I believe we are enriched in life by interaction with mysteries, even if whimsically or as a thought experiment. Zeroing in on the "unexplained sky burner" allowed me to step into the zone of the unknown in a playful, and mentally necessary way I think.
As an artist, that is how I want to feel every time I experiment with music - that I'm stepping into some unknown adventure or happening upon a mysterious epiphany that beckons being unpacked, but can never be completely unpacked.
Some of the most interesting places I have made my music are a planetarium in France; in front of a mechanically animated dome structure / art piece in a vacant building in downtown LA; in a vacant retail space in Antwerp, Belgium; in a historic art space in Seattle which had been a creepy "home for wayward girls" a long time ago.
My advice to someone starting on the music path:
Avoid genre orthodoxy and mimicking your idols who came before.
Gear doesn't matter, it's your relationship to the instrument.
Do what you feel.
Imagine yourself on the edge of a world of infinite possibilities.
Music is the first language, or perhaps second depending on if you think dance came first.
Listening is the most important part of music making.
My most important musical or artistic discoveries?
No matter what I try to do to outsmart myself...wherever I go, there I am.
My most cherished accomplishment?
Not quitting music, even when the worst parts of me thought there was every reason to do so.
I have several unfinished albums very near completion. I'm looking ahead as far as wrapping them, and I hope everything beyond that is a complete surprise out of left field.
STRATEGY is me (Paul Dickow), a musician, DJ, producer, and record label operator based in Portland, Oregon. In keeping with the tradition of aliases in house, techno, disco, etc. I adopted the pseudonym Strategy in 1999, to represent my solo production work, and first officially released under that name in 2003. There are numerous other artists called "Strategy" out there, with whom I am happy to share the name. I also used the alias Extinct briefly, but have been pretty consistent about using one pseudonym. Go to the Discography and Remixography to learn about the labels and records I have worked with/on.
I also play in the bands Sound People, Smoke and Mirrors, Fontanelle, Nudge, and One Human Minute, and I previously played in the bands Emergency, The Cold War, Two Noises, and the Fracture Line.
Together with David Chandler I run the Community Library label established in 2005. Together we had a monthly musical event called Community Library where each DJ set was based around specific themes. We'd also have live performers and show movies and such. While the DJ night gradually morphed into the record label, we both still DJ actively together and separately which you can learn about here.
https://communitylibrary.bandcamp.com/
Uncompromisingly eclectic since 2005. Operated in Portland, Oregon, Cascadia by founders Paul Dickow and David Chandler.
Check out our sister label Common Language as well: commonlanguage.bandcamp.com
https://strategy.bandcamp.com/album/unexplained-sky-burners
https://igloomag.com/reviews/strategy-unexplained-sky-burners-peak-oil
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