Quote from: Penon on January 15, 2025, 02:23:23 PMThe real issue arises if the original 1,000 artists become complacent due to these conveniences and stop (or never start) making the effort they otherwise would have. While I don't believe that's generally how the world works, if it does happen, then yes, it would be a cost and a loss to the scene.
I think situation is that most of the "old generation" is gone, right? Certain % of those who remain, are not ageing well due the "easy gear", so to say.
I am not certainly against digital gear. A lot of stuff I do, is at least partly digital. Latest album was intentionally so. Never touched magnetic tape, although its not all digital either.
For sake of realism, if is dealing with matters that are "contemporary", the stuff you are about to sample, will be sourced online. A lot of interesting things, they do not come from VHS era.
My point being more of if one is drifting without intent, into most expected ways. There used to be era of technology that was kind of "ideal for noise" so to say. Sound was close to perfection without even knowing what you're doing. We no longer live such era, and sonically speaking, at least from my own perspective, a lot of sound and production suck ass, and now you really need to know. Probably more than in past. Therefore, possibilities to recreate and mimic basic formula are very easy, yet the final touch seems to be something that is far more difficult.
The main point about not just drifting without intent, is that pretty much all artists we known and appreciate, who are most often considered on absolute top of the expression, appear most often quite clueless of technology, but they have absolutely remarkable intent and vision.
My impression is, that most people making power electronics, do not have such artistic passion or obsession. I'm pretty fine with idea of "worshop noise". Circuit benders and synth fetishists etc. All fine. But for power electronics, I do not think that dude who gets tone out of synth qualifies as "power electronics". It would need a lot more than that, including intent, vision and personality. Even merely honest interest.
Therefore, all said here below, is pretty interesting for me. It displays intent, some sort of vision to push things to something that is personally rewarding or meaningful. None of the "old ways" are fundamental and also they are merely tools in hands of creator. New tools and new possibilities can be certainly used for benefit.
Quote from: Penon on January 15, 2025, 02:23:23 PMI could speak at length about my own experience, which, in some ways, has been directionally the opposite of what you fear. The lower barriers to entry pushed me to start my journey in music-making. I remember that in the first couple of months, I fully embraced every technological shortcut and convenience: sourcing samples from YouTube, releasing music online without accompanying physical formats(those were individual songs anyway), and - forgive me Father for I have sinned - using AI-generated artwork. I even used AI voice generator to create "fake" samples because I couldn't find the ones I wanted (or because they had background music, for example). Yet, as I grew more comfortable with these "lazy" methods, I gradually found myself diving deeper: experimenting with unconventional gear, seeking out unusual sources, replacing samples with original lyrics and vocals, introducing field recordings, and eventually creating my own artwork.
For me, technology was an enabler, helping me begin and then evolve toward a more sophisticated approach (though whether this reflects in the actual quality of my work is not for me to say but at least there is hope). Of course, I recognise that generalising from my personal experience to the broader population is a dangerous business, but I am not arrogant enough to think there is something special or unique about my case.
Greatness of new tech, media and platforms is the low entry level. I have probably mentioned it elsewhere, but may re-tell the story of how Grunt started. I was sitting with mr. Harald Mentor (Will Over Matter, back then under name Total Headfuck), listening to... I guess it was MITB/UND split 7" or something back in early '93. We look eachother and say "we could do noise!". After saying this, we agreed idea of split tape, that should be done about next week. And that's what happened. Of course the first split is total dogshit noise, but we both are still here today. So even someone, just sort of crapping out noise release with idea of "anyone can do it", might be start of something. They key thing would be that once "anyone can do it" idea is done, one proceed into: why am I doing this and how should I be doing it?
