IDM Mailing Archive

quoted 7 lines Am somewhat amused at this hydra-monster-industrial-vs.-techno

> Am somewhat amused at this hydra-monster-industrial-vs.-techno >debate and at everyone's need to continually speak of having >"graduated" from being an industrial music listener etc. etc. >to the purportedly more elevated plane of techno. How anyone >can completely write off any genre boggles the mind--if I >believe what I read here black eyeliner and talent are >mutually exclusive.

Well I sort of liken industrial music to Heavy Metal, in that its a genre of music that remains relatively musically static, is driver by a devoted subculture of listeners, and has just enough new bands and new music to keep those that like it interested. There are the mainstream breakthrough exceptions for both genres (NiN for Ind., Metallica, Soundgarden, etc. for metal) but the culutre and music remain relatively out of the mainstream. Oh yes, and they both wear alot of black. The difference I think between the bands we discuss on this list: RDJ, Mike P, Cylob, Autechre etc. is that they are constantly evolving and don't carry around any associative baggage with the music. Whereas metal brings up images of satanic album covers, guys with long hair, etc. and industrial brings up make-up, leather pants (hehe), and those really tall docs, IDM artist let the music do the talking. If anything, I think the incredible stuff going on at Rephlex is a reaction against all the associative garbage and static mindstate of industrial music (and for that matter techno as well). Its a reaction against wearing the industrial 'uniform' and forming your own little clique. Our boys are fighting the good fight, and we love them for it... /""'' /"'RESH Live and Direct from the G-Spot Orange County, California, USA

Am somewhat amused at this hydra-monster-industrial-vs.-techno debate and at everyone's need to continually speak of having "graduated" from being an industrial music listener etc. etc. to the purportedly more elevated plane of techno. How anyone can completely write off any genre boggles the mind--if I believe what I read here black eyeliner and talent are mutually exclusive. As Ozy pointed out, Jeff Mills' first band was a quasi-industrial dance band--in fact, I'd go so far as to say that their "Deep into the Cut" LP (*) is a lot funkier than Mills' own much more recent Waveform Transmissions 3. The boundaries between these genres are a lot fuzzier than they're made out to be--listen to the sharply-syncopated tracks on Nitzer Ebb's "Belief" (1988) and I dare say you'll find distinct similarities with the superficially different Basic Channel stuff. (*) On the Big Sex label, which was a part of Interfisch Records, who put out classic "industrial" groups like ClockDVA, and which later morphed into Tresor, home to Mills, Juan Atkins et al.--what was that about Detroit/Peacefrog etc. being totally different and miles ahead of industrial? PS. Obviously you don't subscribe to the 313 (Detroit) list, where there was a quite charming extended "all you secret Front 242 fans, raise your hands" thread. Snipe away--I'm crawling back into my nuclear shelter :-)