Don't believe the hype
ICA Club: DIY Music
Monday 12th December 2005
Nash & Brandon Rooms, ICA, The Mall, London
Got invited by XFM DJ Nick Luscombe to be part of a panel to discuss the subject of DIY Music at the ICA. That's the Institute of Contemporary Arts for those not in the know. An organisation that, over the years, have received equal amounts of praise and criticism in my online ramblings.
The (very) loose agenda hovered around new approaches to music in terms of promotion and distribution. Take a look at their definition of DIY Music. There were six of us on the panel: Ned Beckett, Nick Luscombe, Frances May Morgan, Luke Bevan and Fink. Audience members included several musicians, label owners, promoters and someone who left Google for not being "forward-thinking" enough. Respect is due.
I guess the problems of such a discussion stem from the fact that DIY Music means different things to different people. I focussed on what I know, which revolved around the web and the emerging / established technologies that allow me to take control of how I consume music. How setting up a website such as Absorb led to such an overwhelming interest. From both the public and from labels / artists starved of an outlet for specialist music.
And how, with this blog, I join the thousands acting as music filters: simply mentioning records that I like. And how I still get untold amounts of music sent through for review....even though I'm just a blogger. I guess my presence there being representative of someone who isn't involved in the industry.
For me, the definition of DIY Music / Culture is all about control and how technology can provide the tools.
But the discussion was fractured, frustrating and there were way too many threads lost due to a lack of structure and time. But, having said that, there seemed to be a lot of lively debate, conflicting points-of-view and major label hating. As my esteemed colleague Anil (who was in the audience) rightly points out, Luke (from Universal Music) seemed confused as to where he stood. I guess I'd need to hear more from him before I could comment.
I personally think too much time was dedicated to the technology side of things. Topics like the live scene were touched upon. Perceptions of those musicians who don't play 'traditional' instruments (we're talking laptop performers here) and how they manage to overcome translating their work into the live arena.
How 'traditional' print-based magazines such as Plan B were balancing coverage between the well-known and the obscure. Totally agreeing with Frances' criteria of what she personally covers: music that we know won't get much coverage elsewhere.
I'd have liked to focussed a little more on Nick's area of expertise: radio. My personal affiliation with John Peel and his Radio 1 show have given me a good insight into how powerful this format can be. How it can fit into the new models of online social networking and promotion networks. It's the ultimate inclusive format, its just a shame that most commercial radio (in London at least) is so utterly shit.
Whilst all this was going on, to alleviate boredom on my part (and to give the audience something else to look at other than our gormless faces), I rigged up a projector to my laptop and surfed the web for relevant music sites. This is where I visited during the talk:
To see another take on the evening, take a look at Anil's posting on his quotesque.net blog.
 |
Hexstatic: Listen & Learn (Ninja Tune) - CD
Amon Tobin: Recorded Live (Ninja Tune) - CD
Slam: Nighdrive (Resist) - Double CD
Luke Slater: Fear and Loathing Part 2 (Resist) - Double CD
Sven Vath: The Sound of the Sixth Season (Cocoon Music) - Triple CD
Loco Dice & Ricardo Villalobos: Green & Blue (Cocoon Music) - Double CD
Craig Richards: Fabric 15 - Tyrant (Fabric) - Double CD
Will Saul: Simple One (Simple) - CD
As someone who believes mixes should now be part of the scheme of 'adding-value' to a label's online activities. It seems faintly ridiculous that people still pay money for this sort of thing.
At least Hexstatic manage to keep things eclectic and fun. Problem is, you'll have trouble differentiating this from just about every other Ninja Tune mix released. Maybe Amon Tobin could roughen things up a bit; no old hip-hop skits or porn samples for this man. His live Final Scratch mix takes in snippets of grime and techno in between the staple-Ninja funk and breaks.
I've simply no time in my life for Sven Vath, certainly not a triple CD's worth. And neither have you. Luke Slater chips in with a mix of two halves. First CD is pretty decent, with a smart ambient intro sequence that could have gone on for a bit longer. But fucks it up with a rubbish second CD that sounds like every other electro mix CD released to date.
OK, sorry. Im really running out of interest here. Slam: some good minimal stuff interspersed with absolute rubbish. Loco Dice & Villalobos: alright, not as good as my own mixes. Craig Richards: interesting and hectic, prefer his excellent stints as Fabric's resident. But the second CD of the two is pretty smart; anyone who includes the mighty Air Liquide in any shape or form commands respect. Will Saul: nice packaging, where do they get that paper stock from, good use of the Helvetica font.
