In splashes of groovy texture, three shorts by director Elliott Sellers from late last year celebrate Dublab, the Los Angeles non-profit Web radio collective. They’re doubly worth mentioning – both for the geometric, swinging video goodness of the video, and as a window into the energy behind LA’s Dublab radio.
For his part, Elliott Sellers is an LA-based filmmaker with a particularly rich sensitivity for music and rhythm – see his full portfolio, and the (very long, not very tall) single promo for Sergio Flores at bottom. He’s part of collective Dublab is a conduit for what they describe as “positive music” and culture via the radio, and they’re one of the reasons to love the creative beacon currently in LA.
Actually, maybe that’s not the right way to put it – while centered in LA, that global Internet reach is tapping into new musical vibes that are happening everywhere. The oft-repeated Gertrude Stein saying about LA, that “there is no there there,” couldn’t better fit the Internet. What is there is a border-crossing spirit of some kind. (Writing from the other end of California, our new Create Digital Music contributor Matt Earp had something to say about what might motivate the “future past,” this ability to look into a future of music that also had our current technology warbling like VHS tapes and cassettes with age. His selections and observations there are equally relevant to the story here.)
And all of this creates spectacular visual patterns and, punctuated by flows of moving light and video scenography, a kind of visual music.
Dublab describes themselves thusly:
dublab is a non-profit web radio collective devoted to the growth of positive music, arts and culture. We have been broadcasting independently since 1999. Our audience of turned-on listeners connect from around the world. dublab’s mission is to share beautiful music via the world’s best djs. What you hear on dublab crosses genres and defies classification. Unlike traditional radio, the dublab djs have total freedom of selection. You will experience many different sounds, but find they all have the same soulful root. We have extended our creative action to include art exhibits, film projects, event production and record releases.
A collective of the planet’s most progressive music selectors. Whether bringing dance floors to a boil, exploring magic experimentalism or spinning far-out, eclectic sets the dublab soundsystem reflects all shades of future roots sound.
The dublab soundsystem has been featured at the following venues amongst many others:
MOCA, LACMA, Barnsdall Art Park, Art Center College of Design, CalArts, A+D Museum, The Getty Center, Page Museum/La Brea Tar Pits, Disney Hall, UCLA/Hammer Museum, Hollywood Bowl, Natural History Museum of LA County, El Rey Theatre, Henry Fonda Theatre
One more video from Elliott — though we hope to see more.
The first single from Sergio Flores
Music by Sergio Flores (The Sexy Sax Man) & MID-AIR
Directed by: Elliott Sellers
http://www.wearethemasses.com/directors/elliott-sellers/
Thanks to Rucyl Mills for this one.