From Peter T. Bense Sent Tue, May 11th 1999, 20:52
From Peter T. Bense Sent Tue, May 11th 1999, 20:52
WARNING: THIS E-MAIL CONTAINS MANY EXTREME AND SUBJECTIVE OPINIONS. READ WITH AN OPEN MIND There is something about this whole techno movement that really kind of bothers me... and its something I have witnessed time and time again. Now before you people tear me apart here for voicing my opinion, hear me out. In my opinion -- there is a certain kind of "arrogance" inherent in techno. It was something that I, myself, was caught up in for quite awhile. Any of you who have checked out the "IDEAS: TICK TOCK BANG: NOISE IN MODERN ART" (http://www.radio.cbc.ca/programs/ideas/shows/noise/index.html) radio program produced by the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting company) will recall novelist Russel Smith saying a few of the following things about "techno music" in its avant-garde context. Here are some quotes from the radio show.... [As an aside -- if you haven't, you really should check it out] "The world of techno music is anonymous, the music home-made; there are few star groups." "Christopher Dewdney: For me, it's a pure source of energy. I listen to techno strictly as a source of energy. It's food for me. It's also a little bit of -- I guess I'm a futurist, in a sense. So techno also maybe has that edge to it. It's quite modern. It's modern music. But I primarily use it as an energy source." "This rather numbing music tends to attract intellectuals. The Canadian poet Christopher Dewdney is the author of Last Flesh: Life in the Transhuman Era. He listens to techno music." Now, looking at this (I wanted to use quotes from someone else to sort of back my own opinions) we can sort of describe techno with some of the following adjectives: avant garde intellectual anti-pop minimalist obscure anti-mainstream futuristic and... to a certain extent... "inaccessible" There is, in my eyes, a certain arrogance that follows with this whole music that I is really starting to push me away from it (not in any kind of major way, really, though). The things I DO like about techno is the way that it pushes the boundaries of music and has this sort of "futuristic" mindset to itself.. but the thing I don't like is the arrogance of people who post things like this (this is a reply to my post from earlier today on the 313 list): My text: >> I think that thats one area where "techno" and "electronic music" in >> general is lacking -- unoriginal drum sounds and un original electronic >> sounds. And the reply: >Why would you want to record live percussion? Are they not the most >unoriginal sounds since they have been used for eons? So whats the point here? Sometimes in order to move forward you have to move backwards. Not every nuance and detail, acoustically speaking, can be re-created by electronics. You can never re-create the sound of a plucking guitar string with electronics. You can never create any kind of "live" feel that exists in woodwind instruments, for example. This of course is not the point... but I really think that more artists need to look at a "hybrid" approach to production. Jimi Tenor also said something very interesting to me during a recent interview: "...Well I buy a lot of weird and obscure musical instruments... because no matter what the instrument is you can always get at least one good sound out of it..." I think back immediately to a friend of mine who is trying to put together his first 12" .. he sends me over his mp3 files of the tracks he is working on and give him my feedback. He has sent me 10-12 tracks thus far and the ones that stand out are the ones that have live samples in them. He made a track called brooklyn jazz with live samples of guitar riffs and saxaphones and the thing rocked like a motherfucker. Maybe its me thats tired of "techno production" and is more interested in "music production", but I think a lot of people have gotten into music through techno/house/whatever and have kind of "stuck" in these genres. Why are there even any "characteristic sounds" in techno music? Shouldn't it all be so different and "futuristic" that each piece is unique? A friend of mine has the following quote in his signature "musical standards destroy innovation" -- Its time to think more about this, people. How many techno records will stand out to you in 10 years? -peter (PS: the new UR - "Knights of the Jaguar" kicks ass)