Been reading quite a few interviews lately, but one of the ones that I found the most thought provoking was the Boys Noize interview at RA. It's not a particularly long or in-depth interview but it had it's moments, one thing that stood out for me was when Boys Noize mentioned that he would like to make a record (probably under a different name) for Ostgut Ton in the future. wtf.
Now I'm not a diehard Ostgut fan, I think a lot of the records they release are weak and the mix cds are decent (I've heard better podcasts)... but, no one does it like them, they are vinyl, the artists are vinyl, they are all top class DJs, and although they have a lot of hype surrounding them, they still manage to stay credible. They are techno.
You only need to read the Ben Klock LWE interview to understand where I'm coming from, these guys are massive but they won't sell out.
So I find it strange to hear Boys Noize talk as if a release on Ostgut would be possible. He comes across as extremely knowldgeable about music, and he is a very talented and successful individual, but he is the exact opposite of what Ostgut represent. His music is fad music, the artists on his label are not techno artists, his fans are not fans of Ostgut and I expect that at many points in his long career he would have had the opportunity to change direction or to do things differently, so why now? why have a sudden interest in releasing techno? Is it possibly due to the fact that techno is more popular than it's been in a long time?
Boys Noize has more than enough talent and skill as a producer to make some great techno, but that is not the point.. He ditched house because he wasn't getting anywhere, so is he just going to continue latching on to the most popular music in order to stay relevant?
I wonder how the Boys Noize fans feel, he is a mega star off the back of their support, and now he wants to go in a completely different direction.
We need less producers who make 'on-trend' techno and more who make their 'own' techno.
Less like Boys Noize, and more like Alva Noto.
Have to say Im far from a Boys Noize fan. I think the last time I went to pressure was the birthday party he did a few years back. Thought it was dreadful, although that was as much to do with the crowd of weans as it was with anything he played.
ReplyDeleteI remember him playing Modeselektors Black Block though. Which is nothing if not techno.
I also really liked the '1010' track he did fairly recently which is in a similar vein and again is without a doubt a techno record. More importatntly it's a techno record that doesn't really go along with whats on trend just now.
Even though I dont usually like what he produces I think it might be a bit unfair to label him as some sort of bandwagon jumper for expressing an interest in trying his hand at some other genres of techno. The twice I've seen him play his sets were full of different styles. Also, I took it that he was talking about a couple of experiments with different styles not a complete change in direction. Id need to re-read the interview to be sure of that though.
Besides it happens a lot, you only have to look at someone like Luke Slater who had slipped quite some way into mediocrity, playing dreadful apache covers on his fabric cd for example... but then when PAS records get played in Berghain suddenly he's back playing under that name and a new albums on the way on Ostgut. Im not saying thats a bad thing but you could argue that it shows someone willing to play whatever is going to get them gigs.
Still, do I think its a good idea for Boys Noize to release on Ostgut. Naw. Id be interested to hear what he came up with but there's far too much of it already and I agree with you we need people doing something different.
I don't think it is a complete change of direction, just that he was flirting with the idea of making techno. but as he changed from being a house DJ to electro, I came to that conclusion..
ReplyDeleteLuke Slater is a good example, and you can definitely say the something similar about him.. I think Ostgut is a better suit for PAS than boys noize though.
At the end of the day, the guys a producer. Making music is what he does, if he wants to bring a track out on Ostgut then theres totally nothing wrong with that. Im sure theres others out there wanting to bring tracks on Ostgut. At the end of the day, its music, if the track gets a reaction out of people in a club or whatever then thats it. Job done. Why care so much about whos producing what? Thats not what its about.
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