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The anti-club: where people actually listen to music
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CHRISTOPHER St Cavish wants people to appreciate music again. It’s not to say that the Miami-born DJ has had enough of strobe lights, distorted sounds and the sight of drunken revelers.
He’ll freely admit to enjoying those things as well, but rather as a lover of the sounds in an age where hi-fidelity music as a shared experience is ignored in exchange for the ease of digital streams and tiny earphones — the art of “spacing out” and listening intently to music has become a forgotten pastime.
“You hear something new and it’s amazing and you go. I want to share this with people. I want to share it in a way that is going to show it in the best light,” he says.
Which goes some way in explaining “Space Out,” a once-a-month gathering, which had it’s first run in early 2014 and is being relaunched on Sunday at On Stage in Shanghai.
Against the backdrop of some of the most eclectic and renowned experimental music curated by Cavish — which in the past has included the works of German progressive musician Manuel Göttsching and prolific American composer Philip Glass — “Space Out” sees audiences take part in a listening session for some of the best ambient albums over the last four decades.
Indeed, while it’s music that is not necessarily mainstream, even with Western audiences, Cavish emphasizes the importance of finding emotional and perhaps political connection, even with the obscure. “How many people enjoy Bob Marley, even if they aren’t political rebels? We can still connect to the music, because we can relate to the message ... It’s reflective,” he says.
And while the show’s policy of “no shoes, no phones, no talking” might seem peculiar or something akin to a bohemian party, Cavish insists it’s all part of the “visceral experience.”
“It operates in a different space than other types of music. It does different things. It rewards active listening,” he says.
It’s a far sight from the intensity of a club atmosphere or indeed the lifestyle that the always-alive, always-moving Shanghai is accustomed to. Yet Cavish sees it as the perfect antidote for those who prefer to take a more relaxed approach.
“Everything here is very hectic. We’re always on our phones checking WeChat. With ‘Space Out,’ people turn off their phones and just listen to the music.”
Having called Shanghai home for the last 10 years, Cavish, aka Santo Chino, has witnessed first-hand growth of the city’s development not just in terms of urban and economic sprawl, but in its music diversity.
Though the first incarnation of “Space Out” was limited in terms of capacity and an audience that consisted mainly of expats living in and around Shanghai, Cavish hopes that this time around, with the help of On Stage, he can get more locals involved and experience music as a common, shared language.
To that end he plans to treat people’s earbuds with music from the hazy electronics of Aphex Twin to the psychedelic musings of Pink Floyd, but not before he opens the Sunday show with Steve Reich’s “Octet.”
“There’s something really powerful about being alone and together, which I find to be a common thread in ‘Space Out’ — to be alone in a group. People don’t have to socialize if they don’t want to. Of course they’re welcome to. After.”
Space Out! Steve Reich
Date: January 25, 3-4:30pm
Venue: On Stage, A2-101 Red Town, 570 Huaihai Rd W.
For more details and information, e-mail to santochino@gmail.com.
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