And they're just noticing this now?
I got one too...the world is in crisis. Look at me I'm the all-seeing wizard.

Here's the Guardian article if you're interested in what the French duo have to say about EDM's shite state of affairs. They also talk about the new album Random Access Memories coming out next month:
Daft Punk Say Electronic Dance Music Is In Crisis

I'd like to point out that it's not that music is rubbish nowadays it's just that there is so much more of it. The same can be said about film. I think people need to stop being lazy and get out there and really dig. You rarely stumble into awesomeness particularly when you consider that what the majority of the population listens to is utter CRAP! You have to seek it out, you have to make time for it.

 

Well, they said this too:

Check the full interview on Rolling Stones Mag

 

I do agree that mainstream music is stagnating but there are plenty of obscure acts that have their own recognizable sound. The problem is partly the genre itself as since it's just for dancing it doesn't have too much depth and is on the whole cliche and derivative. This is partly a result of the recording industry that rewards cookie cutter music acts while being averse to giving promising upcoming artists a chance. They don't give a shit about culture, they're just trying to milk trends to death in an effort to recoup their investment and make a profit. It has never been mainstream music that shaped genres but rather the underground scene. A promising underground artist comes out becomes successful in not just imitating but also innovating and making music uniquely theirs and next year you'll have 20 mainstream douchebags sounding just like them. Monkey see, monkey do. Honestly, I think that this is just a publicity stunt. Don't get me wrong I like Daft Punk but it gives the impression that they're kind of pompous, like they're doing something mind-blowing that's never been done before. They really shouldn't put Skrillex on a pedestal either as in my opinion he is partly what's wrong with music nowadays. All flash and no substance. Still looking forward to checking out the album though.

 

headline headline we need a headlineeeee - said every newspaper ever.

 

Totally agree man all that hype around Daft Punk (even if i'm a real fan) is just too much, there are a lot of electronic acts out there that do great music. The times we live in need myths and idols and that what Daft Punk is delivering.

 

Well we are living in times where fame can come over night just being slut, entering reality shows or just making complete fool of yourself to get some recognition, sad reality....and in that reality everyone have a chance to get there, talent is not crucial, but the people clearly have issues recognizing that even in stupidity you need to be original, but that's for whole another debate.

You are asking, what is have to do with electronic music, exactly that, blind followers that only want to get there taking the same steps as someone who did it, just copying entire sound and vision, taking laziest approach just having fame in their minds and that is clearly reflection of todays scene, endless copy-paste tracks and "artists" with no identity.

It's not just new wave of producers, young folks with no actual identity, just hunger for fame and ego boosting, but the older ones that made something before now just have name and laziness, they do the same thing, just following the trends and trying to stay "fresh"....most sad thing is they are all copying the same sound, that's the problem, everybody have their inspiration in this year or in that specific genre, just making shit hot when it's hot.

Does anybody wake up and say 'Man, I really have something special here, hope there is someone who will connect with this" or just okay "I want this,this and that, how I make this, let's ask on forum, oooo new presets, cool loop, yea it sounds the same, mmmm let's see tutorial how i make this to sound like this"......"now let's just put it on soundcloud and spam everything,yeaaa I'm going to be famous"

Mindset of someone who is out there: "Now let's make this they love this, xxx guy have this, people really dig this, mmmm if I make it like this it would sound more like xxx guy, yea it sounds all right, label is gonna love it"

 

Once upon a time, the EDM scene was headed by people like Juan Atkins... I was 20 and it was damn great

So now, the opinion of Daft Puke, or whatever their name is... I just don't give a fxxx !

 

I find quite interesting their observation:
¨You hear a song – whose track is it? There's no signature."
I feel pretty comfortable in a scenario where the ownership is fading out as far the people involved got paid for the work that generates profits.
I don´t think that EDM in particular is showing such stiffness.

I never manage to understand why so many creative and artists reward their public with the most pointless forecasts drawing such poor image of the world.
The full art history is a compilation of artists unsatisfied with the evolution of their discipline.
Since I can remember it has always been a crisis, something ontological.
If it had been for writers, film makers, musicians, painters, linguists, dancers the end of the human creativity would have happened so long ago that no future generation will have had the skill of communicating symbolically anymore.

I think Daft Punk are brilliant but in this case seems that their main memory functions are reserved for an exercise of nostalgia leaking that irrelevant regret of some industry insiders.

 

Definitely, the guy was the pioneer of techno. Well actually that's not exactly true because all the artists of the time were heavily influenced by Kraftwerk/Neu! but for some reason people seem to forget that. I'm really there with you man as the scene was fresh and exciting. I put up the article mainly to spark off a discussion on the state of EDM and for people that are really into them. I like the band but I don't feel that they're as legendary as they seem to think. I eschew mainstream music which to me equates to insipid, vapid nonsense for the mass brain-dead consumer public. I live for the underground.

 

You're spot on my man. Rap has also added a lot of that type of ego mentality to music. I think you only have a right to have an ego if you're actually bringing something unique to the table. If I ever make it big I don't even want people to know who I am or what I look like. I am simply involved with this pursuit for the music and the catharsis. Everything else is just human hubris.

 

Well that's where you and me differ. I am not in this for the fame or the money and recouping investments and generating profits are as artistic to me as a prostate exam. Mainstream EDM is definitely stagnating because people aren't experimenting and pushing their gear anymore to come up with something unique. If that continues then we can only look forward to more cookie cutter bullshit and that is just robbing the world of culture. I think mainstream music is a huge part of the problem. It's all just so formulaic, derivative and boring that it is completely destroying the artform. Then they refer to Skrillex when they talk about signature sound. Baffling. When your signature sound sucks who the hell cares that it's unique. People have just become lazy and choose to worship ego and money rather than creativity. They forget that life begins on the edge of your comfort zone.

 

@ Catalyst
We don´t differ that much, for me creativity is essential and art is my main book.

But still there are products conceived for the entrainment and work that speaks a language no condescending with the mainstream.
Maybe the second option is not that popular, but I think that lots of people are making things and soon or later that´ll show up.
In fact both worlds coesxist.
Things always move. It happened before and it´ll happen again.
I´m very optimistic about rooms packed with computers and passionated people.
The industry standards are there but unless you want to make money (professionalism)that shouldn´t be a problem ;)

To be honest I tend to be optimistic or maybe very unrealistic. Certainly very marginal like a rotten potato in the back garden.So please, don´t put me in the group of the establishment lovers.

 

Rolma I hope I haven't hurt your feelings in any way. It's just hard for me to be open and honest about a topic such as art without commentary like I made and I guess I'm just a passionate person. Both worlds do coexist but particularly in EDM it is really a parasite (mainstream) living off of a host (underground). If the latter ceased to exist then what would all those posers use as their schematic for their "own" music? Things always seem to move in circles more than they move forward. Passion simply isn't enough as plenty of people get all passionate about their music and make...utter crap. I do feel hopeful because now that the recording industry is largely irrelevant people can release their own records and hopefully this will bring an influx of talent that would otherwise not have seen the light of day. The downside is that with each year there is such an over-saturation of junk that you really have to wade through it all to find some gems and considering most people are lazy they might really miss out. In that sense I fear it will only get worse. If you look at the charts today and compare them with a few decades ago it's a really sad spectacle. I know that some will say that this was simply a really creative time in history but come on. We have technology today that would make our predecessors weep and to not think outside of the box and experiment with it seems like sacrilege to me.

 

Thanks man. People are about nothing I guess. They want all the flash and none of the substance. They want one of everything off of the dollar menu instead of something of a different caliber. I guess the world has simply lost its standards.

 

I shall say only this: dance music is actually much more versatile than people think. People used to dance to the Doors, for instance. Madly. Electronic dance music is only dance music that's made with electronic instruments. Supposedly. Because Daft Punk use real instruments now, they're out of EDM. Just DM? But also nothing quite like Depeche Mode...

I like to think of music outside of genres myself. There's only just two genres for me: good and bad. )

Cheers!

 

nicely said!

 

True, you have the example of Moby (the best all round artist, for me) which can do so many genre with talent, still he has a distinctive sound signature.

Try this one => http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2ViG4vNj-M

BTW, I remember the early age of rave parties, from deep house to breakbeat, to hardcore in the same night with a bit of trance in the morning...
The music was mixed, so was the crowd... probably the reason of it's success :dancing:

 

Yeah Moby is great and a drug-free vegan to boot.
These days he's all over the map though. Not that I don't like some of his new stuff but I definitely prefer his back catalog in many respects.