Andrew Patterson

A long time friend and participant of OBEY Convention, Lindsay Dobbin, will be DJing during our closing night show with Julianna Barwick and The Halifax Rumi Ensemble. We got in touch with her to get a sense of what her priorities are when it comes to DJing:

What kind of music/musical idea is exciting you these days?

Looping and drumming are exciting to me right now. With both I am
exploring repetition, making patient alterations so the sounds
gradually inhabit new environments, and parallel universes. I love the
moment when you’ve been listening to and/or playing the same pattern
over and over and you begin to hear it in a new way based on your
awareness shifting from the superficial to something deeper.

I’m also really excited about music in general these days. Like, I’ve
always been, but recently my relationship has been refreshed namely
due to teaching a DJ/music program to youth with disabilities. I find
it really rewarding because I not only get to teach something I’m
passionate about, but I learn so much from the students. I’m reminded
on a daily basis how vital music is, not only as an escape, but as an
authentic tool for self-expression, awareness and engagement with the
world. I’ve had students who site specific instances when music saved
their lives.

Will you be manipulating the music you play at the show in any way?

I will. I am still working out my set, but I do know it will be loop
based, employing the concepts I stated above and combining analogue
and digital technologies to map a sonic transformation.

What should one strive for as a DJ?

Awareness of environment. Deep listening. Fleshing out moments of
transition. Fun. Originality. Creating new sound worlds. Alchemy.
Moving people.

Can you describe a serendipitously soundtracked moment?

My earliest love-at-first-sight moment happened at a fair when I was
five. Otis’ “For Your Precious Love” blared out of the speakers of the
Tilt-A-Whirl ride as it all went down.

Have you ever called into a radio show? Or hosted one? If so, when/why/who?

Both. When I was in grade 9 I called into the local station to request
a Sarah McLachlan song, and dedicated it to the person I liked at the
time.

As for radio hosting, when I was really young I had a boombox and
8-track/record player in my room, and I’d pretend to host radio shows.
My great grandmother and my cat were regular guests. In more recent
history, I’ve (co)hosted shows on CKDU 88.1 FM in Halifax as well as
CJUC 92.5 FM in Whitehorse in the past. Both had a focus on
experimental sounds, field recording, and community engagement,
exploring concepts such as memory and the intangible. Some of the
shows featured audio mapping, fictional guests, a dog that reported
the weather, the death of analogue media, food tasting, and an orb
that chewed bubble gum. I wanted listeners to tune in and feel a bit
confused but curious.

If the show you’re DJing were a novel, where would it be set?

The genre would be magical realism, and the protagonist would be
traversing landscapes in this world, discovering windows into other
dimensions, where time doesn’t exist, space is expansive, and
awareness is unlocked to a sense of wonderment.

Learn about Parisian sandwiches and space echo technology from DJ Goldilocks, our cherubic party starter who’ll be dropping jams Saturday night at Reflections with Le1f, Jef Barbara and XXX CLVR.

Are you really from Halifax? Like, really?
Nah. I grew up in Trana. My mom’s side of the family is all from Halifax, though. My great nan was a butcher in the South End during World War II. Butchery is a skill I dream of acquiring.

Would you describe yourself as an obedient person? Can you unpack that a little?
Hm. I’m very good at breaking rules while appearing obedient. It helps to look a bit cherubic.

What’s it like to make art in Halifax?
Toronto asks ‘where are you going?’ Halifax asks ‘what do you produce?’ Sometimes I feel like I need to make a zine for every one of my pursuits so that Halifax can see I’m doing things. But every time I’ve decided to do something here, I’ve been met with overwhelming support and the immediate flavor of success. This place rewards tenacity and that’s why the very best people live here. Read More

A long time friend and participant of OBEY Convention, Jesse Frank Matthews, will be DJing during our Friday night show with Each Other, Teenanger, TV Freaks and No Bodies. We got in touch with him to get a sense of what his priorities are when it comes to DJing:

What kind of music/musical idea is exciting you these days?

Everyone’s got their doors and window’s open now that it’s spring, so again I am captivated by the stream of music and sounds coming out of every corner. In my recreational time I have been listening to lots of Harry Partch, Huerco S. and Sade.  

Will you be manipulating the music you play at the show in any way?

My DJ set up for the show will in the rub-a-dub style. Using my collection of (reggae)dub cassettes, a few different tape decks, some basic stomp box effects (reverb, EQ, phaser) plus a few tricks and treats to put my own stamp on it. I like the idea of approaching a DJ set with specific tools and and an interest in the history of music. This being a punk show I wanted to act as the Don Lett’s character and play some dub and reggae for the punk rockers. 

What should one strive for as a DJ?

I don’t ‘DJ’ often, and since it is OBEY and I want top do something very special so instead of playing some punk in the type sense, in this DJ scenario I will be employing DIY punk ethos as a basis but try and tap into the other key players in England’s original punk scene in the mid-1970’s. So in this case I am striving to make a connection between my love of punk and dub and how the two share so much in common. Street style sounds with deep roots.

Read More

In an attempt to give you some insight into the minds of the fine people taking part in this year’s festival, we put together a survey for our artists to fill out. In the coming weeks, we’ll be posting the results regularly. Up first is Dave Burns, one part of Halifax’s non-hierarchical, lo-fi rock outfit Surveillance:

I’m from Bobcaygeon, Ontario, famous for the Tragically Hip song of the same name.

If by obedient you mean I sit like a dog and come when I’m called then to a certain extent yes. It takes a lot of guts and sacrifice to break the chain of command that we’re all forced to live with, and doing so means giving up a lot of stuff that makes life tolerable like family and friendship. Disobedience means isolation.

Halifax is a beautiful yet deeply troubled place, and despite some of the great artists and organizers that work here the arts scene is as racially segregated as the city itself. Within that there’s the socially hostile youth culture that breeds homogeneity and revels in its own weak accomplishments. If you can get past the anxiety that everything you do is going to contribute to that faceless beast then there’s no shortage of inspiration. Living on the ocean is nice too.