We are always excited to see who Pearson Sound brings along to play at his Acetate night. As well as huge names such as Four Tet, his feelers extend to the more underground selectors that he has come across on his travels. Resom is one of them. Her work as a touring DJ, resident at ://about blank club in Berlin, bookings manager for some of techno’s most fascinating characters, and as a queer political activist is phenomenal, and subtly wide-reaching. Bit by bit, she is making the world of club culture a safer, richer and ultimately more fulfilling place to be. We spoke to her to find out more about how she is doing that.
It is well documented that you have worked as a booking agent and are very politically active as well as being a DJ. How has being involved inso many roles and projects help your artistic output? Do you consider yourself a workaholic? Can you ever enjoy doing nothing/relaxing?
I still run Option Music with my colleague Mark and will not stop this until I have found another passion which keeps me going on. The political activism you mentioned is not really active these days – I focus more on the small daily things that appears, like helping someone, buying local food or simply thinking about what could be done better and try to involve this in my own personal life. Everything influences me, but most of all it’s the people around me – people I worked or work with. This all finds an output in the music I select, music created by other people and i’m simply more than thankful and happy to do so. Doing nothing is something I don’t know. I always do someting – staring at things, listening to street sounds or nature. I can relax myself and I actually consider myself as a lazy and slow person.
Tell us about your relationship with Pearson Sound, who has booked you to play Acetate. How did you end up appearing on the Hessle Audio show?What do you like about their work?
David’s musical output is simply mindblowing for me since his earliest outputs. I love the breaks, the rushing waves, the foggy atmosphere where you hide yourself and the kick I get when I listen to it. We met when I booked him to play at a party I run with DIWA at ://about blank and since that we stayed in contact. He booked Kassem Mosse and Finn Johannsen, who I do the booking for and we randomly meet again here and there. The appearance at the Hessle Audio show simply happened because I sent Ben a mix of mine after we talked about it and after some weeks he replied with an invitation to do a mix for their show on Rinse FM. You can imagine that I was blown away. I listen to their shows. Some I more like, some I don’t but I always appreciate very much that they let you take part on their own discovery trip. What I really like about all of David, Ben and Kevin is that they are people from the edge, very openminded and friendly – people who don’t set borders for themselves in rhythm. All of them have a unique and deep sound and I simply love each of their vibrating sounds.
Why was your mix for Hessle called the ‘Dedication Mix’? When you record a mix, what is your aim? Are you trying to tell a story? If so, how do you do it without lyrical music?
Thank you for that question, I finally have the chance to tell the story. The mix is dedicated to the record sellers who supported and support me with choosing records for me. When I go to Hard Wax for example I mainly go when Michael is working, because he always takes time to select records for me, and most times I spend way too much money there because the music he pre-selects for me fits most times perfectly. For me record sellers do a pretty important job, this starts with the selection of what to have in the shop, then they have to remember all their names and the music and be nice even in the biggest stress and take the time for every customer and their wishes. I have a lot of respect and that’s why I wanted to dedicate this mix to Micha and all the other record sellers on this planet.
David booked Finn Johannsen recently, a person who you have also workedwith. He famously works in Hardwax, which got me thinking about yourview on record stores. Have you had many memorable experiences in record shops? Where is your favourite place to buy records? Has the role of record shops changed with the popularisation of online outlets?
Beside the fact that Finn Johannsen is a legend for me and when you listen to the recording of the Acetate Set he played as well as the b2b with Ben, you could feel the power he can spread with his selection. Mamma Mia, this guy! Wow. And the question connects to the previous one about dedication. I often have a great time at Hard Wax, when it’s not too full and I can communicate with the guys working, as well as with other DJs I meet there. But there are loads of other great shops too. I always try to go to a shop in each city I travel too. Power Park in Berlin is well selected, Possible Things in Leipzig is awesome, Idle Hands is one of my favs, Hearttbeat Vinyl in Paris made me freak out – I actually wanted to buy the whole shop and was afraid of going there again. And I still find more and more shops. As I’m in Asia at the moment i visited a small but interesting shop in Tokyo called City Country City and bought some rarities of japanese experimental music like from Ryuichi Sakamoto, Koharu Kisaragi or Haruomi Hosono and I found some flashing records in Seoul at Clique Records.
Acetate is a night that focuses on showcasing selectors. Is there a reason you haven’t produced any music, and settled on DJing as your medium? Also, why do you think Pearson Sound, as a producer himself, is more interested in promoting selectors at his event?
Well, I simply don’t have the patience and time to learn the instruments. I fear the machines and the power sound has, also there is already so much good music and interesting sounds out there, I most times just don’t feel the need to put more out, but maybe this will change one day. A selecting DJ can create an energy and vibe for a special time people can dive into. Pearson Sound has fun with DJing and he knows exactly how to smash a party perfectly – I do hope we smash that night together, and actually I know we will do! Ha!
Do you think it is important that there are vinyl-only events like Acetate?
I think it is important, because it always shows the roots of where DJing Art is coming from. Each person who defines itself as a DJ/selector should know how to spin a record and how to make a mix. and I mean: the sound of a record is so special, the scratches, the mistakes you make while mixing – that’s what record playing is about for me.
In the Sounds Queer documentary you were featured in, you say that a dark sound is an essential part of your life. Why is that? Is it something to do with being associated with underground culture? Do you think you could do effective work even if you were part of mainstream culture?
Dark sounds simply describe a feeling for me i cannot explain with words. It’s so emotional and such an important impact for me. A deep and dark bassline simply makes me fly. And what underground? What is underground? For me it’s a question of taste and a sound you are longing for…but happy sound is essential for me as well. You always need both, it’s just a question of what a happy or dark sound is for you. And regarding the last question: I do work with mainstream already. fabric is mainstream, the whole techno circle is mainstream, Berghain is mainstream, but this doesn’t mean that it is bad quality. It’s a different mainstream than Pacha Club or all those Festivals I even can’t remember the names of. Burning Man is mainstream, no? but ok, ://about blank is not really mainstream… I would agree on that. To sum it up: I could imagine to work in the mainstream, but it’s not my first choice – it depends on the profession and the team I would say. What I definitly cannot do is to play a role, to lie about something and to sell a product I don’t believe in.
(Trailer Sounds Queer English Subtitles from Dan Dansen on Vimeo.)
In your Facebook ‘About’ description, you give a list of words including ‘deep’ to describe the music you play. What do you think constitutes ‘deepness’ or ‘depth’ in music?
Deep means experiencing something which goes deeper in your conscience than something else. it may be thoughtful, may be weird, may be out of the ordinary, may be well thought or simply well produced pop music which takes your full attention, but it has to touch me very much and others too.
How have you been enjoying Asia? What are the parties like there?
I do enjoy it here a lot, I feel super safe and well hosted. The party at Contact in Tokyo was good, the audience but for my taste too far away from me. I could barely see them and the party at Mystik in Seoul was mindblowing fun and i had a great time. What a fantastic place run by super inspiring people. (Let’s not talk about the food! :))
In Japan, it is known that dancing was legally censored for a long timeuntil the ban was lifted fairly recently. Do you see Fabric’s closure inLondon as a ban on dancing/club culture, or something else? What has been your view of the closure scandal as a non-British DJ?
I actually don’t want to say too much about this topic. Fabric was never really interesting as a party venue I would have liked to dance at, but of course I think it’s great to play there. The people I worked with were all really professional and they always took good care of the artists I take care of. I wish all of them the best luck for the future and I’m hoping that they stay strong to fight against the decision of the closure, because of course it is a scandal, but I can’t see it as a start of a ban on dance, because i’m simply an outsider here. The closure of the Dance Tunnel touched me pretty much i have to say and i fear the day Corsica Studios will publish their closure (don’t you!) but in the end: There are other interests behind from people who simply don’t care about a nighhtlife or dance culture, their interest is money of course or a different type of luxury then ours is. Pretty new houses, big cars, what ever… utopisticly spoken: what i don’t understand is why drug consume is still so illegalised these days. It’s not the drug, it’s the people who consume them and it’s their choice to do so. If people would have more information about the substances, maybe they would have more respect for their own tripping and would know what to do in a situation of intoxication. But that’s not in the interests of the alcohol industry aswell as the politicans. it seems people like threatening from above, they needs rules they can follow. Thinking outside the box is a No Go again. But: dancing cannot be forbidden, as well as music – it’s a human need like water.
Thinking about your Resident Advisor interview and your comments on identity, I wonder how being interviewed makes you feel about yourself. Do you enjoy it? Is it damaging, or helpful for your personal growth?
It makes me not feel very comfortable. I feel stripped of and naked – I share thoughts and opinions and sometimes people disagree with what i say, but i know that other people understand me. And of course i’m afraid of damaging myself (the last question for example is pretty example), but as a studied philosopher and cultural scientist, I’m used to thinking. Thinking is as essential as listening to music which makes you grow.
Your work is always political, and you believe that everything is political. I know that my role working and writing for a club has somepolitical function, and can make a small difference to society. Do you think it is important that the average dancer in a club knows that their actions, their bodily presence, is political? Or can they continue toengage unconsciously?
Yes i do think so and I’m happy to know that I come to a place like Wire Club, where this plays a role. I’m one of these persons who know exactly how it feels to be most safe, get lost, losing control and enjoy pure happiness with good music, your best friends and a interesting location. To care about each other is most important. For example: while I was working at Berlin Atonal I saw a woman laying on the floor, she fainted and suffered a circulatory breakdown, a friend of hers was around. I went to her with a bottle of water, asked smoothly if she is ok or need help – her friend said that everything is fine, that she just needs some minutes and the look in her eyes made me believe him. If I ever experience somthing like that I try to help. I wish that one day every club in this world would offer information about substances and how to use them, free fresh water, a chill out area, fruit and other food, free earplugs and a safe space for all genders. Respect to those places who already have that. At this point i only can say: thanks to the people who taught me how to take care! Drugscouts, homoelektrik, giro and blankist@s.
Oliver Walkden