It started with Sub Focus.
I wish I could claim to be more old skool than that, but for me, it was all about Sub Focus, or more specifically, his 2005 Breezeblock mix. Then came High Contrast's 2007 Essential Mix. Then a few of the old State of Mind Next Level Shows, ripped from Auckland's 95bFM. Until hearing these mixes, my only D&B experience had been the mighty Black Sun Empire, a wee bit of NOISIA, and some Roni Size tracks that accidentally broke through to the mainstream.
These were the mixes that got me hooked. I can't even remember how these things came into my life, or who set me onto them. I'd imagine they came from a mate's CDRs or a USB stick or something.
It wasn't long after hearing the High Contrast Essential Mix that I downloaded "Now More Than Ever", by Logistics. Since then, I've been a D&B head, and never been able to look back. I've bought more or less every new Hospital CD, a whole stack of Spearhead stuff, and a bunch of other producers’ stuff. I can't stop buying drum and bass, and I can't stop going to D&B nights, whether its Hospital, Spearhead, Ram, Renegade Hardware, Shogun, Lifted, Viper, Med School or whatever.
I've seen Logistics DJ live so many times, it borders on stalking.
Over the last four years, I have spent most of my money either attending D&B gigs, or buying new releases, and file sharing, most often via the internet is totally to blame for this.
I consume vast amounts of drum and bass music. Some of it paid for, some of it downloaded, some of it live, but I know I wouldn't have got nearly so messed up on this stuff if it hadn't been the for the internet, that huge pipe pumping beats and news and gig dates directly into my brain, and this is what scares me.
The politicians and business groups behind the 2010 Digital Economy Act claim that the bill is necessary to protect the future of the creative industries in Britain, but really it will do quite the opposite. Time was when kids would find out about new music from John Peel, publications like NME, or just by getting out there and spreading the word. Over the last decade, the internet has crashed onto the scene, and the entertainment industries have (in some cases wilfully) remained one step behind. The net is now the most important tool for promoting and distributing content, and yet the Digital Economy Act threatens to turn back the clock to 1997. The DE Bill, far from protecting Britain’s digital future, seems more like Ned Ludd kicking his way into a server farm with a sledgehammer and smashing the place up.
I'm not whinging about the DE Bill because I’m worried about not being able to watch new episodes of Lost or South Park. I like buying music. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy to know that I’m supporting the artists who produce the music I love, and whenever I buy a new Logistics release, he can buy some more hats. For me, the internet has opened up a whole world of music and experiences that I may never have discovered without it, and it scares me that other people could be denied these opportunities because of internet censorship and the government bending over backwards to meet the demands of a bald man with a yacht.
I wish I could claim to be more old skool than that, but for me, it was all about Sub Focus, or more specifically, his 2005 Breezeblock mix. Then came High Contrast's 2007 Essential Mix. Then a few of the old State of Mind Next Level Shows, ripped from Auckland's 95bFM. Until hearing these mixes, my only D&B experience had been the mighty Black Sun Empire, a wee bit of NOISIA, and some Roni Size tracks that accidentally broke through to the mainstream.
These were the mixes that got me hooked. I can't even remember how these things came into my life, or who set me onto them. I'd imagine they came from a mate's CDRs or a USB stick or something.
It wasn't long after hearing the High Contrast Essential Mix that I downloaded "Now More Than Ever", by Logistics. Since then, I've been a D&B head, and never been able to look back. I've bought more or less every new Hospital CD, a whole stack of Spearhead stuff, and a bunch of other producers’ stuff. I can't stop buying drum and bass, and I can't stop going to D&B nights, whether its Hospital, Spearhead, Ram, Renegade Hardware, Shogun, Lifted, Viper, Med School or whatever.
I've seen Logistics DJ live so many times, it borders on stalking.
Over the last four years, I have spent most of my money either attending D&B gigs, or buying new releases, and file sharing, most often via the internet is totally to blame for this.
I consume vast amounts of drum and bass music. Some of it paid for, some of it downloaded, some of it live, but I know I wouldn't have got nearly so messed up on this stuff if it hadn't been the for the internet, that huge pipe pumping beats and news and gig dates directly into my brain, and this is what scares me.
The politicians and business groups behind the 2010 Digital Economy Act claim that the bill is necessary to protect the future of the creative industries in Britain, but really it will do quite the opposite. Time was when kids would find out about new music from John Peel, publications like NME, or just by getting out there and spreading the word. Over the last decade, the internet has crashed onto the scene, and the entertainment industries have (in some cases wilfully) remained one step behind. The net is now the most important tool for promoting and distributing content, and yet the Digital Economy Act threatens to turn back the clock to 1997. The DE Bill, far from protecting Britain’s digital future, seems more like Ned Ludd kicking his way into a server farm with a sledgehammer and smashing the place up.
I'm not whinging about the DE Bill because I’m worried about not being able to watch new episodes of Lost or South Park. I like buying music. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy to know that I’m supporting the artists who produce the music I love, and whenever I buy a new Logistics release, he can buy some more hats. For me, the internet has opened up a whole world of music and experiences that I may never have discovered without it, and it scares me that other people could be denied these opportunities because of internet censorship and the government bending over backwards to meet the demands of a bald man with a yacht.
Censorship and cutting off peoples’ internet connections can only harm Britain and leave us floundering behind the rest of the world. The country needs a Digital Economy bill, but one that promotes the nation’s digital future and looks forward, rather than tries to provide life support for an industry whose consumer base has moved on without it apparently noticing.
No comments:
Post a Comment