Using Maria Chavez’s technique of breaking records and layering them atop one another on the turntable to create sound collage, I carried out a ten minute long recording. When recording from my own turntables, there is a constant low hum due to my lack of earthing cables. On top of this, the signal from my needles when recording is poor. However, I found these “hinderances” actually came to elevate the effect of my experiment. Chavez uses much more ambient sounding records, records with deep sonic interest and a lack of musicality. I wanted to complete my experiment by tying it into my usual DJ style, by using dance records. I used a pile of warped early hardcore records that I found, and defects from my workplace Rhythm Section. I found this to be a sustainable practice, as I was putting to use vinyl that would have been otherwise discarded, as opposed to going out and buying new (though second hand) records.
The older, less weighted records were much easier to snap. It felt blasphemous, snapping these records which carry so much value to the early UK dance music scene. In a way though, I felt like it was an abstractification of how I feel about the dance music scene right now. Where jungle was born from a place of pure enjoyment of music and breaking away from the drugs culture of acid house, it has returned to exactly that- it is broken. I would love to explain how amazing the sounds produced from this process are, but you can hear for yourself here below: