Rundown

15:00-15:05  Introduction

15:05-15:45  Artist talk－dj sniff      

15:45-16:25  Artist talk－DJ Rex Chen

16:25-16:30  Q&A

Language: English/Mandarin, consecutive translation in English/Mandarin

About ex-DJ

The Music Room program “ex-DJ” kicks-off with an introductory lecture by dj sniff on the history of experimental turntable art and turntablism. This will be followed by an artist talk by Taichung-based turntablist DJ Rex Chen.

DJs engage with technology and sound on a tactile level. One can argue that DJing is fundamentally improvisational, compositional, and electroacoustic. In 1974, Grandmaster Flash debuted a groundbreaking DJ technique to spontaneously compose and recompose music using only prerecorded material, by playing and manipulating two vinyl records simultaneously. Ironically, Flash himself considered this debut performance a failure because, instead of dancing, audience members only stood and watched! dj sniff asks what might the reception have been had such a raw and disjointed experiment with new musical technology and technique taken place at INA-GRM in Paris (founded by avant-garde composer Pierre Schaeffer in 1958) or at the Moers international jazz festival in Germany during that same period in the 1970s? How would this have altered the course of both Hip Hop and avant-garde music?

From 10–16 December , 2023, dj sniff presents a one-week program featuring four experimental turntablists from around the globe: Mariam Rezaei from Newcastle, UK, SlowPitchSound from Toronto, DJ (Rex Chen) from Taichung—all, like dj sniff from LA/Tokyo, experimental turntablists positioned outside of traditional DJ practice, yet also closer to Hip Hop, noise, and jazz than contemporary and academic musical fields. By bringing together artists working in similar niche fields, but who have not previously met, and engaging in a public dialog about records, memories, and creation over the course of a symposium, open studio, and performances, this program explores the liminal spaces where forces of inclusion and exclusion collide, to ask how we can gain insight into how aesthetics, technology, and cultural backgrounds shape music and its histories.

During the open studio, the artists work together on a mixtape highlighting their musical practice and influences, available in a limited edition of 100 copies featuring designs by local Taiwanese artists.

About Artist

DJ Rex Chen

DJ Rex Chen is a DJ and a turntablist whose practice involves playing and creating with DJ equipment, researching DJ culture and performing experimental music and live shows. Since the 1990s, Rex has been active in organizing experimental music events in Taichung and playing in noise / free improvisation projects with local and international artists. In 2019, he formed a trio “Buddha Tiger Dog” with Miaogong Jun-Yang and Xiao Liu.

dj sniff

dj sniff (Takuro Mizuta Lippit) is a musician and curator in the field of experimental electronic arts and improvised music. His musical work builds upon a distinct practice that combines DJing, instrument design, and free improvisation. His collaborations include Evan Parker, Otomo Yoshihide, Koichi Makigami, Jaap Blonk, ErikM, Paul Hubweber, Tarek Atoui, Ken Ueno, and Senyawa.