Forums > Technical Discussion > Musically Inclined

Posted: 1st Jun 2001
2 things: A good beat.Something that builds up slowly and climaxes.Nomad

Posted: 1st Jun 2001
I'm with Nomad (have we ever disagreed? hee!) but I'll add that a certain organic sound really helps. I really love electronic music, but that's not all that's out there. Some of the world beat techno fusion acts out there.. Joi, Transglobal Underground & the like really do this well and are my favorites to spin to, overall.I also like to experiment with different musical types, and while I might not go back to them I always enjoy trying. I found that I really like spinning to some of the Cuban Jazz albums I've collected (Buena Vista Social Club-style stuff), but it's more of a leisurely dancing spin than an ecstatic visionary spin, the way I generally prefer to perform or show off.

Posted: 2nd Jun 2001
Tricky to express. I think the best way to describe it might be "relaxed, variable but relentless".What i'm trying to get at is, what works for me is music that isn't too frenetic (my poor little arms get tired!) but which keeps on going (like a good night of drumming), and which has enough of either complexity of beats or changes of tempo to keep me interested and inspire me to do the unexpected rather than repeat the same cycles over and over.Stuff I've spun with recently I'm not going to repeat as I mentioned it already in the "victim of the board" thread, but I would agree with Protozoa about the 'organic' aspect. Fire's alive, I'm alive, and I feel that the third part of the trinity, which is the music, needs to be alive too, so that the three of us can play with each other and create something new.mikeyB

Posted: 4th Jun 2001
Yeah, I definitely agree with the "relaxed, variable but relentless" concept. There's gotta be good beats, but also some changes in the beats -- and everything else: mood, tempo, feel, types of instruments, all that. If somehting's in the same beat for ever and ever, it just makes me want to keep doing the same stuff to it; I prefer something that changes, so I can go: "Oh, this part's really good for alternating butterflies... oh, now it's changed, and it really wants a weave... yeah, here's a new tempo, this one would be good to chase the sun with..." And so on. Something that will keep me doing different stuff.As far as styles, I'm much more of a rock 'n' roll boy than a techno fan, and a lot of techno sounds to me like a good, kickin' beat that would make a great song, if someone would just add a melody. But there's some techno that I like a lot. I think I have a more Euro/Brit taste in my techno than most people around here (San Francisco); I tend to like the Euphoria albums a lot, but not the stuff that's being played in clubs.And I find that most techno, while very nice for spinning Zuni or other non-fire poi, just can't stand up to the power of a fire performance. When you get blazing fireballs whirling around, that guitar-less stuff just seems to fade into the background. (Just my opinion, obviously, and I'm not slagging on anyone who thinks different.)So my picks for poi spinning tend to be either really driving rock (as long as it's got a nice, steady beat, without lots of time-signature changes -- and it can really use some bleeding guitar riffs, too!), or else various types of tribal/world-beat stuff. I've been finding lately that bhangra is really good; it's got a nice syncopated rhythm and lots of cool melodic layering that are just fun to play around with.Swing jazz is also pretty cool -- stuff like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, or the Cherry Poppin' Daddies. BBVD has a great cover of "I Wanna Be Like You" (yes, from Disney's "The Jungle Book"), which is just fabulous for a fire performance. It's this mambo swing beat, which is great for alternating butterflies and Mexican Wave type sutff, and plus there's an added bonus: those who think about the lyrics for a moment will remember that it's all about the Monkey King asking Mowgli to give him the secret of fire.

Posted: 3rd Jun 2001
Alas I rarely get to spin fire to music, because of the 'noise' factor at night and lack of a decent music system to bring to places. However I bought my self a lovely little portable drum (can't remember what they are called, think karate kid, the one in okinawa) from an Indian store, that is surprisingly loud and easy to beat, so I love spinning fire to that. I think a good beat is very important.Choosing music to perform to, I would most likely choose trad Irish music or drum music to perform to rather than trance, which is my preferred music to dance to without fire. ------------------"London is a city coming down from its trip and there's going to be a lot of refugees" - Danny,Withnail & I

Come faeries, take me out of this dull world, for I would ride with you upon the wind and dance upon the mountains like a flame.

- W B Yeats

Posted: 8th Jun 2001
I like the video called "winterfestival" in the video section here. just wondering if any of you could please tell me what the music is ???thanks in advanceshine onCassandra

"I want brown bread... no, that is diesel oil..."
"So I was raised in Europe, where History comes from ..."
"NON !!! La Plume de mon oncle n est pas Bingibangibungi !!!"

Posted: 14th Jul 2001
thats techno i think or trance. the music i like is techno rave tracks, trance and all that dance stuff. i just started using staff though and its kinda hard to get the staff to twirl to the beat for me.

-------Twirl on, grasshopperAlienRaver

Posted: 17th Jul 2001
hi alienraver!another staffie! joy I hear ya when you say you have trouble moving the staff to the beat...after years of developing my style, I've come to the conclusion that it's your body that needs to move to the beat, not your fire toy/s. your body and its movement is the key - the staff will blend and follow. Lately, I've been experimenting with tempo quite a bit - the best firedancing I've seen involves many changes in tempo, real slow and fluid to super fast and fearsome... your body dancing to psytrance, but your twirling at a slower tempo: trippy.Also, while I'm actually posting for once, I'll mention that audiences are fickle. so many times I've seen highly skilled firedances go through many changes in tempo throughout their performance - whenever they spin really quickly the audience always cheers. frustrates the hell out of me, cos I think that fastest ain't necessarily best, but if you're infront of an audience, you have to take things like that into consideration.the WOW factor.flash------------------"she dances in a ring of fire and throws off the challenge with a shrug"

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Posted: 17th Jul 2001
Since I'm still just starting out I've had more fun spinning to music with interesting breaks and changes. I surely don't have much imagination or flow yet since I spend most of my energy on not getting hit or tangling. Breaks, bridges, ebbs and flows force me to vary style, speed, and intensity. Maybe soon I will even start to move my feet and/or hips.I brought it up before, but I'm still surprised at how few people I've seen that actually seem to use the music to influence their spinning. All electronic music is SO predictable... you know everything is in fours so why ya gonna bust a big move on a three? Sporty Spice is breakin’ a sweat out there to make you move and most people seem not to notice. I have seen some great choreographed performances but most spinning that I've seen involving music doesn't connect. Most guys just push play, light up, and spin. I’ve been truly impressed with how well the MOVES flow from one to another I’d just like to see some correspond to the tunes, whatever they may be…-Armchair quarterback, peanut gallery member, and poi groupie, MrMo

PK is a god.. i love the Peeekster.

.:PK:. [poiinthepark founder member]


Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing STAY SAFE!

Posted: 17th Jul 2001
As far as I am concerned, spinning or twirling without music is just not an option. I'm finding that even if I have all my gear and an opportunity to spin I will pass it up if there is no music playing.I'm a big fan of electronic music, and I'll *strongly* argue the point that it is all predictable, *especially* when you can get a good DJ behind the turntables to mix things up. But even better than a good DJ is a drum cicrle. Nothing can compare to the interaction between a few good musicians in a drum circle and a fire dancer. As a fire dancer, you can take turns spinning and dancing to the music, moving your body to one drum beat and your poi/staff to another, and actually conducting the drummers with your dancing.I'm at the point now where I can completely detach from the notion of "fire" dancing. I just become one with the music, and the only time I ever really even think about the fire is when I need to resoak and relight. And *that* is a really nice place to be.Anyways, y'all *must* get to a Transglobal Underground show soon. This is one of Prote and my favorite bands, and we caught them on the first stop of their US tour right here in our home town of Baltimore. The promotion was terrible, and I think they only sold maybe 150 tickets in a 750 capacity club. But that didn't stop the band from performing an *amazing* show, and there was plenty of room for everyone to dance with as much space as they wanted. Get thee to https://www.t-g-u.com/
or https://www.t-g-u.com/tour.html
for more info!-p.

Posted: 17th Jul 2001
ohhhhhh kmactame, that was amazing. wonderful suggestion. I must confess I'm a The Jungle Book addict, but I never actually thought of spinning to I Wanna be Like You...I like to spin to electronic beats such as drumnbass and techno, but gypsy music just gets me!! I just cant help it: I start dancing and keep saying I want my poi..Heheeheee.p.lu.r. =D------------------"Lady bug lady bug, fly away home. Your house is on fire, and your children will burn! Ashes, ashes, all fall down!!

Lady bug lady bug, fly away home. Your house is on fire, and your children will burn! Ashes, ashes, all fall down!!

Posted: 17th Jul 2001
u cant jus go by what others tell u its like swinging poi its ur own creation find a song that grabs u that makes ur hands start moving n puts that little idea of i want to twirl to this in ur head. i mean all the things suggested r great its a personal choice.

Posted: 18th Jul 2001
Yeah, I knew I worded that wrong... PJ, I'm a HUGE fan of electronic music and I guess what I meant about predictable was the beat and intensity. You know when the music's going to explode and when it's going to build again. I didn't mean predictable in the boring/trite way but rather in the "I know what's coming" way... I just didn't want to be labeled as a Techno basher when I'm such a fan. I was passively wondering if anyone would like to set up a "music swapping" program... Where we "lend" eachother our "archived" copies of CDs. I find electronic music a bit hit-or-miss for me and I'd love to have my horizons expanded... Just a thought...

PK is a god.. i love the Peeekster.

.:PK:. [poiinthepark founder member]


Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing STAY SAFE!

Posted: 22nd Jul 2001
last night i was twirling my uv ones to some slow trip hop... it was quite wierd actually, because of the slow beat i was most of the time spinning as slow as i could...try doing a normal weave as slow as you can... if you get it just right they seem to just hang in the air for vast amounts of time...anyone who has napster/equivalent, download "makes me wanna die" by tricky, the best chill track EVER.

x X x ß £ Å Ĉ К ß î я Ð x X x

Posted: 23rd Jul 2001
I get my moods, and so poi to all sorts of music. In my mellow moods, I've tried Craig David (has anyone else??), and I was quite surprised to find that I enjoyed the music heaps more, for the fact that I was practising poi to it. That, and the fact that it was really relaxing Dido is pretty cool to chill out to as well..I've also done Fatboy, Bomfunk, Artful Dodger (not so successful), Live, Regurgitator (very fun ), Alegria, Saltimbanco and numerous other stuff... the 'gurge was best, I think... so was number 7 in Alegria, which was the introductory sequence into the show itself I DEFINITELY love to twirl my staff to that one.. it's very flamboyant Anyway, I think that it's the ones that give you a good flow (Craig David), and those that pump you up ('gurge) are really great for poi.Undómiel.------------------"From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring." TOLKIEN

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring.
TOLKIEN

Posted: 23rd Jul 2001
Did a gig at a kid's party on sunday afternoon (daylight, audience aged 3-7 years, bizarre!!), and the music provided was....Elgar's Pomp & Circumstance Marches.Which I wouldn't have tried normally, but it's fabulous - it's big, majestic, dramatic and cliched enough to introduce a streak of irony a mile wide, which the parents got even if the kids didn't.Picture this:(butterfly) Land of Hope and(overhead weave, very slow) Glory(mexican wave) Mother of the (forward weave) free...and try to keep any sort of straight face doing it.....A strange gig, but a good one...mikeyB

Posted: 23rd Jul 2001
I'm with Mrmo_nyc on the "music swapping" idea. Please post a new thread if this suggestion comes to fruition. I'm always out looking for new tunes and have great repsect for peoples' music tastes on this board. I've now switched over to Morpheus (Musiccity.com) which has proven to be better than both Napster and Aimster. Check out some Morcheba, Deep Forest, or Mono for chill music. DJ Baby Anne is great high nrg music to spin to.

Fear the evil monkey!

Posted: 24th Jul 2001
I find Fragma's song DONT YOU THINK ITS MAGIC is great for twirling. It gives you that great thrill inside! Great beat and a deep dreamy sound!

Fire is Life~*

Posted: 24th Jul 2001
currently enjoying madonna from ray of light "frozen"Pere

AnonymousPLATINUM Member

Posted: 24th Jul 2001
Hey - never posted before, tho' I've been reading y'all, believe me...I tried twirling to Strapping Young Lad, and if your forearms are up to it, it's a good buzz. (SYL are fastfastheavyheavymetal, but rather inspired, melodic and trippy too.. .)p_g

Posted: 26th Jul 2001
TRANCE and JUNGLE . i have to have one of the two playing. i forget im stringing and my mind, body and music work as one. Its like chewing gum. after the a while you start chewing it and you dont realize you are chewing it any more

Posted: 26th Jul 2001
dude! what's up? how *you* doin? I can appreciate what you're saying but couldn't you have come up with a slightly more, welll, ummmmm befitting analogy? comparing your artform to chewing gum really takes away from the majik you were trying to portray!no offense intended. glowies are hella cool, much sicker than gum.maybe you could have use another of the bodies automatic reactions to portray the significance of stringing, like breathing for example: it comes so naturally; you don't have to think about breathing, your breath feeds your body life, just as stringing does...it makes you complete.sorry for being mean. i just couldn't let this one slip by

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AnonymousPLATINUM Member

Posted: 26th Jul 2001
Well shit Sair, I was almost offended by the Twirling == chewing gum analogy...and I almost never get offended by what ppl type on lists...Then I realised it takes different strokes to move the world; whatever pumps your nads dude.Josh

Posted: 27th Jul 2001
sheesh bad choice of words, the point i was trying to make is that it is like an involuntary muscle, or thinking and speaking, when your in a conversation I dont think then speack . I think and speak at the same time. just like poi, when im spinning I dont think about whats next, its reflex, you do it so much you dont have to think

Posted: 27th Jul 2001
Oh what, so now you're saying that I'm too stupid to think?! Like I'm a friggin clown to you? Oh wait, Goodfellas flashback, sorry...Actually, I totally understood ya the first time Liquid. I'm not sure how everyone else is reading it. Even as a newbie I can weave=>reverse weave without thinking about it. We had a saying in Swing Dancing that you haven't learned a move until you can do it while carrying on a normal convesation at the same time. I think that the same is true for poi.There have been some posts attempting to minimize the difficulty and therefore beauty of poi but I don't think that's what you were trying to do.

PK is a god.. i love the Peeekster.

.:PK:. [poiinthepark founder member]


Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing STAY SAFE!

Posted: 28th Jul 2001
to me its like. I start, then 15 minutes later Im out of breath I Kinda know what i did bit not realy. I was so into it that every thing was blocked out. mostly when i see some one that is good. I try so hard to out do them that they will think twice about doing poi in front of me, but its all good, we meet and are friends there after, it all in the state of mind

Posted: 8th Aug 2001
ive spun to most music...the other night a few friends came over and we took some happy smarties...ahem...and my new found friend/neighbour from across the street a 40 something old earthy fellow(hippie in plain english) came over and played his jaw harp...one of the most amasing instruments ever...and its only about 3 inches long and an inch wide....it creates energy...when being played and the sound is very much like the acidy goa trance digeridoo sound/beat in goatrance or acid techno...all that was playing was this...and it was the biggest high ive ever had...(excluding the feeling from the smarties)...if u can find someone with one and who can play it properly...then take ur poi with you...trust me...itll be worth it....but on the othe side of life...i tried spinning to "mr bungle" hehe...it was uhm....different...*smiles n huggles*goafire

AnonymousPLATINUM Member

Posted: 23rd Aug 2001
i personally get a friend to play a series of african drums and another friend to play a didge,the tourists love itthe drums give you a beautiful beat, and the didge makes it just a bit more magickal

Posted: 27th Aug 2001
so now i'm a member i can pester you all with my thoughts and opinions ha ha... here goeswell personally i luuuurve all types of live music getting it at a luffly decibel without distortment gives me a real kick. when you can feel the music creeping all over your body and your trying not to get goosebumps... you have found the music YOU should be spinning to. when the world blends into music spinning and dancing the world just seems right. even the happy smarties can't take full credit your your euphoric state blackbird- thanks for the tricky tip other mellow favourites include portishead, air, enigma and oliver shanti all are wonderful for slower twirlingranger------------------floating drifting fading awayhow could these stimulants lead us astray?

floating
drifting
fading away
how could these stimulants lead us astray?

Posted: 31st Aug 2001
Sometimes I like to just spin to silence. Just me, my poi and and a quiet spot in the woods.Any one else do this?Other than that I like thumpy, (i.e Lots of Drums)------------------It's only funny until someone gets hurt.... Then it's a COMPETITION!!![This message has been edited by Oottat (edited 01 September 2001).]

It's only funny until someone gets hurt.... Then it's a COMPETITION!!!