Thursday, April 30, 1998
Electronic breakdown
MUSIC: Now that the initial hype over DJ culture has subsided,
artists of electronica, techno, dance look for credibility beyond
music trends
By Trinh Bui
Daily Bruin Contributor
Over the past year and a half, machine-generated music under the
aliases "electronica," "dance" or "techno" has enjoyed overwhelming
attention by both major record companies and media outlets. With
electronic-based music, curious parties in the industry wanted
something beneficial from this underground sensation.
For record companies, the prospect of discovering the next tasty
trend that would eventually replace a dying grunge scene led to
big-time investments in well-established electronic artists. As for
print, radio and TV, the rave and DJ culture provided a seductive
look into a totally foreign lifestyle generally portrayed by sexy
people, bright clothes and drugs.
Now 1997 has turned into 1998. What has become of the
"electronica" scene that for so long existed on the fringe of
society and now pushed into the mainstream?
Like any other musical phenomenon picked up by business
interests and tagged as "big news," dance music must perform a
delicate balancing act. It must maintain the spiritual and artistic
messages within the music, which nurtured the scene for years
before the fame. Now electronic music must concede to the
commercial sacrifices that must be made to accommodate the
potential mass audience.This leaves a once independent and
unscrutinzed scene vulnerable to market trends and general public
opinion from listeners too new to "get the message."
Yet, even though the increased awareness has piqued the public’s
curiosity and increased their knowledge of electronica, not many
people are really connecting with the music as expected. The
honeymoon is over; now is the time to see where electronic music
really stands after the hype.
Initially, the first wave of press coverage did nothing but
prove positive for DJs and bands specializing in electronica. For
years on end, these same groups of musicians toiled in obscurity
without a hint of recognition for their work. DJs such as England’s
John Digweed, who has put out cult faves "Northern Exposure" and
"Northern Exposure 2" with fellow DJ Sasha, have reaped the rewards
of press coverage with gigs in the United States. Both Digweed and
Sasha spin records at New York’s Twilo club, pulling in 3,000
people a month.
"I think it’s great," Digweed notes. "I think it has been really
encouraging; there has been a lot of great bands like Crystal
Method and bands like Prodigy from England that are getting great
attention from the mass audiences. With Twilo, last Friday was our
first year anniversary we’ve been there a year. That proves itself
that it’s been going great."
Riding the wave generated by hyperactive publicity, the presence
of electronica infected everything. Sports programs and commercials
use electronic singles from the likes of Crystal Method and Fat Boy
Slim as background music. Sales for electronic-based acts reached
record highs with albums from the Chemical Brothers hitting gold
and Prodigy going double platinum, including grabbing the No. 1
slot on the Billboard album chart. All indications led to the
conclusion that at least the superficial aspect of electronic music
began to filter into the mainstream.
"It’s kind of funny, we went to the women’s NCAA gymnastic
championships at UCLA, and it was interesting how many of the floor
exercise routines were done to some variation of techno,
electronic, club music with an electronic element and that
indicates that it has made it into the mainstream consciousness,"
Steve Hochman of the L.A. Times comments. "If you see it in women’s
gymnastics, that is about as mainstream as you can get. There is no
question that it’s penetrated, as to whether the DJ culture as far
as that becoming mainstream and the real non-pop, top 40 mentality
of it goes, that is still pretty much outside."
During the media blitz, hundreds of articles saturated the pages
of magazines concerning the electronic field, very little has
actually been said about the music and the artists themselves. Most
of the early writings centered on the hype and imagery surrounding
dance music, excluding any real insight on songwriting or the
motives driving the artists. For enthusiasts, working to get the
real message about electronic music to the public became an uphill
battle.
Stefanie Lees, publicist for dance-minded public relations firm
Formula PR, realized early on that ambiguities about electronic
music began to coalesce due to the early reporting.
"Press in the beginning was very thin and surface-oriented, very
basic. Now it’s the second wave; last summer was the hype thing,
now it’s like, ‘prove yourself,’" Lees says. "In the beginning, the
(articles) were concept-based, but they really didn’t dig into the
music or the roots behind the music, and that’s why people don’t
understand it."
After the preliminary excitement died down, the reality of
really pushing electronic music into the American vernacular
settled in. Unlike Europe, especially England, where the population
essentially shares one major media outlet in the form of the BBC, a
very progressive and artistic driven broadcaster, America has a
vast network of radio stations, print media and hundreds of bands
that are competing with British artists trying to get their music
noticed and played.
"You guys have such a big country, whereas in England a band can
tour around and do the whole of England in like a month," Digweed
admits. "There are hundreds of bands in America, and in a big area
like Florida you might have only one or two clubs that can actually
put on this type of entertainment or music. For the promoter to
have confidence in the DJs or band to fill the place up, there has
to be a certain amount of proof that an artist is worth the
billing."
The problem lies deeper than just the sheer size of the States.
Americans are not used to going to an event billed as a "concert"
and just see a guy spin records and dance. The overseas carry-over
of electronic music must adapt their performances to the fickle
tastes of America to attain further growth in the States.
"I think they have to (tour)," Hochman says. "You have to
present it in America in places where people are accustomed to
going to at decent hours and in a format that means something to
somebody whose concept of a concert is an event you go and watch.
Otherwise, it’s intimidating, if the record companies are going to
invest in this and think there is a future in it and the artists
feel that there is something that they can do that is justified in
going outside of the rave culture. Then you have to do it in a way
that reaches out. You can’t expect people to come to you when
you’re doing something that is foreign."
The success of touring and building a strong fan base is
essential in creating a strong buzz for an electronic act. A
dilemma facing the music industry today, especially for a fledgling
genre like "electronica," involves the huge amount of artists in
other fields flooding already crowded air waves and print space.
Caroline/Astralwerks retail marketing manager Gregg Allen sees this
as a persistent problem to the advancement of electronic music.
"Getting the right music to your consumer, it’s tough because
there is so much out there and consumers are overwhelmed by the
amount of releases that comes out," Allen says. "Sometimes it’s
hard to find exactly what you are looking for. The fact that most
of the stuff reaching the consumer is top 40 radio stuff like
Matchbox 20 and Third Eye Blind, a lot of new electronic acts are
not getting any airplay … and naturally radio is where you get
your biggest sales."
Another aspect of electronic artists is that they tend to hide
behind their equipment and avoid rock attitude and showmanship. In
Europe, people are in tune with the music, and unconcerned with the
guy spinning the music.
It’s harder to get away with that sort of thing in America where
stage spectacular counts. For dance artists to counteract the
"faceless" stigma, record companies must spend more time developing
bands and getting the right people spreading the word on rave
culture.
"They should follow traditional formats that have proven to work
in general," Lees says, "But record companies should not forget to
let the artist develop, and that’s the biggest problem that is
happening right now. Record labels see dollar signs and they all
run for it quickly, fearing that it’s going to change in an
instant. A company needs the right marketing, publicity and A&R
people who actually know the rave scene. Right now most majors
don’t have that."
Slowly, media and major record companies are settling into the
electronic groove. Journalists are beginning to focus their
attention on the music and the sound.
Major labels have started forming development teams better
prepared to filter out all the noise, and hopes are high that
electronic’s niche will grow.
"When you first try to break something, it is definitely
harder," Allen says, "And the sales of electronic acts are still
building. There aren’t a lot of gold electronic acts, but if the
scene keeps growing as it is, a lot of people are foreseeing gold
acts in the future."
Even with the strong support from companies, the spirit and
long- run success of electronic music lies in the underground and
within hardcore fans who care more about the music than the company
that puts it out.