Tchami, Music, and the Sense of Hearing
Hearing is
often times considered the most important sense because it allows us to
communicate with each other by hearing sounds and interpreting speech. To me, hearing is the most important sense because of my passion for music. One of my
main hobbies is listening to music and avidly going to concerts to listen to my
favorite Djs mix music live. I’ve been to a lot of concerts and have seen many
renowned Djs/producers from around the world.
My favorite
DJ/producer is Martin Bresso from Paris, Francee who goes by the name of
Tchami. He ironically wears priest attire when he Djs, which is of not much
religious relevance to this post but explains his clothing in the attached
photo. For years, Matisse and I have consistently followed Tchami’s work and
were lucky enough to see him live at Webster Hall in New York City on his rare
visit to the east coast. Above is a photo of Tchami Djing in his priest attire. Below that is a photo that I took myself of Tchami at Webster Hall. Along with this post is a video I recorded of Tchami featuring our very own Matisse Baumann dancing to the praised sounds he creates.
This kind of
house music, more popularly known as electronic dance music, brings so much joy
to my life. It is difficult to hear these sounds without moving my body to the
rhythm of the beat. In this Smells and Bells course we have discussed senses
in relation to others. I’d like to mention the sense of hearing in relation to
the sense of touch. Hearing and
listening to music makes me feel a certain way. It brings a special kind of joy
to me that nothing else can bring to me in that exact way. In fact, its
actually has motivated me to become a DJ myself, which is an activity that requires
a very keen set of hearing to match beats per minute of each song for example,
or identify what vocals sound good over certain instrumentals. Using headphones
so much and playing the music at a high volume has probably damaged my hearing to an
extent over time. However, as long as I have my sense of hearing I’ll continue
to do what I love to do.
On the contrary, I think it's very relevant that Tchami wears priest attire. It suggests that he wants to communicate that somehow what he's doing is a sacred act. You don't wear a priest collar unintentionally! It's as if to say the electronic dance music he "serves" is a kind of secular communion or sharing of "the gospel." I don't know it that's exactly his intention, but I can guess that I'm not the only one who interprets his clerical collarthat way. Tchami talks about in an interview here: http://marqueeny.tumblr.com/post/93903075266/5qs-with-tchami-marquee-new-york-fri-aug-8th
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