The Independent from London, Greater London, England • 85

THE INDEPENDENT FRHW3 MARCH 2006 reports on the evolution of the DJ scene 'In Erance, it fell to me, as an educated Moroccan, 17 fN to speak up for North Africa, for the Arab world Which had never been my programme at all "Ss MiaiHIffljlllW up Df "Rapture and "Riders On The Storm" to promote the New York group's: greatest hits, so Chose this duo to bring the two together on screen. Positioning Deborah Harry and Jim Morrison on separate sides of a screen is not the most challenging vision. Yet there is more going on than meets the eye. For starters, no footage exists of the Doors singer performing his half of the number, so Addictive have applied some nifty editing to ensure that Morrison: contributes to the duet More importantly, the promo takes on landmark status as one of the first officially sanctioned mash-up visuals, just behind Mylo Miami Sound Machine's "Doctor Such projects are a handy way of introducing Addictive's work to a wider audience, founder member Graham Daniels believes. "At the moment mash-ups are quite important in the sense they are easily understandable.

They are an easy route in for an audience to get the whole AV thing. After many years working in this field, it has been difficult for people to get it Addictive are currently producing DVDs for fellow AV artists Exceeda, Si Begg and The Mellowtrons and are also touring multimedia piece "Eye Of The based on footage shot by a friend's pilot father While Addictive form the respectable end of Ay a younger group continue to ruffle feathers. They are Eclectic Method whose dizzying 30-minute mix DVD We Are Not VJs is certainly not available in the shops, as The Beatles go head to head with the Outkast among a galaxy of stars. In fact, their DVD has led to commissions from Fatboy Slim and XL Recordings, home to The Prodigy, Dizzee Rascal and the White Stripes. While similar projects flow in, mash-ups are just the start for this ambitious bunch.

Meeting Coldcut's Black in Bosnia, where he held musical workshops, inspired founder Jonny Wilson. Black's desire for a more politicised direction is mirrored in Eclectic Method's performances with Brian Eno and Arab punk RachidTahaata Stop The War gig in London late last year. They cut up Tony Blair's voice to turn his soundbites into a speech on how industry profits from wan The group are also interested in using found material such as football footage, kung fu movies and porn films to provide rhythm tracks. "We've been around for four years and made a living for three, so we're quite proud to be existing completely outside the music Wilson says. "Our inspiration comes from hip-hop's semilegal mix tapes and internet message boards In France, the likes of Eric Dalbin are leading the way by putting on AV shows at the Pompidou Centre that take in music, communication and even graphic design.

Such establishment acceptance may be beyond the UK's AV artists as yet, but they are catching up. After the occasional show at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, last year saw our first AV festival. Optronica took place in London venues such as the National Film Theatre and the city's Imax cinema, with performers Kraftwerk legend Karl Bartos. Addictive TV set up the inaugural event and are already planning this year's line up. With the scene enjoying a higher profile and more venues willing to explore this genre, 2006 Is set to be a vintage year for AV art Smmmmm mm.