I met James Murphy at Plant Bar in NY’s East Village around 2002. Tim Sweeny (Beats In Space) had spun at my birthday party a few months earlier, and he invited me by to his birthday celebration to hang out. I got there to find James Murphy DJing, and I was immediately blown away by his selection and mixing skills. I hadn’t heard any of the music before, but I was immediately sprung. I called it funk-punk, and I vowed to find some of it as soon as possible. I didn’t know if it was new music, old music, or future music. It all had a very late 70’s feel, but I really wasn’t sure.
That night, I had an interesting talk with James. I wasn’t familiar with him, but I was curious. He was happy to inform me, and explained that he had been a music studio professional in NYC, mic-ing drums for people like The Beastie Boys and others in the 80s and beyond. He basically told me that he just made a name for himself because he was such a nut. Basically, this is his m.o. to this day.
Fast-forward four years. James’ label DFA sparks a revolution in rock-oriented dance music, and James becomes the king of “The Hipsters”. Needless to say, I casually followed the progression of his movement, and always dabbled in the music. I still haven’t made a mix that reflects my interest in this, what I call, postpunk genre quite yet, but I have a lot of ammo for when I decide to.
I always loved much of the music that came out of this “scene”. The people, not so much. I see the world through music though, and DFA did more than just produce the music, they really spawned a movement in the culture of NYC and beyond. And through LCD Soundsystem, they really learned to have an at-will effect on media, which is rare.
Red Bull Music Academy just released this mini-documentary about DFA Records. 12 Years Of DFA: Too Old To Be New, Too New To Be Classic.
