DJ Diplo opens exhibit at Sonos Studio

Thomas Wesley Pentz — popularly known as Diplo — took to Mid-City Wednesday night with artistic collaborator and long-time friend Shane McCauley for the Los Angeles opening of their new art show, “Blow Your Head.” The event took place at Sonos Studio located on La Brea.

The exhibition is a collaborative effort from the pair, who met 10 years ago when McCauley was documenting the ongoings of another band Wesley was in.

The duo’s latest project features music that Diplo — a self-proclaimed workaholic (“I’m always working on music”) — has personally selected from his favorite music blogs around the globe. Some of these blogs include OkayAfrica (South Africa), Mad Decent (New York City), Funk Na Caixa (Brazil) and Stolen Records (Jamaica). Mad Decent, which was created eight years ago, is one of Diplo’s two record labels, the other being Big Dada.

For this exhibition, Diplo’s music selections were paired with McCauley’s photographs, which were taken over a number of years as he traveled throughout the world, documenting multifaceted music scenes. Many of these photographs were portraits of ordinary people on the street, people dancing at concerts, and DJs playing sets. “Blow Your Head” uses Sonos Playbar, which is a device that combines music and images, and The Hype Machine’s global music discovery service to bring the vision together.

The intent — and the exhibition delivers — is to create a unique and global experience. Essentially, the pair hope to bring and share music and cultures with people who might not experience them otherwise.

More than the art show’s worldliness, what makes this particular exhibition unique is that no single person has the same experience. Visitors can pick and choose songs to their liking, which will thereby cue a specific set of photographs — they appear blown up in differing sizes and variations on either side of the walls — to accompany said music. As it is unlikely, though not impossible, that any single person makes the exact selections as another, each experience varies from individual to individual.

Accordingly, the exhibition feels immersive and interactive; it encourages visitor participation. The extent of how true that is, is relative to the individual — many in attendance at the opening didn’t have the chance to select a song.

But what was heard was interesting, under the radar and, as per Diplo’s personal music style, funky. Some of these songs were not recognizable to the average listener; Die Antwoord of South Africa, still low-profile but increasingly popular, is one of few exceptions.

After the crowd tooled around with the music and photography system, Diplo — wearing a floral shirt that showcased his dinosaur tattoo, quirky details that accompanied his surprisingly mellow and somewhat shy attitude — took to the stage with McCauley for a Q&A moderated by Emma Reeves of MOCAtv.

In their discussion, Diplo addressed criticism for what some would call the commodification of global culture — essentially taking music from other cultures, bringing it to the mainstream and using it for his own personal benefit.

For Diplo, it isn’t about taking advantage of other cultures, but simply sharing music across the globe.

“I’ve always tried my best to bring music to people,” Diplo said.

McCauley echoed that sentiment as he discussed the purpose and intent of the exhibition.

“It was important to represent that [global culture] in a visual sense and an audible sense,” McCauley said.

Diplo’s fascination with the music of other cultures is evident in many of his tracks, especially those of his collaborative act Major Lazer, whose first album with Switch was heavily influenced by the sounds of the Caribbean.

Perhaps Diplo’s affinity for “world music,” as people commonly label his mixes, comes from his anthropological studies in college. Perhaps it’s just a matter of personal taste. In any case, listening to Diplo in person can explain his motivations behind the exhibition and his own personal music, and his intentions seems sincere.

His passion for music, particularly that of South America, as he’s “fascinated by funk in Brazil and favela music,” filled the room. It was quite refreshing, really, especially since so many entertainers in the biz today are in it for the wrong reasons.

More than just the music itself, Diplo is excited about the prospects for this music to spread, which should happen easily given the ever-growing expansion of the digital music sharing.

“Everyone has a SoundCloud or YouTube,” Diplo said. “It’s amazing that people can get their music to the world so quickly.”

Whether Diplo is exploiting or sharing “global music” is decided by to the individual. But one thing’s certain: Like his style or not, Diplo is here to stay. And if “Blow Your Head” is any indication, we’ll be seeing a lot more of Diplo in an assortment of media.

“There really aren’t any boundaries to anything,” Diplo said, optimistically looking toward the future.

Follow C. Molly Smith on Twitter @CMollySmith