Circle of Sound // Consumer Power

I sometimes wonder if I’m working in the wrong business. These nagging doubts and worries play on a man’s mind. As Editor of TLOBF, my inbox gets constantly bombarded with emails from bands, labels, PR agencies asking me to check out “the next big thing”. The problem is, I’m not interested in “the next big thing”. The reason I got into this was not for kudos or to be famous for finding the next Spice Girls. Oh no. It was, and always will be, about the music. I don’t care if a band or artist is 18 or 80, as long as the music is great, original, exciting and connects with me, then I’ll shout about it.

A couple of weeks ago a group of like-minded individuals, all of whom met via the wonders of Twitter, and some of us who’d never met in person before, headed to the rather surreal surroundings of The Barbican to see The Necks. For those of you who haven’t come across these guys, they’re an Australian experimental Jazz-trio with an average age of around 50. They played two, 45 minutes sets of such brilliant, improvised music, I’ve been in shock since. They never play the same set twice. Each time they head out on stage they have no idea what form the set is going to take. They don’t even know which of the trio will start the next set. It’s not just their ability to understand and develop music across a random theme, but it’s their technical skill as well that astounds. That one evening has cleared my musical palate, it allowed me to break free of the reins of the here and now. It also confirmed one of my long time beliefs that there’s vast swathes of music out there I’ve never heard, and I’m going to love.

So what’s this got to do with the title “Consumer Power”? Well, I hold another long-term belief that the consumption of music has become the number one goal. The prevalence of music blogs, download sites and, basically, the revolution of the mp3, has made it so much easier to hear and consume music. The recent arrival of the “blog-aggregator” Altered Zones by the Pitchfork stable has only served to confirm this. Whilst some quarters are calling this a great way to hear about new music, which it no doubt is, its reliance on clichéd paragraphs and lots of free downloads, in my mind, just serves to confirm my point.

There’s been plenty said about the lack of quality music journalism recently. Certainly, The Quietus seems to be the last bastion of this (we can’t compete with their established journos and phonebook), but this ability to download and absorb music so easy almost makes writing about it pointless. Why read when you can hear? Listening can be a much more passive experience whilst reading requires time and patience – something the 21st Century seems to be lacking.

I’m probably coming across like the bitter, twisted and prog-rock obsessed old bloke that I am. But, if we want to establish a music scene, something that lasts and isn’t lost the next time your internet connection goes, we should get behind and support young artists for the long haul. Don’t over hype and over saturate with dozens of remixes and interviews. Before we proclaim an artist to be “this generation’s X”, give them some time and space. Read Gold Panda’s twitter feed and among the random pictures and one-liners, you can see an artist who’s obviously exceedingly talented, but one who’s now very nervous about releasing an album to the maddening crowd. Give these artists time and space to develop. Let the natural swell of live shows, low-key EP’s and singles create their own momentum, don’t try and force the issue.

It’s not easy, and it’s a fine line between supporting an artist and hyping them. However, the bottom line is easy: it should always be about the music. If it’s good, it will outlast everything else.