almost anything, any type of music of the 90s is being revamped now. there are bands that sound like smashing pumpkins again, like soundgarden, even like eurohouse, or 90s "american" soul. in the dance and electronic scene there is a lot of this "retro" activity again. yet, there is a huge blind spot, that most people do not even realise. there is no return to mid 90s hardtrance, as in the production of jam&spoon (gotta say yes) or sunbeam. there is no return to experimental hardcore, like fischkopf or anticore records. and there is not much of a return to early 90s 'hardcore' "techno / house".[1]
what is even more bizarre is, that this fact is even logical to many people. it makes sense to them, that eurodance cheesiness is resurrected, or techno methods and beats are used; but that oldschool hardtrance production are not brought back to life is obvious to them.
to see why this is the case, i should mention how i've seen these things, as i lived to them. i missed the period of 1990s hard techno, as i was too young to join a subculture then (i.e. didn't have the chance / connection). i experienced the hardtrance rave boom that took all of germany and half of europe. for me, the music was the solution; an artistic solution on how music, art should be created; a final point, a step to perfection, the music i wanted and loved and that made me happy and content.
then i slipped into the experimental hardcore scene and rejected the dying trance-rave scene for it's "cheesy" emotions and commercialism. now, this was also a version of artistic vision & brilliance to me; a solution; but also, a political and cultural solution and answer and way and revolution (as it was very politically and culturally charged then).
yet i turned my back completely on them after the 2000s.
this was because i formerly felt that this music was the right way; but came to the "enlightment" that i must be wrong.
this was part of what i call the "new dilemma". you meet this dilemma when you talk anarchist politics for example. people will tell you: "you think the goverment is evil, and a free society could be constructed". "but, obviously, this thought is wrong". why is this so obvious? what makes it wrong? the fact is, it is not wrong. the goverment can be overcome, or any other authority. we can create a free society. within our lifetime.
why *should* it not be that way? what should prevent this from happening? the thing is, that the debate with these people takes not part on a rational level. they act out of a *feeling* of helplessness in the face of oppression, some supposed archaic knowledge that the world always has to be shitty. but it doesn't. this is not part of a rational debate.
so, the same thing was with oldschool hardtrance and experimental hardcore. "of course, we couldn't be right". "out of all music scenes and producers and cultures and social groups, it would be very likely that we had the solution to the artists' dilemma, the lack of vision, and the various problems associated and not associated with it". but maybe, just maybe, we were right. maybe we had it. maybe we were on the right, perfect way.
and i intend to go back to this sound, and find out.
footnote 1: i should add, that at the date i am writing this, there is a slow, almost invisible return to this style going on already; but it will be seen wether this grows further; i dearly hope so.
No comments:
Post a Comment