Electroclash.

January 28, 2003 3 | Comments (Closed)

I used to be a DJ and grew up on 80’s dance music, industrial, acid house and old school techno styles like new beat. I’ve always been into dancing and dance music, but I’ve not been able to get into anything but hip-hop influenced dance tracks since the mid 90’s.

I always marveled at how “techno” was able to last so damn long with out evolving or doing anything new. I mean from the early 80’s to mid 90’s it was like every year a new wave (pun intended) of dance music would come through and revitalize the scene. All that died at some point and all that was left as far as originality was hip-hop. Disagree? Just go to any sporting event.

Well, in the last year or so I’ve come across some great music that, to me anyway, brings something fresh to the dance music scene. Felix Da Housecat, Fischerspooner (who I don’t really care for), Peaches (who, dammit, I missed when she came here), and even “rock” type bands like The Faint and Hot Hot Heat remind me of high school and frankly it’s killer — even if some of it has been done before.

I found an audio documentary from last summer over at BBC’s Radio 1. Check it out, some of the comments you’ll hear there echo things I’ve been thinking about the dance music scene for quite a while now.

I really hope they can keep this wave going for awhile, if nothing else my record collection will be worth something.

Filed under: Life and Such

Comments

1. Michael said:

Hey, Keith. Thanks for the link to the audio documentary. The only artist I own from that page is Green Velvet.

Like you, I DJ’d, from high school through college. I grew up on 80’s electronica and then into house and some techno and industrial when I got to college. I used to go to industrial clubs like The Building in NYC for the electronica fix, and Quick/Mars for the house fix. I found that when I started to mix techno, that music lost its soul for me, so I started buying house again. I’m a sometime bedroom DJ now and I don’t buy any electronica on vinyl really, mostly house now and then. From time to time I’ve dabbled in creating tracks in Acid Pro and Reason. That’s fun, but the love for me is still in mixing. I don’t think there’s any way that dance music is going away. In NYC, even though the scene isn’t what it used to be, dance music in its many forms is alive and kicking. People just need it.

Posted on January 29, 2003 04:41 AM | #

2. Keith said:

I agree with you. It’ll never go away. I’m right there with you on the Bedroom DJ tip - I went out and bought Numark TT’s a few years back, even though I knew I’d not use them as much as I should - at least I didn’t spring for SL 1200s.

Anyway, I stopped buying techno for exactly the same reason you did, and instead of house I turned to hip hop and that accounts for most of my 12 inches for the last 5-6 years.

Reason is killer - wish I had time to play with that more, but like you, I’m more into finding the perfect mix. I’ll never forget the day I tried to mix Shamen’s Progen with Two Live Crew’s Hey we want some P*ssy and let that sucker roll for two minutes of strange old school hip house bliss.

Posted on January 29, 2003 09:21 AM | #

3. bertrand said:

“…and all that was left as far as originality was hip-hop. Disagree? Just go to any sporting event…”

Though the underground dance music scene ebbs and flows, it has and always will survive.

I wouldn’t consider what one hears at a sporting event any criteria for what is innovative and new in music. This comment made me laugh.

By the way, the term “electronica” wasn’t coined until the late 90’s and refers to attempts at commercializing Techno and other forms of undergound dance music for the masses. If something is marketed as electronica, it’s a safe bet that it is crap.

Posted on March 22, 2004 07:32 PM | #