Where were you in ’92?
While we’re talking to the originators, we can’t help wondering: do they resent the fact that many of the underground heroes of 2013 are making more money from copycat sounds than the pioneers made from creating them in the first place? How does Altern8’s Mark Archer, for example, feel about Zomby’s Where Were You In ’92?, an album so slavishly dedicated to recreating the vibe of hardcore that it wouldn’t have seemed out of place blaring from the stereo of an Escort XR3i two decades ago?
Mark Archer: “If one person likes your tune, there is merit in it.”
Archer graciously acknowledges the appeal of Zomby’s rave rehash: “There have been new takes on hardcore with rave breaks, elements of jungle and dubstep and new production techniques, but Zomby sounds like he’s got a bunch of sounds from ’91 and ’92 and set out purely to make a tune that sounds like it’s from that time. Ultimately though, I think if one person likes your tune, there is merit in it.”
It seems a general rule is that if you’re one of the first to a new revivalist party, you’re good to go, but don’t arrive late and expect not to be turned away from the door in a hail of abuse. And as long as you acknowledge the originators, DJ Pierre doesn’t have a problem. “I feel like a proud dad knowing acid is even stronger now than ever,” he beams. “I think everything happens for a reason. Phuture was chosen to be the proud parents. I don’t like the fact that some people try to take credit away from us as the creators of this sound, but there’s no denying it. It’s a humbling feeling knowing you’re in the history books, you know. The greatest praise is someone trying to re-create what you’ve already done. So I take no offence to it as long as, to quote Daft Punk, the students recognise the teachers.”
We all accept there have to be rules – a house track wouldn’t be house without a motorik kick; dub wouldn’t be dub without echo and delay. It’s the way these elements are employed, though, that will either set you apart or blight your art. “Standard-procedure breakbeats such as the Amen or Think have so much instant memory attached to them that they have a power that you can draw on if you create in a smart way,” says Woolford. “For different people it’s a different moment but nonetheless, in the right hands, they’re like nuclear weapons. Use smartly or you risk fucking it up completely. There’s a stacked weight of amazing records that have been made out of those breaks sitting there, so if you use these things you need to ensure that it is absolutely necessary – that your use of them is vital. I would say it all comes down to the application. You have to justify the use of them with the end product, which in these times needs to be air-tight. If you get that right nobody can question your method.”
Bicep have a similar view, stressing the importance of the end result: “Creating a track from samples of glass being broken might be original, but may not sound the best. We aim to make music to make people dance, to be enjoyed in a club and ultimately to put in our own sets. Some people only value originality, which is great, but it was never our number one goal compared to making people dance. Developing a signature style is certainly a long-term goal of ours, but we’re enjoying trying lots of different things.”
The big homogenised glob of everything
Ah, that dark mistress the ‘signature sound’. Though the Holy Grail for many, it can be a curse as much as a cure, as Cox articulates. “Having a personal sound is not an easy thing to do. It’s much easier to have a relatively ‘pro’ sound quality, or even a ‘lo-fi’ aesthetic, that covers up lack of production skill or musicality, especially when you can just colour-by-numbers a successful producer’s sound! It’s funny how many KDJ and Theo Parrish copycats there have been, but they all only copy their old jams that jack disco samples. You don’t see people trying to copy new Moodymann jams, because they can’t sing and play instruments in the idiosyncratic manner that Kenny does. Those guys have stepped up their game, and that leaves the copycats a day late and a dollar short.”
There are many ways producers can help develop their own creative ways. From Moeller’s approach of “cutting yourself off from the outside world and having a few tokes on a doobie” to Todd Edwards’ self imposed rule of “making music that I feel good about but also making music that pleases an audience while maintaining the first idea” via Eats Everything’s hungry approach of “being open to all types of music, not being blinkered and then picking them apart sound by sound and putting it back together in my own way”, it’s not impossible to make music that incites both shock and awe.
But still, Edwards wonders aloud about wider social and cultural issues and their importance. “Do people really want change?” he asks. “Pop DJs are selling out arenas at ticket prices over $100 a piece. If an audience is willing to spend that type of money on a product, that product isn’t going to die out. Supply and demand, no? If the audience is sick of the state of music, they need just to stop listening and buying it… You’ll see a big change. The reality scares me because you have generations of young listeners who think mediocrity is actually brilliance. Where does that leave an artist that is seeking to better his or her art? You want to create Shakespeare but people are only aware of, understand and crave nursery rhymes.”
Ultimately, the entire debate essentially all boils down to one simple sentiment. “Humans are gonna get fucking bored of the same shit,” explains Moeller. “Let’s face it. In life as it is now with the big homogenised glob of everything, the playing field has been so levelled by technology ‘cos everyone has access to everything. That means the only element we have to shake us up and prick up our ears is the element of surprise.”
12.21 PM
Really good read. Thanks for this.
We seem to be in the middle of a really bad trend for retro music right now. It can’t be a good sign when “it sounds just like it could have come out on Trax in 87/Strictly Rhythm in 92/Dance Mania in 95” is the highest compliment reviewers can pay a new release.
Sadly I think it’ll get worse before it gets better. The success of Disclosure is going to spawn a whole load more copycats. Wake me up when it’s all over.
12.37 PM
Excellent article and I think it address the whole situation well.
I think I’m too far gone to get completely annoyed by the trend of retroism, maybe that’s because I’m comfortable in loving old music as much as new stuff and some shamelessly retro stylings in new music is not always a bad thing either. When i was younger, sure, I was a lot more obsessed with seeking out stuff that was original (and more easily fooled by the concept that original automatically = good) but it’s all about striking a balance. Some in this article are doing it, some aren’t. As a label owner I’m interested in music that builds on what is already there, sometimes being more retro, sometimes less so, again, its a balance. And if it is retro, well stuff that maybe isn’t being oversatured by others.
02.02 PM
Great article.
02.16 PM
Good point, Kenny. I think the problem is a lot of these records are totally boring apart from the fact they use a few retro sounds. Change the M1 organ and the 909 samples for different sounds and you’re left with nothing interesting.
If you’re 21 and it reminds you of hearing records blaring from your older brother or sister’s room when you were a kid that’s great, but when you’re older and you’ve heard it all before it’s not about the sounds so much as the substance.
In a weird way the retro 80s Chicago stuff kind of makes more sense to me than the 90s revival. So much of that style was always about the aesthetic and the sounds rather than any attempt to create original ideas. Like Larry Heard says here, it was always basically just an attempt to copy disco using synths and drum machines. For some reason that approach still sounds good, even though you don’t expect anything new from it.
I suppose retro jack trax in 2013 are kind of like the house equivalent of rockabilly revival or something like that – fun for the old blokes to reminisce over but nobody really takes it very seriously as far as being progressive, forward-thinking music.
03.33 PM
Interesting one this – I know that as a producer, it can be very tempting when you get excited about an old record to head to the studio and end up making something that’s the wrong side of that homage/pastiche line. Obviously the important skill to learn is being able to spot that and take something of the idea and do something fresh with it.
That said, I don’t think all of the stuff that *does* cross that line is necessarily doing it in a cynical way. Probably a lot is just young producers getting fired up by the old stuff and getting carried away with emulating it.
05.18 PM
How long before we see Swedish House Mafia tribute bands 😉 ?
06.37 PM
“I don’t think you should set out to create your own sound,” he says. “That way it becomes too ‘heady’; there’s no heart or soul. I think great sounds and styles happen naturally, from within, not from outside in. Once you understand who you are as an artist then you can accomplish so much. We were created to create.” Yessss , Great read, thanks!
09.49 PM
“You could find the Abstract listening to hip hop
My pops used to say, it reminded him of be-bop
I said, well daddy don’t you know that things go in cycles
The way that Bobby Brown is just ampin like Michael”
-Q-Tip
01.28 PM
How is it possible to make something totally new and fresh in 2013?everything has been done already. The more innovative attempts usually sound like some unlistenable/undanceble track that just some frustrated nerd can force himself to appreciate. Dance Music is about having fun, dancing in clubs, without overthinking. Its not made for nerd talk in forums, magazines and blogs.
02.13 PM
@ Dance Music Nerd…
stop contributing to blogs then ! 😉
02.22 PM
i guess the point if not that everything from the past is bad… the point is to make a good track sounding old is less easy than use a drum from a records, a stab from an other, piano from the 3rd and put some vocals samples from the 4th…
02.43 PM
Interesting well written article Kristan with good interviews.
However we have a focus here on individual types of electronic music looking backwards.
I think the most exciting current trend is for DJs to open up and play many different styles. This is in fact also ‘retro’ as it was originally much more like that before we got into these ever decreasing and restrictive sub genres. A welcome return to ‘retro’ values rather than concentrating on particular sub genres looking backwards musically.
03.16 PM
Very well written article, Kristan. You weave the pros/cons of dance music’s cyclical nature effortlessly, and the placement of artist quotes is perfect. This is a tough issue to tackle because the benefits and detriments tend to overlap one another. Excellent work!!
04.13 PM
Amazing article ! I think this site is already nr.1 for electronic music : )
04.26 PM
Great piece ! Art will always inspire this kind of debate and is anything ever truly ‘new’ ? 🙂
08.35 AM
Great article, and so relevant and important to the state of the producing scene today.
I agree that dance music should be about evoking a good feeling and it should make you want to dance. With that being said, I don’ t mind hearing some so-called new music that sounds like a retro house song. But it will get boring fast. So make it your own. Learn from the classics, practice, and with patience, you’ll get the sound that you actually like. I haven’t quite gotten there yet, but I have been studying past artists myself. I believe you should just have fun making music, whether it is on a laptop (but try to appreciate a real instrument) and respect the past but look to make something new.
06.09 PM
Is it just me, or do the ‘music media’ say this every year? I remember when I first really started buying house/techno on vinyl back in 2008. Back then I remember reading loads of articles saying, ‘oh the old 90’s sound is back’.
They said it again every year since.
My view is, people will always sample old classics and stuff that brings back good memories for them. I don’t think there is a real ‘movement’, if you can call it that, going towards a 90’s sound again as it has never really gone away except for maybe the minimal phase in the eary 2000’s.
06.10 PM
btw.. my post wasn’t a dig at attack mag for publishing this. It’s a great article. just would be interesting to hear what others think.
🙂
08.59 AM
Great article as always and a very interesting debate
01.31 PM
Really good article. Got to say I agree in some way at least. Feel the scene is being taken over by too much which just sounds too similar, too recycled. I’m finding much of the tracks which are bigged up in this scene just get boring quite quick, which i guess is a product of something not standing out to me enough because it’s using the same techniques and not enough differences for me to really dig it.
02.01 PM
Great article.
But the best thing about retroism is, in my humble optionen, that people seem to more care about music and especially in Berlin there is this new young scene who are really into music and especially records. people seem to be more into the mood to spend some money on cool records rather then on just spending mp3s… they seem to care about skills and stuff and that makes me really happy since people have been laughing about me 3 years ago cause i was still playing records … jaja poor me i know :p
06.58 PM
Dance music itself is “tiresome pastiche”.
09.39 AM
Excellent work, what a brilliant article.
03.10 PM
“The reality scares me because you have generations of young listeners who think mediocrity is actually brilliance. ”
This has been going on for years…. think of all the people that LOVE watching Eastenders, Corrie, etc but put them in front of a ballet, play or opera and they wouldn’t appreciate it.
10.05 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coGpmA4saEk
05.23 PM
i bet that 99 percent of those people whining dont know how to write a proper song, innit?
05.27 PM
yeah,,,I bet all the money in my wallet
03.44 AM
love is danger . my life is so empty with out u
10.09 AM
Thanks Saleem. Love you too.
12.25 AM
Very well-written article and, for me, as someone starting out, an excellent exploration of the issues around learning to create effective/enjoyable electronic music with such an overwhelming amount of resources at our disposal.