UNDRGRND -3/3-
- nms 303
- Feb 13, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: May 29, 2021
GENESiS OF A MOVEMENT STAMPED "UNDERGROUND"...
3/3
Travelling from "industrial basins" to industrial basins, crossing the oceans, the particular sound from Detroit has expanded musical horizons. By exporting itself, a common core was born from a "hybridization" which, in a nutshell, logically heralded a "third wave of techno!"
That of a "family circle" enlarged during the 2 previous waves which now included artists such as Claude Young, Keith Tucker & Tommy Hamilton (AUX88), DJ Rolando (aka The Aztec Mystic), Josh Wink (from Philadelphia), Steve Stoll (New-York), Woody Mac Bride (aka DJ ESP), Scan 7 or Robert Armani (Chicago)... The mixture creating the rooting of the "neo-culture" in formation! Moreover, there is no doubt that, given the very close ancestral and commercial links between the old (GBR) and the new continent (USA), the import-export of vinyl records produced on both sides of the Atlantic amplified the crossbreeding at the origin of Anglo-Saxon sounds. At the time, it was also thanks to the joint gestation of House music from Chicago and elsewhere, more pointed tracks stamped "303" (ACiD) and other experimental declinations in vogue that the diversity of artists who made electronic music what it is today emanated.
In terms of distribution, in England and elsewhere, "pirate" radio stations (since the "electro product" was not yet of interest to the official mainstream media...) have also contributed to showcasing a plethora of artists who are now among the specialists in the genre. When Richard D. James (aka Aphex Twin) created his label Rephlex in 1991, he had already made a name for himself in the small "underground" world and beyond... Pete Hutchison & Paul Ballard founded the London label Peacefrog. Luke Slater, Cisco Ferreira (aka The Advent), Dave Clarke or Mike Dred were already successfully exporting themselves and enjoyed then, at the beginning of the 90s, a real craze for TECHNO and ACID which was almost at the same time a kind of golden age... In a way, the ground had probably been well marked out beforehand... Because everything had probably already started long before, as early as 1987, when Marshall Jefferson & DJ Pierre (PHUTURE) produced in Chicago their famous track : Acid Tracks on Trax Records. A new era was then opening up...
For those who have experienced it, the small world of the underground seemed to have reached a climax, its "climax!" The libertarian demands of the early fans were displayed everywhere in all sorts of forms... In the middle of nature, in unusual, extraordinary, disused or even normally forbidden places, huge gatherings of "faithful" fans took place in the greatest secrecy! Even if the practice has not completely disappeared, the framework of such events has evolved considerably. Such "festive organizations" have also taken on the appearance of Hollywood blockbusters financed by the huge budgets allocated to the music entertainment industry and everything else that revolves around it... (Even the tourism sector will have finally bowed to the demands of inveterate clubbers...) Success helped, the outcome was probably inevitable. Like a "racing car" launched at high speed, difficult, if not impossible, to slow it down, let alone stop it... Logical evolution for some, loss of "soul" for others, things have undeniably changed... Well, from a certain point of view... Because, deep down, do things really change for all that? Are we not reproducing, if not identically, then at least otherwise the same behaviours, the same rituals, the same mistakes and the same absurdities too? Are the "RAVE parties" that modern? Doesn't the "tribal", convivial, transcendental and "mystical" side of dances and other techno events remind you of age-old and thousand-year-old ancestral practices? And hasn't it always been so? Don't the gatherings and emotions shared together form the cement of our communities? Haven't religions always exploited similar processes? In other words, wouldn't we conclude that such gatherings against a background of sound vibrations are similar to "ritual ceremonies", like "great masses", certainly of a new kind!? Not that the clergy has evolved or modernized! No. But, although they are under the leadership of "masters of ceremonies with new formulas" (from "one-night stand" to idolized "guru 2.0"), because by advocating a certain form of "lay communion" and by aiming at openly multicultural gatherings, these "ritualized gatherings with a modern sauce" redefine the notion of sharing emotions lived in unison without dwelling too much on "liturgical" issues.... So far, so good! The problem with the metaphor used here is that inevitably, as always in matters of "worship", the line between mass movement, "religiosity" and freedom of conscience is often blurred, even subtly pernicious... It's a different debate altogether.
However, to this should also be added the fact that by masterfully controlling its image (commerce & finance oblige), the electronic entertainment sector has carved out a nice place for itself which it intends to keep and of course expand! Given the ever-increasing number of members, it's an industry that doesn't have too much to worry about... Unless the exorbitant cost of all these festivities at some point curbs the excessiveness of such events... Increasingly extravagant, increasingly gigantic, these "ritual & festive" gatherings have become above all lucrative appointments which in turn are subject to the law of "gentrification!" No wonder that the "free parties" (even with derisory means) still have the wind in their sails! And this, even if, in the end, it is, to say the least, challenging to note the transformation of an openly anti-system movement that has entered the mould of a system that has itself phagocytised it without any real resistance. Unless the movement reappropriates the values of the "underground label" by making choices that are as strong as they are thoughtful and by not falling into the tempting trap of mercantile festive temptations... That is a possibility.
A small hope remains all the same! What's more, if we consider that the "whole planet" has not yet totally abdicated! In England, Germany, Belgium, France and elsewhere, there are still a few rebellious bastions... Artists, influencers, "really" independent, invested and "conscious" collectives still exist! Sometimes it is necessary to look a little, but the social conflicts that will regain strength in 2020 or the climate and environmental emergency will certainly allow us to feed, in their own way, the current generations and those to come with ideals demanding common sense and equity! Hope is the order of the day. Hope is human! Hope is one of the components of the notion of resilience, both at the individual and the societal level!
As early as 1990, the UNDERGROUND RESISTANCE collective, by embodying an ideal in its own way, has been campaigning vigorously for social and societal change. Let's try to remember this, let's try to be inspired by it. Let us each and every one of us bring our contribution to the building. Let us each and every one of us, at our own level and according to our own means, try to participate in the project of a mixed and open community that is only on the fringes of the system because the system does not meet the basic conditions of a humanity that prides itself on being civilized! Objectively speaking, in view of the turn taken by events, it is finally quite legitimate to ask ourselves what has become of the spirit of protest of an underground movement embodying a cultural revolution shared between fears and hopes for the future... And yet, rather than feeling sorry for ourselves and our failure, we must, each and every one of us, roll up our sleeves and act with vigour in soul and conscience! That's also what the "underground" spirit is all about! "Acting in "resistance" cannot be reduced to indignation, frustration or anger, but it is necessary to know how to react well together to get out of it! 2020, it's high time to shake things up!
Respect for ethical collectives!
nms303
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