There really is nothing wrong with the music and no one type is doing any specific harrm. There is a flood of crap music but folks, seriously, when hasn't there been?

I have my personal preferences (see above rant) but it's all good in the final analysis. However, it's the whole concept of specialised clubbing and genre division that's slowing it down. There simply isn't a market everwhere for music to be as specialised as its becoming in dance clubs.

Maybe the next heros of electronic music will not be DJ's or producers but software programmers and electronic music with move largely out of clubs onto the internet wholesale. Maybe.

Much of the spectacle has gone from many clubs and it's going to take more than just music to pull off a good rave event. A lot of dance clubs these days are becoming small DJ/Producer showcases or in the case of bigger clubs they're mere DJ concerts where people are more concerned with the music than each other. Not really the best environment to have a rave as we know it. It's gonna have to be more than that in the future to pull a crowd.

Good dance music is everywhere, even in the charts sometimes and underground is readily available in mainstream clubs now so some extra effort really has to go into the show as a whole. Techno raves aren't just about the DJ or the music, it's about people having fun together and if it's just going to be a bunch of beard scratching anoracks analysing the music all night there going to be little to attract newcomers unfamiliar weith the music.

The best parties I've been to recently have been where there are performances and live visuals that relate to the music, If rave is going to survive then it's the events that have to step up a gear not just the music. It's just not good enough to just book a venue, stick up a banner and get Johnny Acid Pants or Jeff the Surgeon to come and play music everyone's making at home to whatever degree of comptenancy.

Even casual listeners are more dance savvy these days so it's going to take more variety and more attention to detail of the event to get them coming back.

Mr The Drummer is very much correct in his assessment that too many cooks do indeed spoil the broth but the tide has turned and there's no going back reaally. As technology advances and software becomes easier it will no longer be a major feather in ones cap to be able to make good techno as every man and the dog will be able to do it quickly and effectively. It's time to look around and see what else you can do apart from music to get the party rolling even if that means dropping your cool act, putting on a silly hat, painting your face and making a bunch of noise.
Even that's a start.

I'm very encouraged by the new ability live sequencing of visuals in Fruity Studio. Maybe we're all going to need a projector and our own visual stories to tell while as well as bangin out the repetetive beats.
12 inch Laser disc techno records with visuals beatmatched on them with two projectors attached to each deck?? That would be cool.

Anyways, I'm waffling now and have drifted into fantasy world.

Abandon Squirel!!