Liquid Music intern Ines Guanchez profiles 2017.18 Liquid Music Artist in Virtual Residence Jace Clayton, exploring Clayton's music and writing, including his previous Liquid Music appearances. Over the course of the next year Clayton will work with Minneapolis based dancer and choreographer Ashwini Ramaswamy to develop a new work for music and dance to be premiered in the 2018.19 Liquid Music season.

Described by The Wire as a “pan-global, post-everything superhero,” Liquid Music is proud to welcome back Manhattan-based composer, DJ and writer Jace Clayton as one of our Artists in Virtual Residence for the 2017.18 Season. Also known as DJ /rupture, Jace Clayton’s journey began in Massachusetts, where he was a founding member of Toneburst, a DIY experimental electronic art/music/DJ collective. Clayton began to gain exposure in 2001, when he released a three-turntable, sixty-minute mixtape named “Gold Teeth Thief,” which was named one of the “50 Records of the Year” by The Wire. In “Gold Teeth Thief,” Clayton created a groundbreaking, highly-influential mix that combined hip-hop, Jamaican dub, Japanese noise, London jungle, and many other diverse genres.

Clayton has developed a strong emphasis on working with a DIY global-scale ethic. His more recent projects include The Julius Eastman Memorial Dinner (a touring performance piece that debuted in Liquid Music's inaugural season) and Room 21 (an evening-length composition for 20 musicians). He has also composed original music for ensembles such as the Bang On A Can All-Stars and collaborated with various artists, including filmmakers Jem Cohen, Joshua Oppenheimer, poet Elizabeth Alexander, singer Norah Jones, and guitarist Andy Moor.

One of Clayton’s more prominent projects is Sufi Plug Ins, a free suite of ‘software-as-art’ music released in 2012 with seven audio software tools that readjust and retune western sounds according to non-western notions of sound with the goal of providing an alternative to the Eurocentric technology of late capitalism.

Screenshot of the Sufi PlugIns Maqam synthesizer Bayati

This is a concept that is prominent in Clayton's book Uproot, which recounts his experiences traveling the world listening to music and understanding how sounds are created and used. Uproot explores the concept of “audio terroir,” described as “the ways in which environments… can gestate and nurture novel sounds.”

Clayton last shared his talent and music with Liquid Music audiences in April 2016, premiering a composition for Saul Williams and the Mivos Quartet at the James J. Hill Reference Library in celebration of National Poetry Month. This season, Clayton will be developing a new work with Minneapolis-based dancer/choreographer Ashwini Ramaswamy, commissioned by Liquid Music and premiering in the 2018.19 season. Make sure to follow their artistic progress on the Liquid Music Blog.

FOLLOW THE VIRTUAL RESIDENCY:
Liquid Music Artist in Visual Residence: Ashwini Ramaswamy

FOLLOW JACE CLAYTON:
Website: jaceclayton.com
Instagram: @djrupture (instagram.com/djrupture)
Facebook: facebook.com/DjRupture/
Twitter: @djrupture (twitter.com/djrupture)

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