SpekrFreks

So we really didn’t plan on DJ’ing for Lazy Bear this year. I (Edwin) remember going to Lazy Bear 2006. I was brand new to the “bear” scene and was having one of the best times of my life. I met some great people and had a blast. I remember going to one of the dances and thinking to myself “I’m gonna DJ here next year.”

Then Lazy Bear 2007 came and my band was booked to DJ for KUMA. It was amazing. Although the dance club was small, it was packed wall to wall with people dancing all night. Good times. After that I had my fill. I was happy that I got to DJ for a bunch of sexy people and I really had no desire to DJ for Lazy Bear or even attend Lazy Bear again.

Then some friends from KUMA called me a few months ago. They asked if we would DJ again. I was reluctant at first, but then they offered to pay us our going rate and to meet some of the demands in our contract. They really wanted us to DJ. So I said “Sure, why not.”

Well then something interesting happened. A month into the process the party promoter changed from a KUMA event to a Yoshi-Mac event. Now the promoter for Yoshi-Mac, whom I like to refer to as “Hotlanta” was running the party. Hotlanta and I have a little bit of history together, we met at IBR 2007 and got pretty well acquainted. So of course we are very friendly toward each other. Well, Mr. Hotlanta calls me to tell me that the party is no longer KUMA, it’s HIS party now, and he still really wants SpekrFreks to DJ.

At this point, I feel a little guilty. I was doing this gig as a favor to my KUMA boys. The KUMA boys really helped us out in the beginning of our DJ days so I will always feel obliged to them. But SpekrFreks is a business. Yoshi-Mac was offering more amenities and better accommodations to us than KUMA. The pay is good and Hotlanta is my friend too. I couldn’t say no. Of course I told him that as a stipulation we would be booking our favorite DJ; DJ Luvsik, to open up for us.

I feel sad. Part of me wishes this was still a KUMA event, but oh well. Business is business and SpekrFreks are DJ whores. So here we are again, DJ’ing for Lazy Bear 2008. SpekrFreks and DJ Luvsik.

It’s gonna be nuts.

Technology is a two-way street. It allows pushing the envelope artistically through electronic means. It allows people to really corner a market on a particular sound or style.

The distribution of the internet has categorized music in a way that was never really thought of before. This truly applies to Electronica. The category of Electronica itself includes many different sub-genres. This of course is all a matter of opinion with some tracks. But many tracks are distinct enough to fall under their specific genre.

I recently read an article by Robert Rich which goes into more detail about the state of music today due to advances in technology and internet distribution. Now anyone can start up a label (of course it’s easier when you have connections). Most people can run their own music business easier than ever before.

So artistically speaking, my question here is: what is this newfound technology truly doing to the sound of music. Are we expanding? Are we plateauing? Or are we just dancing?

Sometimes I wonder because I cannot stop enjoying the most “futuristic and electric” of sounds. I cannot get enough of this evergrowing trend called “Electro.” This is all I want to produce and listen to. This is all I ever want to hear.

Where does that leave me?