DJ Earworm
DJ Earworm is San Franciso's Jordan Roseman. This Mashup artist literally wrote the book on Bastard Pop. The publication, titled "Audio
Mashup Construction Kit: Extreme Tech," starts with music theory and song selection, before moving on to more advanced topics, such as how to extricate those pesky acappella tracks from your favorite pop songs, and how to use Mashup creation software such as Acid Pro. Apparently the second chapter goes into a bit of the history of the genre as well. Sounds like a good read, actually...
There are a relatively small number of Bastard Pop artists who seem to be able to consistently deliver really memorable, musical Mashups, and DJ Earworm fits quite comfortably within that group. Of course, I'm a fan of more than just a few different varieties of Bastard Pop, but when it comes to the ones that make you wonder AND wanna dance... Earworm's got to be in the top ten, at least.
In an article in
Technology Review, it's explained that his double major in music and computer science (University of Illinois) is the key to this, "because he can analyze the harmonies in his raw materials, (and) see key clashes looming a mile away." There's a ton of examples at
his website, some of which even have accompanying music videos. Check it out
HERE.
Without further ado, here's the SAR Q&A with
DJ Earworm...
*Name: DJ Earworm *Are there any additional names used to describe this project: Earworm
*Do you use a pseudonym? Earworm
*Members: Just me*Founding Members: Jordan Roseman *Tape manipulations, digital deconstructions or turntable creations: If I have to choose it's digital deconstructions. *Another genre descriptor: I just call them mashups.*Is there a story behind your name? It's a word for a song you can't get out of your head, so I thought it would be something good so aspire to. And I thought it was funny.*Location: San Francisco *Original Location: Iowa, via Chicago *What is your creative/artistic background: I wrote music and played the piano since I was a child, studied music theory and computer science in school, spent years producing original electronic music and songwriting.*History: Since 2004 *Born: In the U.S., but in Iowa since I was 1 year old. *Motivations: It's so much fun! And good music uplifts people, and people need to be uplifted.*Philosophy: The entire world is a sound palette. The sounds we're most familiar with shouldn't be off limits.*How would you like to be remembered: As someone who made beautiful music.
*Web address: www.djearworm.com www.some-assembly-required.net
01 Brian Eno & David Byrne - “America Is Waiting”
