PAUL db WATKINS

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Quotes

"A historical property has morals and ethics of the society that created it and can be revived. What I mean is that we can discover new possibilities from the process of dismantling, transforming, and recreating."
-Ai Weiwei

"Thus, because jazz finds its very life in an endless improvisation upon traditional materials, the jazzman must lose his identity even as he finds it..."
-Ralph Ellison

“Midway along the journey of our life / I woke to find myself in a dark wood, / for I had wandered off from the straight path."
-Dante

"Sampling is a new way of doing something that’s been with us for a long time […] The mix breaks free from the old associations. New contexts form from old. The script gets flipped. The languages evolve and learn to speak in new forms, new thoughts. The sound of thought becomes legible again at the edge of the new meanings."
-DJ Spooky

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A beautiful Fall day.

Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) is one of the most important albums ever released. A watershed moment in hip-hop production and lyricism, the album’s distinctive sound provided a blueprint for hardcore hip-hop during the 1990s and beyond. 36 Chambers remains a multipoint reference after which rappers can model their style and RZA’s groundbreakingly dense, cinematic, and soul-sampling production has influenced producers from 9th Wonder to Kanye West. The caustic and explicit humour, cerebral storytelling, and the variety of lyrical technicians (the RZA, the GZA, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Inspectah Deck, Raekwon the Chef, U-God, Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa, and the Method Man) contribute to an album full of play (each member’s name is a reference to an old kung-fu film). Lyrically, there are hundreds of pop culture references and martial arts-inspired metaphors. Sonically, RZA’s production fuses jazz (Thelonious Monk and Lonnie Smith), funk, and R&B (The Jackson Five, Melvin Bliss, Syl Johnson, Otis Redding), and samples extensive dubbed-dialogue from Gordon Li’s Shaolin and Wu Tang (1983). Spiritually (and in name), the album is influenced by the Shaolin narrative of Lau Kar-leung’s seminal film, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978). Wedding content and form, Enter the Wu-Tang absorbed the gamut of popular culture and in the process bridged traditional hip-hop sensibilities with modern technological innovation (made possible by the EPS 16+ Sampler keyboard, the ASR-10, and Pro Tools). For me, 36 Chambers is to hip-hop what the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band is to rock. Today, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) turns 25 years old. The album still sounds fresh and innovative and remains a critical turning point in hip-hop. Pictured is the OG press, a reissue on yellow wax, the “C.R.E.A.M” / “Da Mystery of Chessboxin’” single, and a copy of “Protect Your Neck”/ “After the Laughter Comes Tears” circa 1992 on Wu-Tang Records pressed in RZA’s basement (limited to 500 copies). Wu-Tang forever! #wutang #enterthewutang #36chambers #RZA #bringdaruckus

I had an incredible time moderating the Hip Hop Forum Panel at VIU with Dr. Oop, Meryem Saci, and The Northwest Kid (from Mob Bounce). Obligatory smiling and serious crew shot. #hiphop #forum #viuworlddays

Ascending to higher dimensions of sound and consciousness with Pharoah Sanders and some of his work with John and Alice Coltrane. I met the legend in 2013 and he was so cool and down-to-earth. #pharoahsanders #jazz #johncoltrane #alicecoltrane #ascension

Teaching the kids about the man from Saturn who came to earth to play the music of peace. #sunra #ajoyfulnoise #robertmugge #jazz #sunraarkestra

Late Halloween post. The original Suspiria soundtrack is one of my favourites, but I’m glad Thom Yorke makes the new one his own. Overall, an excellent soundtrack that is creepy, beautiful, and strange. The title track, “Suspirium,” stands out and is a piano waltz with flute and sparse production. The soundtrack has gotten me even more excited to see the film. #suspiria #suspirium #suspiriasoundtrack #thomyorke #djphoenixplaysarecord

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Ph.D. Professor. Writer. Musician. A space for riffings on film, literature, and music.