[rob]

i’m a little surprised so many people are a bit aggro about this. sounds to me like the community there is working together to try and create an environment that suits a certain group of people with quite modest wishes. Theyre not a large group, have well defined aims of which we can be tolerant and as long as they arnt throwing their weight around trying to impose their views on anyone else or undermine other villages/develpoments it seems an oddity but not necessarily morally repugnant.

If folks want to live in a totalitarian es-state then let them. some people crave security and order even if its a bit contrived, but as long as its contrived by them and theres choice as to whether to participate (ie move there by choice) then thats their rice-ball.

I lived once in a ‘trendy’ development in london with ridiculous rules about not hanging washing out to dry – which i thought was daft, as it looks lovely, domestic, colourful and homely to see washing hanging outside peoples homes. It had rules about noise too, and keeping windows clean. I still moved there though cos it suited in most other respects and moved on cos i had a choice to. live and let live.

[rob]

good idea to use all the media channels. the dance scene has always been evolving to advance technology for pleasure….

i would worry about the hold that sponsors and donors have over content most of all. Especially it becomes increasingly difficult to resist them when they try to push their agenda when the faithful have put so much of their lives and energy into a project for previously sound/idealistic reasons.

Just look at many of the previous great underground/minority dance music scenes/genres that have turned to commercialisation – usually starting as a ‘blood sweat and tears’ affairs with a strong identity, and ending up as someones income. Once that happens it becomes difficult to have the energy to resist wanting to get good at the commercial side; advertising, sales and promotions speak, mass media and marketing, after all thats why these things exist: to make money, feed the family and the bank account.
Then someone comes and puts the hard sell and offers more of the above for something that doesnt fit the original plan or feel the same. Before long the whole thing is totally misshaped and people think its a sell out. Which technically it is.

Maybe we should enjoy our underground music scenes here as we have the social and economic environment to indulge in what is essentially a totally frivolous past-time and get less hung up about whats ‘underground’ or not? If you note only until recently did less economically developed places have a desire or inclination to have such a cultural phenomenon. Its the preserve of those with enough economic security to invest time into it and still feel they may eat at the end of the day.

lets have the full broadcast and if a tunes good its good and if its pop then call it so. even if it feels a bit wrong, good luck mate!

[Author]

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