It seems that we agree in many points. So, no reason to take this
further as a debate. I usually don't like the functional music, made
for the (lousy) DJ.
I've seen a lot of djs being fooled buy some dj unfriendly UR tunes,
wich the first kick is not the 1 in the tempo count. Funny. :-D
On 07/04/2008, at 17:48, Michael Pujos wrote:
Kowalsky a écrit :
Michael, when small bass/drums/guitar combos came out, people said
the same thing: "now anyone can do music and it's gonna be
crappy". When producers didn't have to learn musical theory or
music notation to make music, people said the same thing.
Probably, people said the same thing when Guttenberg came out with
mobile typography in the XV century: "now everyone will be able to
read and write and print any crap they like".
Can't you see that the "loop" is the fact that people tend to be
conservative when facing changes? Changes for me are exciting. And
we're privileged to live years of such revolutionary changes.
Y'all know what i mean.
The formulaic thing... We work in two ways here. In one way,
formulas built the styles, the genres. It comes the expression of
many, of a society or a community. It's important. Like american
soul music and the fight for the civil rights. It has its beauty
integrated to a social factor - its indivisible.
In other way, a composer will turn out to be crappy when you can
see no punch in what he does, and the only thing that remains is
an ordinary formula reaching nowhere. We can hear unexpected
wonderful tunes made upon very simple and ordinary, formulaic
structures, like the 12 bar blues or whatever. After all, what
will count has no name. Gear doesn't matter, styles doesn't
matter. It lies only in the artist himself.
Sure but "artists" do music for a variety of reasons: getting
better known to get gigs, a crappy remix to get a few $ because
everybody and his mother needs to remix each other these days,
and sometimes finally for the love of music. So it lies in the
artist yes, but talented artists that do music for the good
reasons, have a real artistic vision and the mean to realize it,
are not so common.
As for the formula, a point that annoys me is that much music is
formatted to be DJ friendly, ie an unterminable 2-3min intro with
next to nothing in it. And I'm talking of house here.
I was relieved the other day when I got this great new Delano Smith
EP and most tracks were starting straight away on point and about
5:30 [to those who'd say its formulaic, sometimes its so well done
than it does not matter].
As a counter example of being formulaic, take most of the
incredible Iridite back catalog: most tracks are not that much
linear and offers suprises to the listener. Something not much
people take the risk to do these days.
Dan Curtin also excels as making non linear and intricate techno.
It's not so much a surprise that non DJ friendly stuff allow a bit
more of creativity composition wise.
Anyway don't take all of the above to the letter: things are more
sublte than I can express them, as English is not my native language.
