When you're mixing and mastering and mix mastering your way through the musical world, it's hard to find time for a decent interview. PCC operative Sarah Forrestal had the chance to chat via phone with the groundbreaking DJ Spooky, touching on some of his own material as well as his views on the future of pop music.

I wanted to ask you some questions about Riddim & Warfare. Was this album concieved over a long period of time, or did you just sit down and start working on it? How was it created?

I'd say it was a little bit of each, really. Part of me was just ultra-frustrated with the conventional hip-hop scene, and the conventional techno scene, the conventional electronica. I had been throwing events and parties to try and bring together different vibes. This album was kind of a distillation of that. The actual execution of it took a couple of months. I don't know...I just like making music that has an umbrella kind of vibe, where it's always different.

So what are your roots? Where did you get started with music?

I got started with music a long time ago, actually, playing bass in some bands. But I also was just kinda open to DJing and stuff way back in 1988. I'd been in bands, I'd been a DJ. With the computer stuff and the DJ stuff, I don't have to deal with so many people.

Do you prefer to make your own tracks?

Oh, I always do, yeah.

How about remixing?

Yeah, I remix a lot. Remixing's cool. It's fun. In a way, it just allows you to experiment with different approaches, and I can take that later and see how it applies to my own stuff.

Do you find it more confining than making your own stuff, or do you just take it in a different direction?

Nothing's confining. I can do different styles, I can make a track punk out. It doesn't matter to me. Some people are really picky about remixes, but anybody that can get me on the phone, I'll check out. That makes it hard, because a lot more people call out of curiosity, to see how I'll change a track or something.

You've said that you find a lot of the conventional music scene to be confining. Where do you see things going in the future?

I think a lot more people will be making music. The average person will be making music. For me, I'm curious to see how the curve is gonna go into effect. Everyone I know who's young is dealing with electronic culture--computers, video games, video cameras, you name it. The curve is gonna be when they start making their own stuff up, instead of using other people's. That's kinda already happening.

Do you think music is going to become more of a personal creation and consumption thing, as opposed to going out and buying mass-produced music?

It'll be a combination of the two.