Cosmix 15 comes from one half of Ataxia, Ted Krisko. “DJs that play with a purpose tend to provoke people more.”
Beginning in the punk scene, working as a promotions intern and touring the Mid-west performing in punk bands, Ted Krisko, one half of Ataxia, found the rave by attending Plastikman’s Detroit warehouse parties in his mid-teens. By the late 90s, he switched from punk to rave – two scenes that although different in musical styles, have a lot of similar aesthetics - and promoted and produced legendary warehouse raves in Detroit, that helped set the bar for Krisko to be a late night renegade.
As Ataxia, his recordings have been released on well respected labels, notably Seth Troxler’s Play It Say It, Connaisseur Recordings, Matt Tolfrey’s Leftroom/Left’d imprint, and Culprit LA, the label which signed the debut Ataxia EP.
A Detroit area native, Krisko has held long term DJ residencies for Paxahau, producers of Movement Electronic Music Festival, as well as a club residency at the world famous TV Bar, where he is one of the hosts of the annual OK Cool! Movement afterparty. Now a resident of Brooklyn, Krisko makes frequent appearances at Output as part of the Sundays in the Panther Room crew, as well as sunrise warehouse parties around the city and hosting Ataxia’s Night Machines monthly party at the legendary Halcyon record store in Williamsburg.
Please see below for the interview and link to Cosmix 15.
Tell us about the mix
It’s a far departure from the usual techno and acid madness I tend to involve myself with. I feature a good deal of stuff from Fluxion’s new album on Subwax, which really hit home for me with the deeply meditative ambient waves throughout. There are some morning style space funk jams, paying tribute to the one and only Eddie C, who just floored us all at OK Cool 2016 at TV Lounge in Detroit, for another legendary morning patio set. Also revisiting a slow disco vibe a bit here, reminiscent of early Detroit days and a homage to a nice disco movement happening in the city nowadays as well.
Where was it recorded?
The mix was recorded on a June afternoon at Kirk Rummer’s loft in Bushwick, Brooklyn. He is a great friend and has a special mixer, I’ve used many times before to record with and it was really a comfortable environment to get a nice recording made. It was recorded in one take from start to finish. The loft has gorgeous art over brick walls and nice natural light during the daytime, so it was a very conducive atmosphere to be in the spirit for a relaxing hour or so of music.
How would you like for people to feel when they hear this music?
Peaceful. Introspective. Hopeful. Energized.
How has music helped to sculpt and guide you in life?
As much attachment as I feel shedding as I traverse through time, it’s hard to separate the “I AM” of me from the music I’ve loved. From my earliest days of my Mom & Dad singing “Yellow Submarine” to me while carrying me along to the rhythm of the beat, to today where I am living my dreams out of being a contributor to the music world, it’s been the primary motivator for me to seek and find happiness within myself. Starting on Guitar, I’ve been playing in front of audiences since I was 11. At 33 years old now, I am beginning to feel the impact of having spent most of my life on a stage and in the studio. It is intrinsic to my nature. I get to enjoy this experience of doing what I love and loving what I do. For this, I am Eternally grateful.
Music is?
A love. A meaning. A purpose. A language. A cult.
What does the word ‘cosmic’ mean to you?
It speaks to me about the interconnectedness of all beings, thought forms, feelings and essences. The one beingness that we all belong to.
Please can you give us a cosmic piece of art, quote or book that moves you
‘Be Here Now’ by Ram Dass is one of the most influential books in my life. I have my parents edition from 1969, and the energy and wisdom inside is transformational for many beings. The page I’ve included is one of my absolute favorites, and makes me feel so at peace with our primal tribal nature of dancing all morning, all day and all night long. Sometimes it feels like we could dance forever, and this page makes me feel like we are at the eternal dance gathering called life.
What do you think is the role of the DJ in the modern world?
The role is to share music that motivates people to express themselves more fully through whatever means available. The primary function of the traditional “DJ” should be to instigate people to dance. It’s highly ritual based. The experience overall is shamanistic in a sense, as you are a conduit of projecting waves through the air that affect people’s consciousness and energy levels. There is certainly an esoteric aspect to the role. There are so many degrees of house and techno for instance, from lofty space ethereal to totally mental cerebral catharsis and every shade of sexiness and drive in between. But at the same time, there is room for simplicity in approach, both musically and mentally. Sometimes people just need to let loose and have a good party. DJs that play with a purpose tend to provoke people more.
Is there anything in clubs / festivals that you would like to see implemented on a wider scale:
Drinking fountains for patrons at venues and festivals so people can stay safely hydrated while dancing for long periods of time without having to spend an arm and a leg to stay healthy. Earplugs should be something readily available for purchase or otherwise depending on quality and intensity of the sound environment. No one should have to endure the ringing in their ears from tinnitus, like myself and many other long term musicians are affected by. Please also, watch out for your fellow dancers. Bring fruit (pineapple maybe?) to the afterparty, give waters away, find someone a seat if they need it. Be the change!
Are there any causes that you support, that you would like to bring into awareness?
Parties 4 Peace is a wonderful organization within our community. The founders are Emily McGlone & Stacy Daisy, and along with Pamela and team, they continue to contribute to many individual and group causes with a wide variety of fundraising methods and events to bring awareness to different needs. It’s beautiful to see people I know bringing peace and love from the dance scene to the rest of the world.
Check out their mission at their website:
www.parties4peace.com
https://www.facebook.com/Parties-4-Peace-62719288819/
Your favourite cosmic website?
While I do visit sites like www.mysticmamma.com and www.collective-evolution.com, truly the one I use the most is www.youtube.com – I use it daily for various meditations, lectures, seminars, documentaries and so forth.
My favourite channels presently are:
True Divine Nature – Matt Kahn’s lectures are brilliant and very helpful for learning about how to treat ourselves)
https://www.youtube.com/user/JulieMuse
McKennaCountrCulture – Terrence McKenna is a very far out scientist and philosopher that has some of the most abstract concepts imaginable, highly suggested)
https://www.youtube.com/user/MckennaCountrCulture
Spiritualbuzz – Alan Watts lectures, a fascinating psychotherapist and philosopher that merges many esoteric Eastern teachings and traditions with the Western conception of the world…and his voice is full of humor and sarcasm while pontificating on some of the furthest reaches of the human experience
https://www.youtube.com/user/SpiritualBuzz
Your starsign?
I am a Leo III.
A pineapple fact?
The word pineapple in English was first recorded in 1398, when it was originally used to describe the reproductive organs of conifer trees (now termed pine cones). When European explorers discovered this tropical fruit they called them pineapples (term first recorded in that sense in 1664) because of their resemblance to what is now known as the pine cone. The term pine cone was first recorded in 1694, and was used to replace the original meaning of pineapple.
The pine cone held the same meaning for all: It symbolized a secret vestigial organ, the “pineal gland” or “Third Eye”, that we all possess.
A music fact?
432 Hertz truly can be considered a harmonic of light. Sound in air may be defined as the transfer… of periodic movements between adjacent colliding atoms or molecules. This sonic energy typically expands away from the site of the collisions – at the local speed of sound – as a spherical or bubble – shaped emanation, the surface of which is in a state of radial oscillation. At the point of origin of the sonic bubble an electromagnetic bubble is created by the collisions between the air molecules, because each collision creates friction that releases a small amount of infrared electromagnetism. That magnetism, like the sonic bubble, expands away from source spherically and it is modulated by the sonic periodicities, in much the same way that an amplitude -modulated radio broadcast consists of an electromagnetic carrier that is modulated in amplitude by, say, a person’s voice frequencies. Thus, the relationship between sound and light is real and very much part of the way that nature works.
Listen to the mix here:
This post was written by Kim Booth