Interview with DJ Jason from ABSOLUTION

We have a treat for all of you, today, particularly if you're big into the club scene. DJ Jason from ABSOLUTION, a big club night in New York City, has been gracious enough to answer my questions. This is definitely something you want to read if you're interested in what it's like to be a DJ in NYC.

Audio Cantrips: DJ Jason, from what I understand, you are one of two DJs who regularly spin at ABSOLUTION, a long-running goth-industrial night in Manhattan, New York City. Could you briefly explain ABSOLUTION to those of us who are not from NYC?

Jason: Absolution came from a special event by the same name that I started in 1998 at CBGBs.  I brought together all of the area's Goth and Industrial DJs to spin at a great NYC venue.  It was a multiple DJ event with each DJ spinning a short set (usually only 30 minutes).  At that time, it had not been done in the US before.  In fact, it remained the only event to have that structure as a theme in NYC through to 2010.  http://absolutionnyc.com/1998/07/24/absolution-2-passes/
Today, Absolution is a production company that produces many different events for the NYC Goth scene.  Some of the current events include Absolution, NYC's original multi dj goth & industrial event, Incantation, NYC's festival style goth band event, and Through The Mirror, a goth dance event in a private space.  www.AbsolutionNYC.com

Audio Cantrips: Being in a huge city has innate benefits when trying to drum up support for events. You obviously have a larger pool of potential customers to market your services. Do you think the sheer size of New York City has helped in making ABSOLUTION thrive? Does the expected logic hold?

Jason:  People often forget that in the USA only a few large cities had worthwhile goth nightlife in the beginning.  NYC, LA, SF, Chicago and Boston's scenes were the only places where truly underground dark music and appropriately large corresponding band culture was in the states.  As is such, the NYC scene has a different energy than newer places.   The band culture in NYC is definitely a plus as the many cool musicians are great patrons and good looking guests at events.

Audio Cantrips: Are there other aspects of NYC, itself, that help or hinder the success of the event night?

Jason:  New York City is a major destination and important transportation hub and therefore it is the first stop for most traveling foreign goths as well as many US goth travelers. 

Audio Cantrips: Obviously, there are goth-industrial nights in countless other places on Earth, but do you feel like you could do what you do in a totally different city? If you did go to a different city to DJ another goth-industrial night, what would be the same for you and what would be different?

Jason: It's a well known truth for New York DJs of nearly any genre that spinning anywhere else is much easier.  

Audio Cantrips: What do you feel has gained credibility for ABSOLUTION over time and helped it to remain alive for so many years?

Jason: Absolution was formed with instant credibility, since I already was the only DJ for the longest running and biggest pure Goth club in NYC's history, Alchemy at CBGB's 313 Gallery, when I created it.   http://absolutionnyc.com/1996/09/09/alchemy-gothic-mondays/

Audio Cantrips: What do you enjoy about being a DJ? What makes you get up in the morning and want to tackle the day's work?

Jason: Breaking new music, setting a good example for other DJs/Promoters/Band Bookers/Organizers, hearing from fans that you have changed their lives, making certain that the sound system is operating at peak performance, giving something special, holding to proper tradition… and also, the obvious stuff like watching the crowd go wild and controlling the dance floor. 

Audio Cantrips: What displeases you about the job?

Jason: Hobbyist DJ politics in the age of the internet.

Audio Cantrips: Going back to talking about ABSOLUTION, itself, I notice there is a distinct dress code. What prompted this? How strictly is this enforced?

Jason: We simply don't advertise towards or otherwise encourage mainstream people to attend.  We have a good doorman to ensure that quality people are let in.  There is a suggested dress code for goths.

Audio Cantrips: Finally, what are your goals and ambitions for ABSOLUTION in the short and long-term?

Jason: I'd rather not say, since that would be giving away too much and in this field one can not stay ahead by broadcasting future plans to the world.  ;)

Is goth becoming more mainstream? If so, is it necessarily bad? (Part II)

Yesterday, we saw the first half of the video from Dragon*Con 2009 in which a number of experts on goth answered a question regarding the mixing of goth and mainstream influences. Here is the second half of that video, and I will finish my commentary.

This is the more interesting portion, in my opinion, because this more directly focuses on the music and the club scene. First, there is a fair bit of talk about how European markets seem to be more appreciative of the innate experience of art while American markets care considerably less. Then, Rogue steps in and explains that pure goth-industrial nights in Tallahassee, FL, always failed, but there was major success when "dark disco" nights were introduced, where goth-industrial music would get mixed in with techno and pop. Finally, DJ Ichabod comes in and caps everything off by saying that the goth-industrial stuff really doesn't sound much different from modern pop.

In regard to the first point, I agree that goth and industrial genres and subgenres tend to have more success in Europe than in the US, but I'm not sure if it's entirely due to societal assumptions about the appreciation of art. I think one part of the equation is how the business of music is seemingly different in the US than it is in Europe. In the US, major music labels have a lot more power and seek to gain mass appeal, pouring vast investment into marketing. In the US, particularly in regard to music, what gets put on the radio is a result of huge cash flow swings. People listen to music in the US because it's shoved in their faces, and listeners are told that they need to listen to this music to be socially relevant. In Europe, there doesn't seem to be nearly that kind of pressure from huge record labels, and people's enjoyment of music in Europe tends to be more organic.

As for Rogue's talk about his experiences in building up a goth night in Tallahassee, I think part of his issue might have been his market. The metropolitan area has a population of less than 400K, and the city isn't surrounded by any known major goth or otherwise alternative subculture concentrations. What he did was a matter of survival in a relatively small market, but what about larger markets?

Take, for instance, goth nights in very large metropolitan areas, such as Boston, New York, or Washington, DC. Logic would state that adding pop, techno, and other non-goth-industrial things to those scene nights would dilute the brand and make people not overly interested. Unlike Tallahassee, where a crowd of 50 people would be considered a boon, in these places, prominent goth nights can easily have 200 on a so-so night. In a large market, people have choices on where to go. In that situation, would it make any sense at all to have a hybrid night, or would that be just a waste of resources?

Finally, in regard to Ichabod's point about goth-industrial sounds being similar to pop sounds, I agree with him. If you think about it, you can make a case that many types of music sound similar due to similar melodies and compositions. Furthermore, musicians intentionally borrow from other genres to add depth and uniqueness to their sound, so they don't become stale and irrelevant. That being said, certain things still sound much more pleasing to my ears than others, and even if those things sound similar to one another, there is only one that will bring a positive emotional experience.

In summary, what purpose does the meshing of goth with mainstream serve? Is it beneficial? Is it detrimental? Do you think we'll see more or less integration? The panelists seem to think this is just a passing fad, but one thing that we need to remember is that everything changes, not just the mainstream. If you look at how much post-punk music has changed and evolved over the years, it only makes sense that new things will pop out of the woodwork over time. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.