Mixmasters was a late-night music show, and later a DVD series, of audio-visual

Audio-visual

The term Audio-Visual may refer to works with both a sound and a visual component, the production or use of such works, or to equipment used to create and present such works...

 and DJ:VJ

VJ (video performance artist)

VJing is a broad designation for realtime visual performance. Characteristics of VJing are the creation or manipulation of imagery in realtime through technological mediation and for an audience, in synchronization to music. VJing often takes place at events such as concerts, nightclubs, music...

 mixes produced by AV artists Addictive TV

Addictive TV

Addictive TV was formed in 1992. The UK DJ/producers and audiovisual artists are the team who ran Optronica - the visual music and VJ event held at the NFT and British Film Institute IMAX in London, UK....

 . The series ran from 2000 to 2005 and aired in the UK on ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

. It has since been screened in a number of countries worldwide. The show consisted of 2 short ten minute DJ sets from independent record label

Independent record label

An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

s mixed with innovative visuals, motion graphics and animations by VJs, often with trippy results to psychedelic

Psychedelic

The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...

 effect.

The entire Mixmasters project featured nearly 400 artists worldwide, including DJs like Miss Kittin

Miss Kittin

Miss Kittin is an electronic music DJ, vocalist, and songwriter. Since rising to prominence in 1998 for her singles "1982" and "Frank Sinatra" with The Hacker, she has worked with other musicians such as Chicks on Speed, Felix da Housecat and Golden Boy...

, Ellen Allien

Ellen Allien

Ellen Allien, born Ellen Fraatz , is a German electronic musician, music producer and founder of BPitch Control music label. She lives in Berlin, Germany. She sings in both German and English. She has said that one of the main inspirations for her music is the culture of reunified Berlin; her...

, Matthew Dear

Matthew Dear

Matthew Dear is an American music producer, DJ and electronic avant-pop artist.-History:Texas- born Dear moved to Michigan as a teenager, where he was inspired by the sound of Detroit Techno...

, Derrick Carter

Derrick Carter

Derrick Carter is an American house producer and DJ from Chicago, Illinois. He is regarded as one of the best underground house key players currently active and is particularly popular in Europe.-Biography:...

, DJ Spooky

DJ Spooky

Paul D. Miller , known by his stage name DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, is a Washington DC-born electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called by critics or his fans as "illbient" or "trip hop". He is a turntablist, a producer, a philosopher, and an author...

, Plump DJs, DMX Krew

DMX Krew

DMX Krew is the recording name of Ed Upton. He has released 6 full albums on Aphex Twin's label Rephlex Records and numerous singles/EPs for both Rephlex and his own Breakin' Records. DMX Krew's sound spans several electronic music genres but had mostly been rooted in early electro-pop/breakdance...

, Slam

Slam (band)

Slam are a producer/DJ duo from Glasgow, consisting of Stuart MacMillan and Orde Meikle . They are co-founders of Soma Quality Recordings. Their music style consists of house and techno.-History:...

 and many others including Addictive TV

Addictive TV

Addictive TV was formed in 1992. The UK DJ/producers and audiovisual artists are the team who ran Optronica - the visual music and VJ event held at the NFT and British Film Institute IMAX in London, UK....

 themselves. International labels included the likes of BPitch Control

BPitch Control

BPitch Control is a German techno record label founded in 1999 in Berlin by DJ and producer Ellen Allien. In 1992 she became resident DJ at the legendary Tresor club in Berlin's Potsdamer Platz...

, Soma

Soma

Soma , or Haoma , from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma-, was a ritual drink of importance among the early Indo-Iranians, and the subsequent Vedic and greater Persian cultures. It is frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, whose Soma Mandala contains 114 hymns, many praising its energizing qualities...

, Kompakt

Kompakt

Kompakt is a Cologne-based electronic music record label and vinyl/CD distributor, owned by Wolfgang Voigt, Michael Mayer and Jürgen Paape. They specialize in microhouse and minimal techno, and are known for their Total compilation series which reached its eleventh installment in 2010.Kompakt...

, Ninja Tune

Ninja Tune

Ninja Tune is a London-based independent record label started by DJs Matt Black and Jonathan More, better known as Coldcut and managed by Peter Quicke. The label has a strong leaning towards mostly Electronic Music...

, Ghostly International

Ghostly International

Ghostly International is an American independent record label. Chief artists include Matthew Dear, Dabrye , Mobius Band, and Skeletons & The Girl-Faced Boys, all of which are innovative contributors to the world of music....

, Sublime

Sublime Records

Sublime Records has been the name of several record companies:*Sub•Lime Records, a US-based Christian label*Sublime Records *Sublime Records , a UK based dance and DUB label *SUBLime Recordings, a UK based Drum & Bass label...

 and many others.

It was a ground-breaking and innovative series being the first to put VJs onto broadcast television. LA based label Moonshine Music

Moonshine Music

Moonshine Music was an electronic music record label founded by Steve Levy in Los Angeles in 1992, and later headquartered in West Hollywood, California. Moonshine released over 250 compilations albums, many of which were DJ mixed. Moonshine helped to launch the career of DJ Keoki and his side-kick...

 released five DVDs from the Mixmasters series.

The success of the show resulted in the project's producers, Addictive TV

Addictive TV

Addictive TV was formed in 1992. The UK DJ/producers and audiovisual artists are the team who ran Optronica - the visual music and VJ event held at the NFT and British Film Institute IMAX in London, UK....

, creating the visual music festival Optronica, a high profile international event focussing on AV artists and the VJ arts, organised with the British Film Institute

British Film Institute

The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...

.

External links

• Addictive TV website
• Optronica website
• British Film Institute website