New York--Electronic music has enjoyed soaring growth in recent years, but to detractors the genre consists of little beyond crowd-pleasing DJs clicking play on their computers.
But several leading artists are seeking to combat perceptions with a renewed effort to emphasize the human element behind the music.
Richie Hawtin, a leading force in techno music, on his latest tour has gone not only to clubs but to college campuses where he brought fellow DJs to lecture.
Hawtin, a British-born Canadian who has performed as Plastikman, is known for his minimalist techno but said that honing his style took time.
"As big as the scene has become and as easy as it is to get involved... to go beyond that and to find your own unique voice or sound is quite difficult," he told a hall full of aspiring electronic artists at New York's New School.
"Sometimes people criticize electronic music for being computer music -- 'it's not made by people, it's all about the machine.'
"Well, it can be, but it shouldn't be," said Hawtin, who spearheads summer techno bashes on the notorious Spanish party island of Ibiza.
The lecture tour featured workshops for students and was supported by manufacturers of equipment. But Hawtin's message was different -- it is most critical to discover a voice in the studio.
"Our instrument keeps changing and evolving and there always seems to be someone -- a friend or a manufacturer -- trying to entice you that there is something new that you have to get to sound great," he said.
"But you can spend all the time chasing that and never having enough to find yourself."
AFP
