I remember the times when electronic music was not as splintered up as it is now. I really love the music, but I just can't keep up with all the new variants of all the styles. In the 'early days' you had house music and everybody got along (Watch it I may be generalising a bit here). In the clubs I went to the night started of with some trancy stuff (good though) and peaked with some heavy shit techno and early rave stuff (the Belgian stuff from around '91-'92-'93). Now I'm all clubed out. I practically don't go to clubs anymore because it's all the same shit. The only decent club around: Fuse in Brussels, can't even hold my attention. I rather like to go to parties in dark, industrial places and stuff like that. Does anybody have the same feeling? I guess in England you guys must be going nuts with all these crap superclubs...
John -----Original Message----- From: Nick Walsh [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, March 09, 2000 5:23 PM To: 313@hyperreal.org Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: (313) DJs DJs DJs! :) I completely agree with what's being said here. I'm only 19. Only got my own decks last November (previously I used a friend's) but I've always loved music. I used to like jungle but I've always moved around styles. Basically, I look for styles that haven't been adulterated by the mainstream. I've been from hardcore when I was 13 through jsut about every dance genre. I'm sticking to detroit now though. All the things I like about music are the essence of detroit. It creates an atmosphere unlike that of any other music I have come across... It seems mainstream music today is like processed food. Sh*t goes in, sh*t comes out but it's all nicely packaged so the kids buy it. When my parents were kids, they could go into the record shop and pick up something from the top forty and it'd be a good tune. Number one in the chart was worthy of that position. In forty years time, I won't be remembering Brittany Spears. Westlife and nostalgia will not be in used together in the same sentence. Now trance is what the kids buy around here, but these kids do it for fame and friends and 'cause it's cool. Ask 'em it's origins they won't have a clue. I don't think going out and buying all the top tunes is the way to go if you want to be successful or if you love music or if you want to be taken seriously. As far as I'm concerned, I didn't start djing because I wanted to be popular. In fact the prospect of djing in a club had me sh*tting bricks. I love music though, I wanted to produce my own tunes but equipment was costly and decks seemed cheaper at the time(though making use of them seems more costly long run). Music has always been my love, I don't buy records because everyone else buys them. Hey... this leads straight back to my Jeff Mills argument;) I think these mainstream dj's need to be shown up for what they are. Overpaid, selfcentered morons with no skill and no taste... A big club needs to start bringing in the skilled dj's and those that can really create a vibe. Do it when it's full of journalists, see what they have to say about it... Maybe having so many wannabe dj's IS a good thing though. In the end, only the best will survive. Survival of the fittest... Dj Pacific:) --- Andrew Duke <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > personally, i see it like this: there are > those who dj because they love the music > and want to share it. some have the skills, > some don't but are trying. in the end, they're > sharing the love for the music. then there > are others who buy into the "dj as rock star" > culture and get into DJing, not because they > want to share their love for the music, but > for a variety of *other* reasons. yes, we always > need new djs coming up, but we also have > to have new djs coming up that are djing > for the right reasons. i can remember back > in 1987 when the dj was the last thing anyone > would want to be; you were lower than > the bartender and had drunks screaming at > ya for this and that; could get beaten up > for playing a song people didn't like; there > were no flyers with your name in big letters, > etc, etc, etc; nowadays, though, with > the way "dj culture" has grown, kids don't > know about the history of the dj, haven't > worked their way up and gained experience > via weddings, parties for friends, school, > radio, etc, etc. they go out, buy two technics > 1200s and a mixer, buy the top records > they see in the mags, hook up with a > promoter friend, get a booking, and suddenly > they're a "DJ!" now i'm not saying all new djs > are like that (thankfully, there are always some > new people to the scene who have love in their > hearts for the > music), but i've personally seen it happen more > and more frequently, and i'm sure many would > agree. check the interviews with terrence > parker, alan oldham, john acquaviva, and others > who've *paid their dues* to be where they are > in today's dj scene (cognition: > http://techno.ca/cognition) > and there's a commentary about this on the same > site. yes, we need new djs, but it would be best > for them to take it a bit slower, not suddenly > get obsessed with this "be a DJ! be a DJ!" thing. > personally, i've seen at least 3 or 4 young kids > here in > halifax spend tons of $ on tables, mixer and > records, > and then a couple of months later they've sold > it all and are very disillusioned. though i don't > know what all of the reasons are for them > (personally > ie for each of them), i *do* know from observation > that they get a gig via a promoter friend and then > you never see them booked again. why? well, a) > there are so many kids desperate to "be a dj!!!" > and, at least here in halifax, they're almost > beating > each other up and crawling over each other to > get gigs, and b) they just haven't laid the proper > foundation; they think that if they buy the gear > and the records, they are almost *owed* gigs > now, as if that's all there is to it. (an i've had > most of these kids on my local radio show to > try and help them out, see what they're up to, > etc, but, though some are skilled, the majority > are just jumping into the "DJ DJ DJ" thing too > soon; they haven't practiced, have to write > their set down on a piece of paper, have > everything planned to the max, etc, etc > ie the urge to "be a dj" has thrown them > into it, er, they're thrown themselves into > it, so fast and so *too early* that they're > just *not ready*; some of them go on > to get gigs and skills, but most you never > hear from again; if they took the time to > set the stage, they might be still doing it, > but rushing into it thinking they'll be stars > the day after tomorrow, hurts their self > esteem and wastes their $ and effort) but talk to > parker, oldham, acquaviva et al and these > guys (there's girls too, of course) spent many > many nights practicing at home, doing radio, > playing for small parties, etc, etc; they didn't > just suddenly become big dj names that > people know, it took years to get where they > are. but the kids staring out (againn, not *all* > of them, but many) don't understand that it's > not like you wake up one day with the $ > to buy the gear and the next day you'll be > on flyers every week. ok, enough rant from > me. AND it wasn't Beck who sang "two turntables > and a microphone", that was a sample from > Mantronix' "Needle To The Groove"! > np terrence dixon--from the far future (dm tresor) > it's out later this month and damn awesome. i'll > have it online in full in RA soon. > > > Cognition/Andrew Duke's In The Mix > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://techno.ca/cognition > 1096 Queen St #123 Halifax NS Canada B3H 2R9 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com
