Whilst I was in Memphis I became a reporter for The Daily Helmsman newspaper for one semester. The University print newspaper had daily editions in both digital and print formats distributed across the city.
The Daily Helmsman
The Daily Helmsman
Electronic vs Performance, Disparity and Equality
By Luke Chapman
The creation of music is a universally joyous occasion for any artistic types in the field irrespective of the origin of their music. Both electronic and popular music creation take similar routes, however also contain routes of ubiquitous disparity. In my experience most music is first established with some form of epiphany, whether it be a line of spell binding lyrics or a momentous melody to be cherished for eternity. Music is a past time for most and there lies no difference nor segregation amidst the love of music between genres, however, the portrayal of the computer nerd using an 808 drum machine and the “sing song blonde” show distinctive contrasts creating the predispositions which are rife within the industry.
Composition: The compositional aspect is often very different for the varying types of artist, those within the electronic field are stereotypically pigeonholed into one place. On the larger scale, composers such as Zedd have created pieces with other artists without meeting the collaborator (Papercut featuring Troye Sivan for example). This could be due to the producer figure being confined to a home or base studio. The producers on a smaller scale are often also stuck to a home studio set up or laptop on the go. Conversely, a singer songwriter is usually flown around the globe to work with a multitude of songwriters or encouraged to further their skills in public, more often than not records have been curated in a variety of studios around the world. Similarly on the smaller scale the local singer songwriter also is exposed to more of the outside world during recording, as opposed to the electronic composer. It is less frequent that a songwriter completes an Irish folk song from the confides of their bedroom alone, its often the case that recording studios are used and sessions are utilised for practice. Although this may draw an affinity to the Zedd type figures of the larger scale, comparing both electronic composition and the singer songwriter composition on a smaller scale shows there is still a large diversity in the creative process between the both.
Performance: The performance aspect characterises the abyss between the varying genres. Performance is a quintessential difference which is conveyed very well through the medium of my university, not only within this particular landscape, but the abyss is also ever present within vast aspects of the entire music industry. Firstly shown by the continuous lack of an audience when a music technology night is held, the electronic music side of the artistic world often just automatically draws a much smaller audience than those involved with a guitar. The Creative music technology (CMT) course at the university always attracts a much smaller teaching class, however, this doesn’t automatically mean a smaller audience, does it? Most of the time the niche market and smaller target audience of electronic music does drastically affect the numbers drawn by a certain artist. In the smaller ranks of artistry and the industry it is important to take note on how there are smaller numbers in electronic music whom are able to perform, more bespoke forms of performance and niche controllers needed to pull of a pride worthy performance cause those who play a piano or sing with a guitar to have a much easier time in preparing for a performance. This then leads to more performers being able to showcase their talents. On a larger more mainstream scale this is often mirrored by high chart performing artists gauging varying levels of turn out. More often than not a DJ who reaches number one with their latest single will still draw a considerably smaller audience than a singer songwriter whom may sell the same amount of singles as the DJ. The reasons behind this disparity are unbeknown to myself however do present issues for the electronic music world at all levels of performance and creation. Wether this may change with the ever increasing popularity within the electronic genres is yet to be revealed, but I feel it is obvious that the huge differences do need to be addressed on the smaller scales such as within the university, if things higher up the ladder are to change.
Exposure: The lacklustre form of exposure related to the electronic music world is often more related to the producer role. It always has been and always will be a matter of opinion on how much input both the writer and producer have on a final product and how each party impacted that product, but it can most likely be agreed that one aspect of the writer/producer dynamic receives considerably less recognition then deserved. Taking Madonna’s “Rebel heart” album as an example, little do most people know that Diplo was the producer behind the album and helped to write most songs on the record. Although it’s debatable on how each artist impacted the final product, we can state that Madonna received considerably more recognition for the piece as compared to Diplo. Although this relationship may differ when the artist is named on the song, surely it shouldn’t take a name drop for people to do the research and give recognition to those who are deserved of their works?
Relations: One thing which is universally beneficial to all musicians are the relations which are collated from the creative process. Collaborative works are always great at building bridges and developing experience. More often than not, a coalescence of performers will lead to the sharing of knowledge and tips. This works in both ways and can be used as an asset used to progress in the future, and applies to all levels and aspects of the industry. Sharing and team work is often the key and learning new things will always become advantageous to those who want to proceed throughout the industry.
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Within my university campus there has always been a cataclysmic difference between the electronic music students (myself), and the commercial music students (popular performance). This microcosmic representation of the overall music industry is tremendously more archetypal than one may realise. For this post I shall look into drawing the correlations between the Madonna and Diplo relations compared to those standing on their last leg within the Dickensian standards of the Christ Church Broadstairs campus.