Mind Funk Records'ın kurucusu ve Doof Dj'i Shawnodese ile dolu dolu ve zaman zaman insanın tüylerini diken diken eden ropörtajı Türkiye'nin online psytrance dergisi Maji'nin son sayısında okuyabilirsiniz.
The pulsating interview with the Mind Funk Records founder and Doof Dj Shawnodese will give you goosebumps. You can check the Turkish version of the interview and pictures in the last issue of Turkey's online pystrance magazine Maji.
Original English version of the interview:
MAJİ: Every DJ has a genesis story, would you tell us about yours? How did it all begin?
Shawnodese: My DJ career started way back in the early 90's, in 1992 to be precise. After kicking off with mainly acid-trance & techno, I seriously got infected with the goa/psytrance bug through some traveling friends with their secret stash of music on DAT-tapes...from that point on, there was no way back anymore....
MAJİ: What do you think are the essential elements of being a DJ?
Shawnodese: First of all love for the music is a key factor of course, without this there's no way someone can be a DJ. The 2nd thing that is essential in my opinion is getting pleasure out of giving other people a good time. Nowadays I see many DJ's that seem to get more fun out of exposing themselves on huge stages and getting their own personal dose of ego-satisfaction. To me these are the worst kind of "artists" and embarrassing to watch. A true DJ is a sound shaman, someone that truly gives all he/she has got to offer, with the goal to make a crowd ascend to a higher frequency, all together...as one. That should be the true task and capacities of a DJ in my opinion....
MAJİ: As a DJ do you believe in meticulous preparation or wild spontaneity?
Shawnodese: Personally I never prepare a set too much, I do believe that everything depends on the moment and I prefer to live and experience the "now" rather than prepping things too much. It showed me in my early years as well as with many new talents that things can go so very very different than we expect.....so, I'd personally prefer to go for a spontaneous combustion.
MAJİ: Unfortunately we are all surrounded with tons and tons of cheese labeled as psytrance, and you are quite specific about what true & proper psychedelic trance music is. How would you describe it?
Shawnodese: Well, of course I can't pretend that I know what true psychedelic trance is. I'm just another human being with his own personal opinion and limited perception range. I do think though, that thanks to the many years of listening to many different styles of music and having travelled extensively across the globe, I have found my own standards for what I consider to be psychedelic music. A few elements that are necessary and key factors in the music I try to release and play are: surprise, depth, originality, and lots of experimentation. Unfortunately a lot of music misses those elements nowadays and is all made with the goal to sell, to get gigs and to be able to gain or maintain a certain lifestyle, preferable one that brings in a lot of cash. Lots of people are not making music anymore to express their souls, they are making music to pay the bills, maintain/gain a lifestyle and to get famous. To me this is the death of art and the birth of commercialism, which I believe is a big reason why the quality of music went down so much over the past decade. The production quality went up majorly though, but then again....production is important in factories. To me a lot of people are focusing too much on production and not enough on making music....most "music" that is made nowadays has little "music" in it in my opinion.
MAJİ: Besides being a label DJ of legendary Doof records you also Dj for Bom Shanka records and last but not least, run your own label, Mind Funk Records. Can you tell us the story of Mind Funk?
Shawnodese: Well, the entire idea of Mind Funk started way back in 2002, which was a party organization I did with friends in Amsterdam. My partner Nikos (Andromeda/DJ Arara) and me split up in different directions after a while and in 2004 I met Valentino of Inpsyde Media online. He was interested to have a sister label up and running, releasing morning/twilight tunes, next to Inpsyde Media taking care of darker territory. Unfortunately Valentino wasn't able to invest the time and energy that he expected to deliver and after I compiled the first CD "Twilight Twisters", we both went our own ways. After having played in the U.S.A. several times in 2004/2005 I made a good friend in DJ Paradigm, who compiled the second CD "Complex Cosmic Creation" together with me. After that release I took a long break with the label, due to several very intense happenings in my life of which some were truly beautiful and some were like hell was knocking on my front door. The thing that swiped me most of my feet was the fact that I got very ill and almost died from having thrombosis and lung embolisms. After getting back on my feet in 2008, which was majorly thanks to the never ending love of my family and my girlfriend, I decided that I wanted to continue Mind Funk Records by myself. Meeting the amazing guys Stereographic and Smoke Ship from Brazil gave me the chance to come back stronger than ever with the label....and more is soon to follow!
MAJİ: How did psytrance change and define your destiny?
Shawnodese: Well, that's one to give some serious thought I guess...although somehow the answer is obvious. Without this music I would not have been who I am today, I would not have had all the amazing experiences that I had as a dancer, listener and DJ and I wouldn't wanna miss out for all the gold in the world on any of those experiences. It made me realize that music is holy medicine with which we can cure people truly, just as I have been cured of certain "dis-eases" thanks to some of the greatest artists in the world. Psytrance gave me direction in life, a personal goal to sink my teeth in and I found a global family that has touched me deeper and in more beautiful ways than I ever thought would be possible. It showed me that there's a way of living possible that went beyond my wildest fantasies at the time....it gave me hope for myself and the rest of humanity....and it still does.
MAJİ: You have been travelling and playing in many countries around the world. What is the common thing between all these people from your perception?
Shawnodese: Well, that's an easy one....they all bounce around on 2 legs! (at least most of the time...hehe)
MAJİ: When and where did you have a peaking joy in all these events?
Shawnodese: For me my absolute peak experience was at the legendary "Excalibur" party in 2000 in Germany. It's impossible to describe the vibe that was present at that party during my set. I was allowed to finish the party on Sunday afternoon with a 4 hour set and when I finished people were screaming like I've honestly never heard it before. The promoter was standing next to me and he made it pretty clear the party was over, so I had no chance to play another tune which was what the crowd was demanding as usual of course. I didn't wanna upset the guy 'cause he had enough trouble with police that weekend so I left the DJ-boot....or at least I tried to. My friend who arranged for me to play had a huge fire truck standing at the back of the DJ-boot and I retreated myself in there, trying to escape the mad crowd, 'cause they honestly didn't stop screaming and shouting for more, which went on for a good 10 minutes already by then. Suddenly 2 girls came in the fire truck and they wouldn't leave till I came out and came with 'm. Of course they brought me straight to the DJ-boot again and there I was, facing a crowd that was going even more mad than the last 10 minutes before. At some point a guy walked in through the middle of the crowd, having 4 beer crates in his hands and he commanded everyone to be silent. He put the 4 crates upside down on the floor and walked back from where he came, to come back a few seconds later with 4 little kids holding hands. All of 'm were around the age of 4-8 years old and after he put each of 'm on a crate right in front of me and the DJ-boot, he whispered something in their ears and counted to three. At three the little buggers started to scream and yell so damn hard, that I thought my ears would pop. At that very moment the entire audience of 4000 people went berserk and they all screamed like their lives were depending on it. I've honestly never had a moment in my life where I felt more amazed, flattered and as well uncomfortable in the DJ-boot as that very moment. I didn't know what to do and looked behind me in the direction of the promoter and his crew.....and saw they were just as blown away as I and everybody else in and around that DJ-boot was. The guy honestly didn't know what to do anymore, he didn't know if he should laugh or cry anymore. He had so much trouble with the police already as I mentioned before, but facing that crazy mob of 4000 freaks that would not take no for an answer...that was no option. He consulted his crew for a short moment and they gave me green light to play on for another two hours, which I did with one of the best DJ's I've ever had the chance of playing back 2 back with, my good old buddy Sven Looping (Charasmatix). After those last two hours and the two of us ripping it up big time, they all finally left home, satisfied and exhausted from dancing under a beautiful burning sun, next to a magic castle near a waterfall....wishing for more was simply not possible. For me my most amazing set had just taken place and I was overwhelmed in ways that I've never held for possible....it took me a long time to really grasp what happened there and I realized that those moments are what I truly do this for. Those moments I feel like an instrument of the Gods, I don't exist anymore but something takes over, guides me and makes me do things that I don't even think about for a split second. I just do it, in service to all those beautiful dancing being out there....
MAJİ: What do you think of today’s psytrance scene as a culture worldwide compared to what was going on some 10 years ago, and where do you think we’re heading?
Shawnodese: To be honest I'm kinda cynical about the "psytrance scene" nowadays, for me it's not so much a scene anymore. When I hear the word "scene" it makes me think of a collective and to be honest I see very little collectivity nowadays. I see a lot of individualism, egocentrism and competition in what we call the psytrance scene. I see way too many people competing, fighting and giving each other a hard time and not understanding at all that unity is the only thing that will save it all from going down under. Of course it's just my personal opinion, but I guess it's also a sign of the times, times where people are forced somehow to only think of themselves in order to survive. It's the rat's race as we used to call it back in the punk rock days and way to many people seem to get caught up in it. It's a very understandable process, but it's up to us if we let those who are in control divide and destroy us or not. Thank God it's not like this everywhere and there are still places where I really see people give it their best shot, without self interest and trying to make something truly magical and beautiful happen. I hope this will be the case again on more parties in the future, 'cause many are just empty-headed gatherings where the majority of people only come to get wasted and to forget about their daily worries. Not many seem to be aware anymore of the true powers and beauty of a trance ritual.
MAJİ: What job would you prefer to do if you weren’t a DJ?
Shawnodese: I'd love to be a pilot and fly a plane allover the planet.....
MAJİ: Can we deliver a message from you for all the freaks around the world?
Shawnodese: Mmm.....not really, I think I've been preaching way to much already, so much for now and thanks a lot for the interview ;)
