Very true, however the subject at hand is hardcore techno and in recent years it has become more and more difficult to find stuff that is fresh and and exciting to hear (but the same could be applied to any genre of music )...

It all comes back to the commercialised end of the spectrum, ie the more popular end that many people only ever see. It kind of stifles everything underneath it.. However it's the choice of the individual as to what they listen to, but on the other hand you have to ask the question whether they are getting exposure to everything on offer?

You visit boards like USH and UK Scene and when people speak of hardcore techno/gabber it's all D-Boy, Scott Brown, Brisk, Promo etc and Radical Technology, i'm not disrespecting any of them but it's not a true reflection of all that is going on music wise.. Since North finished there has been a serious lack of a solid hardcore techno foundation that regularly brought people and other hardcore techno events together... The 'scene' has become so fragmented, with the Radical Technology nights going more mainstream to fill a gap in the market for more party orientated music. Nights such as Species no longer supply the extreme end of the music, the night that ET and I used to put on (Oblivion) hasn't happened in almost 18 months and nights that do push the boundaries are either one offs or irregular events... More and more labels are becoming mainstream and seem to monopolise the sound, pumping out what sells most which leaves independent artists again struggling for exposure or an outlet for their music.

This leaves the few people that are truly dedicated to the music struggling to get it exposed to a wider audience, hence threads like this.

Instead those that are left pushing the extreme music find themselves venturing into the extreme end of rough electronica, hard dnb and mash up sounds.. Which strangely enough people have taken to quite well... Other people are venturing into Europe and further afield but where does this leave the music/party scene in the UK?

While there are forums like this and the Faction, where like minded and dedicated people can get together and discuss things there will always be a 'scene' of sorts... However, things can't exist purely in the virtual sense i'd like to see something regular returning to the UK on the scale of the old North nights which everyone identified with, that is prepared to push the proper underground sounds giving the music the exposure it deserves.