there are people who suggest music to me, various styles, the established genres, the "established nishes"; they say the music is really nice, good produced, exciting, well-made, interesting, enjoyable; good to party too, good to chill too, or good to listen to in other occurances.
but, when i listen to this music, i ask myself, what has this music to do with me, how does it relate to me, how does it relate to my live, my heart; to my dreams, my desires, my thoughts, my wishes; how does it enable me to change my life, to rise above the circumstances; how does it enable me to reach utopia; how does it enable me to reach my dreams? and does it give me new dreams, now wondrous thoughts, adventure, the wonderful?
there is music like that. there was music like that. but most music, today, or maybe in the past too, is not like it. but there also is different music.
the hippies thought their music could change the world. to overthrow the establishment. to create an utopia. the punks thought they could fight society and win.
where are these artists now? where are the bands? is there an artist who honestly, deeply thinks his music could change society from the bottom up? to reach utopia? that, by his music, he could create a better world?
no, current music, current artists, are devoid of these things. because these ideas and ideals are dead for them. because any ideal, that is not "money" or "success" is dead to them. soulless music by soulless artists for soulless consumers.
who still thinks there is a revolution, of society, a political and cultural revolution, in the west possible by music and counterculture? no one? if not, why not?
or if that is too "political" for you - then, to make a better world, on a large scale, by music and art?
or at least to change your life and that of others - to a wondrous, sweet, beautiful, perfect thing?
no, these ideas seem to be gone. because people are without vision and concept now - or rather, without knowledge and insight. these ideas are still true. the ideals are still true. you can reach utopia, a revolution, anarchy - if only for yourself. it is possible.
i painted a bleak picture - i am sure there are some artists out there who still do it for the "cause". and i know there are at least still listeners - the word "listeners" is to passive, i say activists - who believe art can bring a change, and believe in revolution and anarchy, or at least in utopia, and in ideals.
and we might very likely grow in numbers soon.
the point is not to give up - but to hope, to be sure, and to be active.
My Musical Language
if i should describe myself, i would call myself an explorer. that's really my mode and modus. what interests me. my drive. it maybe explains why, when i reached something artistically, i usually discarded it, and moved on. because i needed to move on, and to know more, to explore more.
this exploration has three basic roots for me.
one, knowledge from books and other media. ah, you're book-nerd, you might now think. well, maybe i am. but let me continue. i tried to read up on any imaginable topic, and even more. usually when i had something that interested me i tried to find as many books, theories, written stuff and possible and study it. it's a boon for me that public domain ebook libraries such as gutenberg.org exist now as this means i can read a lot more and faster than if i had to get my supply on the real world libraries here.
but, even as a child, i realised that getting information from books is not enough. you have to venture out in the world, deeply, to really explore things, to real get to know stuff. i felt, and later knew, that there is so much that is not in books, not chartered, not explored, that can only by understood by life itself.
it's only now that i realise that there can be a lot of value in "book knowledge", there were times when any written knowledge or theory was suspicious so me.
so, when i got into anarchism, i first got it to through books, essays, pamphlets. but i knew that to be a real anarchist, i needed to get really involved in the anarchist scene, really get connected with other anarchists - in real life. so one day i went down to the anarchist bookstore, where i never had been before, and a woman let me in and she made tea for me and she asked me a bit about my life and it was a bit of an awkward or curious situation for both of us. this was how i got involved with anarchism then eventually.
this was just my real life exploration regarding anarchism; i explored much more and much deeper, which might have room in another text. just let me give an example, various people had chosen me as a "master" for them, even though i never hinted at that or had mentioned a desire for this. not some sexual master, not what you think, you naughty boy/girl. a philosophical, sage-like master. at the age of 21,22, i should add.
so let's leave the real world exploration at that.
the third, and most important source for my exploring needs, was - surprise surprise - myself.
if i found a theory, a concept that i found interesting, i tried it on myself, to find out more, to learn more, to put it in practice, to gain something.
and also, i used myself to gain knowledge and insight; one's own mind, personality or intellect can really be a great source for that.
now, to come to the point, what has this to do with my music. well, i had the feeling, i had gathered a lot of knowledge and insight eventually. and i wanted to spread it. but i didn't do this in the language of words, but in the language of sounds. instead of writing a book, or a theory, i created tracks and sounds. but just as authors want to put through a message, an intent or a theory, i tried to do the same; just with music.
there were three, well there were more, but three basic reasons for that.
first, it was of its time. i started making music in the 90s, and in the 70s, 80s, 90s, and before that, the thing, the theory was, that ideas, messages can be transported with music, and better than with books or words.
the three-chord aggression of punkrock enticed and was understood better by the kids around the world than a book could have done; the sound was the message. the same goes for techno. uprising, rebellion, or simply new ideas were transported by sound.
second, there are a lot of philosophers, "sages" and such that explained that language, words, books, are treacherous; that it has its limits; that if you want to transport really interesting, complex and deep concepts, you need to use a different form of communication, without words; such as art.
this theory made sense to me and i followed it.
third, my music was understood, my words not.
i could write about my hatred for "society", "western civilisation" and such and people would just scoff at it. but if i put the same rage into sound, they went mental on the dancefloor to it.
so, i felt that this was indeed an excellent way to communicate my ideas.
i tried to put as much theories, concepts, knowledge, ideas, philosophies, thoughts, into my music and my sound as possible. i tried to put all i assumed to know and thought to be true into it. from almost any field of knowledge. my tracks were like pages to me, my sounds like words, my collections of tracks like books. i don't say this to enheight myself or to praise myself; just to state my intent. if i succeeded at it or not, i am not to judge.
i wanted to write down my own conclusive theory of life; sonically.
so this was it; the driving force behind my art.
right now, it seems, that the way to communicate with music, has been lost, or is fading away. people rarely can "read" in tracks anymore; they just see - "hear" - what's on surface; they not only not see a deeper meaning, they don't even dig for it - as it's "just music" to them. except for some rare explorers of my liking, who spend hours analysing tracks, songs, albums, artists.
that's why i shifted to actually write down my theories in words now. this way, it seems, it is more understand or at least noticed by people.
the situation might get worse; or the language of music will be getting more understood in the future again.
but i had my thing with music, and exploring. i enjoyed it. and in the end, the whole music thing was also a lot of fun.
low entropy, july 2014
this exploration has three basic roots for me.
one, knowledge from books and other media. ah, you're book-nerd, you might now think. well, maybe i am. but let me continue. i tried to read up on any imaginable topic, and even more. usually when i had something that interested me i tried to find as many books, theories, written stuff and possible and study it. it's a boon for me that public domain ebook libraries such as gutenberg.org exist now as this means i can read a lot more and faster than if i had to get my supply on the real world libraries here.
but, even as a child, i realised that getting information from books is not enough. you have to venture out in the world, deeply, to really explore things, to real get to know stuff. i felt, and later knew, that there is so much that is not in books, not chartered, not explored, that can only by understood by life itself.
it's only now that i realise that there can be a lot of value in "book knowledge", there were times when any written knowledge or theory was suspicious so me.
so, when i got into anarchism, i first got it to through books, essays, pamphlets. but i knew that to be a real anarchist, i needed to get really involved in the anarchist scene, really get connected with other anarchists - in real life. so one day i went down to the anarchist bookstore, where i never had been before, and a woman let me in and she made tea for me and she asked me a bit about my life and it was a bit of an awkward or curious situation for both of us. this was how i got involved with anarchism then eventually.
this was just my real life exploration regarding anarchism; i explored much more and much deeper, which might have room in another text. just let me give an example, various people had chosen me as a "master" for them, even though i never hinted at that or had mentioned a desire for this. not some sexual master, not what you think, you naughty boy/girl. a philosophical, sage-like master. at the age of 21,22, i should add.
so let's leave the real world exploration at that.
the third, and most important source for my exploring needs, was - surprise surprise - myself.
if i found a theory, a concept that i found interesting, i tried it on myself, to find out more, to learn more, to put it in practice, to gain something.
and also, i used myself to gain knowledge and insight; one's own mind, personality or intellect can really be a great source for that.
now, to come to the point, what has this to do with my music. well, i had the feeling, i had gathered a lot of knowledge and insight eventually. and i wanted to spread it. but i didn't do this in the language of words, but in the language of sounds. instead of writing a book, or a theory, i created tracks and sounds. but just as authors want to put through a message, an intent or a theory, i tried to do the same; just with music.
there were three, well there were more, but three basic reasons for that.
first, it was of its time. i started making music in the 90s, and in the 70s, 80s, 90s, and before that, the thing, the theory was, that ideas, messages can be transported with music, and better than with books or words.
the three-chord aggression of punkrock enticed and was understood better by the kids around the world than a book could have done; the sound was the message. the same goes for techno. uprising, rebellion, or simply new ideas were transported by sound.
second, there are a lot of philosophers, "sages" and such that explained that language, words, books, are treacherous; that it has its limits; that if you want to transport really interesting, complex and deep concepts, you need to use a different form of communication, without words; such as art.
this theory made sense to me and i followed it.
third, my music was understood, my words not.
i could write about my hatred for "society", "western civilisation" and such and people would just scoff at it. but if i put the same rage into sound, they went mental on the dancefloor to it.
so, i felt that this was indeed an excellent way to communicate my ideas.
i tried to put as much theories, concepts, knowledge, ideas, philosophies, thoughts, into my music and my sound as possible. i tried to put all i assumed to know and thought to be true into it. from almost any field of knowledge. my tracks were like pages to me, my sounds like words, my collections of tracks like books. i don't say this to enheight myself or to praise myself; just to state my intent. if i succeeded at it or not, i am not to judge.
i wanted to write down my own conclusive theory of life; sonically.
so this was it; the driving force behind my art.
right now, it seems, that the way to communicate with music, has been lost, or is fading away. people rarely can "read" in tracks anymore; they just see - "hear" - what's on surface; they not only not see a deeper meaning, they don't even dig for it - as it's "just music" to them. except for some rare explorers of my liking, who spend hours analysing tracks, songs, albums, artists.
that's why i shifted to actually write down my theories in words now. this way, it seems, it is more understand or at least noticed by people.
the situation might get worse; or the language of music will be getting more understood in the future again.
but i had my thing with music, and exploring. i enjoyed it. and in the end, the whole music thing was also a lot of fun.
low entropy, july 2014
True Summer Of The 90s - Fuck Arte, Let's Dance
in response to some of the misrepresentations of the 90s techno, hardcore and rave movements of the 90s as shown on the arte TV shows around the "summer of the 90s".
on the weekend 26/27.07.2014 arte tv showed their series "summer of the 90s", with also a focus on what they thought was the techno scene of the "90s". though, mysteriously, they seemed to most part to completely forget the rave, hardtrance, gabber, speedcore music that ruled the 90s in europe during that time.
while obviously speedcore was more an underground phenomenon, gabber, hardcore and rave enticed millions of people during these days. and speedcore, if not as famous, was important for several subcultures too. but for arte this obviously never existed, never did take place, instead for them the sound was all some sort of plaything of now hipster and chic "dance" producers who they interviewed in their expensive suits.
fuck you arte, yes, fuck you.
this is to show some true music "of the 90s".
shouts out to all ravers, gabbers and hardcore freaks, from back then, and from the current days.
chapter 1: hardtrance and rave
rave peaked around the years 1993-1995. millions loved these sounds and partied to them. notably for rave and hardtrance were complex synth-driven melodic and harmonic structures, undermined by powerful and frantic beats. almost a combination of 70s synth avantgarde with a jackhammer sound.
tracks:
legend b - lost in love
quench - dreams
genetic waste - palace of wisdom
state of mind - our destination
chapter 2: hardcore and gabber
hardcore and gabber didn't stand back in popularity compared with rave. every second teenager loved that sound (i suppose? at least everyone around here) and the largest raves and techno events usually had a hardcore floor too.
when techno got "chic" around the mid of the 1990s, the "scene" was quickly to jettison this hardcore heritage though.
tracks:
strontium 9000 - dynamic fall out
chosen few - after hourz
wedlock - ruffneck
wedlock - void sector
chapter 3: speedcore and noizecore
both a reaction to the commercialization of hardcore and rave, and also a feat to take it to the further extremes, speedcore remained underground, but had a dedicated following in the 90s and let to some wonderful productions.
tracks:
noize creator - gangsta
s 37 - crush your mind
dj tron - fuck that happy shit
rage reset - unknown structure
on the weekend 26/27.07.2014 arte tv showed their series "summer of the 90s", with also a focus on what they thought was the techno scene of the "90s". though, mysteriously, they seemed to most part to completely forget the rave, hardtrance, gabber, speedcore music that ruled the 90s in europe during that time.
while obviously speedcore was more an underground phenomenon, gabber, hardcore and rave enticed millions of people during these days. and speedcore, if not as famous, was important for several subcultures too. but for arte this obviously never existed, never did take place, instead for them the sound was all some sort of plaything of now hipster and chic "dance" producers who they interviewed in their expensive suits.
fuck you arte, yes, fuck you.
this is to show some true music "of the 90s".
shouts out to all ravers, gabbers and hardcore freaks, from back then, and from the current days.
chapter 1: hardtrance and rave
rave peaked around the years 1993-1995. millions loved these sounds and partied to them. notably for rave and hardtrance were complex synth-driven melodic and harmonic structures, undermined by powerful and frantic beats. almost a combination of 70s synth avantgarde with a jackhammer sound.
tracks:
legend b - lost in love
quench - dreams
genetic waste - palace of wisdom
state of mind - our destination
chapter 2: hardcore and gabber
hardcore and gabber didn't stand back in popularity compared with rave. every second teenager loved that sound (i suppose? at least everyone around here) and the largest raves and techno events usually had a hardcore floor too.
when techno got "chic" around the mid of the 1990s, the "scene" was quickly to jettison this hardcore heritage though.
tracks:
strontium 9000 - dynamic fall out
chosen few - after hourz
wedlock - ruffneck
wedlock - void sector
chapter 3: speedcore and noizecore
both a reaction to the commercialization of hardcore and rave, and also a feat to take it to the further extremes, speedcore remained underground, but had a dedicated following in the 90s and let to some wonderful productions.
tracks:
noize creator - gangsta
s 37 - crush your mind
dj tron - fuck that happy shit
rage reset - unknown structure
On "Illegal" Immigration
there is some thing that has, to my knowledge, been completely overlooked in the american debate on illegal immigration so far. this is, the question, who are the immigrants?
well, who are the immigrants? well, who are the people they call immigrants - from mexico, from south america?
these are, to most part, descendents of the spanish, portuguese, and other conquerors, and the former inhabitants of america - the so called "indigenous" population. the various aztecs, mayas, incas and so on.
for fucks sake! these are the original inhabitants of the american continent. america belongs to them. if a mexican wants to cross the border to USA, he just enters a territory that belonged to his ancestors for thousands of years.
it's theirs! it belongs to them. you white americans are the immigrants, the illegal aliens. the debate should not be if mexicans should be allowed to enter the USA, but if mexicans are willing to let the white american protestants live on american territory for more time.
well, who are the immigrants? well, who are the people they call immigrants - from mexico, from south america?
these are, to most part, descendents of the spanish, portuguese, and other conquerors, and the former inhabitants of america - the so called "indigenous" population. the various aztecs, mayas, incas and so on.
for fucks sake! these are the original inhabitants of the american continent. america belongs to them. if a mexican wants to cross the border to USA, he just enters a territory that belonged to his ancestors for thousands of years.
it's theirs! it belongs to them. you white americans are the immigrants, the illegal aliens. the debate should not be if mexicans should be allowed to enter the USA, but if mexicans are willing to let the white american protestants live on american territory for more time.
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