Techno music has been pared down to create the super-trendy ‘minimal’ sound sweeping out of Berlin. Alex Macpherson meets the DJs spreading the new dance gospel
[…]it is no coincidence that postcommunist Berlin has become the scene’s hub, or that Villalobos pinpoints Romania as the country most likely to produce the next generation of techno leaders. Hedonistic freedom will always hold special significance for those who have known the absolute lack of any freedom.”
de fapt, preoteasa nu goneste pe nimeni. celelalte cluburi, martin, kristal si restul si-au creat un public care vine la orice eveniment din spirit de trupa. petrecerea conteaza, nu muzica, te duci unde stii ca se duc oamenii tai. oricum ne facem praf si nu mai conteaza. cine ajunge la preoteasa ajunge pentru ca vrea sa fie acolo, pentru ca nu locul e important ci evenimetul. in felul asta, orice loc iesit din reteaua mainstream reuseste sa stranga un public mult mai misto. si s-a vazut asta din plin vineri noapte. pacat ca locul arata foarte prost. unde e cina, cui nu ii e dor de cina?
revenind: muzica exceptionala, kompakt style, invitatii pusi pe panarama, public la fel. still: robag wruhme cantand la trompeta cu o sticla de absolut si reinhard voight batandu-l la fund cu un prosop. plus ca muzica a evoluat exact cum trebuia, fluid si ascendent cu atari, clar si agresiv cu voight (se aude mult mai bine un live decat un dj set, sunetele sunt mult mai clare, cand dai drumul unui ritm, ii dai drumul, nu intri cu el pe sestache), atipica, de la grea la prea frumoasa, cu wighnomy brothers. eclectic, cu o gramada de influente, fara purisme, frici sau incordari, ca de la niste oameni seriosi, trecuti prin multe. plus absolutu’ baut mai ceva ca noze.
prin public: kid606(arene) si J Saintil(embrio). kid606, foarte prietenos cu toata lumea a si dat si un interviu in care a explicat de ce nu ii place ce aude (desi s-a mutat de curand la berlin. inca unu). asteptam transcrierea.
la arene vorba vine, de fapt cortul in care a avut loc concertul cuprindea numai scena de la arenele romane cu dj-ul intors inspre spate si cu toti participantii grupati pe scena. daca ieseai afara aveai arenele romane goale si cateva palcuri de oameni relaxati pe scaune. “frate, asta e locul cu cel mai mare backstage din lume”. mic, mic dar oricum rezonabil pentru cati se stransesera. un fel de concert, nu o petrecere. la kid606 jumatate din cei prezenti au iesit afara si au reintrat dupa ce a terminat. am prins ceva din gojira, maleabil ca de obicei si terminandu-si setul cu killing in the name of, deja cel mai rulat come-back al verii.
kid606 a fost fenomenal daca gusti latura extrema a agresivitatii sonore. a trecut printr-o gramada de ritmuri, techno, dubstep, dnb, toate duse la un bpm extrem. x-core. agresivitatea e ca drogul, vorba aia, odata ce o iei pe calea asta, vrei tot mai mult. cu cat e mai agresiv, cu atat iti doresti sa o duca mai departe. daca tot ai inceput o treaba, du-o pana la capat. si a dus-o. un terorist de la ipecac. pe youtube, la un filmulet cu patton in concert cu fennesz, cineva comenta: “ok, so now he’s completely crazy”. valabil si aici. la bpm-ul ala destul de greu de dansat, numai cateva fete mai curajoase si entuziaste. s-a remarcat din nou greutatea cu care se danseaza techno cu miscari de dnb. bine, si invers e la fel de greu. poate de-aia multi au iesit si au revenit la djahz care a terminat de-a dreptul disco. de la terrorcore la disco in numai trei ore, asta da experienta.
observatie contestabila: dnb-ul e o muzica foarte feminina. asta vine din stilul unduitor de dans mult mai potrivit gagicilor si explica de ce la petrecerile dnb sunt cele mai misto fete. astept contestatii.
replica serii: “abea astept sa moara minimalul si eu sa dansez pe mormantul lui”
“As a man (and a father) in my 30s, I constantly ask myself why this music (yeah, techno/house/electro, that’s what I’m talking about) is still relevant (to me). Now, I’m being completely subjective here, but as I’ve followed the path that normal society expects me to take (career, relationship, house, kids), where does my love of deep electronic music fit in, especially as the majority of my peers have left this shit behind, and its importance seems less and less significant?
[…]
But back to house/techno and how it is perceived in society. In this city (Dublin, Ireland), you go to a club and the average is under 25 (it seems that way to an individual edging ever closer to middle age). But in Berlin, for example, that age demographic is radically different. The city is techno. Someone in their 30s does not feel out of place (a darn good feeling), because the music is ingrained in the culture. It’s given much greater credence and respect – it has legitimacy, something that it seriously lacks in Ireland and, to a certain extent, the UK (even after all these years). It has certain connotations – it’s drug music, it’s simply boom-tsk-boom-tsk, it has no perminancy, it’s not even music – that’s what some of the detractors say (okay, my dad). Well, they’re wrong – this culture has legitimacy and, hopefully, is not ageist (heck, most of the top djs and producers are middle-aged, why not the fans?). I’m gonna stick with it, even if I embarrass my kids with my dancing. They can have their R&B (when I think of that term, I think James Brown, not Usher) and I’ll keep my Surgeon (still the man). I may lose my dignity, but I guess that’s the price I’ll have to pay.”
second issue (from an answer of some guy):
“Dance music is not legitimate because it critiques certain assumptions about art and ultimately about the self that you find in the Anglo-American perspective.
The most important of these is the rejection of the indivisible self
[…]
So dance music is the music of the decentered self, and this gives rise to the “disposable” nature. I put disposable in quotes because in reflects a bias toward the artifacts of music — tracks, songs or albums. Traditionally, the creation of these artifacts is considered to be the purpose of music for those that insist on an indivisible self, because they represent the artist after he has died, as in the phrase, “I am listening to Mozart.” It’s as if the artist achieves immortality through his or her artifacts, so preserving them and identifying their original author is very important. Remixing, sampling or otherwise blurring the bright lines of authorship is seen as suspicious, and the concept of artifacts that are collectively owned, such as myths, legends and other forms of folk art is rejected. The main criteria of whether an artform is legitimate is whether it has the potential to confer “immortality” on individual artists.
So where traditional art is seen as generating metaphorical discrete objects, the better metaphor for dance music is ocean waves. A wave only have temporary existence, and it never exists independently of the ocean — the body of influences and cultural factors — that produced it. So dance music doesn’t produce eternal artifacts that stand for artists, but a series of waves that come and go but are spiritual successors to each other. Of course, all kinds of music contain both of these metaphors, but dance music is unique in emphasizing the wave aspect and also unique in emphasizing dancing, a physical activity as opposed to a cognitive one, i.e. not viewing music logocentrically, as a kind of language or speech, but something “primitive” that moves the body.
Some fans attempt to “normalize” dance music and downplay its critique of traditional assumptions. This is a doomed enterprise, because as many parents have said, it’s bad music. And they are right. By which I mean that when we judge dance music by the normative standards that are embedded in the mainstream concept of music, it fails. It can only succeed by pointing out that there are other standards that apply, and individuals who attempt to legitimize it according to mainstream criteria are actually hurting it, because they are re-inscribing the universality of mainstream criteria instead promoting a truly alternative perspective.”
azi: hang. unul din instrumentele cu sunetul cel mai ‘electronic’ din cate am auzit. l-am descoperit pentru prima oara la un tip in park guell din barcelona si am ramas inmarmurit si indragostit. primul filmulet e chiar intalnirea mea, al doilea e un related de pe youtube care suna foarte bine.
nu o sa-mi trasform blogul intr-o cronica a succesului lui pedro ca producator dar pentru ca nu am reusit sa gasesc nici un link de direct download spre tips o sa postez un set facut de ronan fitzgerald in care apar 3 din cele 4 piese.
foarte frumos sambata la embrio. robotnik disco-electro si modelul mai slab ca de obieci dar bine. oricum, altfel. ca o dezintoxicare de minimal. antren, lume misto, alternativ. disco privit pentru primele dati cultural. la noi. s-a legitimat ca valoare dar nu spuneti asta oricui, e greu de explicat. superficialitate de calitate.
iar petrecerile private ar trebui sa fie viitorul clubbingului. exista o evolutie a scenei si o evolutie a scenei personale. ma bucur pentru una dar o savurez pe cealalta. dupa o varsta, iti e din ce in ce mai greu sa te lupti cu copiii din martin. imi place muzica, line-up-ul, dar oamenii ma resping din ce in ce mai mult. nu stiu daca mai pot sa ii ignor numai pentru muzica. trebuie sa ne creem zone de asemanare si sa inventam locuri si petreceri noi. pentru noi. dupa atata entuziasm pentru “scena” e momentul pentru putin egoism. “scena” a facut masa critica, ne putem permite sa nu mai sustinem oricum, orice. segregare pentru diversitate. sa redevenim snobi, e o reactie de aparare.
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