On 10/03/2010 22:23, kent williams wrote:
I think the article makes some good points but mostly in the context
of the UK, where musical sub-genres are written about as though they
were stars in their own right.
The Detroit attitude is, I'd hope, more eclectic, and the musicians I
talk to think more in terms of good or bad than this genre or that
genre. So I can talk with Alan Oldham about Creation Records Shoegazer
bands, and with Shake about Cooly G.
The way I read it, he was saying that eclecticism and perpetual
reinvention is precisely what makes dubstep (so far) like the early days
of Detroit techno - that it is evolving very quickly, pulling in
influences from all over the shop and is difficult to pin down. I think
that's a fair point. If you listen to a lot of the best dubstep
producers' DJ sets you'll find influences from all over the last 25
years and within the various styles of dubstep.
Also, I think there's a misperception that it's just kids making this
stuff. Untold has been producing since '93 according to this RA article:
http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature.aspx?1105
Not that I think the comparison can stretch for miles or that anyone
should take it out of context.
Ultimately, I'm just getting a bit irritated with people making more out
of it than it is or of writing it off altogether. Whether it's to
everyone's taste is one thing but I would hope it's evident that this
isn't narrow or purely derivative. In my mind it's one of the more
interesting things to happen in a long time precisely because it's not
as narrow and codified as any of the previous big electronic music
trends. It's almost the complete opposite.
Tristan
