i sometimes find, its more the followers who stick to what they know, cause they fear to do anything the big ones might deem uncool. dj's have acquired a much greater cult-status than is healthy, hence the blind/deaf and unthoughtful mass of unmusical fans.
in general, the real andy c is still leagues above his admirers-cum-dj's. from time to time, a night with a big name can be very exhilarating and enjoyable. if i wanna go out and simply have fun i'll check them out and see whats new in their box.
i was positively surprised a few times already by quite varied selections i didn't hope to expect. i'll decline to comment on the warm-up dj's though...
ok, i haven't heard any heavyweights for a long time and things might have gone from bad to worse in the meantime.
i therefor totally agree
that its true. the main direction is to avoid anything experimental, with the exception of the stuff
that was originally daring and even new (for ex: how u make me feel and lets face it, bodyrock too in a way) but then went on to become a classic or even genre-defining tune. i still find the odd tune on the popular labels which has a strong sense of exploring new ground, but the overall conformity of stale noise is very frustrating indeed.
i believe it has a lot to do with entering the dubplate-circuit. theres been too many names to mention,
that have gone from innovative to at least moderately stale not long after their breakthrough (digital, klute, total science). maybe its media pressure, maybe its the discovery
that most people in clubs lack the sense of rhythm which a producer can develop in his studio.
theres also those who claim to having to conform to popular taste in order to maintain the life of their labels. i'm a bit skeptic on
that one and have yet to hear more who went from innovation to mainstream and back again (like for instance johnny l). others declare openly
that they're "rinsin it" at the mo (qoute total science), cause their sick of getting evicted or sumtin. fair enough, but once you've got the jag in the garage you could be polite and remember to make some music for the serious bunch. :lame
anyway, as long as the countermovement remains strong, which it obviously does, one can always pride himself with being the true underground..
on a positive note, i just got hold of a new tune by ASC on offshore and i fucking love it! same goes for the new paradox stuff on the same label or some new breakbeat science releases by orion and angel zero. streetbeats itself has always been a source for high quality surprising and daring stuff (SB 19 has been in my box for two years straight), and in
that whole region there are numerous new labels coming up and getting stronger. if general recordsales hadn't dropped so drastically, distributors wouldn't be so anxious to take on new labels and we'd hear even more new music, trust me...
until
that situation hopefully improves, its a matter of internal support among those who go their own ways.
all those new labels have dj's behind them who want to support their own stuff, and don't give a damn if their shit's getting airplay by fabio or rider, cause they do it themselves. if it still gets big, all the better, as long as they stick to their guns and keep the flag flying.
some producers even refuse to hand out their stuff to anyone whose name is in bigger print than the doorprice... an extreme example of scene-politics and dangerous for
that ol' sucker named "PR" but nevertheless very encouraging.
i've come to the conclusion
that there really is no use in lamenting the state of affairs when theres still good music coming your way. it may be hard for those who support it, to keep up with the industrialised methods of the big-buck-corporations, but damn, it's been underground ten years ago, so it should be well able to survive in the underground today.