Zach Cowie and Elijah Wood Show Us Good Music Is Timeless (Interview)

It’s not everyday that a duo of vinyl-spinning DJs, bringing the funkiest tunes they could find from their personal collection of 70s and 80s disco-house, come to town. Especially when one of the members is one of the most celebrated actors of the 21st century. Luckily, Seattle’s Q Nightclub secured duo Zach Cowie and Elijah Wood, also known as Wooden Wisdom, as part of their relatively quick North American tour. Stopping in six cities over seven days, Wooden Wisdom is spreading their love of vinyl and good music.

Their excitement to perform was evident as soon as Wooden Wisdom showed up to Q, with Cowie and Wood taking a moment to appreciate the Funktion-One sound system and the quality selection from openers Supreme and Christian Science. Obvious music nerds with a passion for finding, sharing, and discussing great tunes, Cowie and Wood are the type of DJs we all hope our favorite acts are outside of the booth.

[divider]HOW IT ALL BEGAN[/divider]

DJing together the first night they met at a mutual friend’s party, it seems as though a tour has been in the cards since day one. Having similar tastes in music and connecting on various levels, fate would make sure Cowie and Wood would meet again. While Wood was doing a campaign for Bushmills Irish Whiskey, he suggested the company book Cowie to perform at the launch party. He was already booked for it. After a few conversations and an invitation from Cowie to get Wood in the booth with him that night, Wooden Wisdom was born.

We both DJ a lot on our own and quite a bit together, and it’s so much better with another person up there… It’s sort of our way of talking to each other, a musical conversation. When it locks in, it’s the best feeling. – Zach

It’s the best feeling for the crowd too. In a time where dancefloors are full of bangers and the ‘build-drop-repeat’ formula is all too common, Wooden Wisdom isn’t focused on giving the crowd what they think they want. Their ambitions are giving listeners what they don’t realize they want.The excitement and rush when a DJ and their crowd make that connection is one of the cornerstones of dance music, something Wooden Wisdom is well aware of.

You want to be taken down a road you’ve never imagined – Elijah

We’ve never imagined grooving to funky tunes from a duo like Wooden Wisdom spinning vinyl disco-house records from forty years ago. Mission accomplished.

[divider]WHY *NOT* VINYL?[/divider]

Sharing a love of age-old, focused crafts, the question ‘Why vinyl?’ has been asked of Wooden Wisdom a lot. With answers ranging from enjoying the physicality of records to the supreme enjoyment of finding, buying, and sharing great tunes that can’t be found digitally, the question quickly becomes ‘Why NOT vinyl?’. Vinyl has come back in a big way with record stores, with tons available via both brick and mortar stores as well as online retailers.

The thing about vinyl is, it sounds better, and there’s a certain amount of discipline to it. There’s something far more gratifying about it. You have to put in so much time, finding and discovering these records, and it means something. – Elijah

Don’t confuse Wooden Wisdom’s love of vinyl for a dislike of everything digital. They’re in no way purists, with an agreement that all that matters is how a DJ rocks a party. But the undeniable trend that people with records seem to know the music more than others, because of the work they put in curating their music, is something that draws both Cowie and Wood to their way of doing things.

Their way of doing things, taking time and focusing on craftsmanship, work, thoughtfulness, and quality isn’t something Wooden Wisdom expects to find in today’s popular music. With the divide between the mainstream and underground as wide as ever, there are positives to draw from the differences between what’s popular and what isn’t.

I think the nicest thing about how sterile the mainstream is, is how quickly everyone else is forced to fight that. To fight something that’s manufactured… And that’s why the underground will always be the underground and the mainstream will always be the mainstream. – Zach

[divider]GOOD MUSIC & EDM[/divider]

One of the best parts of music is finding, and sharing, awesome songs and albums. Unfortunately, especially within dance music, much of the conversation is dominated by genres and artist names, rather than the tunes themselves. In an interview with “Dust & Grooves”, Cowie (also known as Turquoise Wisdom when DJing solo) describes the only two types of music he hears: good and bad. But what constitutes good music? That answer is different for everyone, but for Wooden Wisdom it all starts with intention.

If you make music just to fit into something, because you wanna be like something, those intentions aren’t pure and it’s going to be tough to get that to ‘good’. – Zach

Good music is timeless and people respond to it, no matter the genre or artist. With that fact as one of the pillars of Wooden Wisdom’s creation, a lot of what they play is challenging people to get into it, based on the predication that it is in fact good music. They’re asking for you to trust them, with the reward being an intimate connection, and an awesomely unique experience.

Ravers and dance music fans everywhere are addicted to that connection and experience. The growth of dance music, and the birth of EDM in recent years, have brought more opportunities to make similar memories that will last a lifetime. But the monetization of dance music, and capitalizing on it’s burst in popularity, is something that reinforces Wooden Wisdom’s way of doing things.

EDM is applying to music now, and somehow also referring to music from the past, all with the same moniker. It’s like, no, no, it wasn’t EDM before. It was just dance music… It homogenizes so many great and differing genres and does a disservice to a lot of really good music. – Elijah

Thankfully, acts like Wooden Wisdom are around to provide a counterbalance. And they won’t be stopping anytime soon. They’ve had some incredible experiences thus far, from performing on a rooftop in Istanbul to playing clubs throughout Europe and America, and the journey is just beginning. Their current tour wraps up on Wednesday in Los Angeles, but we expect more Wooden Wisdom in the future. The duo describes the string of shows as ridiculously fun and will be looking for similar opportunities in the future. Until then, they’ll be going back to Turkey later this year, as well as performing at Distortion Festival in Denmark this June.

Let us know what you thought of Wooden Wisdom at Q Nightclub and don’t forget to check out their collection of mixes on Soundcloud! Comment below, on Facebook, or reply on Twitter!