kerem gokmen: colectivo futurecast 091

Episode 91 of the futurecast comes courtesy of long time WYEP Pittsburgh resident Kerem Gokmen, whose Dubmission show has been a stalwart of the station since 1998. Kerem is an avid digger of outernational grooves, which is evident in his 70 minute selection for our series. Get listening and reading below.

CF: How and where was the mix recorded?

Recorded at my home on a rainy Monday morning, all records played on two Technics 1200s and a Rane MP2014 rotary mixer.

CF: How did you first get involved with music and how did you start collecting records?

I grew up watching music videos on MTV in the 80s, and had a decent cassette collection for a kid. I got into DJing in the early 90s when I started working for Power FM in Istanbul. I started collecting records in the late 90s when I started working at WYEP.

CF: Tell us about your long standing radio show Dubmission. How did you first get involved with the station and what is the show about?

I’ve been producing and hosting a weekly show called Dubmission on WYEP since 1998, episode #1196 just aired this past Saturday night. I started there as an intern in the Spring of 1997, and hosted a mix show called Modern Times every Tuesday over night. In the Autumn of 1998, I switched the format of the show to focus on more ‘electronic’ music since there wasn’t anything like that on the radio during those years. With the change in format a change to the name of the show felt necessary, that’s how Dubmission was born.

The show features a mix of jazz, house, soul, techno, dub/roots/reggae, hiphop, funk, downtempo, experimental and ambient. I’m grateful that to this day WYEP has given me the freedom to play whatever I desire, it’s really helped shaped the sound of the show over the decades.

CF: What do you normally listen to at home? What are 3 of your favourite albums past or present?

At home I listen to mainly albums from my collection. However most of my time is spent listening to various shows on Worldwide FM, NTS, Balamii, dublab, Soho Radio, Cashmere Radio, LYL Radio, Radio Raheem Milano and Rocket Radio. Licensed to Ill by Beastie Boys, The Language of Life by Everything But The Girl and Pre-Millennium Tension by Tricky are three of my go-to albums.

CF: What are your favourite spots to dig in and around Pittsburgh?

We’re very spoiled when it comes to record shops here in the burgh. Jerry’s Records is a Pittsburgh institution. The Attic and Eide’s Entertainment round out my top three shops. Then there’s The Government Center which opened just a few years back but has an incredible selection of new releases.

CF: Records aside, what’s your favourite thing about living in Pittsburgh? What would you recommend to someone visiting for 24h?

I love that we get to experience all four seasons here, plus the city has such a rich history which means a lot to me. For someone visiting for one day, I’d recommend waking up early and heading to Fallingwater the architectural masterpiece designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, grabbing lunch at one of the many amazing restaurants, hitting a park trail for an hour, recharging your battery for a couple of hours before grabbing a bite in the evening and catching a show, then wrapping the day up with a nightcap at one of the many bar/lounges in the city.