sometimes the best laid plans go to waste... when a big angry volcano fucks with everyone's shit. if there is one thing the last week or so has made clear it is that the degree to which electronic music is reliant upon the airplane... DJs grounded all over the place, lineup changes, *shock* locals having to play in prime slots, and so on... my sense is that as soon as the smoke clears, things will go straight back to usual, but should this be the case? is it really that bad to foster local scenes more? look at bleep43's mammoth effort last week - they lost all their lineup. what happened? they got surgeon into play, someone they rate as the best DJ out there. not a bad ring in.... obviously this is much more possible in places where there is a higher density of techno - i.e. europe. still, something to think about... is it productive/positive/dangerous/inevitable/etc that electronic music is so dependent upon airplanes? can we just go digital and dance on virtual dancefloors (as i do everyday)? hmmm... plenty of questions. if you missed it last year, go back and read PC's very timely and thought provoking piece at RA: 'one planet, one million DJs'.
and if you want a soundtrack for all of this, you will not do any better than the new album from the black dog - 'music for real airports'. a simply stunning musical document. a textured, powerful and thoughtful album. without doubt one of the highlights of 2010. more info about it here.
couldn't agree more than that with you..
ReplyDeletetoo many times i was a witness that the local spinners, warm-upers and the closing night djs do much better work than the headliners that are booked same night.
they def need to get more recognition and honor. and nothing will happen if the main night will include only locals without big names lineup..
this volcanic eruption only shows how much the scene is consist from the wrong ingredients.
i think this touches on a bigger issue. the music industry (seems to be) shrinking, as more people enter and less people buy (piracy).
ReplyDeletei'm interested in seeing some actual numbers. have club revenues overall gone up? is there a bigger audience, that will allow for more local dj's?
--there definitely seems to be more interest in electronic music stateside.
i'm actually interested to see if the never-ending gray skies that seem to have darkened europe for a week draw out some interesting musical creations...
ReplyDeleteand this is something that needs to be discussed more everywhere: why not high-speed rail?!
"--there definitely seems to be more interest in electronic music stateside."
ReplyDelete^i agree, but what SORT of electronic music? i still feel like most appreciation here is limited to dumb'd-down electro ala deadmau5...
Thanks for pointing out music for real airports... the samples sound great. It's not often that ambient music catches my attention.
ReplyDelete"--there definitely seems to be more interest in electronic music stateside."
ReplyDelete^i agree, but what SORT of electronic music? i still feel like most appreciation here is limited to dumb'd-down electro ala deadmau5...
denver>boulder is an underground techno hotspot, boiling over and having more and more amazing artists moving here...come dance with us :)
Steven: is there house and techno coming to colorado? i know there was a recent edm-oriented festival there, but from what i've read, that 'scene' really eats up the dubstep/glitch-hop stuff (pretty lights... ugh) which i really can't stand much....
ReplyDeleteanyhoo, i still think high-speed rail would make a great alternative to air travel. isn't europe literally covered in train tracks anyway? so what if it takes twice as long to get somewhere; subtracting the hassle and security concerns and adding the view of passing landscapes, a musician saying they can't get somewhere because of thick clouds in the sky just doesn't make sense to me...
@brian:
ReplyDeleteman i typed a huge response back, but it got effed up and did'nt post :( so.....to answer your question...and emphatic YES. there is a really healthy warehouse/loft party scene in denver/boulder.
to name a few reasons>really talented locals, strong collaborative crews, laid back laws (medicinal weed :), killer venues and a high quality of living add up to very positive things in our 'scene'. we have had numerous reputable techno artists move here and rumored to have more on the way. there is a very creative energy at the moment in the music/arts scene.
yea you have the pretty lights/glitch scene, but is more on the commercial, early 20 somethings level. there is a healthy dubstep scene which is a great addition to music options.
but for techno/house...we are throwing proper underground parties, with proper late 90's vibes to them. incredible energy.
outdoor picnics at parks w/ music and dancing all day, as the weather is fantastic.
the festival you speak of (Communikey) was by no means solely and edm fest...we threw a bunker nyc party in denver for instance...and it went OFF. there were plenty of other artists that killed it, stephen buepre, smirk and dave aju rocked the park party under sunshine and blue skies. clark warner, luke hess & stephen hitchell rocked the finale, in a planetarium on the campus of colrado university. the books were amazing...countless others.
check us out, i'm part of a tight crew throwing bangers called 'make mistakes' (makemistakes.us)
you can stream every set from our parties off the site.
also workas the artist manger for communikey. (communikey.us) check out the site for details on the fest and what we are about. and if you are in the US (or not)...come next year.
cheers :)