More than VJs: Eclectic Method

Nov 12, 2009 by Talisa Chang

We’re not VJs. In 2005, Eclectic Method released a DVD video mix-tape under just that title. It’s hard to define just what Ian Edgar, 31, Geoff Gamlen, 42, and Jonny Wilson, 29—do and are. When people less-familiar with the scene think of VJs, they might think of the endless drone of a house beat and a laser-light show that’s slightly less impressive than their iTunes visualizer. But what Edgar, Gamlen, and Wilson, who have been pioneers in the field since 2002, before the technology and equipment really even existed to do what they do, manage to do as audio-visual remixers is nothing short of astounding.

“We just throw ourselves at it and whatever we spit out, that’s our final piece,” Edgar said. “People seem to like it.”

That’s an understatement. Eclectic Method has played hundreds of shows across the globe, worked with music icons like U2, Fatboy Slim, Phish and Public Enemy, and created content for major companies including Motown, Sony, MTV, Apple, and Adidas. Their videos, which include the viral sensations Tarantino Mixtape and Obama New Puppy clip, have received millions of hits online and captured the attention of CNN and Stephen Colbert. Sony and Pioneer have come to them to develop cutting edge audio-visual software and hardware, and they’ve worked with companies like Mediatronica to create widgets and programs to help fans and colleagues do what they do. Luckily, Greenpointers and Williamsburg residents can see them perform, free of charge, every Friday night at midnight at Brooklyn Bowl.

“All of this stuff is just totally surreal,” Edgar said. “We operate in the most ridiculously high circle considering what we do. We’re video internet remixers and we get booked for genuine proper work with the biggest gaming companies, the biggest movie companies, the biggest bands, the biggest icons.”

What the trio does, exactly, is pull audio and video content from just about anywhere—movies, commercials, music videos, television, documentaries, video games, and popular culture in general—and then cuts, mixes, layers, and mashes it up into videos (completely live when they’re performing), in a way that is complex, insistent, mesmerizing, and usually incredibly danceable.

“Coming from a sample culture of De La Soul and Public Enemy, and growing up with that sort of thing, sampling was just sort of naturally the obvious thing to play with,” Edgar said. “We were going to clubs in the UK and were really bored of DJs playing one type of music. Videos in clubs tended to be really abstract stuff. When you hear Prince, you should see Prince. When you hear a guitar, you should see a guitar.”

“What inspired me to start was being bombarded with video and television,” Edgar continued. “A lot of images get stuck with you and in a way, what’s going on in your head is a bunch of samples and cultural references and melodies and rhythms. It’s just kind of natural.”

“Our content is varied—blues, hip hop, techno, pop, movies,” Wilson said. “We cut it all up and jam it; it’s closest to the hip hop style of having two turntables and jumping from one to the other and sampling everything. Hip hop, electronic music, new movies like District 9—everything is inspiring.”

The resumes for the members of Eclectic Method span from scratch djing and journalism, to working at the British Embassy in Moscow, to being Brian Eno’s sound engineer in post-war Bosnia. Now, two of the London natives have settled in Brooklyn (Gamlen remains in the UK), and have found a way to make a career in an industry that barely existed when they started out (though they are quick to cite earlier pioneers like Coldcut, Emergency Broadcasting Network (EBN), and Hexstatic as influences). Though the scene is expanding, it’s hard to compete with the years of experience and thousands of hours of searching for and editing content that the trio has under its belt.

“Because of the way we prepare stuff, which is really time consuming, there’s very few people out in the world who can do a similar thing. People don’t really see how it was made, but they get a sense that a lot went into it. It doesn’t take hours, it takes years,” Edgar emphasized.

Not that they’re worried about competitors. The group receives frequent emails asking about their process and equipment, and they have happily responded by giving equipment advice, and even providing tutorials in YouTube on how to do exactly what they do.

Having spent a lot of time in Europe and Asia, Eclectic Method is now blossoming in the US.

“2009 has basically been our biggest year so far,” Wilson said. “Relocating to the US has brought about a ton of cool collaborations and stuff to do. [At Brooklyn Bowl], the crowd varies. On the whole, it’s great.”

The trio is thriving in a time where media networks like YouTube and Twitter have created the opportunity for rapid expansion.

“The internet has made being global possible without a huge budget or support from a record label or distribution company,” Wilson said. “We are very lucky to be in an age in which what we do can spread itself whilst we are sleeping.”

It’s also an era of heated copyright debates across all industries. So far, however, the quality of Eclectic Method’s content has enabled them to work with and not against artists and companies who have sought their skills, and paid for them.

“The majority of the people out there who have anything to do with these absurd copyright laws are greedy lawyers who see there’s money to be made off of suing people,” Edgar said. “That has nothing to do with music and creativity and protecting the rights of the artists. If we really want to protect the rights of the artists, we need to shut down the music industry. We can create relationships with fans and people who are curious. We went out and tried a particular style of video performance and tested it out to see if the world is ready for it. It kind of is; it will be more ready in a few years. Copyright needs to catch up to that. When people innovate, you have to catch up.”

“The general experience of interacting with the world is that everyone has been so, so nice,” Edgar added. “We never meant to do this as a job, but once we realized we could, we’ve been really grateful to those who have let us.”

Eclectic Method’s last Friday show will be November 20th. They will return with regular headlining shows at Brooklyn Bowl on December 15th