the last year or so, i've been trying to make my music more effective. i have a tendency to take a cerebral approach to things, of which the style of this blog is a case in point. and it's not much different with my music. i've reached a point where i think that a lot of my music is just too clever to be really effective on the dance floor. so my challenge is to make something more visceral. and there are many ways to do that.
the most obvious route seems to be to see dance music as purely functional and use all the tricks that have been proved to work. just dress it up a little. these are the ubiquitous tools and tracks that 'just work'. the ones that ignite a dance floor, make the crowd go wild and are forgotten as soon as the next track is mixed in. while i think that approach could work for some, it's not the one for me. at least not for now.
the dance music i like works on the floor, but goes beyond instant gratification. and there's usually a recognizable personal touch, which for me shows the artist cares. i try to achieve this myself as well, but it's a long road and sometimes it gets very frustrating. at least once every month i firmly decide to cut the crap and apply my skills to the art of making tools. this is usually followed by a few days of doubt about whether i would still have fun in making music. and finally there's always an experience that gets me back on track.
two weeks ago, the video below saved me. with thanks to my mate paul for sending it:
theo parrish says a few things that resonate with me: around 2:05 he says honesty is at an all time low... everything is style over substance.... i'm not into the whole 'keeping it real' argument, but i do think that even my current music is more style over substance than i would like. making tools is all about production and finding a hook, so it's even more style over substance. doesn't seem like the way to go for me.
at 2:54, parrish says: being a professional at the same time as being a little kid, that's a large philosophical take (?) behind my label... always remember the spirit of play. there are many ways to play in the studio. it can mean doing crazy complex stuff with max/msp or it can mean rocking out simple beats on your mpc. as long as you're enjoying it.
what i like about being an artist is that you can create your own world with its own rules, very much like kids do. for me, making tools would mean having the outside world decide on the majority of those rules and it would probably take out the element of play. i'm not a genius that can work without any rules from the outside world, but i'm just looking for a healthy mix between 'my' rules and 'their' rules.
i don't agree with parrish' closing remark about dj's not playing vinyl anymore, but he has a point that music is a physical thing and that the use of computers can interfere with that. the computer has given producers the ability to control the smallest details, which has spawned entire genres like microhouse. but at the same time, the use of computers has made production less physical, something that's perfectly obvious to me when i spend 6 hours working on some edits in the fade-out of a track.
knowing parrish' music, i'm not surprised there's not a computer in sight in his studio. his music definitely has the visceral quality i'm looking for, although i might not go as far as kicking the computer out of my studio. but i will do something i've been considering for awhile: order a mobile recording set and record all kinds of sounds out there. i used to do it a lot, but somehow i've forgotten how much fun it can be.
