Intervieuw Djai Skjellerup
Last night Djai played a gig again,
So i went there and enjoyed 90 minutes of great music,
he said he would do a few more songs but ended up with playing 30 minutes extra.
Now that is an artist !!!
After the show he grab a cup of coffee and we sat down at his place
HomeLess
You must be excited about the Christmas song that is released.
Why did you ever start with sutch huge colabs,
like this one and “Get It Together”Djai
Well it all started from a discussion on the SLMC Forum
the forum is a tool for all sorts of folks interested in SL live music
to visit and use to exchange information.
At that time there was a great discussion about falling
audience numbers and how frustrating it is that only about 20%
of SL residents even realise that music can be played and
listened to live in SL. So I conceived the projects as a way
of trying to raise the general level of awareness
amoungst SL residents to live music
HomeLess
Good idea
Djai
But fortunately they have been great fun also !
And while I feel pride it is only in that we are able to be galvanised
as a community to achieve something
HomeLess
Do you have the idea that the first one worked
Djai
I think it did work first time round but I cannot quantify that.
I know it felt like the right thing to do and I am pleased to say
it resulted in enough support that it took shape pretty well,
sure there have been moments of worry and stress
but each time the outcome has been worth it I feel
HomeLess
Do the colaborators sing these songs on sl as well
Djai
That has happened with a few of them,
I am happy for any other SL act to perform a song of mine
if they wish to
HomeLess
Seems to me that this is not happening that mutch,
musicians singing songs of other sl musicians
Djai
Yes I think you are right, Fable Sinatra used to perform a few of mine
and I remember Lyn Carlberg did Get It Together once or twice
and I have heard Jean Munro does the latest Christmas song live,
but on the whole many SL acts have their setlists already established
and there is not enough collaboration I feel,
its been a great pleasure for me to involved in a few anyhow
HomeLess Martian
It must be a small kind of hell getting all these files
with various recording qualities
Djai
Well that is where my friend Toby Lancaster comes in,
Toby is one of my oldest friends in SL
HomeLess
And he is a studio guy
Djai
And a fine musician ..predominately guitar,
and yes he is an excellent engineer, so all the
contributions actually go to him.
I listen to them with him and I air ideas,
but the mix is his responsibility and it is a task
of which he is emminently capable,
he has a fine ear and knows how to be subtle,
although of course he is operating with some constraints
as it is important every contributor is represented
on the finished song
HomeLess
He did a great job,
he must have had some headaches i can imagine
Djai
He did tell me it has been a tough task yes ~lol~
and to illustrate the jokey relationship me and him have,
he said he would have to think very hard about
being involved in another GIT project….
although he’d probably cave quite easily
HomeLess
What do you use to record and play your own songs
Djai
I use a laptop running windows vista and a desktop
recording software entitled Mixcraft by Acoustica,
it is very cheap and cheerful.
My microphone and piano go into a Behringer desk,
and out of that into my soundcard
HomeLess
And your piano or keyboard ?
Djai
Thats an interesting question,
I actually play an unweighted keyboard
~ Note from Less,
a real piano has a weighted keyboard, meaning the keys have some weight
because it has to trigger a hammer,
unweighted means no weight because you trigger a digital device,
normally weighted means you can add dynamics easier ~
HomeLess
Wauw youre kidding ?
Djai
But I am increasingly finding it limited,
and I am looking at a full piano
because i am feeling held back a little,
it would still be a digital piano, but with a full size weighted action
HomeLess
You wouldnt tell its an unweighted one
Djai
I shopped around to find the one I have,
but I actually tend to find that when trying to recreate
a pianist experience to makes it alot more difficult,
and so I must make room in my studio
to accommodate my new piano !
HomeLess
Youre stuck in the smallest room offcourse
Djai
Well it is currently my office so is shared with workstuff,
but I have already built a studio or at least the shell
of the studio, as a separate building from my house.
The only problem is I cannot afford to do the interior ~lol~
so it has been an empty shell for a year.
It looks nice from the outside,
rather cold and bare brick walls on the inside
HomeLess
But you think you can finish it
Djai
Yes I will get there.
Any earnings I make from SL are going into a fund
that will be used on the studio and Toby is also helping me
record my album, so in the meantime i am still able
to create recordings thanks to him.
When that its ready it should also contribute a little bit
to the studio fund.
I have to say I have dragged my heels on it a little,
i enjoy playing the live shows so much,
and the collaborations are good fun too.
And sometimes recording the album can feel a little like
hard work when compared but I am making my
new years resolution to get it finished
HomeLess
How many hours can you spend on music ?
you got a job, family and other things,
must be hard to find the time
Djai
Yes I am more limited in time than most SL musicians
I have a 5 year son, a 3 year old daughter
and twin boys at 18 months old.
Time is always at a premium as my partner and children
are my first priority, but my partner helps immensely.
She is a great mother and knows how much
my music means to me, so I tend to work on it when
the kids are in bed, as an alternative to watching TV,
it is my hobby and I love doing it.
Being an original act also brings its own difficulties,
as I have to find time to compose also
HomeLess
Meaning ?
Djai
I have a fairly bit repertiore of songs now,
i could probably play 3 hours straight of all original songs.
But I have to be careful I dont play too often
as I cannot rotate my set as much,
so I just keep it to around twice a week
HomeLess
And playing more would make you feel
that the audience loose there interest
Djai
I dont have any evidence to be sure,
but my gut feeling is that fewer better attended shows
is better than a greater number of sparsely attended shows…
I guess I am saying that folks can only come to shows SO many times
so if an original act does overkill,
then they are more likely get overexposed,
but of course all this is guesswork,
as SL live music is still such a new medium
none of us really know where its going to go,
but we are enjoying finding out
HomeLess
It sure is diffecult to pick shows,
most times more good shows go on at the same time
Djai
Yes true…and that brings us back to the idea
of raising the awareness of live music shows
amoungst the rest of the SL population….
because sometimes there are alot of shows on at once,
but if the audience pool is bigger then more shows that
are on at the same time can be sustained,
and that has got to be better for everyone.
so I would ask anyone that has received the lastest collaboration
notecard entitle Get It Together 2: Christmas All Year Through
to please pass it on to everyone on their friends list,
and with permission to all the groups they are inHomeLess Martian
Owh we are Djai let me put that link in once again
Christmas All Year Through
HomeLess
Lets TP back in time, and tell us a bit about little Djai.
Was your family a musical one ?
Djai
My father played guitar when he was younger and of all things,
he played in a Hawaiian music band, which was not unusual
as you may think for a town in southern UK after the war,
as Hawaiian music seemed to be very popular!
Later in life I can remember him telling me that he wanted
a musician in the family and I was the youngest of 3 boys,
the elder two had not taken too music, so I had no choice ~lol~
I started on Violin when I was 7, and although I was hopeless
it taught me to read music ~lol~
which was handy when I gave it another shot and took up
the organ at 11, i played church, theatre and electonic organ
and during my teens I paid my dues playing for every type
of dancing and party you can imagine
HomeLess
School parties and stuff
Djai
Yes but also as a child musican providing music for adults,
at every type of party so ballroom dancing, weddings, birthdays
i played traditional music for many years and in every spectrum
from very religious music to once accompanying a stripper
so I really was a musican for hire,
and I gigged alot but it was still a very hard life
HomeLess
Do you think this has influenced the way you write music now ?
since its very melodic, meaning people pick it up right away
Djai
Yes I think being exposed (not talking strippers again ~lol~ )
to standards from 30s, 40s, and 50s
really did make me into a melody junkie
HomeLess
Who where your biggest influences in music in that period ?
Djai
I studied classical music around the latter part of that time
so as well as the jazz and big band standards,
i specially studied music from periods in classical music, The Baroque
which had an intricate and heavily ornamented melodic thread
through the period, and I also studied 20th century classical composers
HomeLess
You use a lot of those classical ornaments in your playing
Djai
Well trills in the baroque were very overstated
but it is surprising how much influences can be taken
and put into an overall mixture,
and so musically i finally came around that playing
music for dancing was not really rock and roll enough for me,
and I found myself getting more into contemporary music
from artists such as the Beatles, Dylan and Van Morrison
to burgeoning indie music that was popular when i was
at school including bands that went on to be much
bigger of course such as U2 and REM
HomeLess
What do you listen these day’s
Djai
The latest from The Killers, fantastic anthemic songs…love them
some gave me Bon Iver for Christmas
really interesting buy from North Carolina I think it was
intersting lyircal and melodic style
I also like to listen to artists on The Sixty One
HomeLess
And does new music change your style of writing and playing ?
Djai
Thats difficult to say…
I think the answer has to be yes to a certain extent
as we are influenced by everything around us,
and we might as well be dead if we arent.
But I find that I am far more influenced by things that
happen around me, being it immediate personal experiences
or news items and magazine articles
HomeLess
Things that interest you
Djai
Yes things that interest me but also things that upset me,
I guess anything that moves me
HomeLess
Music as a closer ?
Djai
And yes as a closer…
as closure to something that is occupying my mind,
and also as a way for people to be closer to each other.
The process of writing for me varies alot,
coming out of an experience is one way…one I use alot
But it can just as easily be a lyrical phrase as a catalyst,
or a melodic motif
HomeLess
Your lyrics are very personal and that allways
want me to know more about somebody,
lyrics sutch as “Make Me Feel I Belong”, “Love Stands Me Tall”
or “I will Find My Rest” show me somebody
that has been searching in his life.
Djai
Yes those are all very personal songs.
Ofcourse what that reveals about me I dont really know…
I mean I feel pretty balanced and happy,
as much as any of us do when we consider that modern life
is mostly rubbish ~lol~
so whether my lyrics hold something else I cannot say,
but I do know that these are my takes on experiences…
Sometimes real experiences and sometimes imagination
about how i would react to an experience I havent actually had.
But the great thing about it is that if you do make a connection
with a listener then they are able to interpretate
the song and make it their ownnand relate it to
their own personal experiences
HomeLess
The song that hitted me right in my face is
“I just Want to Be Wanted”
and i think that, besides me, a lot of people feel
this song is about them.
Do you realise the effect of your songs on people ?
Djai
I Wrote I Just Want To Be Wanted about a friend of mine
someone I became friends with in my last year at school
and who I later hung around with as an adolescent,
doing the usual things that young fellas get into.
But as the rest of our gang of friends and acquaintances
all started to settle down and get some peace in their lives
he could find none, he was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic
with manic depression, pretty much a full house.
But still pursued a lifestyle of drink and drugs
to his great detriment even though is is actually very
creative and intelligent in many ways,
he acts as if that lifestyle is all he needs
but my feeling is that he just wants to be wanted
HomeLess
Does he know you wrote a song about him ?
Djai
No he doesnt,
it is strange that I dont have that kind of relationship with him
HomeLess
You still see him ?
Djai
Yes occasionally
but his condition prevents much meaningful contact
many of his friends such as I persevered with him for many years
it is with great regret that I can no longer help him
but with a young family my commitments must be elsewhere
HomeLess
Offcourse, and your music help others in dealing with things
how does it feel for you to know that people find
comfort and peace in the things that you write ?
Djai
If that is the case then its a priviledge for sure
gosh these questions are really cutting to core of what I do….
I am not complaining as I am really enjoying the conversation but I have to think…
HomeLess
During your shows you get very passionate while playing,
where does this passion comes from ?
what does music means for you ?
Djai
I think that ultimately I believe music, in the way I want to experience and perform it, is about making a connection.
And that connection is not restricted to a melody but to the lyrical content, I really, really try hard to built an emotional level in a show
HomeLess
Thats why you want us to participate,
make us feel what you are trying to say
Djai
Yes I do want people to be moved
but I am also aware that building an emotional intensity
can need release, so I also use participation in order
to bring a little brevity into a show some fun.
After all, the emotional we feel through music
dont all have to be about angst, longing, sorrow and loss
HomeLess
Pressure and release
Djai
Yes I do tend to do it like that
and with a song like Make Me Feel I Belong, which has a big
participation element, the often i find it is just after something
with an emotional intensity and it seems to be most accepted
HomeLess
How is your contact with your fans ?
do you speak with them outside SL as well ?
Djai
I do not much….
regarding my music in RL, I ought to say that,
once I started to write songs I joined many pop and rock bands of all different sorts.
I have been a singer and also a keyboard player and a drummer in many bands all of which were gloriously unsuccessful ~lol~
But now I have reached a point where I do not perform in RL because I have a young family and a RL job outside of music
I find SL suits me very well, I am dedicated to it as it is
so ideally suited to someone in my position,
and it has allowed to present music to, and interact with folks
in such a satisfying way as far as my music is concerned.
So I like to discuss music with friends
and those that have an interest in what I do in SL
but I do not really do much outside of SL…a little but not much
HomeLess
You still hope to get some kind of RL career ?
Djai
Regarding RL recognition,
I had not done anything musical in RL for about 4 years
before coming into SL and emerging from the spring of youth
into a hopefully wiser individual.
I found myself more interested into trying to get
a publishing deal for my songs rather than considering
myself as an artist at all.
It was only when I heard other acts in SL doing their thing
that I thought I would start performing online.
I guess I thought my chance had passed to a certain
extent and while I would still feel a publishing deal
to place songs with other artists is a more viable
proposition than a record deal for myself,
i am still enjoying performing in SL massively
and I see no reason to stop doing it as long
as people are still enjoying it.
I do music because I enjoy it,
if something happened and my songs got some form
of recognition I would be thrilled and very proud…
But I am already happy with what I do,
and on that basis I am will keep on doing it.
I was thinking on how to close this post ?
it’s hard to do, Djai said it all.
I am feeling honoured i had a change to get to know Djai a little bit better.
Musician in heart and soul, dedicating his limited time and money to his Music.
Realising what is the most important thing in Life, his wife and kids ( who should be thanked bigtime for their support )
A musician with a great vieuw on SL music, trying to make it a better place for all of us.
So Djai,
Play us a gentle song.
