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Gnosis, aka John Robinson

Age: 32

Affiliations: Member of Team Rollers Sound System, resident MJQ DJ since the beginning.

Contact: http://www.djgnosis.com/

Spin schedule: Fridays at MJQ Concourse, various one-offs

How long have you been in Atlanta? Since 1971

What genre do you usually spin? I spin a mixture of genres, building up + braking down a variety of drum 'n' bass, roots reggae, dance hall + hip-hop. More recently I've been trying to incorporate music from West + North Africa, especially Algerian Rai. I would love to promote a night of African + Indian funk.

What's your current top five?

1. Luciano - "Step Right In" (Fat Eyes)

2. Prefuse 73 - the Estrocaro EP (Warp)

3. Micranots - Illegal Busyness 12"(Subverse Music)

4. LTJ Bukem - "Sunrain" (Good Looking)

5. Femi Kuti - "Sorry Sorry (Francois K dub)" (Nuphonic)

What's your all-time top five?

1. High Fidelity - original motion picture soundtrack

2. High Fidelity - original motion picture soundtrack

3. High Fidelity - original motion picture soundtrack

4. High Fidelity - original motion picture soundtrack

5. DJ Gnosis - "Don't go to Georgia" dubplate + MP3 (Narcissist!)

Who are some of your major influences as a DJ? Why?

It's funny, I don't buy or play much LTJ Bukem, but here he is in my top five and influences list. He has this style of blending two records for a long time, and then, at the crucial moment, just before the next bass line, he fades the first record down to complete silence. Seeing DJs like Ron Trent years ago doing similar things by making the most out of separate channel EQing (not always available to bedroom DJs!) really opened things up for me. I am very attracted to running two records at the same time with, say, the bassline + body of one playing while the vocals of the other is going. I was schooled by DJs with house music mixing sensibilities [Karl Injex and Mr. Scarey], and I still favor longer blending over abrupt drops or scratching.

Probably the best DJ I've seen who balances party rocking, intelligence and turntable skills is Z-Trip from Arizona. His specialty is rocking doubles of rock breaks, both obscure and famous. Yet he never misses a beat or bores the dance floor with self-indulgence. It's an ass-shaking, soulful and deconstructive education ... and that's what I hope to do.

What artists do you most admire? Why?

Ashley Beedle, Doctor L, Jay Dee and London Elektricity have all been able to balance electronic sounds with live, organic ones with incredibly soulful, cultural and inspiring results that still get people groovin'. It's a cliché to say that the future of electronic music (hip-hop and so-called "faceless electronica" are often cited) should lie in artists "playing their own instruments," as though MPCs were somehow categorically different from, say, a guitar run through a couple effects pedals and into an amp. What inspires me about this stuff is the seemingly organic blending of the soulful and the expressive. But I love the most purely electronic of electronic music as well: most recently Pole, the folks on Schematic Records, Bad Company and Gas.

What qualities do you think make for a successful DJ?

If by success you mean financial, then it's definitely in making your own tunes. Production is a natural trajectory for anyone who wants to make a career of it. If production isn't your thing, then you gotta be able to keep people interested in what you do live. I'm a resident DJ, so it's a challenge to keep things interesting and flip up what you play and how you play it each week while maintaining a particular style. There are many financially and artistically successful DJs who never record anything, but have a reputation for innovation and genre mixing that keeps people wanting more and not knowing what to expect. Additionally, lots of great producers are horrible live DJs and I'm sure the reverse is true. Besides, if Kid Koala, Detail, Andy Smith or Gilles Peterson never recorded an original track, who cares?! Their innovative live sets are, to invoke another cliché, an artform of their own.

Do you have any pet peeves as a DJ?

Yes, but I won't bore you with them.

Where do you see the Atlanta scene headed?

More bar mitzvahs, weddings, funerals, Stone Mountain river boat rides, superstore grand openings and corporate event gigs for the next generation.

Seriously, the nu soul, spoken word and deep house scenes have gained a lot of momentum, bringing together the likes of AU students and just plain inner city hip-hop heads, even after Yin Yang's closing. These scenes are intertwined and build off each other, yet seem under-appreciated. They seem to me to be a natural fit for Atlanta as it appeals to intelligent, culturally aware Black folks.

The Atlanta underground scene seems to be at a crossroads right now. It's like the first generation of people who really came out to hear progressive electronic music, underground hip-hop, etc. have all gotten married or careers and don't come out as often, so it's hard for certain scenes to get support. Of course this points to Atlanta's ubiquitous 21 + up policy, which is the reason for a lot of splintering here.

What do you think the DJ scene/Atlanta scene needs?

Atlanta needs a sound that is uniquely Southern but new. Look at the Dungeon Family: their music has integrity while appealing to a lot of people because it's innovative and not trying to be from somewhere else. The underground needs to follow the example, without imitating. Sometimes I feel like we're all unconscious victims of 'Henry Grady Syndrome': The city's official culture unashamedly tries to promote commerce by imitating first cities like NY while caricaturing our own history. This embarrasses many of us yet much of what we spin, perform + promote is derivative or emulative. This is why I try to base my tunes on field recordings + country blues, because I'd like to appreciate and, in some small way, help re-invent and continue these particular diasporic musical traditions. With the richest + funkiest Black music heritage this side of Africa, the South should be looking to it's regional past for inspiration + musical guidance.


11.25.00

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