Jesse & DJ BOWLCUT

Jesse：作為 Seoul Community Radio（SCR）的創辦人，你長期致力於串聯跨國音樂場景。從你的觀察來看，當下的韓國地下舞曲文化正處於怎樣的狀態與轉變之中？

DJ BOWLCUT：我認為目前影響亞洲地下舞曲場景（包括韓國）的一股主導力量，是一種「精英主義」。來自其他地區的新觀念原本是帶著良善意圖進入這裡，但很快就可能變得排他，只有掌握特定知識或資源的人才能參與。在SCR的平台下，我們始終試著讓不同社群彼此連結，並從這些交流中產生新的、正向的能量。雖然市場仍然規模不大，且常圍繞著少數知名DJ身上，但派對與rave文化確實逐漸擴展到更廣的群眾之間。愈來愈多本地製作人開始發行作品並獲得關注，這對整個亞洲音樂場景的成長來說是個好現象。

Jesse：從 SCR 的展演平台到 Principauté de Bowl-Air 的發行廠牌，間隔八年，請跟臺北分享，你在這段過程中的心境轉變？未來如何看待平台與廠牌之間的關係與定位？

DJ BOWLCUT：我剛開始製作SCR時，單純想打造一個環境，讓人們進入夜店是為了DJ所選的音樂。但我很快意識到，若要達成這點，DJ需要有網路上的存在感，例如混音、現場錄音或某個平台。這也是為什麼我們一開始就對各種類型的DJ與表演者敞開大門。我相信音樂品味的多元性，而這也讓我自己的音樂方向在對比中顯得更清晰。簡單來說：SCR是棋盤，而我的廠牌就是棋子。它聚焦在groovy minimal、house、microhouse和techno上。我正在慢慢但穩定地發展自己的聲音，也同步學習製作、行銷與串連的方法。這一切都需要時間，但非常有意義，我也要特別感謝Slowmouth（Morsecode Records）、Mogwaa、DOTT、我的SCR團隊，以及許多一路同行的夥伴。

Jesse：你形容 Principauté de Bowl-Air 不只是一間廠牌，更是一個「想像中的微型國度」。這個音樂世界背後，除了聲音以外，還有哪些興趣、生活嗜好與文化元素形塑出這個國度的樣貌？

DJ BOWLCUT：我一直有這種習慣，會去查微型國家的資料；例如它們多大、有多少人口，很多是島國或小國（我甚至也會把臺灣算進去）。我常會想像如果真的住在這樣的地方會是什麼感覺。

有一天，我開玩笑地把美劇《新鮮王子妙事多》（The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air）當作梗，幻想出「Bowl-Air」這個虛構國度，地點就設在我住的梨泰院。這裡非常多元文化，你甚至不用離開自己住的街道，就能遇見來自世界各地的人。也因此，我才會想像自己是這個虛構國度的「王子」，有點像摩納哥那樣。我跟朋友們會開玩笑談論它的經濟制度、政府體制等等，後來我決定讓它保持一點神秘感，這樣比較有趣。其實也有前例，像臭名昭著的 Kazantip Republic Festival（Vice 還為它拍過紀錄片）。所以我顯然不是唯一會幻想這種事的人！

Jesse：這是我對每一位受訪者都好奇的問題，請跟我們分享你對黑膠的聆聽習慣與日常經驗？在什麼樣的背景與契機下，逐漸發展出「資料騎師（DATA JOCKEY）」這個結合 DJ 與創作人身分的角色？

DJ BOWLCUT：說到底，黑膠只是一種媒介。但我認為它比數位檔案或CD這些媒介更具持久性。有時它會在你意想不到的地方再次被發現，有點像把瓶中信丟進大海一樣。在我們拿取黑膠、按下播放鍵的那一刻，某種儀式感就自然浮現。在現代生活中，我們常常忘記透過「儀式性」與物件互動的感覺。至於「DATA JOCKEY」這個說法，是因為我不將自己限制於播放黑膠而已，我也使用卡帶、CD、數位檔案等等。我身邊有很多DJ會堅持某一種媒介、覺得某些格式比較「高級」，但我覺得真正的美感，是在我們懂得如何混合這些不同格式、並知道怎麼演奏它們的時候。

目前我會用Polyend Tracker做live set，也會在 DJ 演出中播放MOD Files（或稱 Hybrid DJ set 或 Live set，這三者界線本來就很模糊）。未來我也想嘗試用卡帶或Live Coding的方式來演出。

Jesse：廠牌首張黑膠發行《PBAVINYL001》，從頌缽取樣到韓語語句，你創造了一種既冥想又具有都市 Techno 質地的創作觀點。這樣的聲響想像，背後是否也蘊藏著你對「首爾」的某種創作觀點或回應？

DJ BOWLCUT：其實「西藏頌缽」只是我拿自己名字開的玩笑：DJ Bowlcut 和 Tibetan Bowl。這段取樣來自一位美國中年男子教授敲缽的影片，他的聲音很中性，和那些新世紀風格的氣音聲線相比，我覺得更合適，就選用了。舉例來說，〈The Moment〉這首創作，我是特別針對韓國觀眾所作的。我經常使用韓語語音取樣，透過Polyend Tracker從FM廣播錄下來，再在現場演出時測試觀眾反應。根據現場的反應，我會回到錄音室去修改，或創作新作品。所以與其說是重塑首爾，我更覺得我的聲音是直接在舞池上，從觀眾的反饋中鍛鍊出來的。

Jesse：在你的作品中，經常能聽到對K-Pop、韓國抒情歌甚至廣告聲音的再詮釋與重組。你如何看待這些「本土聲響」在全球舞曲語彙中所具有的再生潛力？

DJ BOWLCUT：我一直很靠近全球舞曲文化。我從小在美軍基地附近長大，很早就接觸外來聲音與文化。但同時我也深深扎根於韓國文化，這是無法逃避的背景，不管我喜不喜歡，我都選擇以自己的方式去擁抱它。對我來說，這兩個世界本來就會互相碰撞。有時候甚至是最芭樂的K-Pop歌曲，也能被重新想像成很棒的house或techno曲子。這種雙重性讓我能用熟悉的聲音吸引韓國觀眾進入我喜歡的極簡音樂世界，它就像一種誘餌。有趣的是，韓國的聲音元素也越來越受到國際關注。所以當我以韓國觀眾為出發點創作時，常常也能在全球引起共鳴，形成一種自然的回饋循環。

Jesse: As the founder of Seoul Community Radio (SCR), you’ve spent years connecting underground music scenes across borders. From your perspective, how is Korea’s dance music underground evolving right now? What kinds of shifts or energy do you feel happening?

DJ BOWLCUT: I think one of the dominant energies shaping Asia’s underground dance music scene, including Korea’s is a kind of elitism. New ideas from other regions often enter the scene with good intentions, but they can quickly become exclusive, accessible only to those who hold the knowledge and resources.

At SCR, we’ve always tried to connect different communities and generate new, positive energy from those encounters. While the market is still small and often centered around a handful of well-known DJs, party and rave culture has gradually expanded to a broader audience. More and more local producers are releasing tracks and gaining visibility, which is a great sign for the growth of the Asian scene.

Jesse: There’s an 8-year journey between launching SCR as a platform and founding your label, Principauté de Bowl-Air. Could you share with listeners in Taipei how your mindset or creative direction has shifted during this time? And how do you now see the relationship between a platform and a label?

DJ BOWLCUT: When I started SCR, I simply wanted to create an environment where people came to clubs for the DJs' music selections. I realized that for that to happen, DJs needed an online presence: mixes, sets, or a platform.That’s why we opened our doors to all kinds of DJs and performers. I believe in the diversity of music taste, and It leads my own musical direction stands out because of that contrast.

In short: SCR is the chessboard, and my label is a chess piece. It focuses on groovy minimal, house, microhouse, and techno. I'm slowly but steadily developing both my sound and my understanding of production, marketing, and connections. It takes time but it’s meaningful, thanks to people like Slowmouth (Morsecode Records), Mogwaa, DOTT, my SCR teammates, and many others who’ve shared the journey.

Jesse: You’ve described Principauté de Bowl-Air as more than just a label, it’s a fictional micronation. Beyond music, what interests, hobbies, or cultural inspirations helped shape the world of Bowl-Air? What does daily life in this imagined country feel like?

DJ BOWLCUT: I still have this habit of looking up lists of micronations, how big they are, their populations, usually tiny island states or microstates (including Taiwan, too). I imagine what it’d be like to live in one. One day, I made a joke about The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (with Will Smith) and imagined “Bowl-Air” as a microstate in Itaewon, where I live. This neighborhood is so multicultural, you don’t need to leave your street to meet people from all over the world. That’s where the idea of me as a “Prince” of this imaginary principality came from like Monaco.

My friends and I would joke about its economy, its government system, and more. Eventually, I decided to keep it mysterious because it’s more fun that way.

There’s even a precedent like the infamous Kazantip Republic Festival (Vice made a documentary about it). I’m clearly not the only one imagining stuff like this!

Jesse: This is something we ask every artist we invite, can you tell us about your relationship with vinyl? What does listening to records look like in your everyday life? And how did you arrive at the idea of the “DATA JOCKEY” a hybrid identity between DJ and sonic storyteller?

DJ BOWLCUT: Record is a medium at the end of the day. But I see it as a medium that lasts more longer than the other mediums like Digital Files or CDs, It can be found again in somewhere you wound’t imagine in somewhere sometimes, Like sending a letter in the bottle in the vast ocean. also there are some ‘ritual’ that appeals naturally as we touch the vinyl and press play. In this day of life We often forgot about ‘ritual’ that we deal with some objects.

For the DATA JOCKEY term, I don’t limit myself to just play vinyl but embracing other medium, such as Tape,CD,Digital Files and more. It is often surrounded by other DJs that their medium is superior than others, or limit themselves to few mediums and restrain themselves to one format, but for me the beauty arrives when we know how to mix all these different medium and know how to play them.

Currently I’m doing liveset with Polyend Tracker, Playing something called ‘MOD Files’ in my DJ set (or Hybrid DJ set, or Live set, the line between these are very blurry). I’m looking for playing a Set with either Casette Tape or Live Coding machine in future.

Jesse: On your debut vinyl release PBAVINYL001, you use elements like Tibetan bowl samples and Korean spoken words to create a meditative yet urban Techno sound. Is this sonic direction also a reflection or reimagining of your perspective on Seoul?

DJ BOWLCUT: The “Tibetan Bowl” It was just make fun on my name: DJ Bowlcut and Tibetan Bowl, and I got the sample from an Middle Aged- American guy explaining how to play it and I thought his voice has neutral-Tone So I choose it among many of New-Age Style Whispery Voices.

But tracks like “The Moment” were made with the Korean audience in mind. I often use Korean spoken word samples, usually recorded from FM radio through my Polyend Tracker, and then test them out live.

Based on audience reactions, I go back to my studio to revise or create new tracks. So rather than reimagining Seoul, I’d say my sound is forged by the audience’s direct feedback from the dancefloor.

Jesse: Your past releases often rework K-pop, Korean ballads, and even ad jingles in experimental and minimal forms. How do you see these local sound materials gaining new life in the language of global dance music?

DJ BOWLCUT: My heart has always been close to global dance music. I grew up near a U.S. army base, so I was exposed to foreign ideas and sounds from a young age. But I also grew up deeply immersed in Korean culture, Something I can’t escape from whether I like it or not, and I try to embrace it in my own way.

For me, these two worlds naturally collided. Sometimes even the cheesiest K-pop song can be reimagined into a great house or techno track. That duality helps bring Korean audiences into the kinds of minimal sounds I love, it acts as a kind of bait.

Interestingly, Korean elements are gaining more international success. So when I make something with the Korean audience in mind, it often resonates globally too, like a natural feedback loop.