When the Red Bull Music Academy hits your town, you should start clearing your calendar. Not only will you be treated to some great nights of music, but you'll be able to sit in on the legendary lectures, really getting a look into the psyche and progression of the producers and DJs involved. The best part is that the RBMA will then post these awesome clips to their site so those of us who can't hit Barcelona, Melbourne, New York City, or Cape Town can experience what these greats have to say.
Now there are a host of lectures, but some are more must-see than others. Be it one of the most impressive turntablists to ever do it to a godfather in the art of sample soundscapes, these 15 lectures will make you see both the artists and their genres differently, giving you a fresh perspective not only on how they rose through their scenes, but the influences that helped make them great.
Goldie
Year: 2008
Anytime Goldie gets a few hours to speak on music that's meant a lot to him, you need to listen. Not to say he doesn't drop his own productions, but the tunes he draws for this? Including a beautiful jazz rendition of "Inner City Life?" He also speaks a lot on how the advances in technology have made us regress a bit, at least in terms of interaction and such. Maybe we are too plugged in?
A Guy Called Gerald
Year: 2010
Gerald's a don in the techno and drum & bass scenes, and getting a chance to have him provide his influences, which come from a true dance (as in the act) background is interesting and inspiring. His explanation of the different sounds and the science behind what he was using is also great for you producers out there.
Todd Edwards
Skream
Year: 2006
This is a treat, considering that it took place around the time Skream started taking off. Drawn back to the early days living in Croydon on a diet of garage, he brings up everything from using the Playstation to make music to the fact that you can really make a bass out of everything. Skream's brother was pretty influential in his musical influence, and it's wild to know that his brother was party of the Inta Natty crew with Grooverider and Bailey.
Rashad & Spinn
Year: 2011
Chicago's Ghetto Teknitianz were in the house, with Rashad and Spinn showing the Red Bull Music Academy the progression of Chicago's house scene from ghetto house to juke to footwork. They play a number of integral tracks within the sound, and even show some footage of footwork battles in Chicago.
Busy P
Year: 2010
Busy P has worn some important hats, ranging from his time spent managing Daft Punk to forming Ed Banger Records. His lecture digs into his travels through music, as well as the notion of creativity in today's dance music scene. He even speaks on how the Slum Village remix of "Aerodynamic" came to be.
Mala
Year: 2008
Taken from the same RBMA series, Mala echoes what Goldie spoke about earlier with human interaction being necessary, both within the music scene and in general. Mala, one of the pioneers within the dubstep scene, said he doesn't even like calling what he does "dubstep," and breaks down the process and reasoning behind cutting tunes to acetate.
Tony Colman
Year: 2003
Tony Colman didn't start his venture into running labels with Hospital Records, so hearing him discuss his time within the music industry, which dates back to the 1980s, is awesome when you realize at how huge Hospital has become within the drum & bass scene. He then speaks on how London Elektricity came to build their awesome live experience.
Benga
dBridge
Year: 2005
To get the proper context, this lecture took place around the same time that dBridge left Bad Company to start creating music on his own. dBridge dipped into the history of drum & bass, speaking on everything from the Metalheadz night at Blue Note to how major labels not knowing how to market drum & bass (which isn't surprising, but is great to hear from someone who's had loads of success within the scene). Fans of drum & bass during it's heyday need this.
A-Trak
Year: 2003
This captures an interesting time in A-Trak's progression. He was out of the DJ battle scene, and perfecting his views and theories on turntablism. At 34 minutes, this is almost too short, but you get a good batch of scratch routines for the first half, with the second half being more dedicated to A-Trak's turntablism notation.
Digital
Year: 2004
Digital's a king of working a Jamaican influence into deep drum & bass, and listening to him talk about that element of his music is so vital to understanding how his production developed over the years. It's also crazy to hear him say that "Spacefunk" was his first solo track.
Carl Craig
Year: 2007
Carl Craig is one of the most important names from the Detroit techno scene, and it's great to hear him speak on how growing up and living in Detroit influenced himself and the path he took within music. Also great to hear how he utilizes the mixing console, almost like the throwback dub producers used to.
Steinski
Year: 2003
Steinski's work on the classic "Lesson" tracks with Double Dee are some of the basis of the "cut-up" style of production, crafting a wall of sound with a number of samples and loops that have influenced the likes of Coldcut. He's one of those guys that you'd never expect to be making instrumental hip-hop tracks back in the days of hip-hop really getting its footing.
Zinc
Year: 2005
Interviewing Zinc is almost a rarity at this point, so to have him sit down and chart out his progress from the jungle/drum & bass scene to moving into different tempos to the "crack house" style that he was shifting towards? So vital especially with how successful his sound has been, especially because he's done it on his own for so long.