Where's techno going in 2011?

[BranLanen]

As we all sit here at the beginning of a new year (1/2011), I can't help but to ...think about how Techno Music got to where it is. Yes, its had plenty of ups and downs, the support of benefactors and demise of detractors. With all the trends that flew by, the principle elements that emerged it from being the "sound of few" to a "sound of the many" kept its structure intact. Techno Music displayed adversity, perhaps some stubbornness at times when most of its foundation gave way to the blinding lights of the entertainment business and the empowerment of Technology. For all these years, the low voltage lamp that lights the path forward maintains its faint, but steady glow.


Confucius, the Chinese Prophet once said "Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it".


Many would dispute the fact that Techno had/has no substantial purpose - that it still remains a audio backdrop for having a good time. An artful excuse to congregate with like-minded people, led by notion that through a "togetherness", everybody is well served and nothing more should or could be sought out. Some claim that Techno Music never had the necessary components needed to be considered anything else other than organized static and is expendable. Something similar to a shrink wrap to life.

I am far from being convinced of this view. In fact, I believe that Music, as suggestive as it might seem, becomes one of the few mediums of education adults have longer after we complete our general education and serves people long into their older lives. After 30 or so years of watching you all as a DJ and Producer, I can confirm that certain messages and insinuations in earlier works of Electronic Music have been transcended and handed down through the generations to one another. Something of a audio scrape book that retrieves memories. Does the "Strings Of Life" of today become the "Hey Jude" of tomorrow?. Music not only indicates to us what's happening in terms of human feelings, but also it shows what and who we're ready to leave behind.

Looking forward, Music (Techno) seems to be as wide open as it ever was. No one can solidly confirm its intention, purpose or direction.... The truth is that we can only be witnesses to something that has taken its own form, its own nature. As we all sit here at the beginning of a new decade (2011), I can't help but to think about how many more possibilities, more chances we have to communicate to each other. Many more ideas we're going to explore -- one way or the other!.

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