Five For Friday #08: Indidjinous
This week’s Five For Friday is a Q&A with Indidjinous, a producer/DJ who moved to the DC area in 2007, after several years in the Bay Area where he first got in to drum’n’bass. This Q&A ended up being a bit of a send-off, as Indidjinous is moving further north. For more information on Indidjinous, check out:
- website: http://indidjinous.com/
- soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/indidjinous
- releases: http://www.pineconemoonshine.com/
DCDNB: What got you in to drum’n’bass, and what was it like discovering it & exploring it in the Bay Area?
Indidjinous: I had two real introductions into dn’b at two different points in my life. The first raves I ever went to were the Eklektic parties back in SF and they always had two rooms, one dn’b and one breaks. I didn’t know much about the music but all I knew was that I preferred the dn’b room. That was back in high school so it must have been 95-98. Those days were exciting, I had never been in a club before, so I felt like I was sneaking in even though it was all ages. We’d drink in the parking lot and then go inside and try to move to the music. It definitely had a formative effect on me. To this day, the only music I really enjoy dancing to is dn’b, with almost everything else I’m usually fakin it…
So I definitely had a preference for dn’b then, but I didn’t fall completely in love with the music at that point. I think that was mainly because the styles that really sucked me in weren’t fully formed till about 98-2000. Anyway, in 98-99, during my freshman year in college down in Santa Cruz, I became good friends with some house DJ’s and I started going to the remaining massives that were still happening in the SF Bay Area. Those experiences were totally different. Those parties were HUGE! Everyone was getting super wasted, the vibes were unreal, it felt like we were part of a revolution. On the way to see Donald Glaude or DJ Dan or Carl Cox, we’d often make our way through the dn’b rooms, and I kept thinking, “damn those rooms are crazy!” Meanwhile, back in the dorms, I’d play my didjeridu while my friends spun house, and it was fun but you can imagine it would get a little repetitive. Well, eventually I looked at one of the flyers from some massive, saw the name Dieselboy, and then bought the album “97 Octane”. I brought that album home and started playing my didjeridu to it. The speed of the music made playing more challenging, and the changing rhythms made it way more interesting for me. After that, drum n’ bass became a major part of my life.
DCDNB: What brought you to DC, was it a challenge to find the drum’n’bass scene here, and what were some of your initial impressions of DC’s take on things?
Indidjinous: I came to DC in May 2007 for grad school. I was initially very impressed with the scene here and felt welcomed by it, but things sort of dwindled shortly after I arrived. I remember, on the third night I was in town there was an awesome show at Club Five, and then the next night there was a show down in club Hell which was across the street from my apartment in Adams Morgan. I was blown away, I couldn’t believe there was a weekly across the street from my place, and the sound system at Club Five, damn! Subwoofers everywhere! But then I soon found out that the Hell shows were going to stop, and then of course a year or so later Five stopped doing shows, so that was a little disappointing. I also quickly learned about the legendary Nation days, and I gained a sense that the scene in DC was in decline. That may have been true, but I think it’s pretty healthy now and on a bit of an upswing lately. 
DCDNB: Stylistically, have you noticed a difference between what is played and produced from your original environment, versus what you have been exposed to since coming to the DC area a few years ago?
Indidjinous: There’s definitely a difference, but it’s kinda hard to put my finger on it. I guess the sound out here is a bit more “ravey” if you know what I mean. I think people are more excited about trancy, synthy dn’b in DC/MD/VA than the Bay Area. Also, it seems like DJ’s are a bit more about the rollers around here, tunes are less chopped up. But I’m speaking in general, I can think of a LOT of exceptions, so I’m afraid to make any sweeping statements. To make it more complicated, in the almost three years I’ve been here, I feel like the local scene has been trending away from that sound a little, so it’s really hard to generalize.
DCDNB: With your own production and music making, what non-drum’n’bass influences & interests have you injected in to your work? Any that were extremely successful, or overly challenging to experiment with?
Indidjinous: My most obvious outside musical influence is the didjeridu. Before I made dn’b I still went by the name Indidjinous but all I did was play the didj over DJ sets. When I started moving into production, I wasn’t too interested in synth manipulation so just recorded my didjeridu and incorporated that into my tracks. The earthy sound of the didjeridu has influenced my preference for naturalistic sound effects too, especially in my atmospheres & basslines. I like growly, dark bass that has a shy mid-range, nothing too “bright” like a buzzing high-pitched reese. I also like dis-harmonic or non-“musical” bass sounds and I know the didj has a lot to do with that. It’s sort of the anti-instrument. You can’t really play a scale on it, or read music and play it, for example. Playing didjeridu came naturally to me, but making beats and incorporating the didj into it definitely did not. It was very challenging at first and it still isn’t anything like freestyle didjing.
Along with the didjeridu, early 90’s sci-fi movies have influenced my style more than anything else (in particular, T2 and Aliens, I know that sounds silly but it’s true). I guess you could say James Cameron’s and H.R. Giger’s visions of post-apocalyptic Earth and inorganic/organic hybrids have somehow translated into an auditory stylistic preference for me. They’ve made me strive for a dark & cinematic atmosphere in my tracks, my idol being Dom & Roland in that category.
DCDNB: You are actually moving away from DC soon. Where are you headed, what is the reason for this next destination and what will you be taking from your time in DC?
Indidjinous: I’m moving to Brooklyn this week and I’m going for two major reasons. Firstly, I’ve always loved New York. In fact I had planned on moving there a long time ago, before I ever considered DC, but anyway completely aside from the music scene the city holds a special allure to me. I feel stimulated by the creative vibes and 24 hour culture, plus I have some family there and the city has always felt comfortable to me.
The other reason I’m going is because of the music scene. Don’t get me wrong, I love the scene here. But I’m craving a more tangible community I can interact with on a more regular basis. I need multiple weeklies I can drop in on. I need a record store to browse at and distribute my mixes and tunes. I don’t want to have to get on the freeway just to go to a show. There’s something really exciting about just metroing into Manhattan and running through the streets in the middle of the night and descending on a random dn’b party. Basically, I’m craving adventure, and New York is one of the most exciting places I can think of. But I don’t want to put down the DC scene. I was ready to settle here a while ago if I had gotten the exact job I wanted.
What am I taking from DC? The first thing that comes to mind are my great friends. My departure is bittersweet because I’m gonna miss my crew (Digital Conspiracy) so much. Noistek, J-Dastardly, DJ Hera, Bounce, CJ Weaver, and many others have become part of my family so it hurts me to put distance between us. More pertaining to dn’b, I feel like my personal craft matured a lot here. Santa Cruz was where I began making music. In DC I started getting tracks signed, I got a proper website going (indidjinous.com), I feel like more of a professional now. Hopefully that’ll take me places in New York.
And some final words on what Indidjinous has going on currently:
As for my music of late, I have a few tracks out on the drumfunk label Pinecone Moonshine out of Southern California, and a few exciting projects lined up with them later this year that I wish I could elaborate on but I gotta keep em quiet. I also have four tracks coming out pretty soon on the drumfunk/techstep label Golden Age out of Budapest, Hungary. Otherwise there are few collabs brewing with some talented producers out of Sweden and the Netherlands that I’m hyped on. My only wish? That we’d finally invent teleportation so we can actually all hang out at the same party together. Internet communities are great, but they are no substitute for the real thing.
Thanks for the memories DC, “I’ll be back…”
Thanks again to Indidjinous for taking the time to do a feature with us. Be sure to check back soon, upcoming interviews with Tittsworth regarding the U-Street Music Hall opening in two weeks, and Cannon Boys about their upcoming LP release and current label plans.
