Nice post Simon. Here in Perth West Australia the last times I went out to see a good international DJ play was Mills around 2001, Alton Miller in 2002 and Theo Parrish in 2003. Other good people have come to play; just in the form of expensive 'festivals' where 95% of the line up is a complete waste of money. I have missed a few good Detroit, Chigaco and Compost label artists but I could count them on one hand.
My first post to this list, hello all. Michael B. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Simon Kong" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <313@hyperreal.org> Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2006 7:58 AM Subject: (313) Techno on the otherside .. NZ > > 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 > > > >
