Post by 3 on Feb 19, 2005 23:41:31 GMT 1
www.alternativemalta.com is referring to this editorial by Woody Aki ...
Looking back on the last 12 months, it’s hard not to conclude that 2004 was a hell of a year for the local music scene in general. The bright side had to be the astounding amount of bands and artists that came our way via their excellent releases, irrespective of what genre they represent - Rock, Punk, Soul/R&B, Alternative.. . you name it! It was so inspiring to witness all this talent that I felt obliged to compile what I thought were the wickedest releases throughout in our CD Releases Special on this issue. It seems that bands and artists have finally grasped the dynamics of what the media can provide for them, and I firmly believe that radio stations and TV definitely deserve a good pat on the back for their first-rate efforts to push our scene further. Not that they never did before this year, but the scene and the media reciprocated each other this year in a way never seen before, and if both parties keep on improving on what was a wonderful year for them both, 2005 will see the light at the end of the tunnel become the brightest of beacons. For months, this mag always hammered home the need for this sort of co-operation, and it’s finally happening!
On the other side, there were several downers that still conspire to tear down what I mentioned previously as well as other facets of our scene. The slide towards extinction of live music venues in the Paceville area is becoming anathema to the positivism I was talking about in the first place. Granted, Bugibba and Tal-Qroqq have provided a couple of pivotal venues, and thank God for that. But no venues in Paceville? Pardon my observations, but isn’t Paceville supposed to be Malta’s most prolific entertainment area? If this pernicious trend of dumping live gigs in favour of DJs playing the same 20 tunes week in, week out, then even these very same DJs will eventually become extinct. Dance music never owned Paceville. Worse still, the Dance scene continually shot itself in the foot this year. Pique has to be the main culprit, followed by one flop event after another as well as DJs and especially a certain number of promoters (new and, even more shockingly, established ones too) who treat events as quick money-making schemes, regardless of their core audience and their real needs. These scumbags with no love for what they do have alienated many party people out there, and as a result, the Dance scene has become its own worst enemy - predictable, disheartening and as flat as a housing estate. Have people my age bust their balls to evolve this scene all this time for this? Oh dear. .
In spite of all this, there are mainstream Dance promoters who are still providing stupendous quality for the punter’s buck, and the more clued amongst you know who are these people. Better still, disillusioned clubbers are rediscovering the joys of the underground event again -just ask anyone who witnessed Dr Lektroluv’s set at the Squadron event last December (a review can be found within this issue too). It was one of the best events I attended in the last six years, and the enemy coming from both the D.Js and the crowd at that event were worthy of the highest superlatives you can think of. So not all has been lost - if events of Squadron’s ilk keep on happening, 2005 will see a revolution in Dance music circles that will see the underground reclaim what’s rightfully theirs whilst at the same time projecting Dance music in all its euphoric glory like it should always be.
Looking back on the last 12 months, it’s hard not to conclude that 2004 was a hell of a year for the local music scene in general. The bright side had to be the astounding amount of bands and artists that came our way via their excellent releases, irrespective of what genre they represent - Rock, Punk, Soul/R&B, Alternative.. . you name it! It was so inspiring to witness all this talent that I felt obliged to compile what I thought were the wickedest releases throughout in our CD Releases Special on this issue. It seems that bands and artists have finally grasped the dynamics of what the media can provide for them, and I firmly believe that radio stations and TV definitely deserve a good pat on the back for their first-rate efforts to push our scene further. Not that they never did before this year, but the scene and the media reciprocated each other this year in a way never seen before, and if both parties keep on improving on what was a wonderful year for them both, 2005 will see the light at the end of the tunnel become the brightest of beacons. For months, this mag always hammered home the need for this sort of co-operation, and it’s finally happening!
On the other side, there were several downers that still conspire to tear down what I mentioned previously as well as other facets of our scene. The slide towards extinction of live music venues in the Paceville area is becoming anathema to the positivism I was talking about in the first place. Granted, Bugibba and Tal-Qroqq have provided a couple of pivotal venues, and thank God for that. But no venues in Paceville? Pardon my observations, but isn’t Paceville supposed to be Malta’s most prolific entertainment area? If this pernicious trend of dumping live gigs in favour of DJs playing the same 20 tunes week in, week out, then even these very same DJs will eventually become extinct. Dance music never owned Paceville. Worse still, the Dance scene continually shot itself in the foot this year. Pique has to be the main culprit, followed by one flop event after another as well as DJs and especially a certain number of promoters (new and, even more shockingly, established ones too) who treat events as quick money-making schemes, regardless of their core audience and their real needs. These scumbags with no love for what they do have alienated many party people out there, and as a result, the Dance scene has become its own worst enemy - predictable, disheartening and as flat as a housing estate. Have people my age bust their balls to evolve this scene all this time for this? Oh dear. .
In spite of all this, there are mainstream Dance promoters who are still providing stupendous quality for the punter’s buck, and the more clued amongst you know who are these people. Better still, disillusioned clubbers are rediscovering the joys of the underground event again -just ask anyone who witnessed Dr Lektroluv’s set at the Squadron event last December (a review can be found within this issue too). It was one of the best events I attended in the last six years, and the enemy coming from both the D.Js and the crowd at that event were worthy of the highest superlatives you can think of. So not all has been lost - if events of Squadron’s ilk keep on happening, 2005 will see a revolution in Dance music circles that will see the underground reclaim what’s rightfully theirs whilst at the same time projecting Dance music in all its euphoric glory like it should always be.