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From The Digital Sweatshop
The Music, Art and Travels of Alan D. Oldham a.k.a. DJ T-1000.

The Art of Transformation.

Friday, September 22, 2006



Here's a little info about each track on my new CD on my new label xfive. It's available now. Just scroll down click one of the buttons to order direct before it gets into stores. Also distributed exclusively by Crosstalk.

Alan D. Oldham. Nico.
I have a good friend in Berlin named Nico a.k.a. DJ Dry. This one's for him. Gotta also give a shoutout to his production/DJ partner and another good friend, DJ Dash.

Detroitrocketscience. Sounds Like Space.
The idea of this track was to play behind my gallery openings, installation music. The original version of this track was 20 minutes long. At first I wanted to put it out just like that on one CD. For this project I shortened it to 8 minutes.

DJ T-1000. Elektroberlin.
Electro in Detroit was really hot because of Aux 88 and the like and I wanted to see if I could make a track like the ones I was hearing. Elektroberlin is a real company in Berlin (obviously).

DJ T-1000. The Five Fighting Styles of the Four Elements.
When the rave scene was hot in the '90s, every party had a drum & bass room. I used to go there when I finished my set just to see what the hype was about. The kind of d&b the kids were into was too noisy for me, though. They'd jump around and go insane. I was into cooler stuff like Photek (first album; "Solaris" was bunk) and LTJ Bukem.

Alan D. Oldham. The Intuitionist.
Years ago, these people called me about doing some music for a CD-ROM they were putting together on the Heidelberg Project in Detroit, an urban art installation by Tyree Guyton. In true Detroit fashion, the CD-ROM never got off the ground, and the Heidelberg Project was eventually bulldozed by the city even though it garnered worldwide acclaim (much like Detroit Techno itself). The music remained, though. The title is from a book I was reading at the time by Colson Whitehead.

Alan D. Oldham. Dissolve.
Me doing an ambient soundscape with no beats. It's the only one I've ever made in my whole catalog.

Detroitrocketscience. Phaedra.
An attempt at a lowtempo reinvention under a new psuedonym. I was in a dark place when I made that track, but I try to turn darkness into beauty.

The Inside. Cosima.
This is a preview of my new trip-hop project, The Inside. Next time you hear it, it'll have vocals on it. I want to make a full-on studio record with real songs (vocals, verses, choruses, changes), real album cover, big studio post-production, the whole bit. No techno.

The Inside. Vamp.
Interlude track from the same album in progress.

DJ T-1000. Tonight.
My stab at some Massive Attack-style stuff with a rock edge. I did this track soon after "Mezzanine" came out. That album killed me dead. Plus it was in the heyday of Portishead, Sneaker Pimps, Hooverphonic, Tricky and all the cool, moody trip-hop groups of the late '90s. I still love that sound, very dark and cinematic. Nothing new has come close in my opinion.

A quick word about the album cover. I always wanted to do a Blue Note-type piece but it never happened for one reason or another. I figured that I didn't know how much longer I'd be making CDs, so now's the time. I told designer T. Linder "Blue Note" and this is what he came back with. A lot of people have been very positive about the design and I'm really happy with it.

So have a listen and leave some comments.


Hollywood, Baby.

Monday, September 11, 2006


Hollywood was the shit. I had a ball. I'm jetlagged as hell right now. What a great way to end my summer.

First of all, Jennifer Hudson of "American Idol" and the upcoming "Dreamgirls" was on my flight from Chicago. She's from here. I'm the only one who recognized her. I knew she was somebody 'cause she was trying too hard to be incognito. Black hoodie, hat, glasses. She lost a hell of a lot of weight, too.

While hanging the show on the Thursday leading up to the event, a crew was filming an episode of the Showtime series "Sleeper Cell" right outside the gallery.

The star of the show is Michael Ealy, a.k.a. Halle Berry's ex-boyfriend. They were there all day. The crew was so cool. During breaks in the filming, they'd come chill in the gallery. I bummed food and drinks from the craft services trailer all day, and also talked to a couple of the lighting guys. They also let me take a few pictures.






That same night, my hosts got us on the guest-list to see ?uestlove from The Roots. He was DJing at the Standard on Sunset. What a glam crowd, true Hollywood. Madlib was there, and a couple of the other Roots, as well as the older actor from "Grey's Anatomy," the boss of the hospital. He was partying up. Had an entourage, security, the whole bit. ?uestlove was the shit, by the way. He played all hip-hop/rap classics, especially the West Coast stuff like the Pharcyde and DJ Quik. Nothing current. Oh, and he played off FS/Traktor.


The women. Oh my God. I haven't seen that many fine black women in one place in forever. Like Vectra-style women; tall, model/actress-types with 'fros and twisty dreads. You sure don't see them at techno parties. You'd think they'd be really stuck up, it being Hollywood, but the ones I chatted with were very friendly and sweet. Don't believe the hype of all the L.A. women being golddiggers and snobbish.

I'm not intimidated by taller women by the way; the bigger they are, the harder they fall, ha ha.

Just to be fair, there were some fine white women there, too ;-) It being a hip-hop night, though, most were the thick shorty-with-big-booty-and-high-heels-type as opposed to the skinny, girlish WB-type chicks. Or should I say The CW.

And I think ever since Kimora Lee Simmons, the new move in hip-hop is the Blackanese girls; either mixed black and Asian, or dark Filipino chicks. Long, black hair and chinky eyes. You see them now all over videos, or singing (like Amerie or this new chick that P. Diddy is pushing, Cassie) or at the clubs. There were a lot there, a few not with brothas, but with their "Better Luck Tomorrow" -looking Asian boyfriends.

I was chillin' drinking my Corona ($7.50! WTF? What's in there, gasoline?) and I saw this girl in the next booth that looked familiar; turned out I knew her from Detroit, and it was her party! Her name is Asya. She's out in L.A. doing events now. She thought I lived out there now or something.

And I saw a guy that looked like Gaetano Parisio having dinner with friends in the restaurant part of the Standard. I didn't go up to him, though. Funny how you never hear about Gaetano anymore, just Marco Carola.

The next day (Friday), did a little shopping. Spent entirely too much money at Amoeba (all records and DVDs), and Meltdown Comics. Sat up and talked about movies and life all night with my hosts, Gustavo and Alma. They knew me as a Detroit Techno personality. They were surprised to know I was such a movie/entertainment freak. If you read this blog, though, you know I like film a lot.

The opening was the shit. My first art show in L.A. The gallery looked great and my artwork was prominent against the back wall, right next to George Clinton's paintings (he wasn't there, though, which is too bad). I sat back and watched as people were drawn to the images, especially the females, which is my goal. I'm going in a fashion-meets-sci-fi direction that's girl-friendly. I sold two pieces on the first night.






I was pleased to see the actor Richard Edson at the show!!!! He was in Jim Jarmusch's first movie "Stranger Than Paradise" (which I saw in college when it first came out), the classic "Smuggler's Blues" episode of the original "Miami Vice," and a whole lot of other stuff. He's friends with Overton, this whole crazy downtown L.A. crew. Such a wild array of characters, I love it. I met him and started quoting his lines from "Vice" back at him. He was shocked anybody remembered. "Miami Vice" Season One on DVD, baby. Super-cool guy and my new best friend.



Speaking of new best friends, let me say a word about Overton Loyd. He's the artist behind Sir Nose, The Brides of Funkenstein, the Atomic Dog video and other classic P-Funk images. This was, amazingly, his first major art show. Talk about cool. No ego, no nothing. A living legend. I'd only met him two days previous and it seemed like I knew him forever. He reminded me a lot of my old mentor, Jay Jones; a familiar presence. Overton is originally from the crib (Detroit), so that might be it. I tried to talk him into collaborating with me on a Brides comic based on a sketch he had done (him pencil, me ink), but he didn't have time to do it. The rights to the Brides of Funkenstein name are all tied up, anyway, so that was that.


Oh, and I debuted my new CD at the gallery! Looks and sounds great, the manufacturer did a great job. Everything came in on time (I shipped my artwork to L.A. and it just arrived the night before the opening!) Sold a few the first night.

After Vietnamese dinner with Giaxia (who flew out for the opening) and her cousin (who lives out there), we went to the DJ gig I had. It was nice, a patio thing outdoors. The subs went out though, which was frustrating, but it's rare that a party go off in the States without some technical difficulties, sad but true. The crowd was nice though. More pretty Hollywood women. A lot of people were there, many came over from the gallery, which was nearby. Hyperactive played before me. It's been almost a decade since I'd seen him. Thanks to Ultrasound L.A. for having me!

Got out of town the next day before I spent anymore money! To be honest, though, I could live there. Or at least go out there a few times a year. So much to get into. The whole idea of the gallery thing was to meet some new people, get a new audience for the art, and get some kind of a presence out there. We shall see, but this trip was very encouraging. Everyone was so welcoming and cool! Being a Detroiter, I'm not used to such positivity.

Thanks to all who put the show together and allowed me to participate in such a great experience, particularly Gustavo and Alma of Chamanvision! It made my summer.

Back to Berlin next month to tour. This shit's non-stop.

PS: You can order a copy of my new CD at www.alanoldham.com. Only 100 pressed!


Live From the Sunset Strip.

Saturday, September 09, 2006



I'm typing to you from the hills above Sunset Boulevard in super-glam Hollywood. My art opening at the Crewest Gallery is later tonight and I'm excited. I'll also be debuting my new CD at the event! The full story and pics when I get back to Chicago home base.


A Gift For You.

Friday, September 01, 2006

Here's my set from the Tresor Closing Party, Berlin 2005. What a night. And the Tresor 15th Anniversary is just around the corner. Download and enjoy.

Oh, and this is totally irrelevant, but I broke down and bought "Ultraviolet." I love that movie. Turn it on and just watch Milla kick ass. The action and color pop right out at you.

Hollywood in a few days, man, I can't wait! What a way to end the summer.