We haven't run out of music at all. Music changes in evolutionary ways -- punctuated equilibrium..
The problem, as it relates to the primary topic of discussion of this group, is that there's a struggle between orthodoxy (HEY THAT'S NOT REALLY TECHNO!) and innovation. There's a separate struggle going on between art and commerce. And yet another between enduring quality and momentary fashion. I have no trouble at all finding really vital Detroit-influenced techno -- Omar S, Convextion, Chymera, Anthony Shakir, to name some hot topic artists. The stuff that Dust Science puts out is always a step outside the Beatport cookie cutter. But all of the stuff I just mentioned has one thing in common -- they aren't spending all their time trying to create new, unheard sounds. Most of what you hear on those tracks could have been heard on a record made in 1992. What they have, that's missing from the vast majority of dance music made these days, is artistry. They make music that has depth and emotion, even as it conforms to the conventions of the form. A large percentage of the subscribers to this list produce music of some sort, and one thing you learn pretty quickly is that substance follows function. If your goal is to move a dance floor, there's a pretty small domain of sounds and rhythms that work. You can try to be completely different, but it takes a long time to find something that's more than merely novel. Usually someone has already tried what you're trying, and abandoned it because it didn't work. Techno, when it comes right down to it, is a cheap trick. You play a repetitive rhythm loud, and people will dance. The real artist can make that cheap trick mean something unique.
