Since cutting his teeth at New York City hotspots Limelight, Vinyl, and Arc, underground selector Bill Patrick has showcased his deep, psychedelic take on contemporary dance music the world over, with performances at festivals like Sunwaves in Romania and Outline Festival in Moscow, as well as tastemaking nightclubs including Frankfurt’s Robert Johnson and Paris’ Concrete.
Bill was the obvious choice to mix Life and Death’s first A/V podcast, and with the visuals provided by Koolik (Aaron Kulik), he’s managed to create something completely unique that captures the essence of his musical and creative outlook. The podcast’s visual artist Koolik is a frequent collaborator of Seth Troxler, described as the ‘visual ambassador’ for the Detroit artist’s subconscious. His distinct approach brings together film & television archive footage with analog media and fascinating video & images achieved through microscopes and macro lenses, an area which has seen Koolik delving further into the study of chemistry as he hones his craft from his Berlin base.
Bill and DJ Tennis are longtime friends and collaborators, most notably hosting a radio show together, and living as roommates in Berlin. DJ Tennis finds constant inspiration in their musical and conversational exchanges, and the two late-night specialists have rocked countless dance floors side-by-side. We caught up with Bill Patrick before the release of the inaugural Isolation Podcast…
Can you tell us about some of the ideas behind your Audio/Visual podcast, and how you came to work with Koolik on it?
I think the initial goal of this project was to put together a compilation of obscure and psychedelic images to coincide with the mixtape. Perhaps even just a loop. But as we dug in, we found the studio sessions triggered our combined love for overthinking subtle details that soon took us down a rabbithole. This shifted the intentions and along with making it fit the music, we began to create a go-to visual for more personal use.
I had been hosting small dinner parties and some intimate gatherings partnered with mild hallucinogens over the years and was always looking for a proper visual to put on my projector and just play in the background. I knew from the beginning that Aaron was the right person to help in this quest and I feel like we achieved that with this video.
What is your philosophy towards your work?
I think for a long time I gave off the impression that I didn’t care what people thought, but in reality, I cared too much. You reach a point in your career where things are going well, and all of your “dreams” are coming true, so you want to protect that, keep it going, and not fuck it up.
I think one mistake that a lot of us make, I know I did, is to get caught up in what other people think, maybe not taking so many chances or pushing limits like you did when there were less eyes on you. Things change when you go from DJing as a hobby, to a career. There’s a fear and insecurity that if you don’t impress at every gig, then you’re not gonna get booked again and maybe you’ll start falling off. Or maybe I’m the only one in the industry that struggled with insecurity.
Anyway, what I’m trying to say, in a long winded way, is that my philosophy towards my work is to stay true to myself (as cheesy and cliche as that sounds).
What is your most important artist tool? Is there something you can’t live without in your studio?
I don’t really produce and the studio is not that important to me so I would say, at the moment, I can’t live without my film cameras.
Shuffle your music, what song comes up?
Brian Eno and Kevin Shields “Only Once Away My Son” came up, but that sounds like I’m trying to be cool so let me do it again… Tim Hardin “First Love Song”. Maybe not as cool, but it was released in 1969, which was a fantastic year with a lot of iconic happenings.
Life and Death is turning 10, what would you like to wish us?
I wish you continued success and some controversial reviews on Resident Advisor, where people get upset at them and subsequently your record sales and streams go up.
Life and Death Audio/Visual Podcast mixed by Bill Patrick – tracklist:
- jesse somfay – gathering wool
- sth – zzzz
- austin cesear – new years eve eternity is forever
- dj trystero – ___
- uon – sub1
- ol – shatter dub
- carl finlow – unconditional
- vegyn – you owe me
- dopefist – nice dreams
- satanicpornocultshop – the scent of green papaya
- shabazz palaces – bad bitch walking (edit)
- shabazz palaces – dawn in luxor
- si begg – on ice
- the kosmik kommando – down on marine avenue
- quirke – sample devon
- dj lostboi & torus – ordinary people
- 111 – light being
- ic lander – thermal mix
- spiritcancer – gias
- against all logic – with an addict
- dj meredith – bust it back
- dj nigga fox – 5 violinos
- suicide – misery train
- (interlude) my own private idaho
- st vincent – slow disco (eod remix)
- jabu – loom
- shabazz palaces – motion sickness
Video credits:
Is There Life On Other Planets (1962), *Original footage shot with a microscope, The Starfish – Man Ray (1928), The Voices (1953), Emak Bakia – Man Ray (1926), Original Analog Video Synth, Becoming – Jan van IJken (2019), The Return to Reason (1923), Earth vs the Flying Saucers (1956), Bill’s First MRI (1979), Kenneth Anger – Inauguration of The Pleasure Dome (1954), Tarantella (1940), Original Graphics, Fantasia (1940), Phase IV (1974), Contact (1997), Breakin’ (1984), Outer Space – Peter Tscherkassky (1999), My Own Private Idaho (1991), Dog Star Man – Stan Brakhage (1961), Lucifer Rising – Kenneth Anger (1972), Tales of Beatrix Potter (1971), Harlot – Andy Warhol (1965)
Bill Patrick:
www.billpatrick.com
facebook.com/billpatrick.ny
instagram.com/bill_patrick
Koolik:
www.koolik.art
instagram.com/koolik.art