Hookahdome music

ZaphodBurner · Post by **ZaphodBurner** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 11:52 am

I was wondering if the Hookahdome people could, or have, at some point in their playa career, feature music that doesn't totally fucking rock.

You're making the other DJs look bad.

Who was the DJ from Chicago that was playing Friday or Saturday night. (playatime. Musta been around midnight?) He had a bunch of friends chilling in art cars nearby, listening.

At one point, on Saturday afternoon, there wasn't any music at Hookahdome and I think the tent was closed, and out of nowhere a marching band wandered up, circled around the folks sitting in front of the tent and played for awhile, as if to gift HD something back. I agree with them.

Thanks.

-zb

Samsa Bee · Post by **Samsa Bee** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 2:20 pm

Fuck YEAH Hookahdome !! I cant tell you who the artists were, but I can concurr on the awesomeness.....My tent was next door and it was a PLEASURE all week to hear the sounds of the HD and the sounds of the GlitterBox mash up. What a great place to be!

I would like to know what KIND of music the HD played......sounded like world beat electronica most of the time, in various moods. I did hear some Dead Can Dance at the beginning of the week.

Mister Jellyfish Mister · Post by **Mister Jellyfish Mister** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 4:04 pm

First let me say this is not a complaint. HD sounded fantastic, and I liked everything they played. My funded art piece, Zsu Zsu, was directly across the Esplanade from them. I had requested placement in a quiet area so participants could get the audio part of the interaction and it was getting drowned out by HD's wattage which I'm sure exceeded the 300 watts RMS limit for medium sound camps off the 2:00 and 10:00 areas designated for large sound camps.

The result? Participants at Zsu Zsu leaned in closer to hear, and it forced them to get closer together which brought a sense of community to my installation that was endearing. I also turned up my amp a bit. Every time I thought about complaining, the HD's music got even better, not louder, better!

Sometimes the things we think are intruding on our art only enhance the spirit of participation and make the space come alive. It was really funny to me after all that Zsu Zsu felt trapped and refused to come out and enjoy the great music cascading through the air outside her trailer.

The Smooch Dome is the new Hookah Dome.
The Hookah Dome is the new Opulent Temple.
The Opulent Temple is the new Rave Camp that spends beyond their budget and makes you feel like it's your fault.

ZaphodBurner · Post by **ZaphodBurner** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 4:13 pm

Mister Jellyfish Mister wrote:First let me say this is not a complaint. HD sounded fantastic, and I liked everything they played. My funded art piece, Zsu Zsu, was directly across the Esplanade from them.

Your funded art piece, Zsu Zsu, directly fucking rocked too.

Mister Jellyfish Mister wrote: Sometimes the things we think are intruding on our art only enhance the spirit of participation and make the space come alive. It was really funny to me after all that Zsu Zsu felt trapped and refused to come out and enjoy the great music cascading through the air outside her trailer.

That's the kind of stuff that makes me think about Burning Man all year. THANKS! (She's kind of a hardbody, by the way, but a little cold...)

-c

yojessimac · Post by **yojessimac** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 4:50 pm

Here's the Thursday and Friday night Hookahdome line-up:

thursday was dj global ruckus and joro boro from new york

Friday night at 11 started with Janaka Selekta, then it was dj radio hiro from Chicago, Dj Zakam, Chebi Sabbah and then Karsh Kale.

Info received from Julz from Hookahdome crew

Jellyfish glad to hear the fabulous loud music worked out for Zsu Zsu and those who gathered to visit her after all!

Syrinis · Post by **Syrinis** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 7:35 pm

I totally agree the Hookah Dome was awesome! I parked myself for several hours on Friday night and had absolutely no desire to go anywhere else.

Samsa Bee · Post by **Samsa Bee** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 12:19 pm

SO, never mind my ignorance, but what would you all call most of the music coming from the Hookahdome? World Beat Electro or WHAT??? I like me some LABELS...haha.....please help.

Karsh Kale, huh? I hear people talk aobut these artists and I find it amazing that I got to experience them right by my tent!!

Zsu Zsu was awesome and we interacted many times during the week. Seem slike the only real LOUD night Hookah had was Friday. The rest of the week seemed fairly mellow. (Unlike the OT, which I wouldnt camp next to if someone paid me a large sum of money)

armi.jestage · Post by **armi.jestage** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 7:40 pm

Hell yes to the Hookah Dome! Exactly the warm, loose, relaxing environment I sought on the playa (not to downgrade anywhere else guys*). A good portion of their music played toward the beginning of the week and during the days gave me a sence of seductive indian-esque electronica.... Which I would really love to come across more of. So the names are out for the dj's of Friday and Saturday correct? Anyone among the informed know about the other music played and how to go about aquiring some of it (if not all!)?

lightning · Post by **lightning** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 9:45 am

That's the kind of stuff that makes me think about Burning Man all year. THANKS! (She's kind of a hardbody, by the way, but a little cold...)

You must have missed Zsu Zsu's finale after the Burn - Franny, who played Zsu Zsu's role to perfection, is seriously hot!

Rosminah · Post by **Rosminah** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 3:55 pm

Hi there!

I started camping with Hookahdome since my newbie days in 2001. I am seriously pleased to see positive comments like these. Thank you. :)

One of my favorite moments with the camp this year was when the Man burned. A number of us stayed behind at the camp and watched it from the Esplanade. Chris, our Duke of Sound, put on some Sigur Ros and Ulrich Schnauss, turning the normally primal crazy burn into a chilled pensive event. It was like a Saturday and Sunday burn all rolled into one, which is great for me, because I often have to miss the Sunday burn.
Once the Man came down, we watched the lights and people spread back out across the Playa. Folks streamed towards the hookahdome, and we came back inside with everyone. Then Cheb i Sabah started his set that went on into the night...

Anyway, hopefully I can answer some of the questions raised about the music style without getting too wordy.

The camp itself, with the hookahs, tea and nibbles is based on arabic/middle eastern hospitality, so we try to match the music to that, whether it's arabic and indian fusion beats, or downtempo chill out.

When the group was first forming, there was an in-house group of DJs, all friends with each other because of their bay area tech jobs, and they played a lot of Tipsy, Fila Brazillia, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Laika, Boards of Canada, that genre. DJ Fitz called it Tasty Beats at some point, and the name seemed to fit.

So, we aspire to have tasty shishah, tasty tea, and tasty beats. The music itself still ranges from ambient chill, to arabesque, and sometimes a little quirky, but above all should be Tasty.

We are very lucky to have met and grown friendships over the years with additional DJs who also enjoy playing in this genre.

Julz, who was referenced in an earlier comment, helped develop the DJ relationships along with Mattpaul (who wasn't with us this year). If you have questions about some of the specific people, I can help defer those questions to her.

And if you have questions about the theme of the group, and the feel of the music, I can try to help you, PM me! I'm always keen to spread some of that Tasty Beat love.

I hope that helps.

Mosin · Post by **Mosin** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 3:25 pm

WIRD M'PEOPLES!!! Hookahdome rocked our fucking world every time we strolled by... esp on, well, Thurs-Sat! We ended up staying and dancing whether planned or unplanned. The vibe there was, for me, unique and surreal.... seemed to be a magnet for a certain type vibe (if you will

)... and/or the music transformed the whirling dervishes outside. Whatever it was, the music was beyond tastey. THANK YOU!!

And indeed Zsu Zsu was over-the-top creative, funny, and epic. I've tried to explain it to some friends/family who have not burned... for some reason it just goes over their head...

ChrisV · Post by **ChrisV** » Sun Sep 14, 2008 11:29 pm

Hi all,
I'm the sound guy for Hookahdome. I'm glad to hear everybody enjoyed our DJs. Usually, I manage to get a couple of hours of my own music in there, but the DJ schedule was much fuller this year.

I'm happy to say that I got out to see Zsu zsu, and it was quite a charming installation. I'm glad people got to experience it in spite of our noise.

As to the 300 watt rule, I'm not a big fan of it for a couple of reasons:

1) It's obviously flouted everywhere, especially on the Esplanade. You can barely buy a pro-audio amplifier which comes in under 300 watts these days. so it puts just about anybody outside of the regulations.

2) Because of #1, it's hard to express in our camp application what we have planned in a way which expresses things adequately. Yes, we'll make a lot of noise one or two nights, but the rest of the time we'll be mellow. We're not a rave camp, but at those loud times, we can and do annoy some people. As a camp, we'd prefer to be placed next to people who universally dig what we're doing, but that hasn't always been the case in previous years or this year.

3) From a technical standpoint, 300 watts measures the power going into the speakers, not the sound coming out. Our system is louder at 300 watts than some other systems are at 3000. If you're talking about how loud something sounds, then the best approach would be a particular SPL level, e.g. 85 dB SPL A-weighted, slow response, measured where the annoyed person is standing. Granted, most people don't carry a meter, but it could be one of those cases where, if it's way louder than that, it's obvious.

But the fundamental problem, of course, is that it's really more a question of taste than of loudness. I'm pretty tolerant of others' noise as long as it's music I can tolerate. If a neighbor was blasting gabber for hours on a 10 watt boombox next door to me, I'd probably reach the point where I'd need to complain about it. So how do you set the standard? If 10 people are annoyed and 500 are happily dancing, what do you do? 3 and 50? At 5am? It's obviously a sticky problem, and one which I'd like to see the borg tackle to arrive at a better solution.

Phew. ;-)

pinemom · Post by **pinemom** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 7:22 am

From the BOOBIES, behind ya'll....Was wonderful mixes all week long!
Thank you.

purplevyrus · Post by **purplevyrus** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 12:14 pm

THANK YOU!! You guys played some of the best music I have ever heard in a long long time! I was as sober as a Sunday preacher, yet spent almost an entire night dancing my heart out right outside (people were coming up going, "You're still here!?"). I also really liked the contrast from other camps nearby, such as fire instead of lasers and whatnot. Shame that by the time I was interested in venturing inside it was closed off... why is that?

Mister Jellyfish Mister · Post by **Mister Jellyfish Mister** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 1:35 pm

Thanks, all, for your positive words for Zsu Zsu. Here is a short video of her and Larry Harvey discussing music on the playa:

[youtube][/youtube]

ChrisV · Post by **ChrisV** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 10:46 am

We are hosting a love fest/parade after party the CHILL PARADE most of the dj's that played in front of the Hookahdome that night will be there.

Including Karsh Kale from NY. Dj Radiohiro from Chicago, janaka selekta from sf, dj Globalruckus from Portland and The Luxury Tax from SF.

Full Hookah lounge

It was suggested to me that we let everyone know. Since so many of you have contacted us.

you can go to www.myspace.com/ruckuslab for more info.

They will also be at decompression, cheb i Sabbah too. Hookahdome will be at decompression this year. YAY! right next to the underworld.

Smudge · Post by **Smudge** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 4:04 pm

I do remember seeing somewhere a listing of the music lineup for Hookahdome and haven't found it yet. I'm interested in knowing who the cellist who played Tuesday or possibly Wednesday night. I believe he tried to tell me to remember something he spoke but no, my mind just wasn't in that sort of space and I didn't have anything to write on.

Barbie · Post by **Barbie** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 8:48 pm

I had sooooooo much fun fun fun dancing at the Hookahdome !!!!!

I couldn't pull my self away danced danced danced

THanks for the nice hugs from the hippie chick!!!

popsicle · Post by **popsicle** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 12:58 am

Music was fantastic, still cant find any downloads from the Djs who played......Cant wait until next year

Moranis · Post by **Moranis** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 7:30 pm

http://davidstarfire.com/
I found david starfire from another post. He has a lot of the great music from Hookahdome.

I'm looking for a particular song that I loveddd. I don't know much about it other than the main beat which is very tough to articulate:

du du du du du du du du du....
du du du du du du du du du....

Those are the first two bars, then the next two are basically a whole lot of du's. I suppose there is a CHANCE someone would know it if they loved the song as much as me and sang the "du"'s in their head.

Moranis · Post by **Moranis** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 12:04 am

EDIT:
Some more insight. THere are only two notes played. Possibly A and G and the one below it on a piano.

AAAAGGGGA
AAAAGGGGA
AAAAGGGGAAAAGGGGAAAAGGGGA

That's the four bars. Go forth and multiply!