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Elemental gent
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by ERIN MACLEOD If you like to dance, and you haven’t had the opportunity to be in the same room when native New Yorker Joaquin “Joe” Claussell is spinning, make sure that you don’t miss him. The man who made his Sunday-afternoon Body & Soul parties legendary is someone who is deeply passionate about getting people to get up, dance and connect with each other as well as with what is being played. Claussell was asked by the Mirror about his music and his DJing philosophy, and he responded with ideas that encompass a lot more than just mixing tunes. Mirror: Given that dancing is most often done in the wee hours of the morning, why do you think that your Body & Soul parties over the years were so popular? Joe Claussell: The success of Body & Soul was solely attributed to a simple concept, which was to create a space, an atmosphere similar to one freely listening to music in their own living room, granting an open invitation for anyone, no matter what nationality or sexual gender to join, listen and dance to music. It was all about the love that created an environment that, once entered, people immediately felt like they belonged. M: What you do is incredibly organic. Many people immediately associate dance music with the inorganic. Why do you think this is? JC: For me, it’s difficult to figure out how people perceive of or associate with dance music. I really don’t give it any thought, simply because music is so vast and can disperse so many different messages. I would like to think that it touches a different note in every soul, resulting in a unique vision and outcome for all who are open enough to understand its true powers and meaning. Genesis jiveM: Can you explain your philosophy of music creation? You seem to connect spirituality and music. JC: I see it as constantly evolving, and so do my beliefs and theories. At this moment, I simply try to imagine, and then reenact in my mind, what it must have been like for the creator to form our Earth, with the prevailing conflict between the natural elements such as fire and water, the formation of valleys, sky and oceans, to name a few. And how he or she instilled order between them, thus resulting in a harmonic whole. If you can imagine the tones of each of the aforementioned elements, you will hear that they have tones uniquely their own. What I am trying to communicate here is that because our Earth was created by rhythm—with the creator being the conductor and elements being his orchestra, if any of this holds true—we were conceived from that harmonic evolution which is known to us today as music. M: How do you see the role of the DJ? JC: I see the role of a DJ as being whatever it is that he or she desires it to be, which you can attribute to how it was introduced to them. I see myself only as a conduit, spreading the powerful messages that I worship about music to those who are open enough to receive them, with the hopes that both the crowd and myself as collaborators can create a wonderful experience. Fame does not play a role in anything that I do. Soul retoldM: Soulful music seems to be on the rise—I think of the interest in what’s being called “funky” in the U.K. Do you think that right now, there is a renewed interest in soulful dancefloor movements? JC: I wasn’t aware that soulful music ever left! I am glad that you brought this up. It seems to me that music becomes unpopular in the minds of those who want to abuse it for their own agenda. What is funky? It’s house music with a little twist—a twist only created for, in my opinion, people to feel good about themselves, claiming to have created something when they don’t have the ability to realize something from scratch. But as upset as this subject gets me, I realize that it’s through no fault of their own. The real problem lies in the fact that many do not seem to understand the historical significance of music, as well as the enormous wealth of power that it can distribute. This makes it as easy for people to pull the wool over their eyes, unfortunately. This extends far beyond music, which is an integral part of why our world is in the crisis that it’s in today. But back to music—it’s not a trend, and therefore can never go out of style. M: What are your plans for the future of your label? JC: To continue to learn more about music and its relationship to us as a people and to the universe. WITH MOKA AND TONY DESYPRIS AT |
