Girl Talk documentary brings Pittsburgh electronic artists to Pitt

It’s pitch black in the William Pitt Union Assembly Room.

The hum of a warming projector comes from somewhere in the dark. Suddenly, the room lights up in technicolor.

A rapid series of images flashes across a massive projector screen hanging in front of the room, and the eerie voice of an elderly woman splits the air.

“Today we are going to create a mash-up,” the “Tales-of-the-Crypt”-meets-Betty-Crocker voice explains. “A fun and interesting way to make something fresh out of something stale.”

Filmmaker Brett Gaylor’s documentary, “RiP: A Remix Manifesto,” premiered last night in the William Pitt Union. Presented by the Pittsburgh Electronic Musicians, the film told the story of Gregg Gillis, also known as Girl Talk — the half-naked, sweat-dripping, mash-up music artist from the suburbs of Pittsburgh.

The film made one thing clear: A culture priding itself on freedom, creativity and self-expression comes with the development of electronic music, which can be controversial when it involves sampling music from other artists.

“I‘m here because I‘m not cool enough to get into electronic music on my own,” joked David Landes, a graduate student studying rhetoric and communications. “Plus, I’m really interested in the copyright and creativity issues involved in the genre.”

Landes was one of a only handful of students to arrive before the movie began, but as the film played, more and more students, attracted by the music, filtered in from outside. By the end of the movie, about 50 people sat in the audience.

Paul Matthews, president of Pittsburgh Electronic Musicians, discussed the development of electronic music culture and difficulties electronic enthusiasts face on Pitt’s campus.

“We basically try to represent the interests of the student body and anyone who is interested in electronic music,” Matthews said about the group. “Some people in our organization are DJs, some are producers, some don’t know the first thing about electronic music.”

Matthews said he believes many Pitt students don’t understand what electronic is. People have preconceived notions about the electronic music genre, he said.

“Our goal is to educate these people,” Matthews said.

Matthews said before he started listening to electronic music, he was as prejudiced toward the genre, as many people on campus are today.

“When I first started listening to electronic music four years ago, I just did not understand it,” Matthews said. “But I had some good friends who were patient with me. They showed me there was more to electronic music than techno.”

Matthews said the emerging electronic music scene in Pittsburgh demonstrates a diversity in electronic music.

“There are a lot of DJs in the Pittsburgh area alone that play all different styles of music,” he said.

Matthews said he believes many people on campus do like electronic music. They just don’t realize it.

“If you listen to any kind of hip-hop these days, it’s all really influenced by the electronic sound,” he said. “Think of Kanye West or Flo- Rida. All of that stuff is done on synthesizers, and people love it.”

Paul Fleetwood is one electronic music enthusiast from Pittsburgh eager to ride the wave of artists’ success.

Fleetwood works with a Pittsburgh-based DJ and events crew called Humanaut. His DJ moniker is Paul Alexander.

“There is a whole culture centered around this music,” Fleetwood said. “Unfortunately, many people aren’t aware of either the history, the diversity or exactly how different and fun this music and its culture can be.”

Fleetwood shared similar ideas with Matthews about electronic music’s lack of popularity on campus.

“I feel there is a general lack of experience toward the genre, simply due to lack of proper exposure,” he said. “Certain styles and themes have caught on in the past, sure. But overall, I think its takes a personal motivation to want to learn something different and new. Many kids just don’t have that.”

Fleetwood remained optimistic.

“We know how much we enjoy this music,” he reasoned. “And in an age with cookie-cutter tunes and stale radio playlists, we want people to know there could be more exciting options out there for them to experience.”