Dave P. is Still ‘Making Time’

All official pageant communications are closely emblazoned with messages of PLURT, that is “Peace, Love, Unity, Respect and Transcendence,” and are written in Dave P.’s reverential and passionate textual style, filled with creative capitalization and inspired pronouncements.

The philosopher-in-chief has been throwing Making Time parties for 25 years in Philly, before it became a festival in it’s fifth iteration. His claims to fame include being the first U.S. promoter to book Charli xcx over 13 years ago, but locals simply know him as the recognizable bespectacled figure who has become enmeshed in Philly’s music scene.

People come from near and far for Dave P.’s diverse bookings, but also for its singular location; it takes place at Fort Mifflin, a revolutionary war bunker built on a mud island alongside the Delaware River, which now sits next to Philadelphia’s gargantuan International Airport (hence the planes landing eerily close). The location, then, is filled with eccentricities and quirks, from its odd blend of the natural and mechanic, to the real spectre of ghosts (it served as a military prison during the Civil War and Dave P. describes it as “haunted as fuck”). It’s additionally actually sinking and requires super repairs to remain above water, each actually and financially.

“I have a pump that’s pumping the moat into the Delaware River because it overflows, and then I have another pump because there’s water coming in through an 18th century stone drain,” Dave P. tells PAPER during a quick reprieve from the music on Sunday. “This fort doesn’t get any funding from the city, so [Fort Mifflin] don’t have the money to do this. Luckily the airport is now working with the fort on helping them build new tide gates [which control the surrounding water],” he shares. “That’s honestly crucial to this event because we can’t continue to spend this money on the grounds.”

Making Time ∞ is thus facing the dual challenges of finding financial stability within a live music ecosystem that is facing rising costs on all fronts, as well as contending with the climatic realities of the rising waters around it — a challenge which Dave P. is eager to tackle. “This event isn’t the same somewhere else. It has to be here,” he says.

There’s many reasons to relate to his tenacity and heartfelt attachment to the place, and the festival he has built in these strange and hallowed grounds. At Making Time ∞, an attendee can see Joanne Robertson in the humid, dim interior of a stone bunker, or reach transcendence while moving to DJs Juliana Huxtable, Upsammy or DJ Nobu at the festival’s new forest stage, Option 5. One can find thrashing elevation while moshing to YWHH Nailgun waterside by the Delaware River, or bask in the misty reverence of seeing Four Tet play the festival’s largest stage, Transcendental Zone. Meanwhile, the Lot Radio Zone is pumping all weekend with favs like x3Butterfuly, Nick León or Traxman on the decks.

“I wanted to be able to create this limitless, genreless, very open experience … something with no limitations,” says Dave P. Indeed, as one floats between worlds and disparate environments, one has the feeling of drifting through some strange dreamscape. Lost in that ether, I suppose you truly can reach PLURT.

PAPER chatted with Dave P. during a quick break from the madness on Sunday to discuss the realities of running a sprawling festival, the Philly scene, and staying above water.

How are you feeling on day 3?

I’m tired to be honest. I haven’t got much sleep. On Friday night I didn’t sleep at all and I had to go straight through. Last night, I got two hours of sleep, so I’m a bit tired, but I’m also really happy. [The festival this weekend is] exactly what I always wanted it to be.

What makes it everything you want to be specifically this year?

There’s so many pieces that complete the vision, from the number of stages, the production, the sound, the lights, the way we utilize the space, the balance of live artists with DJs. One of the big goals that I had from the beginning was to have more live artists. Making Time ∞ is the festival and the year round parties are Making Time, so when I started Making Time, the events had bands with DJs. Slowly they evolved into events where there were mostly DJs. That was a sign of the times. I just wasn’t into a lot of bands at that time and a lot of this is dictated by what I like.

But I wanted to get back to having that balance of bands and DJs and Making Time ∞ gives me the opportunity to do that because there’s no limitations here [at this festival]. I can do whatever the fuck I want, whereas in a club there are so many limitations of time and space, and it’s a party, so everybody wants to party and dance. Here I have the ability to do a chill out room, a room with live experimental electronic artists and then I have bigger bands playing the main stage. I was able to do that this year and have that balance of live acts and DJs, and have people enjoy it. To actually have it work is really satisfying.

How do you quantify success?

You just watch people. There are moments and certain transitions that I have in my mind that I think will work. Last year, the big one was that I had Caterina Barbieri play smack dab in the middle of a bunch of DJs. It was incredible. This year, we had Ben UFO, Aya, VTSS, Boy Harsher after which ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U [play back to back on the same stage]. Ben UFO stated to me after he completed, “This was perfect.” It’s a progression. I program the schedule and the lineup almost like a DJ set. When I’m DJing, I’ll start off ambient. Then I’ll start playing [music that is] 90 BPM, and then 110, 120 … by the end I’m playing slamming techno and that’s how I program the lineup, but that’s in my head.

The success then is the reaction.I see people reacting to [the performances], and it becomes pretty apparent that they like it and and and it makes sense and is working. That’s when I realized, “Okay, that worked. Cool.”

The curation is actually standing out to me now experiencing this, but in addition this actually particular setting. Even having the planes touchdown proper right here.

There’s so many items to this occasion that make it particular. The planes are a part of why it really works as a result of there’s not a noise ordinance, as a result of what’s louder than a fucking airplane?

I used to be studying a bit in regards to the historical past of this particular occasion. It was initially going to be a 25,000 particular person pageant [in its first year in 2020]. I’m curious, now that you’ve one thing that is smaller however nonetheless huge and perhaps a bit extra sustainable: how are you occupied with your ambition to do one thing so huge earlier than?

The [event was canceled] due to COVID. We had been meant to do that factor on the Navy Yard. It was going to be a extra large-scale occasion with a wider spectrum of artists. I can e-book quite a lot of issues that most likely would make me some huge cash, however I do not do it as a result of I solely e-book issues that I like. If I ended up doing one thing like [that bigger festival], I most likely would have needed to go towards that reserving ethos.I’m very glad that that did not occur … this [current festival] is every thing I ever wished to do.

Where did that ambition to do one thing so huge initially come from?

I simply at all times had my beliefs of the best pageant, and that is why I do that. I by no means discovered a pageant that I absolutely related with. There’s festivals that I like, however I at all times see issues that I believe are lacking or issues that I need to see occur and that is one of many motivating elements I had in doing this. I wished to proper all of the wrongs of all of the festivals that I might go to.

Also, I hearken to a lot music and have such a various style and curiosity in music that I wished to have the ability to do an occasion that represented the variety of these pursuits. The membership is not the place that may occur. I wished to have the ability to create this limitless, genreless, very open expertise … one thing with no limitations. I usually get pissed off … Making Time is primarily a celebration and Making Time ∞ is the pageant. But with the events, I attempt to experiment with extra left discipline issues within the membership and typically it does not work. I get actually pissed off with tgar, so I simply wished to have an area the place I might actually develop what Making Time is and program in accordance with my true pursuits.

When I stated I used to be coming to this, [all my Philly friends] had been like, “Aw you gotta meet Dave P.” It’s uncommon for a pageant to be related to one particular person so strongly.

It’s a blessing and a curse. It places quite a lot of strain and accountability on me due to that.

How cognizant are you of constructing your individual private model in relation to constructing the larger pageant?

I do not give a shit about my private model [laughs]. If I cared about my private model, I would not be doing this occasion.

But there is “Dave P.” all over the place [in the festival communications].

This is a illustration of me. I’ve my hand in each piece of this. I make the ultimate choices. I designed the merch with the graphic designer and all of the merch. These are my concepts. I select the meals distributors. I e-book the lineup. The lights are a real collaboration with Klip Collective … they’ve the imaginative and prescient of the lighting, however we work collectively and my hand is in it.

Social media is the massive one. That’s the blessing and the curse. My social media is my voice.I developed it that means from the start. It wasn’t about making a private model. I used to be simply posting issues in my voice. I did not need to make a model to be a model. The aim was to only promote my events and promote some tickets. I’m simply being me and being sincere. My social media is sincere. I’m speaking from my very own perspective and my very own voice, however what sucks is now I can not have anyone else do it.

This is a illustration of me and I’m glad that individuals recognize and revel in it. They get to have these experiences and so they actually recognize them. But for me, there’s quite a lot of juggling that has to occur to make this work. Because of that, I’m driving this expertise.

There’s so many essential folks which are doing this. It’s certainly not [just me]. The first 12 months it was me and this my pal Claire Claus, who’s one of many manufacturing managers, and we did it ourselves and it was, insane; a a lot smaller, however now it is rising. We have a tremendous workers. We have this unimaginable staff of individuals that actually like doing such a very good job to assist me create this imaginative and prescient of actuality. But ultimately, it is my imaginative and prescient, my voice, my style, my pursuits. That’s an awesome factor, but it surely additionally makes it actually laborious.

I’m curious to listen to your reflections on what this pageant means for Philly and the Philly scene?

It’s modified Philly in a constructive means. I like this metropolis. I grew up right here. If I ever wished to go away Philly, there’s not an American metropolis that I need to transfer to. I’d have to maneuver to Europe as a result of I believe Philly is the best metropolis in America. The folks listed here are superb. We have a lot superb tradition. Philly will get neglected, as a result of it is within the shadow of New York. Philly is aware of [people say,] “New York, New York, New York,” however Philly has simply a lot occurring and there is a lot right here.

And this occasion has introduced a lot consideration to Philadelphia and like Philadelphia place in music tradition, and popular culture generally. It’s an vital metropolis in America. This has put Philly on the map in quite a lot of methods .. there’s so many different issues in Philadelphia that do this. I might by no means say we’re solely accountable for that, however [Making Time ∞] shines a light-weight on Philly internationally. There’s folks from France, Germany, London, Denver, and Montreal. Those folks weren’t coming right here earlier than, so it highlights Philadelphia as a very vital metropolis in music and tradition.

This is the fifth 12 months of Making Time ∞, what will probably be wanted for five extra years?