This post is for everyone having a cry baby about DEMF
.. Stacey Pullen came to play in Wellington NZ the other week. By some sheer accident I ended up making a one way 16 hour road trip to see him play, and a flight home at 8am. A good friend also flew in from Sydney for the occasion so it was really cool to be connected by Techno. Mostly I just wanted to say to the list that in some places in the world we rarely get to hear Techno. New Zealand has had three US producers visit in the last two years. You may recall me writing in about Carl Craig last year. I go bug for Techno especially Detroit styles. It is the only music that makes me dance like "Sven" hugs or no hugs. It's the only music that motivates me to dance at all these days. Stacey was just brilliant, and I don't care for the politics. He got on the decks at 2am and was still playing when I had to get to the airport at 7am. It was a sonic inspiration for me .. and was twice as cool cause the dance floor was full .. unlike Carl Craig. wah. While I can understand the frustrations of the DEMF line up .. I think you need to look at the greater context of what the scene is able to support. New Zealand has small population, and so a very small Techno scene. Our ability to foster our own scene, let alone have events or festivals that feature Techno artists is very very limited. On a global scale Techno is still a very underground sound. Over here where I am sitting . the DEMF does heaps to put Techno on the Map. Locally .. I would probably be upset as well. However the opportunity still remains to use the focus on the DEMF to raise the awareness of the 313 sound .. and it's affiliations. I think the Line up is that evil balance between commercial and true. However on any given day it's a line up I would very much like to see, and from a global perspective I think its a very interesting representation of how far the influences of Detroit music have traveled. I think Detroit heads have a lot of heritage to be proud of, and while there is obviously a strong local scene that is looking for representation. I think you have to appreciate that due to the musical foundations of Detroit many people from around the world now share in the positive influence. Somehow in the face of all the commercial dance scenes around the world Techno has managed to hold onto it's integrity. The artists listed are by no means heavy hitters in the commercial dance scene. They are a fairly gritty bunch of left field innovators of electronic sounds. For all the people that stand in Hart Plaza .. there are as many people all around the world who bring their attention to the goings on in Detroit. Promotion is the evil brother of Appreciation, and by all accounts the DEMF has been a constant battle from day one. I just want to send love and respect to the Festival and remind everyone having issues with the event, that some of us are still struggling to hear any sort of Techno once a year. DEMF does bring global attention. We are listening out here on the edge. .simon
