It could also be argued that the desire for black techno artists to
[re-]connect with the black community could also be rooted in a desire
to see the wellspring from which they drew inspiration continue to serve
as a fomenter for further musical creativity. If you've got quality
compost, it makes sense to want utilize it in order to ensure that your
garden continues to thrive.
After expanding outside of the black community, it is very obvious (to
me at least) that eventually techno would reach a point where it had
morphed and changed to the point where it had less and less obvious
connection with its origins. That process happens with most things that
expand to wider cultures and crosses international lines.
But I don't want to get sidetracked from the Skrillex/BoyzNoize video
that prompted my original comments and its lame attempt to substantiate
their underground credentials via talk of "punk" and "Detroit techno".
It is just more corporate spin, trying to convince the viewer that
Skrillex/BoyzNoize isn't just some corporate-sponsored appropriation of
"underground music", but instead come from a respectable musical lineage.
Now, if the video talked about how they heard a lot of polka music
growing up (for example) and wanted to pair that with
techno/rave/dubstep in order to express their musical heritage and
interests, I might have found the whole thing more engaging and less
gratuitous and the references to Detroit would have made more sense.
Skrillex/BoyzNoize aside, I do hope Saunderson was paid well for his
cameo appearance.
On 3/3/2013 2:18 PM, kent williams wrote:
African Americans comprise somewhere around 17 percent the people in
the United States, or about 40 million souls. Considered on their
own, this is less than the population of Spain and about twice the
population of the Benelux countries.
Which means, if an African American artist wants popular success, they
have to succeed with white audiences. This includes the most gritty,
real, Afrocentric Hip Hop -- which is actually quite popular amongst
white college kids.
Jazz, Blues, Rock... all the indigenous musical art forms of the
United States have their roots in African-American culture, but an
international success because non-African American people listen to
it. I don't think most African American artists mind this -- it's how
they make a career out of music. I think that they want to remain
connected to the culture into which they were born, but do they really
want to be only connected to their 'own' culture?
The lesson I take away from Detroit Techno is that the African
American originators remained true to their roots, but were perfectly
willing to incorporate influences from European music. I think that
behind the desire for black Techno artists to connect (or re-connect)
with black audiences also has to do with the culture around techno's
creators and fans. These were guys -- like a lot of the Hip Hop
originators -- were middle class, and well educated. They are the
upwardly mobile minority of the minority.
