Miller: My whole style of djing comes from a cross section of hip-hop, electronic music, and conceptual art. Basically I'm a writer and artist who has a lot of records, and listens to music from a lot of different cultures. I started out in downtown D.C. and rolled through NYC's downtown experimental art scene. The rest is just in the mix.

CW: What was your defining musical moment?

PM: One of the earlier big remixes that I did was a single with Metallica for the film Spawn —the soundtrack went Platinum, and I got to be the first DJ to remix Metallica (they're not into electronic music, but they really liked that one!!!) I'd say that was one of my favorite moments, just hearing that Metallica liked my mixes. That and working with Yoko Ono a little while ago, have been one of my favorite moments of making music. There's also the moment at the second Woodstock where I played to about 80,000 people. It's weird, stuff like that, and then playing in underground spots, the paradox of the large scale festival and the cool indie club spots —that's what my music represents.

CW: Tell us about Rebirth of a Nation. PM: Rebirth of a Nation is my film "version" of the classic Ku Klux Klan film by D.W. Griffiths from 1915. Originally called Birth of a Nation it's considered one of the most technically proficient films of its era, but also one of the most racist (it's mostly whites in Black face doing really bizarre stuff... it's a long story). The original film was 3 hours long. The remix is one hour long. I basically flip and edit and remix the whole film into a new version of itself and turn it up side down and inside out. Basically I apply dj technique to the film and reconstruct the scenes in the film in a way that highlights the strangeness of it all. It's basically like that TV show Extreme Makeover but with Ku Klux Klan guys... CW: I imagine, that as a DJ, you might have a different way of going about scoring a movie. Could you describe the process that you used to score this film? PM: Scoring a film means you put sound to every image, every movement on the screen. I see djing as scoring a nightclub spot, but with live improvisation. The two things really aren't different. They're basically about creating a sound environment. For Rebirth of a Nation I went through several scene sequences and came up with visual tempos to match each sequence. Then I bounced the sound materials I came up with on SONAR and matched the material scene for scene. I then recreate each sequence live —that's why it's done as a performance rather than just putting together the film on DVD. It's all about things being "live" —the SONAR material was bounced into a couple of software patches from Sibelius that let me make simulated classical music with software. So it was kind of a hip-hop music meets classical music kind of thing.

CW: So it's remixed...How does that work exactly?

PM: Basically it was like thinking about how to break a track down for a remix —you grab the main hook, flip it until you have something old and new, and see what variations work. You never play the same record the same way, and that's why remixes work so well. They're familiar but with different rhythm flows.

Software is like that too —you bounce different material through different filters, patches, and sequences, and see what pops out of the mix-down.

CW: Were you inspired by any particular composers or musicians in the composition of the score for this film? What sources did you draw upon?

PM: Yeah, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Robert Johnson's Phonograph Blues, Philip Glass's material from Koyaanisqatsi, and even later stuff like the Dust Brother's score for Fight Club and what Sonic Youth did for that film Demon Lover. I like ambient material that flips things inside out —films like Memento, Mulholland Drive, or sci-fi stuff like Vangelis's score for Blade Runner inspire me too.

CW: Could you describe your process for creating music? How does a piece start for you?

PM: It's all about ideas, and the moment that they come into my mind. I work quickly, and on a lot of projects at the same time. So I'm always trying to figure out how to have a lot of ways to work on the same screen —I usually have several screens on at the same time, and I work on different projects that —basically it means that all of the software I work with needs to "talk" with one another.

CW: How long have you been using SONAR, and how did you come to decide on it?

PM: Various friends of mine kept mentioning it, and I checked it out. Word of mouth...

CW: What are your favorite things about working with SONAR?

PM: Basically I can bounce files through it, and it speaks to almost all of the other software I use. The interface is direct and clear, and it has a wide variety of EQ options, which makes cleaning up samples and what not easier.

CW: You've also recently completed a book, Rhythm Science. Would you care to discuss that book?

PM: The book is about sampling as an artform. I went through alot of different historical approaches on how artists have been creating stuff with samples for a long time. I always try to think about the "diggin' in the crates... " concept in a broader context —history is my record player, and that's why I sample from stuff that's outside of the normal funk/rock/old soul music kind of stuff that alot of DJs normally use.

CW: And you also have been showing your visual art recently in New York. What is the message that you are trying to communicate with this art? PM: I just want to get people to realize that artists can exist in multiple contexts, and that's what my overall vibe is. I use my computer for pretty much everything, and that means it's all from the same screen, networked, and sent through a lot of different aspects of how I create. It's more mental than anything else. CW: DJ, composer, writer, visual artist, intellectual...you really fit the bill of a modern day renaissance man. What is your guiding philosophy as a creative individual? PM: Basically, anything goes. As long as it's fun.

CW: With so many varied interests, there must be some cross-pollination of ideas. I sometimes imagine you walking about in a state of synesthesia. Are you ever influenced by one medium to create in another?

PM: Yeah, the screen is the basic interface, everything else is imagination. I try to be creative at every level, and that means constant information, always being open to what's around me. A lot of people close themselves up as they get older, I find myself getting more open every day.

CW: What do you feel the DJ's role is in modern society?

PM: We're here to tell everyone it's all linked. Underneath the surface, it's all one rhythm. For the moment, to me, our culture is all about film as a lifestyle scenario. And that's a good thing. My film Rebirth... is basically all about thinking about electronic music, hip-hop, and all the annoying rules about ethnicity that hold American music back. I listen to more Indian music, dance-hall, and even stuff like Phillip Glass than I do to mainstream hip-hop, so yeah, I guess the combination of avant-garde hip-hop and literature is just a natural extension of what I've always been up to. I've remixed artists like Moby, Metallica, India's Bally Sagoo, Karsh Kale, Yoko Ono and others, and you can think of Transmetropolitan as a kind of mix tape of a different America. The inspiration for my soundtrack to the remix comes from Duke Ellington's classic Afro-Eurasian Eclipse and Robert Johnson's Phonograph Blues. Afro-Eurasian Eclipse was jazz composition influenced as much by Javanese Gamelan as by Marshall Mcluhan. Ellington even cites Mcluhan at the beginning of his orchestra piece. Robert Johnson's Phonograph Blues pieces were about how he couldn't tell if he was a record or if the record was him. That's diggin' in the crates for me. Once something is a recording, it'll be an electronic music update of a lot of the ways we live and breathe information. I try to flex on that vibe as how the DJ's role in modern society is really all about the remix —we change people's minds from the inside.

CW: How about advice for artists trying to take their craft to the next level?

PM: Always always always always be open to what's around you. That and flexibility will carry you far into the 21st Century.

CW: What has been influencing you lately, and what would you consider your "desert island discs?"

PM: I have to admit, I've been listening to a lot of old jazz:

Milt Jackson's vibraphone recordings, Bob Marley's first 45's that were produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry, and older stuff from Philip Glass, Run DMC, Public Enemy and BDP. All that is in high rotation on my hard-drive at the moment, plus various mash-ups and bootlegs.

CW: What are the next projects on your horizon?

PM: I need a vacation!!!! With no computer!!!

Find out more about Rebirth of a Nation

Visit DJ Spooky.com

More information on SONAR.

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