IS IT JUST ME OR......

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I hear ya.... Sorry about the 'Nonsense!' - it wasn't meant to be taken seriously - I shout at such things at people all the time and expect them to be shouted back at me just as swiftly, Irish-style!


But... I think you misunderstand me too! I'm the last to call for Beats-this and Anti-2step that. I want to hear a mash-up: tha's what Jungle should be: a mash-up of styles and influences and sound sources all under one meaningful vibe.

But the way I see it NOW, we are already getting characterised as the 'Anti' brigade: check any forum debates and we get stuck in the 'difficult' category next to Paradox, Breakage etc. Y'know? The 'deliberately complicated' category. And I wanna disassociate us and any new movement that I support from this reactionary position by defining an identity for us in terms other than simple Opposition to the Commercial or Uninventive shite prevalent in drum n bass right now! Because until we do that, we will always represent the difficult 'other', thus appearing to force a hard choice upon the d+b kids: allegiance to what gives them identity but shite music? Or better music but a more detached bohemian / cosmopolitan interest in complicated beats (which most of 'em still believe is motivated by a desire to make us seem more clever than everyone else!)?

Whereas what we actually need to be doing is making our style and outlook attractive to them - to make our musical world somewhere that they want to belong. And what I believe is most attractive (and also our greatest asset in these times of genres and categorisation) about what we do is our attitude as represented in our musical style: i.e. flipping the script and delivering the unexpected, and working up a buzz while doing so.

In other words, Jungle Style! Breaking up the straight lines of electrotrancedancediscostep with some proper Junglistic vibes, bringing the ruff with the smooth... being up to it - demanding more of our music and of our audience!

But unless such demands come with the prospect of a feeling of allegiance and belonging, they constitute nothing more than a grim test. Open minds need to be rewarded, and in the terms that 'the kids' understand. Jungle is an attitude, not a beat pattern, as you know well!
'The Children Of Andy C'.......... hehehehehe... sounds like it might make a good daytime made-for-Tv weepy!
OK, I hear yeah, balls in your court, what do you suggest?
Naphta Wrote:(2) If I hear ABOUT your music any more, I'm gonna get on the next flight to Canadia and frag yer ass! WHERE IS YOUR MUSIC!!!!????? At this stage, I'm beginning to wonder if your analysis is starting to take the place of product. I mean, fucking hell, I love to talk about music too, but when are you gonna start infecting the 2003kids like you keep saying you intend to? Actions speak louder than words. Lead by example! Show us!

hahahahahaha, i knew i'd get you going about this. i had already decided to fuck finishing the track i was targetting at you for the time being and send off a cd AS SOON AS THIS NEXT TRACK IS DONE, which is days away. there are only two songs, and they both have heavy trance influences, but who gives a fuck. making the tailored package i'd ideally like to make is obviously not going to happen in the next 5 months, and it's not like i can't send more in the future

i was planning to send it without warning, but since you asked, i guess i'll just have to introduce even more doubt Grin

but anyways, i might not talk about releases, but i'm working on it - at the very least, there'll be an EP out this summer (probably august), with a few collaborations between a friend and I and one of his solo tracks, and it doesn't seem that likely to fall through.
the more us doing this thing and giving a shit, the more chance of an alternative to the mainstream...

thats good isnt it?

well it was the last time i checked anywayz...
Anyone fancy a pint?!


I think (if it's safe to make such an assumption!) I sit on the same side of the fence as Scart Ridge. I appreciate and buy DnB across the spectrum; from 'intelligent' breaks (shit term, I know, but you know where I'm coming from), the hard 'n' dark, the deep 'n' soulful and the feel-good bounce of the dancefloor.....it's the diversity of the genre that has kept me interested for so long!

But..

If I'm going to be honest, it's the recent popularity explosion of the scene that does my head in! Clubs and record shops being over-run with spotty little pikey kids in Burberry baseball caps and bling. The fact that everyone wants to be a DJ/producer/label boss/Rock Star....all leading to the scene being oversaturated with mediocrity (at best!). Now this might seem like a contradiction - in favour of diversity but loathing the explosion - and I guess it is! This is my own, subjective bugbear and I guess it's up to me to deal with it, but at least I can appreciate that life isn't black and white (also, like Sean Mack, I don't regard myself to be a 'scenester' or 'junglist', but to be the sum of many different parts). The idea of actually trying to establish a scene, separate from the current, seems a little bit contrived. These things should develop naturally over time by individuals with imagination, passion and integrity (not on the sole basis of just being different from the status quo) - and defined AFTER the (initial) 'event' by external observation of the culture that is produced as a consequence.
It's all for the good of the book...
We need our own infrastructure, one that can ultimately bypass the drum n bass industry as it stands. The d+b kids are being fed Lowest Common Denominator muzak by the d+b labels which make safe muzak to fit into the sets of the d+b DJs (who have control of the other media i.e. d+b radio, magazines, websites). Appealing to these people for exposure will rarely find results - the odd maverick like Bailey will follow his instincts and play what he rates regardless, but does that mean that if Bailey packs it in, we're all fucked?!?

For a start, I say fuck giving gigs to people whose music we don't even like for the sake of still telling ourselves that we belong to their community... even if they do us a favour and broaden their sets a little on the night just to please us, it doesn't mean a damn thing when they go back to the day job gigs and keep hammering out the mediocrity! After all, they know which side their bread is buttered on... so why bother? We might as well by booking Slipmatt fer Chrissakes! So, do the play Jungle-style i.e. show us all the colours, surprise us, take us to new places? No? Then fuck 'em!

Secondly, Dj gigs to DJs. Proper Djs. Fuck this producers getting behind the decks lark - that's one of the reasons for the prevalence of shitestep - cos so many producers found they couldn't mix anything else in the heat of the moment and thus always fall back on easy options. Thus - proper Djs to take people on the proverbial journey - longer sets too, so the diversity gets a chance to actually happen!

So, we need to try and wean ourselves off the d+b infrastructure. Crucially at the moment, that means the DJs and the distributors, as anyone with the will and a bit of cash can start a label, and we (SB, INp, BB etc. etc.) are not short of actual music to release - in fact there's currently way too much good stuff being made to release at the moment!
But as Blue was pointing out, the distributors need something more to work with in order to be able to push our material on shops as representative of a MUSICAL MOVEMENT, rather than as isolated oddities in a sea of Bad Company clones. And that's what we need to create for ourselves - image 'n' all!

Form a network of club nights. Start swapping DJs and acts. Encourage live sets and actively promote risk-taking in the line-ups and presentations as part of what we're about as opposed to the blandness of 99% of club culture which is now universally seen as jaded and cynical.

Shared advertising and marketing/press efforts. Of course we contiue to do our own thing but we make a concerted effort to reference and actively support each other.

Pour our net-energies into boards like this one, and fuck the others! Too much time wasted and heartache endured getting slated by Dilly fans with their hands over their ears. Get a proper buzz going with people who actually appreciate what we're at and want to be involved with it. And let the rest of them come after, as they will!!!

Oh yeah - and get a collective website going where we can post all the music that no-one is getting to hear right now cos it's not on vinyl! Maybe develop internet radio from it - now that would be damn useful!!!

So what links us together? Not the music we make in the usual copycat d+b terms, but our attitude - our willingness and enthusiasm for change and diversity! We should be proud that we differ to one another on our musical output and intent! We don't wanna turn into a GLR-style factory for knocking off replicants with slightly different artwork - we NEED diversity and want to hear it!

And we need to make a concerted assault on the dancefloor - not in today's lame-ass LCD terms, but bringing the full might of our years of Junglistic experience to bear on making sure that people who come to our nights remember them for OUR music!

It's JUNGLE STYLE! It's gonna be MASSIVVVVVVVVVEEEEEE!!!!!!!
monkey man Wrote:The idea of actually trying to establish a scene, separate from the current, seems a little bit contrived. These things should develop naturally over time by individuals with imagination, passion and integrity (not on the sole basis of just being different from the status quo) - and defined AFTER the (initial) 'event' by external observation of the culture that is produced as a consequence.

'should develop'?????
'should be defined after the event'????

Eh?

I'm not being a cunt, MM, but what rule-book are you reading from??? Who decided that there is only one way that things can develop?

As soon as it leaves the bedroom, music IS POLITICISED. Would you let politics run its course uninterfered or, in the absence of good government, would you rather step up and try and order affairs to your liking? I guarantee you this: all of the industry d+b heads aren't sitting about debating this shit - they're taking the scene in the direction they want! Why should we not do just that too - take control rather than waiting for someone's fucking permission?!?!?

Besides, we already have loads of really talented fuckers like Blue and Equinox and Senses and Breakage and Polska etc. etc. etc. Therein lies the vision - with the dedicated artists and with the people who support them! What more do we need to wait on?
Boobies
I find DOA hopelessly lost, there's nothing pro-D&B left.
But this board appears very appropriate to me :thumbsup!:
This is a great thread! I've put out the word to try and get some other heads in here for the discussion.

Yeah >hic!< yoou guysh aaaarrre all grrrrrreat....! >hic!< Even the Booobieeesheesh are grrrreat.....! *sniff*
Naphta Wrote:'should develop'?????
'should be defined after the event'????

Eh?

I'm not being a cunt, MM, but what rule-book are you reading from??? Who decided that there is only one way that things can develop?

As soon as it leaves the bedroom, music IS POLITICISED. Would you let politics run its course uninterfered or, in the absence of good government, would you rather step up and try and order affairs to your liking? I guarantee you this: all of the industry d+b heads aren't sitting about debating this shit - they're taking the scene in the direction they want! Why should we not do just that too - take control rather than waiting for someone's fucking permission?!?!?

Besides, we already have loads of really talented fuckers like Blue and Equinox and Senses and Breakage and Polska etc. etc. etc. Therein lies the vision - with the dedicated artists and with the people who support them! What more do we need to wait on?

Rule book? I don't believe in rule books and that's exactly my original point; by trying to establish a scene you're inevitably laying down guidelines and boundaries. When I said a scene should be 'defined after the event', I meant that such a thing should (as much as anything 'should' be defined in art!!) only be classified after a time it has developed into something that can indeed be deemed a 'scene' (usually by those people in the press!).

Really though, I think we're getting into semantics here as I do appreciate your sentiment regarding the subject. My (again, admittedly subjective) understanding of a 'scene' is much more than a particular sound in music - there's the associated culture with it.

Believe me, there's ALOT I hate about the current culture of DnB!
It's all for the good of the book...
Blue Wrote:the more us doing this thing and giving a shit, the more chance of an alternative to the mainstream...

thats good isnt it?

well it was the last time i checked anywayz...
That's basically waht I was trying to say!!!.............Damn you Blue
Naphta Wrote:I guarantee you this: all of the industry d+b heads aren't sitting about debating this shit - they're taking the scene in the direction they want! Why should we not do just that too - take control rather than waiting for someone's fucking permission?!?!?

why do talk and action have to be mutually exclusive? i think one of the greatest strengths we seem to share here is that we can talk about these things openly, despite some discordant viewpoints, without fear of pissing each other off, or fear of unearthing something about ourselves which we'd rather not admit - talking about your plans, or what you've already done, helps you check those things against reality. it decreases the danger that what you do will be ineffective because you haven't taken things into account that other people might look at and be able to spot right away.

talk is useless without action, and action isn't useless without talk, but why not talk and action together? actually, 'why A or B when you can try for A and B' has been a theme lately for me, in what i'm striving towards as a person; i suspect that in a lot of cases, this sort of mutual exclusion is only there if you choose to buy into it.
I think it's quite obvious that "we" can't rely on "them" when it comes to pushing our music, so it's quite natural that we have to do it ourselves. And to do this we have to establish an independant network and infrastructure. I don't see this as a stretegic move to enforce a new scene, it's just putting work and energy into your musical vision because nobody else will do it for you.

IMHO "the split ™" has already happened years ago, since the mainstream began to completely ignore leftfield dnb. Just nobody had the balls to say it ("The unspoken divide" Wink). Of course there are still people like Bailey who are somewhere between. But the "initial event" has already happened, and like Chris said, there already is a scene with it's own labels and nights, it's just still very small and in its infancy. I see all the points discussed here are as steps to maturity.
littleNemo Wrote:I think it's quite obvious that "we" can't rely on "them" when it comes to pushing our music, so it's quite natural that we have to do it ourselves. And to do this we have to establish an independant network and infrastructure. I don't see this as a stretegic move to enforce a new scene, it's just putting work and energy into your musical vision because nobody else will do it for you.

I agree.
It's all for the good of the book...
littleNemo Wrote:But the "initial event" has already happened, and like Chris said, there already is a scene with it's own labels and nights, it's just still very small and in its infancy. I see all the points discussed here are as steps to maturity.

Right! Then all I'm trying to do is give it another little shunt down the road!

In suggesting the formation of something with a distinct identity, I've never actually felt that I was talking about something that didn't already exist... However, sometimes phenomena need to have attention called to them, and I've enough experience about the media to know when it's time to sit back and let them come in and document it or when it's time to get out there and start writing our own history. Hence my mission to bring the news of What Time It Is to the Children of Andy C (under various guises) across the internet in the last 2 years - I felt there was lots of shit that needed to be heard and if necessary, fought over!

IMO, one of the chief lessons to be learned from Jungle's previous highs and lows is that unless we exert some deliberate influence over how what we do is represented, then we are entirely at the mercy of fashion and whim. At present, the attention span of the d+b media is generally straight out of the goldfish brigade, while the attention of the wider music media has been lost to us utterly (The Wire etc.) courtesy of the conservative direction the scene has taken in the last few years. Get this - GOOD WILL NOT ALWAYS OUT, in musical terms. The historical pathways of music are positively littered with the graves of those who waited to be picked up or signed or feted or understood or rewarded for their brilliant music, but who were passed over because the time wasn't right, or cos the press were all off down the pub or because the stars weren't properly aligned... or whateverthefuck...

So do we wait for the Sunday Supplements to come in and do a feature on 'Alternative Drum n Bass', and then hope we finally get an A-Z feature in Mixmag a few days before we all retire? Or do we try and promote what we do? As the movie poster outside my window says: The time has come for those who are different to stand united!
scart ridge Wrote:why do talk and action have to be mutually exclusive? i think one of the greatest strengths we seem to share here is that we can talk about these things openly, despite some discordant viewpoints, without fear of pissing each other off, or fear of unearthing something about ourselves which we'd rather not admit - talking about your plans, or what you've already done, helps you check those things against reality. it decreases the danger that what you do will be ineffective because you haven't taken things into account that other people might look at and be able to spot right away.

talk is useless without action, and action isn't useless without talk, but why not talk and action together? actually, 'why A or B when you can try for A and B' has been a theme lately for me, in what i'm striving towards as a person; i suspect that in a lot of cases, this sort of mutual exclusion is only there if you choose to buy into it.


Aaargh!!! Right! I'm coming over to killl you. Now!!!!!!
monkey man Wrote:Rule book? I don't believe in rule books and that's exactly my original point; by trying to establish a scene you're inevitably laying down guidelines and boundaries. When I said a scene should be 'defined after the event', I meant that such a thing should (as much as anything 'should' be defined in art!!) only be classified after a time it has developed into something that can indeed be deemed a 'scene' (usually by those people in the press!).

Really though, I think we're getting into semantics here as I do appreciate your sentiment regarding the subject. My (again, admittedly subjective) understanding of a 'scene' is much more than a particular sound in music - there's the associated culture with it.

Believe me, there's ALOT I hate about the current culture of DnB!

Sheeeit, are u one o' them SB cru? You guys really have a bee in yer bonnets about the concept of the 'scene', don't you?!?

But, you see, from where I'm standing, you guys already have a little scene going with what you do. And that's what keeps you going: the cameraderie, the help offered, the artistic vision shared, plus the all important credo of allowing space for criticism and argument while still succeeding in representing something as a collective... I'm only too well aware of the damage that sceneism can do (as indeed should any of us who've come from Jungle / d+b - or indeed hiphop, indie rock etc.), but I am also only too well aware of the force for creativity and focus for expression that 'scenes' can also provide.

Yes, there would be guidelines and boundaries. They are, in no particular order:

prioritise the playing/making of Jungle-related music
keep it fresh, keep it exciting, keep it raw
open your own ears
seduce others, don't lecture or try to enforce
and make sure that it's both lots of fun AND deadly serious
Naphta Wrote:Aaargh!!! Right! I'm coming over to killl you. Now!!!!!!

see ya soon buddy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fuck...I really am way too busy at work today to attend in detail to this thread, but, a few (what will be underdeveloped) thoughts:

There's a crazy irony for me in this, given that there's an ideological divide present in this thread. You can parse your arguments til you're collectively blue in the face and it makes no difference to me personally as I play tunes from both sides religiously. Some of you also know of the aborted plans for the now-probably-never-to-appear last Metaformal e.p. I'm deeply sorry if I'm compromising aliases here, but truth will out and all that bollox: you're all making vital, interesting, good music that DOES maintain a dancefloor sensibility (only it's a dancefloor sensibility that is not in agreeance with dominant tastes). Those who've been around can reference any number of Oktal's long disquisitions on how 'our' music IS dancefloor, NOT "abstract, leftfield, un-dancefloor oriented," etc. I don't see a whole lot of distance between positions here, only differences in ideas on methodology. That--to me--is where the utility of this discussion lies: not in our ideological, political notions of why we do what we do, but HOW we can practically advance what we do in the market place of music, ideas, and commerce.

I think Blue mentioned the idea of an album as one avenue. If you're speaking of artist albums, let me say this: I released one. It's actually done better outside of DnB than inside DnB. It's still receiving wonderful notices from places outside of DnB. And it's done fuck all for my 'profile' as a saleable artist in dnb. Remixes? Aint getting em (barring one; copies forthcoming to some of you...addresses as reminders wouldn't go amiss; email me). Invitations from labels? Ditto. Renewed interest from distributors? Nix. I'm not suggesting that an album still can't reclaim lost ground for what "we" are doing (and yes, to remind, despite ideological differences, there's far more that unites those of us here than divides us), but it's only one small step.

Can some kind of consensus emerge on a viable and ideologically agreeable method to all of us who are frustrated? Continue the argument/discussion. I unfortunately have to get back to work.
naphta, chris inperspective, bobule, scart & the inimitable monkey man down from the trees-i can't even tell you how illuminating this conversation is-this gives me a lot of hope for alternative voices and channels to be heard within the community! props to you...

the whole droppin' science/cert 18 demise has been really disheartening to me. it seemed to me that when i was listening to those plates i was hearing something that was free from the limited vernacular that pins in dnb now-really stretching the context as well as infusing other influences. now people slate john b for this new wave shit-i wouldn't play his tunes cause they don't grab me-but you have to give the man respect for at least trying to change the context in which people look at drum & bass. it's still a self-centered perspective, but it really freaks people out when you say, "well, drum & bass can be this as well".

people get threatened by something like this forum and by streetbeats because it does challenge the context of what is. it doesn't give you what you want necessary, but you might actually like more what it gives you as an alternative. again, by participation in this forum we are demonstrating that there are alternative channels which verifies this point. this is the trojan horse, and we're gettin ready to slaughter. the revolution won't be televised on their broadcast. the revolution starts within yourself, rhetorical or no. it's the truth.

monkey man touched on a really interesting point with the recent boom. there is this direct marketing to an audience now that wasn't as prevalent as it used to be (at least in my mind). now you see more faces on 12 sleeves-trying to make producers stars and to perpetuate this cult of personality, trying to dictate the picture to you as opposed to what you think it is. making tunes "for the ladies" as some producers put it, is a bit silly and sort of sexist too-insulting, actually.

say what you want about his music-i actually am a really big fan of his & am listening to his show now-but klute seems to have come out with a unique voice and has demonstrated that you can succeed and fit into a system and, as well, exist outside of it. i love the fact that he doesn't just stick to a sound and that there is a challenging of a notion of what his music is. making tracks that are heavy without using a reece & amens. making a track with melody that would fit into a hard set. he changes logos more as a means of expression, showing shades of grey as well as black and white, and they are a comment about something other that drum & bass. i dig that. enough separate voices doing this will help change the tide.
SKRUB AUDIO UPDATED 5/2009 SMP 48-WHAT MUSIC?-Late Spring '09 Mix
this is all great! Grin

Here's an outsider's and old-timer's point of view...

I think you already have the scene going — your own nights going at Beatjam, Bassbin, Inperspective and wherever — potential contacts virtually around the world. All you need is to sell it.

Priority #1 — increase profile.
Priority #2 — increase profile.
Priority #3 — increase profile.

Keep making the music you're making — but pump the publicity. And work together. Whenever anyone gets an opportunity for publicity, mention everyone else as well.

Once people — journalists in particular — pick up on the fact there's a proper scene around they'll pump it themselves to boost their own prestige. Journalists love scenes, careers are made on scenes.
Naphta - 'SB cru'?! (SB = Street Beats?). No, I'm not a member of any cru or scene or gang or posse.....I'm just a single entity in my own right!

All I'm saying is that actively trying to distance yourself from the current DnB establishment, and dictating a creative manifesto which one must follow, isn't a very healthy way of going about it. I'm not suggesting that you actually are going to write up a list of rules and regulations that must be policed and enforced, but by saying 'We must set up a new scene' you are giving a name to your game (and consequently limiting yourself). As Statto said (and I suggested before); pigeon-holing is a job for the journalists...not artists.

If you do your own thang - or if you are doing something that is different from the norm but fits in with what other like-minded musicians are doing - and promote it successfully, then a scene may develop naturally away from the current. Look at what happened in the crossover between hardcore (or other late 80's/early 90's rave music that is affectionately now known as 'Old Skool') and what we term as being DnB today - no one person stood up and said 'I'm going to set up a scene different from what's going on now'. It progressed and evolved naturally over time.

The problem, as Sean pointed out, is that DnB is becoming mainstream (infected by the cult of personality and celebrity - a subject that scares the fuck out of me and extends far beyond the world of music) but the 'underground' will always be there and will further propagate the original, creative and innovative integrity that the scene once had in abundance. (It should also be pointed out that current movements in the 'underground' will no doubt surface in later years and be repackaged to be easily digested for the masses. Art is a very fickle thing....).
It's all for the good of the book...
monkey man Wrote:Naphta - 'SB cru'?! (SB = Street Beats?). No, I'm not a member of any cru or scene or gang or posse.....I'm just a single entity in my own right!

Ok, fair enough!

Quote:All I'm saying is that actively trying to distance yourself from the current DnB establishment, and dictating a creative manifesto which one must follow, isn't a very healthy way of going about it.

Why not? We need our own infrastructure in order to ecape reliance on a scene that doesn't want us involved!

Quote:I'm not suggesting that you actually are going to write up a list of rules and regulations that must be policed and enforced, but by saying 'We must set up a new scene' you are giving a name to your game (and consequently limiting yourself). As Statto said (and I suggested before); pigeon-holing is a job for the journalists...not artists.

I feel like you havenn't really read what I've written....... did u read my suggested guidelines? Do you actually feel that 'enforcing' them would creatively inhibit you or anyone else? How are they about pigeon-holing? It's about setting up and establishing something as an ASPIRATION, not as a LIMITATION.

Quote:If you do your own thang - or if you are doing something that is different from the norm but fits in with what other like-minded musicians are doing - and promote it successfully, then a scene may develop naturally away from the current.

So careful, always so careful!!! Why the hesitation? Whose permission are you waiting for...? Why be at the mercy of a fickle passing interest from an ill-informed media? This is already happening! I just want to move it on and give it a face and a voice before we all fucking throw in the towel with frustration!

Quote:Look at what happened in the crossover between hardcore (or other late 80's/early 90's rave music that is affectionately now known as 'Old Skool') and what we term as being DnB today - no one person stood up and said 'I'm going to set up a scene different from what's going on now'. It progressed and evolved naturally over time.

Yes and no. The precedents weren't there in many ways - dance music 'culture' didn't exist in the public consciousness in anything like the same way and thus these processes were not observed in the same way. Yet, at the same time, how many original Junglists were disenchanted British B-boys (Crystl, Hype, Danny Breaks, Goldie etc.)? Struggling to find a space for themselves in a 'scene' that wanted only US-imitations or zany comercialism?

Also, I think you may be too much in awe of second-hand journalistic mythic creations. Mad Mike and friends all sat down and theorised to fuck about UR and about what the music meant to them and how to make it happen, as did Juan Atkins etc. years before. As did Einsturzende Neubauten, as did Popol Vuh, as did The Stooges, as I'm sure did many UK punks etc. etc. Music mags like to highlight the seeming impenetrability of such occurrences and surround them in a golden light, because to such journalists, they ARE generally impenetrable - because they hadn't followed the history, hadn't been party to the innumerable talks, plans, visions. However, any real artist knows that parallel to that inscrutable creative urge that drives him like a drug and directs his taste-buds must run a calculating mind and a cold eye for decision-making - absolutely essential in ordert to get anything achieved.

Again, what is it with this 'over time'? I've been playing this music for almost 10 years and making it for 4, and there's many here who go way further back than that! What are you waiting for......?

Quote:The problem, as Sean pointed out, is that DnB is becoming mainstream (infected by the cult of personality and celebrity - a subject that scares the fuck out of me and extends far beyond the world of music) but the 'underground' will always be there and will further propagate the original, creative and innovative integrity that the scene once had in abundance. (It should also be pointed out that current movements in the 'underground' will no doubt surface in later years and be repackaged to be easily digested for the masses. Art is a very fickle thing....).

I agree about the personality thing - give the kids some bubblegum pop stars to stick on their wall (how long before Dilly posters or stickers, I wonder..?). Actually, I have to say that such pat tongue-in-cheek kitsch kiddie marketing would fit in very well with the oh-so-culturally-jaded-take-nothing-seriously mood prevalent amongst 20-somethings... kids a generation after me who grew up with more money and confidence but less belief (an active fear, even) in commiting themselves to anything at all... kids who often seem afraid of exhibiting anything other than an ironic take on modern culture, and a fond attachment to the retro and downright infantile. Hence my younger peers acceptance of the drop in standards to pure shite - to question, to complain is seen as almost unfashionable. Instead, IT'S ALL GOOD!!!