Turntable Art: Part IISean Duffy vs. Janek Schaefer: The Revenge

Aside from Mingering Mike, the other bit of turntable-related posting I’ve been meaning to do concerns Sean Duffy. Back in November I did a post about one of Duffy’s pieces (above left), which as you can see is a turntable with three tone-arms. In that post I mentioned Janek Schaeffer, who has also been using tri-tone arm turntables for ten years now. Here’s the relevant bits:

…I hope Duffy [is] familiar with Janek Schaefer, a sound artist/DJ who has been using a Tri-Phonic Turntable (above right) since 1997. Two of the tone arms on Schaefer's turntable face one direction and the third plays in reverse; he can also reverse the direction of the turntable itself and therefore invert the 2:1. What's more, he can stack records on top of each other, playing three records simultaneously on one turntable.… I'm not familiar with Duffy's work, and a cursory google seems to point to many other projects (turntable-related and not), but this one, at least, has been done (and better). Duffy's looks better, but on a purely functional level Schaefer's is far more interesting.

Well, two months after that post, Duffy came across it and he emailed me. With his permission—myself two months late!—here is his response:

Yes, I know who Janek Schaefer is. I discovered his work a year or so after I made my first turntable in 1999. Although I've never see it in person, it looks interesting.  And I agree his work is definitely more functional and mine looks better.

I don't know who else knows about Schaefer but it seems like every time I show one of my turntables someone brings up a different person whose done something along these lines. Maybe it'll become a movement all it's own. 

Well, I’ve now made three posts about turntable art—so you may be right! I hadn’t realized that Duffy had been making his turntable pieces for such a long time. And we both agree the purpose of Duffy’s work is very different from that of Schaefer. Duffy also pointed out an error in my post: just because one of Schaefer’s tone arms is reversed does not mean that the sound comes out reversed. My mistake. And that wasn't all! He continued to school me.

The multi-tone-armed turntable goes back to the 1940s when people would put extra tone-arms on their turntables for different cartridges (78, mono and later stereo). Most radio stations had them and some companies manufactured them. Actually most audiophile turntable made today are set up to use more than one tone-arm. I first played with one of these machines in the 1980s.

Here are a couple of photographs of these turntables.

Duffy pointed also pointed me to this website. Thanks Sean for the response. Those of you in Arizona can see Duffy's installation, The Grove, on view at the ASU Nelson Fine Arts Center beginning June 2.

Comments

[John Spiak]

6 DJs, 18 Turntables, 400 Speakers, 1 Night (9/25) @ ASU Art Museum

Arizona State University Art Museum
Tempe, Arizona

DJ Collective b3 take on Sean Duffy’s current

Arizona State University Art Museum installation…

b3 IN THE GROVE: A REACTION

TO THE INSTALLATION BY SEAN DUFFY

Tuesday, September 25

7:30pm

Arizona State University Art Museum

FREE

DJs STATEMENT:

THE GROVE was designed by artist Sean Duffy

as a chaotic, interactive, aural/visual/tactile

experience to address the current state of sound

bleed, or the lack there of due to isolating technologies

such as the iPOD and sound proof interior car

environments, in our society. How will this

generation find creative inspiration, such as the

HipHop artists of the early 80s living in NY found,

if they are not influenced by the active sound

bleeds of their environments?

b3 is excited to bring our DJ perspective to this unique

environment. Without the use of DJ mixers or monitors,

we will create a unique musical statement utilizing beats

and both natural and urban sounds. With 6 DJs, 18

turntables and 400 speakers, b3 will present our reaction

to Sean Duffy's artistic vision.

b3 IN THE GROVE as a performance is an interpretation

of living in a multifaceted environment. Our modern

existence is defined simultaneously by clashing urban

and natural elements, and this is reflected in THE GROVE

as an art piece. We are inspired by the installation, and

look forward to demonstrating our ideas within it.

DJ BIOS:

ekb* - erin k. bailey -

Born and raised in Hawai’i , ekb* first learned about

DJ culture while at college in the Pacific Northwest .

She was immediately captivated by the music, lights,

and atmosphere, and after moving to Phoenix in 1998,

she bought her turntables and started collecting and

playing vinyl. Now a co-founding member of the

breakbeat collective b3, she spins records at a variety

of events around the valley of the sun as well as

out of state.

ill-legal? - Blake Ludera -

Beginning his career in the Chicago area, and

taking it to the next level in the AZ heat, ill-legal?

continues to devastate sound systems with anything

from the darkest, dirtiest of the broken beat genre to

the slickest, slinkiest house music. A co-founding

member of b3, ill-legal? is known for his impeccable

track selection and scratch skills.

Tik:Tok - Ryan T. Smith -

Tik:Tok was born in Tucson , Arizona and has been

spinning records for over 10 years. In 2000 he traveled

to Orlando , Florida to foster his love of breakbeat.

There was exposed and involved in a vibrant breakbeat

culture that still flourishes today. One of the co-founders

of b3, his healthy appreciation for all styles of music

creates a unique blend to the listening ear.

Miss Jag - Jennifer Shillington -

Splitting her time between Phoenix and Atlanta , Miss

Jag has rocked decks with finesse for 11 years now,

opening for international acts as well as playing all

over the country as a headliner herself. She is best

known for spinning Drum’n’Bass, but has also played

hip hop, breaks and house to receptive crowds.

DJ Psyclone - Pete Bird -

Over the course of his nearly 15-year DJ career,

Psyclone has been all over the musical spectrum.

He had several intense club residencies in Cleveland ,

OH in the mid-to-late 90’s and has also performed with

many live bands. He has never been limited to just one

genre, but is most noted for his dark, yet uplifting break

beat sets. His true passion however is raw,

4-on-the-floor house music.

d’strick - Dave Strickler -

Emerging from years of membership in local funk and

rock bands as a drummer, d’strick was blown away by

the sounds of ambient drum & bass and downtempo

dub acts in the late 90s. It was through these new

musical encounters that d’strick began to develop an

appreciation for the dj's function. Ever since then, he's

worked to develop a musical selection and style that,

whether soulful, jazzy, funky or jackin', always provides

a tight groove.

This event has been organized by ekb* - erin k. bailey of

Bound by Breaks and John Spiak, Curator, Arizona State

University Art Museum.

b3 WEBSITE

www.boundbybreaks.com

SEAN DUFFY: THE GROVE

http://asuartmuseum.asu.edu/seanduffy

We look forward to having you join us!

Take care and all the best,

Arizona State University Art Museum

Tenth Street and Mill Avenue

Tempe, AZ 85287-2911

t. 480.965.2787

f. 480.965.5254

e. asuartmuseum@asu.edu

w. http://asuartmuseum.asu.edu/

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