I'm not convinced that there is room for "the sound of the future" anymore. Accessible/affordable synths were still a very new thing in the late 70s-early 80s. These were strange, wonderful new sounds being used to create the music of the future.
Fast forward to present day. Computers have made music technology accessible to anyone and everyone. The internet has made it effortless to share music instantly. We're on an exponential curve. Anything that can be tried will be tried, ad nauseam.
Like the development of those early synths, the only thing that will give us the sound of the future will be new technological breakthroughs. Autotune works be an example of this. Or auto-glitch tools. Instead of the sound of the future, you get the latest flavor of the month gimmick, and it becomes tired and overused almost instantly.
I think the sound of the future will be that of small tribes sitting around a fire, chanting and banging on hollow logs as the impending mass extinction of species really gets underway.
We are the robots.
Martin Gore
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 1478 posts since 14 Jul, 2013 from Sweden
Ineed you've got a good point there.
Back in the days new sounds where really new. And even a bit into the digital era fo sampling when bands like DM and Yello made their own unique sounds with their samplers. I would like to see more of that today.
Electronic music of today is very much a part of the mainstream pop music. So even when we're trying to be inovative, like adding Indian tunes, it often ends up in being the same old dance music with just other melodies and, eventually scales.
Minimalist techno was new. Here it was posible to create music and emotions just by using sounds instead of chord progressions harmonies etcetera.
One could develop this into somethign outside the area of dance msuic.
News sounds doesnt' necessarily means new music. Minimalist tehno would have been possible 40-years ago as well. Maybe a bit more complicated - yet possible.
Modern rock music would have been tenically and soundwise posible in the 50s. At least to some extent.
There can be somehtign new coming out of somehting old. And old sound combined with another old style can result in something new.
Kraftwerk is a good example of this. The sound they used wans't realy new. But they palced it in another concept . The yadded pop-muci to it. That was pretty new.
So, I'm convinced that there'll be somethign new in the future. Maybe even new sounds. Who knows there might be sounds and instruments not yet invented.
Either way. For this to happen faster I think it's good of more peopel start to look into the future instead of looking back to the past.
Back in the days new sounds where really new. And even a bit into the digital era fo sampling when bands like DM and Yello made their own unique sounds with their samplers. I would like to see more of that today.
Electronic music of today is very much a part of the mainstream pop music. So even when we're trying to be inovative, like adding Indian tunes, it often ends up in being the same old dance music with just other melodies and, eventually scales.
Minimalist techno was new. Here it was posible to create music and emotions just by using sounds instead of chord progressions harmonies etcetera.
One could develop this into somethign outside the area of dance msuic.
News sounds doesnt' necessarily means new music. Minimalist tehno would have been possible 40-years ago as well. Maybe a bit more complicated - yet possible.
Modern rock music would have been tenically and soundwise posible in the 50s. At least to some extent.
There can be somehtign new coming out of somehting old. And old sound combined with another old style can result in something new.
Kraftwerk is a good example of this. The sound they used wans't realy new. But they palced it in another concept . The yadded pop-muci to it. That was pretty new.
So, I'm convinced that there'll be somethign new in the future. Maybe even new sounds. Who knows there might be sounds and instruments not yet invented.
Either way. For this to happen faster I think it's good of more peopel start to look into the future instead of looking back to the past.
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- KVRAF
- 7540 posts since 7 Aug, 2003 from San Francisco Bay Area
Yes, and I think this is what Martin Gore successfully accomplished with this release. It isn't dance music at all, but it feels like contemporary electronic music. I referenced early IDM, and perhaps a little of it strays into Tangerine Dream territory, but that is only to be expected from instrumental synth music. I think this was a very successful album, and I'd like to hear more in a similar vein.sfd wrote:One could develop this into somethign outside the area of dance msuic.
To be honest, the obsession with new new new gets a little annoying to me. I still listen to classic Beatles albums. I've been trying to instill in my own kids the idea that music from previous decades is not entirely devoid of value... that there is music worthy of their attention beyond the latest pop song on the radio. So far I haven't been too successful with that, but hopefully it will sink in eventually.Either way. For this to happen faster I think it's good of more peopel start to look into the future instead of looking back to the past.
I agree with Krim- good songwriting is what really lies at the heart of every good song.
Incomplete list of my gear: 1/8" audio input jack.
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- Banned
- 1020 posts since 11 Aug, 2002
That's why VC's DM is > MG's DMKriminal wrote:Well, really, a good song is the heart of it. Doesnt matter if it sounds old or new. If a track is good its good
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Last edited on Sun Apr 17, 2016 12:42 pm, edited 17 times in total.
but yes, different styles for sure.
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PurpleCatfishBettie PurpleCatfishBettie https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=211816
- KVRAF
- 3278 posts since 22 Jul, 2009
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- addled muppet weed
- 111327 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
sometimes (not always) i just want to hear the noise 5 people whove never met or played an instrument can come up with in a darkened room!Kriminal wrote:Well, really, a good song is the heart of it. Doesnt matter if it sounds old or new. If a track is good its good
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admittedly its usually when im so high i cant remember my name.
for me personally music (the making of) is as much about just letting rip (see 'zen music' not the label
)of course the songwriting craft has its place, especially when it comes to sharing music with listeners and hoping to get more listeners.
there is a place for all of it, moreso today than ever before really and for me one thing isnt 'better' than the other, they just have different contexts to flourish in, i wouldnt play bachs cello pieces in a field full of ravers anymore than id play higher state of consciousness in a concert hall full of tuxedod gentlemen with their ornately attired ladies.
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 1478 posts since 14 Jul, 2013 from Sweden
I agree ! Martin's LP is really a releif of fresh air. I would love ot hear more of that.
Personally I don't feel there's an obsession about new music. I would rather think it's the opposite - everyone's into old stuff. Vintage synths and nostalgia. Although sometimes there's a new touch on old things. Like Euro Techno was a new touch of what Giorgio Moroder did in the 70s. And what Cabaret Voltaire have done et cetera.
Yea, there's a touch of old stuff in Martin's album too. It's a little like Logic Station.
Since a lot of people are somewhat tied to certain styles and sounds - some are into hip-hop, hard rock, EDM et cetera - I think it's a good thing to try to move on from there and develop new things.
Electronic music was once somehting very experimental and avantgarde. There was a lot of intellectual thougts around it. It was often hard listening and very few where interested. When Kraftw3rk added some pop to it everyng changed. Then we had something new.
All that came out of things already existing. There where already pop music. There was already synthesizers.
And, of course, there was already melody making.
What was new was the concept.
I wouldn't say there are many people today trying to find and/or develop new interesting concepts like that.
And although a sound or the source of a sound has little to do with a good song or melody it obvously have some importance to listeners.
Otherwise people would be equally inteested in all kind of music. They are obvously not. And that has nothing to do with lack of good songs or melodies in other genres.
For me it's more interesting when an artist tries to move away from a sound and style. Trying to do somehting different then what he've done prevously
That's why i like DM. They have always tired to change themselfe.
And that's also why I like artists that are genuin music lovers. And in Martin's cae this is obvous.
He is really a musician with a true love for music. No matter of style or sound. I think this is what you've to be in order to come up with omethign new. Or at least try to create something new. This is much harder, I think, to achieve within the boundaries of a certian sound or style.
Personally I don't feel there's an obsession about new music. I would rather think it's the opposite - everyone's into old stuff. Vintage synths and nostalgia. Although sometimes there's a new touch on old things. Like Euro Techno was a new touch of what Giorgio Moroder did in the 70s. And what Cabaret Voltaire have done et cetera.
Yea, there's a touch of old stuff in Martin's album too. It's a little like Logic Station.
Since a lot of people are somewhat tied to certain styles and sounds - some are into hip-hop, hard rock, EDM et cetera - I think it's a good thing to try to move on from there and develop new things.
Electronic music was once somehting very experimental and avantgarde. There was a lot of intellectual thougts around it. It was often hard listening and very few where interested. When Kraftw3rk added some pop to it everyng changed. Then we had something new.
All that came out of things already existing. There where already pop music. There was already synthesizers.
And, of course, there was already melody making.
What was new was the concept.
I wouldn't say there are many people today trying to find and/or develop new interesting concepts like that.
And although a sound or the source of a sound has little to do with a good song or melody it obvously have some importance to listeners.
Otherwise people would be equally inteested in all kind of music. They are obvously not. And that has nothing to do with lack of good songs or melodies in other genres.
For me it's more interesting when an artist tries to move away from a sound and style. Trying to do somehting different then what he've done prevously
That's why i like DM. They have always tired to change themselfe.
And that's also why I like artists that are genuin music lovers. And in Martin's cae this is obvous.
He is really a musician with a true love for music. No matter of style or sound. I think this is what you've to be in order to come up with omethign new. Or at least try to create something new. This is much harder, I think, to achieve within the boundaries of a certian sound or style.
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 1478 posts since 14 Jul, 2013 from Sweden
BTW - I really appreciate the nice and creative discussion in this thread ! 
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- KVRAF
- 4315 posts since 31 Oct, 2004
I agree. New concepts and ideas is what shapes new genres, but at the same time there is a link between new sounds in electronic music and new technologies. The problem today is that a lot of young producers use the same techniques and focus more on production than musicality. It all about sounding complex and deep without actually being complex and deep. It's a matter of form over content. Good examples of this are artists like Com Truise and Tycho. I like them a lot and listen to them on a regular basis, but they don't bring anything new to music.
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 1478 posts since 14 Jul, 2013 from Sweden
That's very true !SampleScience wrote:I agree. New concepts and ideas is what shapes new genres, but at the same time there is a link between new sounds in electronic music and new technologies. The problem today is that a lot of young producers use the same techniques and focus more on production than musicality. It all about sounding complex and deep without actually being complex and deep. It's a matter of form over content. Good examples of this are artists like Com Truise and Tycho. I like them a lot and listen to them on a regular basis, but they don't bring anything new to music.
While the quality of sound and production has increased it hasn't really applied to the music itself.
One thing that I would like to see is more melodic imrpvisation in electronic music. I would like to see more cocetional albums. And I would like ot see longer tracks. Today when radioplay is not of the same imprtance as it was in the past I think it's possible to make longer tracks.
The only long trask I hear tody are dane mixes. But they're usually very monoton. Like 2 minutes of a four-to-the-floor beat before somehitn ele happenes et cetera.
In general. To many people stick to already existing concepts.
Even if it wouldn't be anyhtign new - making things like Autobahn with today's techology would be very interesting. Concetional tracks/albums, with more space for improvisation. A little more music concrete et cetera. Yes, it's nt new. But with today's technology we could eventually develop this into somehting interesting.
When I listen to radio or MTV I've got this feeling that it's the same old track being played for 15-20 years now.
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- KVRAF
- 7540 posts since 7 Aug, 2003 from San Francisco Bay Area
When I think of longer songs which are successful, I always go straight to Dirty Epic by Underworld. At ten minutes long, it somehow manages to maintain interest like a pop song while developing it's own unconventional structure and taking the listener on an -epic- journey, both lyrically and musically.
In contrast, the MG songs are all short and sweet, which I think is for the best. Underworld only succeeds because the lyrics carry the song along. If I had to listen to ten minutes of any one of these MG songs, I'd probably get distracted and stop actively listening. That isn't to say that instrumental music can't hold focus the way vocal songs can, but I do think that keeping them brief is a good idea. The NIN Ghosts album is another good example of this.
In contrast, the MG songs are all short and sweet, which I think is for the best. Underworld only succeeds because the lyrics carry the song along. If I had to listen to ten minutes of any one of these MG songs, I'd probably get distracted and stop actively listening. That isn't to say that instrumental music can't hold focus the way vocal songs can, but I do think that keeping them brief is a good idea. The NIN Ghosts album is another good example of this.
Incomplete list of my gear: 1/8" audio input jack.