417EDM Podcast - Episode 001: Psyberwitch
I've been wanting to do something like this for a while, and I'm finally getting the 417EDM Podcast off the ground.
This isn't actually my first attempt at doing a podcast, though.
Back when this place was still Steemit, I was one of four co-hosts of the Steemit Talk Podcast. We did that for about a year and ended up with almost 50 episodes, which is still kind of crazy to think about. After that I tried doing something similar on my own a couple of times. Neither of those made it past episode three.
So apparently I have a three-episode limit. I'm hoping I've finally figured out the problem.
Those earlier podcasts were specifically about Steemit and later Hive. The format was basically that we would find interesting content from other authors and talk about it. This time around, the podcast has nothing to do with Hive. It's about something I've been involved with for a long time: the electronic music scene here in the 417 area.
I'm just bringing it here because I've been a part of this community for a very long time, and it seems like a good place to share it.
For the first episode, I couldn't think of a better person to sit down with than Psyberwitch.
She's been a good friend of mine for a long time, she's been part of the Springfield EDM scene for years, and she's someone I've had the opportunity to share quite a few of those years with.
That also made her a pretty easy choice for my first guest. I was excited to finally get the show started, but I was also glad to be sitting across the table from someone I was already comfortable talking to. There wasn't much of that awkward "first episode" feeling once we started talking. When we finished recording, we both felt like it had gone really well.
And we ended up talking about quite a lot.
We started at the beginning, with how electronic music first found its way into Psyberwitch's life through video games like Wipeout, Grand Theft Auto and SSX Tricky. From there, she got into producing music with FL Studio in 2006 and was making music for Flash games under the Echo's Aurora name.
Eventually she found her way into the local scene, although it took a little while to realize that Springfield actually had one.
Her first rave was at an anime convention in Chicago around 2007 or 2008. She came home wondering why we didn't have anything like that here, only to discover that we actually did. That eventually led to Project Ravolution, MySpace, 417 Vibe, the old Blue Room, basement parties at the Magic Bean and a whole lot of the grungier side of the local scene.
That part of the conversation hit home for me, because one of the reasons I started 417EDM in the first place is that there are still people around here who have no idea how much of an electronic music scene actually exists in the 417.
It's surprisingly easy to miss.
We talked about that, and about how much the scene has changed since those early days. Psyberwitch misses some of those old underground spaces and the feeling of being disconnected from the outside world while you're at a party. We got onto the subject of smartphones and how the Internet itself seems to have gone from being more of a "we" experience to a "me" experience.
And yes, we both agreed that the old venues had a certain charm, but having an actual bathroom with a real toilet is a pretty nice upgrade.
We also spent quite a bit of time talking about DJing.
Psyberwitch talked about harmonic mixing, long transitions, finding those unexpected combinations that somehow work, and the difference between planning a set and actually reading a room. She described having her "weapons" ready in different crates of genres and tempos, while still being willing to throw the plan out the window once the set actually starts.
That led into a conversation about her time DJing professionally in Florida, and what happens when something you love becomes your job.
One of the things I really liked about that part of the conversation was her honesty about the possibility of burning yourself out on something you love when you try to turn it into a career. She eventually stepped away from DJing for a while, but never really stopped loving the music and eventually found her way back to it.
I think a lot of people who have been involved in music for any length of time can relate to that.
Because this episode was recorded during Pride Month, we also spent some time talking about the LGBTQ+ influence on electronic music and rave culture.
We got into some of the history behind that connection, from Wendy Carlos and Frankie Knuckles through more recent artists like Mandidextrous, Sophie and Honey Dijon. It was a good reminder that the history of electronic music is intertwined with a lot of communities and people whose contributions aren't always obvious when you're simply listening to the music.
For Psyberwitch, the rave scene has always been about more than just the music. It's been a place where she found community and a place where she felt like she belonged.
That's something that I think is worth remembering as electronic music continues to become more mainstream.
Then we finished things up with a little lightning round.
Favorite format? Vinyl at home, digital when she's out.
A track that always works on the dance floor? Stardust — "Music Sounds Better With You."
Dream B2B? Wilkinson and Adele. Apparently the world needs an Adele drum & bass album.
Favorite crowd she's ever played for? A 417 Sounds party called Rave of the Living Dead.
Sunrise set or warehouse at 2 AM?
Warehouse. Every time.
And if you're thinking about going to your first EDM show, Psyberwitch has some very practical advice: get yourself a good pair of high-fidelity earplugs and protect your hearing.
She's right. I wish somebody had told me that a long time ago.
The Mix
After the interview, Psyberwitch plays an exclusive mix built around Pride Month and the history and influence we had just been talking about.
It's a pretty wide-ranging set, moving through house, drum & bass and other tempos and genres, with some throwbacks mixed in along the way.
So that's Episode 001.
The 417EDM Podcast is my attempt to sit down with some of the DJs and people who have helped shape electronic music around here, hear their stories, talk about the music, and hopefully introduce some of them to people who haven't discovered them yet.
Thanks again to Psyberwitch for being willing to be the first one to sit down with me.
And thanks for listening.
Listen to Episode 001 — Psyberwitch