The four-day Ingenuity Festival peaks tonight with Subliminal Strings, a collaboration by violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain, Cleveland Institute of Art professor Kasumi, and NYC’s DJ Spooky, aka Paul D. Miller. It’s a one-time-only show that blends laptop beats, live classical music, poetry, and video art. “I like the idea of classical-music-meets-hip-hop,” says Miller. “It explores composition in the 21st century.”

Miller is no stranger to ingenuity. In addition to his deck work as DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid, he’s penned the book Rhythm Science, an academic look at sampling. He’s compiled In Fine Style, a new two-disc set of classic Jamaican songs. And he’s contributed think-pieces to Artforum and The Nation. “Our culture tends to separate art from music,” he says. “Writing is the bridge.” Unsurprisingly, the scholarly Miller refuses to be pigeonholed. “I don’t want to be another knucklehead musician,” he says. Spook and pals perform Subliminal Strings at 11:30 p.m. at the May Company building on Public Square.
Sat., July 15, noon-1 a.m.; Sun., July 16, 12-10 p.m.

This article appears in Jun 28 – Jul 18, 2006.