by SCOTT C

Those of you familiar with the dark and melancholic productions of DJ Spooky are perhaps already aware of the many other talents "that Subliminal Kid" has been blessed with. Armed with modes of thought, the gift of gab and an all-important sense of humour, this multimedia octopus likes to use his brain, exploring things as a conceptual artist, writer and musician. His recently hatched online magazine www.21cmagazine.com takes the worlds of art, technology and academia to a very thoughtful, strange and yet familiar place - like Harper's or New Yorker on 45. The Mirror spoke to DJ Spooky over the phone from his home in New York.

Mirror: What would you say is the most important technological advance that we're experiencing right now?

DJ Spooky: I'm really fascinated with transgenic engineering and biotech. That's where the core of most of the changes of this century are going to take place. Medical stuff, viral stuff and new products, that's the kind of stuff that interests me. Whenever I'm reading, or on airplanes, I tend to shift over to the biotech scene just to see what's going on. The patenting of DNA and the way that corporations are controlling that is going to become very interesting in the near future.

M: This is including human cloning -

DJS: Yeah, not to mention taking other elements of the environment into account. Fish, chicken, beef and all the food made out of all sorts of things.

M: So when you see all the attention that BSE has brought to slaughterhouses and rendering plants, does it frustrate you that we're just getting to it now?

DJS: Well, genetically modified foods are just part and parcel of the march of this whole kind of (pauses) style. You have to take the time to think about how much of the food chain has already been modified. Farmers have been combining crops for thousands of years, interbreeding corn and using the individual strengths for the best results, but that sort of thing has become exponential. I'm not an expert on it, but it's sort of the philosophical equivalent of the remix culture I call home.

M: The philosophical equivalent -

DJS: Or real world, whatever you want to call it. It's the philosophy of the remix as applied to mad cow, modified grain or corn or whatever. You take one gene and mix it with DNA or another thing and just see what pops up.

M: And then you try to market it.

DJS: Yeah, and it's the same with rhythms, beats and elements, not to mention architecture too.

M: Do you have any other academic aspirations?

DJS: Well, I'm always reading, checking into things and learning about as much as I can. I'd like to do an occasional book or two. My first book is coming out this year. It's called Rhythm Science, and it's coming out in April. It's about rhythm and patterns in culture that influence the way we think about things.

M: Does anybody get in your face about the way you think about things?

DJS: Yeah! I expect it. If they have a point, I'll take the time to listen, but if they don't and they're just a nut, I'll tell them to fuck off (laughs).

With Tobias C. Van Veen, Christelle Franca and Dave Dubline at the SAT on Friday, Feb. 13, 9pm, $12

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