So…
my name is Alex Fish, I’m one half of Holosound and we’re based out of New York City. Holosound is a DJ/Production collaboration between myself and Noah Becker. I’ve been DJing since getting my first set of belt-drive turntables back in 98 but only really decided that it was the way I was going to live my life in 2004.

In August of that year, I drove cross country with barely enough $ for gas, moved in with my mom in Boston (at 25) quickly saved enough for two months rent in NYC, and headed down. For months I rocked an Aerobed, clothes in piles on the floor and two turntables and a mixer set atop two Rubbermaid trashcans and a roommates’ bedboard.

Since then it’s been a long and hard road accented by some of the most unforgettable experiences I’ve ever had. I happily submit that small aspect my ghetto background because I personally am very happy with how far I, and Holosound, have come from those humble beginnings.

At least that’s what I tell anyone I speak with that isn’t directly connected to this “scene” in one way or another…

The truth is, that the aforementioned “unforgettable experiences,” as tremendous as they may be, share an unfortunate analogous nature with the most addictive substances on the planet. As with anything extremely fun, or mind-blowing, your tolerance raises proportionate to how often you do them and the more opportunities you get to share your vision of great dance music with people all over the world, the more you’re on the lookout for that next big fix-err gig.

It’s not quite as melodramatic as that I guess… on the surface. On the surface I’m very lucky to have built a network of colleagues (DJs/Producers/Promoters/Veterinarians) that thrive on honesty about each other’s work and mutual respect. It’s by chatting, watching and listening to them do what they do, that I chart my course nearly every week.

We trade tracks, sets, stories from the road and a common desire to shape the course of dance music. Yet, as much as I enjoy some of the similarities that I hear in the sets played by myself, my close friends in the scene and even some of my Top 100 heroes, being this close is also like walking along a precipice of obscurity.

You never know when your next step might send you hurtling downward, erasing all of your hard earned progress in one fell swoop. In a world of rising gas costs (read: airfare) and where anyone with a laptop can be a DJ-and, seemingly is, I feel that one of the biggest struggles we face is how to keep things unique without jeopardizing one’s core audience.

Holosound currently finds itself with a following that is loyal and informed, but also not without its own prejudices and thoughts on how this music should be played. Nearly every time we release a promo mix I get at least an email or two mentioning something someone liked but also something they thought we should “stay away from.” Of course, I wouldn’t be sharing this if those emails weren’t accompanied by more from people we’ve never met in various parts of the world saying how glad they were that someone was playing exactly what they wanted to hear.

Getting my head around the concept that you cannot please everyone 100% of the time has probably been one of the hardest lessons I’ve learned since beginning with Holosound. It wasn’t that I hadn’t already mastered the concept with regards to my personality, appearance and career aspirations, but musically I thought those rules didn’t apply.

I was convinced I could work harder than anyone and find that perfect combination of tracks that would, regardless of one’s musical background or preference, transmit that eureka moment we’ve all had with this music directly into EVERYONE’S consciousness. If I could put that together, show all the people who thought it “all sounded the same” that it didn’t…then naturally all the chips would start to fall into place.

Once I brought what I’d grown up hearing my parents listen to on the radio and combined it an alarming amount of electronic music awareness and love, I knew that we could bring this underground music out into the light. As much as I’ve always relished the bond you share with people on the same dance floor in a dark club, I always wanted to know what that bond would feel like with 100 or even 1000 times as many people.

I guess it’s fair to note that growing up in America, where dance music represented an even more striking minority than in Canada or overseas, probably had a lot to do with this quest to bring it out into the open. I found it deeply frustrating that as I got older and was drawn into DJing I increasingly had to choose between the music and certain friends. Why couldn’t it be for everyone? Why couldn’t I be the one to make it so? Time and experience have been the two most contributive factors in my personal enlightening.

I now know this music that gives us goosebumps, watery eyes and sore legs will most likely never be for “everyone.” Everyday on the streets of New York from the vantage point of my ipod and earbuds, I see just how different we all are and am constantly reminded that there’s no possible way this shit could resonate as powerfully with everyone.

Just as a store-bought suit can only look its best after a trip to the tailor, the best house music will always take a little extra work to find. After all, the thrill of the hunt is often as much a part of enjoying it as dancing to it. That extra “work” may be standing in a line around the block at 3:30 in the morning or entering captcha codes on a Russion filehosting site. But once you enter that main room with pounding beats and flashing lights-or download that special set you’d been chasing for ages, you know that only the people who’ll go the distance deserve it.

The best part is, and one of the things I find most validating about electronic music, is that while “the scene” is an exclusive group, it’s one that is open to any and all who’ll work for it. It’s also one of the few congregations I know of where the internet geek who trolls the message boards for new sets, gear or DJ gossip is as much a part of it all as the gorgeous girls you may have seen cut the line on your way in…

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 17th, 2008 at 5:07 pm and is filed under Views, What's Going Down. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.