The Fate of the Electronic Music Producer

I think it depends on if you're shallow or not, people with a broad mind will accept something new faster then others. Since we live in a world where most of the people aren't too smart i think we have a problem indeed! But nevermind the masses, what do they know about the way you do your thing, if you make music it's based upon the feeling you want to share, you can't copy that

maybe this is a useless post concerning the topic i don't know :D i'm een beetje sick and onozel right now

well.. what can I say..

I think it is quite logical that when you post progressive house on a soft rock site peeps won't like it. People i know who listen to soft rock also don't like prog house ..

but i get your point though. There are a lot of misconceptions about electronic music. Standing behind a laptop is not at all the same as playing a guitar. They have a point, but, as laptop musician you can also do a lot with controlling your samples and playing real-time. So i think a good electronic music producer is a producer who tries to show the audience he's a craftsman, that he makes sounds and not just clicking the mouse.

Not only that I think, it's not the sound, it's the message, the sound is like the gateway where the message goes through, doesn't matter if it's a guitar or a sample, it's the message the message!!!!!!! And aslong people can receive it and recognise it you're on a good go At least i think that, but who am i

Originally posted by : quioui

well.. what can I say..

I think it is quite logical that when you post progressive house on a soft rock site peeps won't like it. People i know who listen to soft rock also don't like prog house ..

but i get your point though. There are a lot of misconceptions about electronic music. Standing behind a laptop is not at all the same as playing a guitar. They have a point, but, as laptop musician you can also do a lot with controlling your samples and playing real-time. So i think a good electronic music producer is a producer who tries to show the audience he's a craftsman, that he makes sounds and not just clicking the mouse.

Couldnt agree wit you more guys! :) When you create a certain sound which is aesthetically pleasing to the ears, then you have shown that u are a good craftsman indeed! And when the message which is transmitted by the power of the sound is powerful as well, whatever it may be, then its good music!!! It doesnt matter what kind of sound, as long as its powerful and moving!

et voila ;)

What bothers me is the way everything that is performed live the last, let's say 50 years is measured by rock terms. If you want to be considered as a real musician, you have to either sing, play (bass)guitar, drumor maybe, when you want to be the fancy one, play an electronic synthesizer thingie... If you're not doing that, then you're not considered a 'real' musician and in the worst case (when you have an ignorant crowd) they think you're playing prefab loops.

This wasn't always the case. Take for example the classical era. You think Mozart or bach played all their tunes live? No, an orchestra did it for them and in modern terms you could say those composers were sketching midi patterns with edirol orchestra plugged in their head (which is quite an achievement imo :))). But still they get the recognition and electrnic musicians, how clever tunes and midipatterns they might come up with, don't or not in such a way they should.

Another example, don't know the english term but in Dutch it's the 'dirrigent'. Now what do they do live? Swing their arms! What do they do according to the crowd, playing puppetmaster? Holding the strings of the arms of his entire orchestra? Sure they don't and the public knows it! But they get the recognition of the work they did before while practising (I'm sure it's a hell of a job, doing that, much like mixing tracks actually :)). And again: the electronic musician doesn't get that recognition (but like a dj does, which is strange).

So conclusion: e're pretty much doomed of getting recognition for our tracks, unless we follow the lines of the rock terms. This means doing 'stuff' with your arms and best of all: doing something that comes near what a rockband does.

So even if nowaday's electronic music sounds much more varied and clear to me than almost any rockband with a classic setup, you get judged by those terms and for a lot of people this means: you don't have a singer? -10 points, no guitarsounds? -5 points. No real drummer? -5points etc. till there are no points left because you look like a dj. Hell, 75% of the poeple don't know the difference between a dj and a producer. they think that music gets itself on records and that tweaking a 3 band equalizer on a mastered record that's playing IS in fact like producing, while I don't see much ressemblance between dj'ing and producing.

So you want to be accepted by the general public? You better get yourself a singer and a guitar player and then you might have a chance. As for me: I really don't give a f*ck what people that limit their musical horizon to guitars, singing and drums think of electronic music. ;)

Interesting topic !

I totally agree with the fact that a live laptop performance is different from playing a guitar for example. But in my mind, mastering live tweaking is also a performance. I mean you have to learn and practice your laptop and controllers as it was a kind of modern instrument. Instead of playing guitar riffs, you launch sounds and you control effects on it. And it needs to be learned as all other instrument !

So in this logic I don't see any difference and I agree with quioui's opinion (a good electronic music producer is a producer who tries to show the audience he's a craftsman, that he makes sounds and not just clicking the mouse. )

But we must agree that some electronic producers also work from premade loop libraries : a saxo loop, a jazz drum loop, some vocals and hop, done ! ...Which is from my point of view far less interesting and creative. Working this way doesn't make an artist of you I think, you're more a "copy-paster" playing around in a software, even if at the end it doesn't sound bad.

I would say that to deserve the "artist" title, you should express something by yourself... so making your loops by yourself.

Don't know if I'am clear enough, the boundaries are tight...

you're clear enogh benga, and you are right... obviously there is a difference, but does that make one thing better than another?I don't think so.... If you listen to wumpscut for example.... that guy doesn't even do live performances, because he wants to spend his time entirely on producing... and i think he's one hell of an artist;...

amon tobin...he builds his tracks entirely with samples, but wow, if u see what he does with them, he's an artist...

if you listen to some rock bands i'm sure there will be a lotta tracks that are played with live instruments, but suck big time...

in the end it's about being creative and there are a zillion ways to be creative...

creative freedom to us all !!! 8)

Originally posted by : Distreality

you're clear enogh benga, and you are right... obviously there is a difference, but does that make one thing better than another?I don't think so.... If you listen to wumpscut for example.... that guy doesn't even do live performances, because he wants to spend his time entirely on producing... and i think he's one hell of an artist;...

amon tobin...he builds his tracks entirely with samples, but wow, if u see what he does with them, he's an artist...

if you listen to some rock bands i'm sure there will be a lotta tracks that are played with live instruments, but suck big time...

in the end it's about being creative and there are a zillion ways to be creative...

creative freedom to us all !!! 8)mhhh good topic. i don't like it people are dissing electronic music as being prefab or worse stealing from others to create.i like it because it's a more plastic genre where you can create an ambiance quite spectacular-and having control over every squuek waw i love that.it gives a new dimension to music because the control of the sound 'depht'.i like to see it as a sort of painting but then with sounds.not that rock music is not its just a different kinda style, a differnt brush to paint those feelings. i like to visualise music and every genre has it way to reach a different feeling but man the control you have with electronics makes me feel like i'm totaly in control of every little aspect in creating that very feeling you have in mind far beyond human instrumental cunningness.wauw i really used the word feeling allot here but i'm to lazy to think of other ways to write. .so i have to say i totaly agree with benga.master your skills and keep realt to your self.the thing of making somethin totaly yourself is not easy to master but boy the reward afterwards is so big and helps you to make better and better and better stuff.keep it real and work haaaaard. hope everybody understand i'm kinda stoned but it's a thing i often think and talk about with friends.quite difficult to express sum about music

Yeah Bandarlog I like very much your way of describing the ignorance of most people! It's a good topic! It would be great if all people could understand the difference between a dj & producer and also that not the most of track are "remix" of other! Music is first to express our feelings! then to share with other and finally to be recognised by other. If this work great, you are lucky and maybe become a star (but it doesn't have to be the principal reason to create music)! So i want to say to all producer (professional or not) to enjoy their creating time and don't bother of bad ignorant people who knows nothing about electronic music! Greetz