WE'VE COME A LONG WAY, BABY
Nov 1, 2004 12:00 PM, The Remix Editors, Robert Hanson Erin Hutton Kylee Swenson
So I finally said something the other day that I, Rob, never thought I would say: “I have enough gear.” And I actually meant it (well, kind of). Without going into great detail, I've got a modest workstation setup, some great pieces of software, a few choice synths, some good mic pres and a handful of mics to match. That's it. I'm done for a while. Maybe I'm getting more mature, more fiscally responsible or whatever — or perhaps music products have just gotten so good in the past few years that it's really becoming possible to do it all without taking out a second mortgage on the house. And I'm certainly not alone in thinking this; it seems that nearly every artist we talk to lately gushes about the quality and effortlessness of the hardware and software that's now available. From a pure production standpoint, this is arguably the golden age of music making. (We'll save the subject of actually getting paid to make music for another time.)
One of the most exciting byproducts of this explosion in technology is a real folding of musical barriers. With regard to electronic music, it's apparent that the old rules don't apply anymore. I can't help but think of those late-'90s documentaries like Modulations and Better Living Through Circuitry, in which a number of electronic artists framed what they were doing as a direct opposition to standard popular music. There seemed to be a real us-against-them vibe going on, but that seems to largely be over. With many of the artists we profile, there is a new appreciation for playing live instruments and bringing in guest artists from all over the map, as well as a real reluctance to adhere to the rules of just one genre.
Breaking the rules and mashing up a collection of different genres is nothing new, however. Our cover artist this month, Afrika Bambaataa, borrows from myriad genres. And this approach not only helped him forge an impressive career and pioneer genres such as hip-hop and electro but also worked to keep music moving forward rather than stagnate in old styles. Furthermore, with both UNKLE and Orbital, we can see electronic music getting poised to make the next big leap. James Lavelle and Richard File are proving that there is life after Bristol and trip-hop while Paul and Phil Hartnoll are closing the door on Orbital and getting ready to strike out on their own with new ideas and projects.
Overall, the lesson seems to be pretty clear: If you put the best tools available in the hands of talented people, good things are always going to happen. Although the economics of the music industry may never work themselves out to everyone's satisfaction, it has never been easier for musicians to make music on their own terms. And as the tools of music production, regardless of genre, continue to become more and more ubiquitous, great things are going to appear on the horizon. These are exciting times, indeed.
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