Not enough friendly competition in D&B?

[Winterman]

The other day I was watching an interview of Bad Company on D&B arena I think, and D-Bridge mentioned that what had driven the D&B scene back in the day so much was the friendly competition producers had going on. He siad everyone had a source for tunes coming out through the cutting house, and by hearing the latest and greatest and mixtapes thereof, it made producers strive for greatness more. Bukem said it again in an interview I caught off of Dogsonacid recently and it inspired me to make this thread. He said the cutting houses fostered that where pretty much everyone notable in the local scene would have access to key tunes becasue there was a new tune out every week that would blow everything else away...

So this thread, completely different than every one of the others before it asks:

Is that competition, once friendly and fostering of new music now ruined by hoarding DJ bastards that are too scared to let the funk flow to the public in Mp3 format?

Or is it that all of the genre segregation and the influx of clownsteppery into the D&B shizzle has fukt things beyond repair, and now everyone is about squeezing the life out of their dubs just to be prickish?

DISCUSS...

[guise]

[decoy]

it's hard to be a rebel with a 401k and a house in the 'burbs.

[subfugitive]

it's hard to be a rebel with a 401k and a house in the 'burbs.

Hahaha. Why yes, yes it is.

Basically, modern jump up (or clownstep if you prefer) just needs to go ahead and break away from the rest of d&b just like hardcore and jungle split back in the day.
The tunes made by Clipz, Hazard, Distorted Minds, and their ilk sound a lot like hardcore tunes to me anyway (superfast, high-pitched, and warbling) -- hardcore promoters should start booking artists like that in their side rooms at the megaraves (I'm speaking of the UK here -- everyone knows that 'house' rules in the US :wink:).
That way, the rest of the 'real' d&b producers can get on with pushing the boundaries of the true d&b sound.
I am only half-joking here, but seriously, those guys don't even use real breaks anymore I don't think, or if they do, it's the same one in every song.
Don't get me wrong, I likez a bit of the jump up... when it's done well, but I dunno, the modern wobble sound is a bit too 'white wall of noise'-ish for me.

Anyway, I think you'll probably see more labels do things like Metalheadz did with the Commix cuts that didn't make the album and offer free downloads here & there. Even more of the 'old guard,' like the Bunch of Cuts crew, are getting into the MP3 biz so it seems that it will only expand.
Probably end up reverting to smaller, local scenes with dudes swapping MP3s with their buds to play at the next house party in the 'burbs.

[malleus]

it's hard to be a rebel with a 401k and a house in the 'burbs.

yep! that about sums it up

[Winterman]

it's hard to be a rebel with a 401k and a house in the 'burbs.

Simple!



Sell the house and cash out the 401k buy tons of liquor and throw a D&B party!

Now you're rebelling! :hifive: :raveon:

[Brian@TRNSL]

Haha Guise. You're hilarious bro.

*sigh ... I don't think I even understand what's being asked here but lemme take a stab at it ...

What UK DJs experienced in the 90s will never happen here because a lot of DJs have already migrated to cds and mp3s, which are lighter and far more cost effective. Unless "cutting houses" (which there are none around here) start accepting free drink tickets for their services, you probably won't see any real "dubplates" here.

That aside, every single DJ has "dubs" now and frankly I think it's ridiculous. I would argue that vinyl sales were *better* when there was more exclusivity and selectivity over who got "dubs" because it generated a buzz for the actual vinyl release.

I think the overall flattening of the scene has made music more disposable because ungrateful scenester kids get their hands on a 320, play it til they get sick of it, then don't support the vinyl because they've had the tune for ages. It's total garbage ...

Just my opinion ...

[Winterman]

Haha Guise. You're hilarious bro.

*sigh ... I don't think I even understand what's being asked here but lemme take a stab at it ...

What UK DJs experienced in the 90s will never happen here because a lot of DJs have already migrated to cds and mp3s, which are lighter and far more cost effective. Unless "cutting houses" (which there are none around here) start accepting free drink tickets for their services, you probably won't see any real "dubplates" here.

That aside, every single DJ has "dubs" now and frankly I think it's ridiculous. I would argue that vinyl sales were *better* when there was more exclusivity and selectivity over who got "dubs" because it generated a buzz for the actual vinyl release.

I think the overall flattening of the scene has made music more disposable because ungrateful scenester kids get their hands on a 320, play it til they get sick of it, then don't support the vinyl because they've had the tune for ages. It's total garbage ...

Just my opinion ...

good stuff...

what Im asking, though it was veiled in comedic undetones is basically:

Producers don't have the positive competition between themselves that they once had, it used to make better tunes hit the parties each week. With the influx of many new producers, its almost blurring to sort out what is hot versus what is hype...

many Mp3 sites are scattered across the internet, and the sources for hearing everything is becoming too hard to navigate in a way for listeners. Vinyl versus Digital aside, how can this be remedied? Maybe Knowledgemag, D&B arena, ATM mag, and DOA need to become a bit more selective in terms of the music and artists they promote?:elad:

[yer mom]

DEF big on DnB. Hit me up if u need a DJ!!! Andy C is tha shit

[Brian@TRNSL]

many Mp3 sites are scattered across the internet, and the sources for hearing everything is becoming too hard to navigate in a way for listeners. Vinyl versus Digital aside, how can this be remedied? Maybe Knowledgemag, D&B arena, ATM mag, and DOA need to become a bit more selective in terms of the music and artists they promote?:elad:

Dude, the UK will always be protective of its scene. They created drum&bass music and although it's become waaay global in the last few years, they still run *all* the distros, control (to a large extent) what gets out there, and control--through the websites and magazines--which artists get exposure.

[theflatoftheland]

i love clownstep. i'm so happy that there is so much of it.

[djc[uscrew]]

competition cant live with it, cant live without it.