Ideas and Inspiration

Ideas and Inspiration

5 July, 2007 | 3.18PM

• Section: Music News Topics: Jonas Tempel Blog
• Written by: Jonas Tempel

Beatport is filled with such amazing thinkers. It seems that every week we have some cool new idea about how to make things run better or faster. And that really pays off when you have a team of individuals that can think up crazy ideas and then have the discipline to actually sit down and make it happen.

The last few days I was invited to participate in the Aspen Ideas Festival where I spoke on a panel regarding music and its ability to create and inspire communities. This particular conference was created to bring together people to collectively and openly discuss the subjects that are currently affecting our world. Oddly enough, that incuded electronic music and the influence of DJs on culture and society.

My panel was a mixed group with a special focus on DJs, Video and electronic music. There were four people and a moderater. Including myself we also had a famous female DJ, a famous electronic music composer, and a high ranking Tibetan monk who uses music and video to reach his community. The moderator led us directly to a place of deep personal sharing that exposed our cultural awareness. We touched on the tribal nature of dancing where people seem to join together without knowing one another to celebrate the rhythms. The idea that dancing in unison can make people forget about the limitations of personal space, race, religion and the other cultural barriers that can normally block a community from forming. And of course, we discussed the ability of the DJs to create that experience with the music they play, and the environments they play it in. To be honest, it was a bit overwhelming to have such an in-depth and personal conversation in such a public setting. To be writing about it now seems even more bizarre as I struggle to create the words that best describe my inspiration.

What I took from the conversation and the days of intense intellectually sparring was the fact that the world truly needs and admires DJs and the stories they tell through their performance. The roots of dancing and gathering seem to be somehow logically connected around music and the arrangers and performers at both a physical and spiritual level.

Being surrounded by so many great thinkers everyday at Beatport helped me logically interpret the discussion and hopefully add value to a panel filled with such great minds. In the future, I promise not to get so deep in my blog, but I felt compelled to share this experience with you all. I surely won’t forget the last few days anytime soon.

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