Is techno too divided?

[dirty_bass]

I think it does divide things too much.
but it`s the nature of life today
We are so spoiled we expect exactly what we want, what works for us now, and we want it again and again and again.
Burroughs wrote a very interesting essay on the dreary predictablility of human behaviour when it comes to pleasure.

People seem to focus in on the one tiny thing they like, and just stick with it, as a whole.
With more choice, society seems to get more narrow minded and self centred, and this is reflected in music.

Techno DJ`s playing an entire night of skkkkrannzzzzz or mnmnmnmllll
or whatever.

And people that go to a mnmnmnnmllll night only going to nights that are minimllmlmn, not going to somewhere else to try toher things.

I think it`s something that goes deeper than just music.

It`s more to do with us spoiled, stinking, westerners.

[SlavikSvensk]

people naturally categorize in everyday life. those who study things also categorize. in techno, the consumers are also the analysts. so we get crazy categorization.

"no, that's not mnml, that's minimal techno."

or

"no, that's not techno, that's tech-house"

or

"no, that's not schranz, that's hard techno"

now, i'm not saying there aren't valid differences between what is generally considered A and generally considered B. but on the borders these differences are fairly meaningless. it's also fairly meaningless to put a new label on anything that comes out. why is mnml (god i hate typing that) not minimal techno? because minimal techno is OLD and mnml should be NEW. maybe it also means a lot of mnml artists are not actually listening to basic channel, rob hood, etc. which would be a shame.

then there's the problem even of artists sitting down at the computer or studio and starting a track, but when it started to sound vaguely subgenred, they subconsciously steer it there because they have a clearly defined sense of what it SHOULD sound like.

i really wonder what techno would be like if we all just made TECHNO. maybe we would ALL be free...

free at last
free at last
god almighty
free at last

:)

[snooch]

I try not to pidgeonhole too much. Remember, it's ultimately about pleasing the crowd and playing to them and not to your own tastes. If you try and get too genre specific (unless that particular crowd is looking for that miniscule genre) you usually end up not giving them what they want. Yeah I play techno, but I usually run the gamut in what I play. I get bored if I don't diversify what's in a set.

[RDR]

Catagorisation is about identity, and IMO its no wonder people want to catagorise themselves these days, particularly in youth culture... there is a void of identity for most young people these days, especially when they find themselves identifying with brands and labels on clothing. Brands which change rapidly. And identity ridnig on the back of commercialism does no-one any good at all. There is no strength of time within in, not like the strength offered by family ties. Therefore its unsuprising that people obsess on a particular genre, espeicallly one that has a strong vision, such as hardcore, or happy hardcore. Sub-genre identification seems to be something that journo's happily create to make their writing easier, and something that half-minded record label owners cling to in an effort to get into the very same magazines that they despise.

Real momentum in music comes from forward thinking boundary breaking individuals who reject these catagories and go their own way, rather than be pigeon-holed. IMO the digital revolution will let people explore their musical boundaries, no be at the whims of distro/publishers, who I hold responsible for holding back creative culture within techno in the last 5 years. It isnt wholly their fault, piracy has led to a temporary dip in the way finance enters music and as a result non of them were willing to take a risk on new and untested music.

Commercialism.... what a joke.

[insert criticisms here please... i like learning]

[Si the Sigh]

Dunno? It's all house really innit?

[Jay Pace]

Bah

Play whatever you want.

Just be a good dj. If you're interesting, you'll get your props.

Screw genres.

[Ritzi Lee]

I can only talk for myself.
My sets are always diverse like techno itself is.
Hopefully organisations will appreciate this kind of approach again in the near future. But now it seems programmers are targeting too much on the styles.

[djshiva]

Bah

Play whatever you want.

Just be a good dj. If you're interesting, you'll get your props.

Screw genres.

that's pretty much the point i have gotten to. i have been playing anything from electro to dubstep to minimal-ish to clunky off-kilter house to techno and having a BLAST doing it.

also really opens up the places you can play when you have a lot of different stuff at your disposal. :)