I don't think that 'bands' in the traditional sense of the word are all that neccesary in the techno field, but they do usually possess one thing that 99% of most techno artists dont.

ATTITUDE

What's with standing behind decks/laptop and staring at the floor ? This is not a 'performance'. I'm beginning to question whether or not some artists are aware there is a crowd in front of them. There is more to putting on a 'show' than just rattling out loops on Ableton or spinning some records as if you were in your house. Many people I've seen play recently look like they'd rather be at home installing linux or whatever ???

Also, I'm heartily sick of seeing people who're meant to be 'top' producers/djs playing middle of the road boredom just because they're afraid to break out of the mould that they themselves have shaped. Fair enough they're trying to do their jobs etc but it'd be a far greater thing if they just.... well.... DIDN'T. Being original doesn't mean being consistent. Consistency is the enemy of innovation, as far as I'm concerned. Stay within your safety zone and you'll never reach all those rich, far off places with strange sounding names (speaking metaphorically, of course)

I'd like to see less TV Tanned geeks in the techno field and more folk who know how to ROCK. Crowds should leave shows feeling blown away, not like 'mmm, that guy played some okay tunes I guess and the pills kept boredom levels down'.

Also, if y'all don't think there's any good techno coming out there's a simple answer. MAKE some good techno. Try not to start with thinking "I wanna make bangers/minimal tracks like x does"

Obviously everyone has to have a starting point, but I'd like to suggest that our communal starting point has been mainly "STUFF THAT ROCKS".

It isn't just techno that rocks, loads of other music does. Try looking elsewhere for inspiration. If you're writing music from your heart then what other musicians in the same field are doing should not matter. There's a difference between putting your soul into creating music and just throwing together percussion loops, though some clearly disagree.

The point about people getting 'Harder' or more 'minimal' is a fair one, it's been mentioned a lot. However, this implies that the people choosing these routes are known for a certain style. If you're a producer in a field with as many possibilities as techno then isn't it a bit sad that you're known for one 'sound'. If we all just went back to being 'techno' producers I think it'd be more sensible. Hard techno, Schranz techno, Minimal techno, Hardcore techno, Tribal techno, Bassline techno.... THE LIST IS ENDLESS, WHERE DO YOU FIT SNUGLY ???

Pffft.

Also, trends are by their very nature fickle beasts. If you don't jump on the bandwagon then you can't fall off it, simple as that. Try and stick to your own style and push that on. If you work each track so it's better than the last and you're learning new stuff in the lab then at least you're evolving MUSICALLY.

And that should, at the end of the day, be the most important thing.[/list]