DJ GOO GOO (aka TRAVIS RITTER; Aesthetic Mess)
Current Top 5 tracks:
Gesloten Cirkel, "Stankan" (Murder Capital)
Molly Nilsson, "Mountain Time" (Dark Skies Association/ Night School)
Brassica, "Dance" featuring Stuart Warwick (Civil Music)
Not Waving, "Poison Yourself" (Diagonal)
"A split 12-inch with Powell so limited (100 copies), no one has ripped it to YouTube."
Happy Meals, "Now That You Have Me" (Night School)
Styles played: Post-punk, all synthetic strains of wave, acid house, mutant disco, techno, dub, whatever.
DJing Philosophy: "As a listener, I'd say it is very much in the line of John Peel's ethos. Peel had an ear for wildly diverse, unsung heroes in a time of incredibly inventive new music. There was a real overlapping culture of style with new electronic technologies and appeal. In the very same way, the party and club DJs of that era, especially New York in the late '70s and early '80s, were playing around with everything they got their hands on, new or old. DJing, for me, came out of the love for making mixtapes in my teens and early 20s. From piecing sets together from the a limited collection of records I hunted for, to playing variety shows on Rice University's KTRU radio station, where I was encouraged to cover the whole musical spectrum, underground and above. I try to apply that to every night I play, where I think about the records I put into my box, and sequence they will be played.
"I didn't get very technical with my DJ skills until I lived with some dear friends I still DJ with today and got my own gear. I still think I'm terrible, but I still have fun if something goes wrong. You have to accept that people won't always dance, but that's okay. When they do, then wonderful. As long as people are having fun, can take away a new favorite song, or just share the mutual love for what's already known, that's all I can hope for as a DJ. Tease 'em with the hits amidst the dark, exuberant weirdness, if you must."
Format: "Vinyl. Set-up: two Technics 1200s, Xone 92, Ortofon Pro-S needles."
Worst request: "*points to sign* No Requests, No Regrets. I don't usually get many requests, thankfully, but they've mostly been Lady Gaga. I usually just point to my box of records and say, 'Sorry, this is what I brought and it is not in there, but great suggestion for a different night!' (It's usually a terrible suggestion that completely doesn't go with the vibe of the night.)"
Upcoming events: "July 6: Back-Lash at Pony with Quid Quo and DJ Kate; July 12: Aesthetic Mess at Timbre Room with Charlatan, Lord Phatrick, and Jermaine; July 14: Midnight in a Perfect World on KEXP, 90.3 FM. Aesthetic Mess happens every second Wednesday at Timbre Room. I participate in occasional guest nights at Pony (Meat, Different Drummer, Medical Rx)."
