Photos: Jason Reitman and Cut Chemist at Re:Mix Lab LA
From KCRW’s Taryn Olsen: Among the myriad of muses and inspirations, music often emerges as a touchstone for creators of all mediums. So when KCRW asked longtime friends, director Jason…
By Rachel Reynolds • • 1 min readFrom KCRW’s Taryn Olsen:
Among the myriad of muses and inspirations, music often emerges as a touchstone for creators of all mediums. So when KCRW asked longtime friends, director Jason Reitman and master turntablist Cut Chemist, to sit down for a conversation with KCRW Music Director Jason Bentley, there was plenty to talk about. (We’ll be airing excerpts from the interview THIS Friday, Dec 16 at 10am on KCRW!)
Hyundai’s Re:Mix Lab allowed attendees a voyeuristic glimpse into a cozy living room style-discussion about the way music informs the creative processes of both artists. Reitman says he doesn’t usually know what a movie will look like until he knows what its theme song will be. Cut Chemist is known for his experimentation, whether working with just one turntable and a loop pedal for an entire live set or contributing percussion to a full band through his turntable. He talked about how this desire to challenge himself fueled experiments with rubber bands and even an upside down needle.
It became clear throughout the course of their conversation that for both Reitman and Cut Chemist, music is the starting point and destination, as well as the driving force along the journey toward creation. It also became clear that the audience really wanted to see those two get on the decks and bring it all to life.
Standing behind two turntables side by side, the two deejayed together for the first time!
Bobbing their heads, bodies moving, feet tapping, Reitman and Cut Chemist could have been teenage boys forming a band. Their excitement and pure joy was palpable.
At first, I was confused at why nobody was dancing, but I realized everyone was watching them have a blast! They were trading songs, mixing on top of one another, and playing some of their favorite songs for a group of admiring fans.
The icing on the cake was the closing set from KCRW’s own Jason Bentley who had his own conversation through music with all the dancing bodies in the room.
team work! by Brenda Janairo