Originally Posted by Arglebargle ➡️

Tradition does not equal better either, but I quess some people don't like hearing that.

Cherry picking greats over decades can make things sound like it was top drawer back when, but the dross has already been removed, and gatekeepers kept stuff from being heard, good and bad both.

Originally Posted by NawwwwwSun ➡️

Tradition IS better when it is superior to the emperor’s new clothes.

It’s just that simple. Have ears. Have taste. Of course this is not simple for simpletons.

Originally Posted by Arglebargle ➡️

Tradition does not equal better either, but I quess some people don't like hearing that.

Cherry picking greats over decades can make things sound like it was top drawer back when, but the dross has already been removed, and gatekeepers kept stuff from being heard, good and bad both.

Originally Posted by boombapdame ➡️

@ Looneytune there is quality Hip Hop in this era if you ignore Trap/mumble rap and word salad "lyricists" w/no personality.

Originally Posted by Looneytune ➡️

Fair point.


By the way hip hop was also way better in the 90s.

Originally Posted by nunrgguy ➡️

Easier for whom?

It was simpler maybe....easier...nah not when in small bedroom studios etc people were in the realm of "sample a drum sound, programme the part, play it through the desk ,chuck some EQ on it and some verb, bounce one hit down to DAT, resample it to free up the FX unit/s, realise later in the mix it's got too much verb on it....repeat".

Originally Posted by BoingBoomTjack ➡️

Originally Posted by Arglebargle ➡️

Always be wary of those who know the absolute truth.

And the pontoonificators...

Originally Posted by Deleted d6f81f2 ➡️

The past isn't better, there's just more of it.

Originally Posted by Deleted 99f107d ➡️

I think there's still some amazing music being made. The big thing for me with modern electronic music is the sound more than the music itself. A huge amount of tracks post-90's are great musically, but I just like the sound of those old gritty recordings with different highs and midrange. For me it adds so much of the vibe that I love and look for.

Originally Posted by nunrgguy ➡️

Some of those 90s highs are the result of 12 bit samplers, cheap desks and chucking an exciter on everything because “it must make it better, mustn’t it? It said so in Sound on Sound anyway, around 1 o’clock position on every track on the stereo buss should do it...maybe, no idea, difficult to tell from a magazine, he also reviewed someone’s track and said ‘boost the hats at 11k, well my mixer just says ‘hi’ on it, I’ll turn that up a bit I guess and then turn the bass one up to 3 o clock on the bass, ooh that sounds great when I turn the gain right up...is this right??? No idea, it just got signed so I must be doing something right?????”

Originally Posted by steaV ➡️

Well get the kids to start listening to Sound on Sound again!

I just like that aesthetic. I bet a lot of people don't necessarily. Some of my favorite stuff likely wouldn't ever be engineered to sound that way today, certainly not by the bigger mass appeal artists and their teams. Some of the older jungle recordings I like are even slightly harsh sounding, but I actually like that.

Just seems to me that 90's music sounded a lot more DIY including the masters, whereas somewhere in there the engineers started playing copycat way too much themselves, and then when album sales became threatened it intensified the need for a successful formula from all parties involved who had put up money for the project. Also the number of people who could get into the engineering game exploded with computers hitting the scene so formulas probably got used a lot for safe results and fast learning by all the newcomers offering their services for far cheaper than the veteran names. I'm just guessing.

It doesn't bother me too much really and I have accepted how music is made now and what it sounds like. I can't really get that older sound either and won't ever own the equipment to be able to do so, so I can't be too critical. Electronic music (all music) has always just been about being inspired and then tinkering around and doing your best to make something that feels good too. That's still happening everywhere so it's all good.

Originally Posted by boombapdame ➡️

@ BoingBoomTjack the 90s had less distractions competing w/making music (yes, video games and cable TV were competition) but people made a way out of no way, today it's less attention span and more distractions.

Originally Posted by Looneytune ➡️

Hey that was cool.

I am really big into Good acid house.

Is that a new production release? it certainly sounds cleaner...

Originally Posted by jm2c ➡️

Just had a quick sesh with RD-8 and Argon8M, sequenced and resampled into my M+.. With total recall aside from the RD-8 knob positions. The 90s can bite me

What was I using in the 90s? A crappy Yamaha CS1x, sequenced with Calewalk, recorded to C-cassette... I needed to decide between only having the TR-808 "performance" patch, or using XG mode (which had an "Analog Kit" that sounded nothing like an 808) for multitimbrality but slightly better than General MIDI sounds.. no thx

With all else being equal, the choice and availability of gear back then was a far cry from the utopia of today

Originally Posted by groundbass ➡️

Part of the problem today is that the zeitgeist of the 90's is long gone.

When you hear a good 90's tune you also hear the spirit of the times. Like when you hear The Byrds singing Turn Turn, you feel the 60's as well as the music. Same with The Clash - that raw 70's attitude is baked into the sound.

That synergy between art and what is happening in society at the time is magic and impossible to replicate with a class of kids all staring at Ableton like some spreadsheet exercise in history and period instruments.

If you compare the production you see massive conformity today. Everything is all about sonic perfection. A lot of the old tunes would fail all of the many copy cat youtube tutorials with distorted tracks and stuff to low in the mix, but it was all done by freshly excited people inspired by the craziness of the dancefloor and the ever expanding scene.
You can hear that baked into the simplest cheesy rave tune.

It's almost like the future came to early.

Originally Posted by autoy ➡️

It wasn’t easier. It was a ton more complicated and so much slower. From ADAT to floppies, to making patch pictures, sampling management, or desk annotations… it was a huge amount of work and a pain in the ass many wouldn’t stand today. But you know, many of us prefer the slow dumb way still.

Originally Posted by NawwwwwSun ➡️

So why does 2000 and on mostly NOT have raw attitude? Every other decade had it. What’s the big difference?

I already know the answer, these questions are rhetorical.

Anyway it’s not like it’s totally gone, look at ppl like Omar S and Theo Parrish and people of that ilk. By sheer coincidence, they use hardware to make music. lol

Originally Posted by Moonwhistle ➡️

It’s not the hardware, it’s the mindset.

Originally Posted by NawwwwwSun ➡️

Nah I’m wary of ****ing idiots who don’t know shit.

Originally Posted by Looneytune ➡️

Fair point.

But I’m still stuck listening to the 90s and the way I see it music we listen to influences us when we are producing our own…whether I like it or not it subconsciously does influence me IMO.

So I’d rather be influenced by the greats of the 90s any day then the techno I hear from today.

Everyone just copies each other today, the music is all just to predictable almost.
It’s like throw it all in your face without any proper thought to the arrangement.
I don’t care if it’s 60 tracks …..

I’d rather 10 simple tracks properly thought out with feeling to the arrangement even if there are mistakes.
I love those odd mistakes in music, today everyone is caught up in perfection and the music suffers for it.

And let’s face it great techno has always been minimal track count. Not many today producing techno can restrict themselves to 10 or 15 tracks. But having said I have heard great techno from posters on this site so some get it

Anyway I just share my experience based on what I hear.
After all I might be wrong. And I am strictly talking about 90s Acid house and techno tracks.

Rock folks might say the same about the 60s and 70s.
By the way hip hop was also way better in the 90s.