Disillusioned? / Release delays

DJ Destiny

Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2002
PLEASE NOTE: I am NOT discussing how good or bad the new dnb releases are. Im talking about the delays and setbacks at effect everyone!
Please dont bother to reply if you are just going to say "New dnb is wicked" etc cause thats not what Im interested in hearing :)
Anyway, on with the post.........

I got into hardcore in late 91, followed everything thru the darkside, early
jungle, ragga style, and right upto brand new dnb. What really fucks me off
now is the total elitest element of the dnb scene.
Does anyone else feel this?

For example, Ive followed V Recordings since day one, Ive got every single
release to date.
Back in 95-97 tunes came out on a regular basis, but nowwe are all forced to
sit and be begging mugs waiting and waiting for these "super tunes" to get a
release (If ever)
Im not even going to buy LK when it comes out, even just for the fact to
keep my collection complete.
Is anyone getting disillusioned with this shit? I have no time for new dnb
anymore, mostly for the fact its become a "who you know not how good you
are" scene. There is no enjoyment to be had from sitting waiting six months
or more for a tunes release. Why dont they just release the tunes and let
everyone enjoy them? What happened to the days of being able to go to a
record shop and buying a hand full of wicked new releases week in and week
out?
IMO the group of supposedly "best" dnb djs/producers have lead the scene to
implode up its own arse with their closed doors attitude to how and where
tunes go.

I for one, will not be buying any more new dnb. Its a sad day, Ive followed
the scene since day 1, enjoyed every style that has come and gone. But
unfortunatly its never going to as good as it was.
This may sound like a "back in the good old days" rant, but its all true. I
surely cant be the only one that feels pissed off with this situation.
I fail to see where any enjoyment can be had sitting and waiting months and
months for some good tunes to come out.
I certainly aint sitting like one of their lap dogs begging for them to
release the new tunes sooner like all the other mug punters. Hopefully they
will see alot of other people are abandoning the scene due to shit like
this.
A good example I heard today was of Shake your body being played at an event
and it clearing the dance floor. Talk about overkill LOL
 
Firstly, that is a LONG fucking post! It'll go down in dnbforum history ;]

Anyways, release delays ARE getting worse, strange thing is, I've only been mixing dnb for 2 years and I have noticed it already!! :mad:

Back when I was mixin' Hardcore, the choons came out well quick! There were always new choons coming out, and if you bought a mixtape from that month, the 'big' DJs had just started playing the same choons I'd picked up.

Problem is, I do like a lot of todays dnb, so I don't want to stop buying it. I'd just like to get my hands on the vinyls sooner, but how? :(

*shrugs*
 
Very true, Shake Ur Body and LK are prime examples, and because of the long delay I (and I'm sure many others) were *ahem* forced to play CD bootlegs until we could get the real thing.
 
Yeah, I definitely know what you mean. With LK its almost got to the point where I've heard it too much before it's even been released.
I'm another one who would have bought it if it had been released a couple of months ago but won't be bothering now.

-walrus
 
Agreement on a few ponits here - please refer to the "Shake Ur Body" post ... also the comments I made about Nasty Ways.

Urm - I remember ages ago (don't know if anyone else can) when Swift was killing it with loads of his early tracks?? Well he kept them all on plate for ages and by the time they came out they were just "OLD" so Dj's holding on to stuff for too long can work against them.
 
Also this reminds me of an article that I read in Knowledge magazine, dunno if anyone else read it? It was about No-U-Turn and their views towards the promo situation with the top DJs being able to get stuff ages before anyone else. Made quite an interesting read and I could sort out a scanned copy if anyone wants one.
 
No-U-Turn have always been quite good with their promos I found, so are a number of other labels. It was a crime when Section 5 shut down coz you could pick up so much stuff there way before it was gonna come out :(
 
Definately feeling you all on this one. But what is the answer? I've asked Djs on countless occasions why it takes them so long to get their tunes out, and they always blame the distribution companies/other companies involved. For example, a mate was telling me about a Ray Keith interview where he said one of the reasons Terrordrome has taken so long is because they were having 'artwork problems'.
 
Sounds rediculous. I mean I buy 90% of my vinyl online and never even get to see the covers, so it's not important what they look like. I'd be happy enough with everything being white, just so long as the artist and title were printed somewhere.
 
What makes it even worse is that Terrordrome doesn't have much artwork.

Plus it is pretty much identical to UFO1 (Somewhere Out There VIP) :cry:
 
2 big reasons why the tunes take so long:

1) Hyping the tune to fuck to ensure EVERYONE has heard it nuff times before it comes out
2) Keeping the little (and often technically better) DJ's in their place by making sure they only have tunes that have been murdered already

Cynical bizness, but do people think its much worse than other 'dance' scenes? Dont buy much vinyl myself (spend my money on production instead) so what do the DJ's think?
 
k_dub said:
2) Keeping the little (and often technically better) DJ's in their place by making sure they only have tunes that have been murdered already

There's definitely more of a dubplate culture in D&B than some scenes, but this issue of up and comings being held back is a problem in all scenes. Basically, its getting harder for up and comings to get recognised because simply being able to mix just doesn't cut it. There's plenty of people that can mix, so up and comings are being forced to go out of their way to make themselves stand out. Otherwise promoters basically just turn around and say "yeah, sure you can mix, but so can the other 10 DJs that sent me tapes. What makes you special?". The basic alternatives are:
1) Start your own event. Use it to get your name on flyers next to big names and build up contacts. Even if the night doesnt make much/any money, its all good publicity.
2) Produce/have friends who produce. If you can send promoters tapes with lots of new unreleased tuneage on them you immediately stand out as something special, and something to offer over the other DJs who send them tapes.
3) Have absolutely amazing technical skills.
4) Be friends with a promoter.

At the moment, I'm at the stage where I've sent out tapes and got the "yeah, you can mix, but so can everyone else" response. I'm currently going down the production avenue....

-walrus
 
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