In a message dated 3/9/00 2:12:04 PM, Minimaltek writes: << Alan, your opinions are your opinions if you just want to throw stuff on the list and insult people for asking you to go further with your ideas and clarify, be my guest---but interaction and conversation seems like a better platform. Unless you can't back your statements up... >>
First of all, I tried to take this private but you dragged me onto the list. Unlike you, I understand points when people make them. Yes there are great releases from Detroit labels, unfortunately most of the artists with the hits themselves aren't from Detroit and the Detroit artists are not making dancefloor techno. Wild Planet and Aril are from Stockholm (this year's techno capital), Rich is Canadian (who just at the end of 1999 went back to dancefloor material), Shake made one bad-ass hard techno record like two years ago (the NSC one that I did the artwork for), Planet E doesn't make techno anymore, the Detroit Grand Pubahs are on the cover of the Metro Times this week and Aux 88 won *two* Metro Times Music Awards last year. Not to mention last year's big hype on ghettotech in Mixer, Details, Rolling Stone, etc. IT's "From Beyond" was one of the 90s' best discs according to Spin. So was "Innovator", but I don't have to point out that those tracks are all 10+ years old. I haven't heard the new DBX stuff on Elevate, but he seems to be moving in a more abstract direction as well. According to Submerge, they are having big success with these instrumental hip-hop EPs plus their prior success w/ "hi-tech funk" and booty. "Jaguar" was out of the blue. Need I go on ? Detroit Techno as it was is over. Times change. No sour grapes, just facts. It's no accident that hard techno guys like Denham and Young have moved to Europe and Mills keeps a crib there. Stewart Walker tells me he's spending most of this summer there because he can barely get booked in the US. New talent like Punisher switch between techno and d&b. But life goes on. Techno was voted best musical form of 1999 by a Raveline (GER) reader's poll, beating out all other styles of dance music. And that as they say is that. a. PS. I did enjoy RNG's "Existence of Echelon" on 430 West last year.
