Future Proof? - Get Physical’s new breed on the state of dance music.

Dance music is in a period of flux. Music sales are falling, the death of the major label is predicted, creating both problems and opportunities, and the proliferation of better, cheaper computers as well as equipment is changing the way music is made forever.

However where there is confusion, so grows creativity and where some people would argue that electronic music is stuck in a creative cul de sac right now, others would say that some of the most exciting examples of the genre are being created as I write. It’s all a matter of opinion.
 
Get Physical are one of a small number of labels who have continued to evolve. Leaving behind electro house as soon as it became a formulaic sound. Get Physical are all about diversity, forward thinking music and a family vibe, summed up by their Full Body Workout compilation series. Patrice Bäumel, Gavin Herlihy, Caitlin Devlin and Thomas Schumacher from Elektrochemie and Daniel Mehlhart - who all appear on the latest instalment - were kind enough to take some time to tell us, firstly, what they thought of the current changes in dance music and what the future might hold.

For Gavin Herlihy the future is going to be more democratic: “It's certainly going to mean more people making more music. That will intrinsically mean more good music but also more bad music. Unfortunately for the music makers the increase in music will decrease the shelf life of music. Tracks are already consumed at such a frightening rate that they're considered old hat as soon as they've been on Beatport for longer than a couple of weeks. It also means it's going to be harder for the newcomers to break through. To become a known producer you need to release more and better tracks than ever but it's increasingly hard to make a living from doing so, so the art of music making is being sucked into a vicious circle. The only real way to survive is to make tracks that last the test of time and beat the Beatport shelf life.”

Whereas for Thomas Schumacher of Elektrochemie it’s not even really an issue: “Isn't dance music constantly in a transitory period? I mean, if something becomes popular, like minimal a few years ago, people start to look for something different, something that is not mainstream. I consider this attitude amongst many producers in our scene one of the key factors for why this music is still relevant and exciting. As far as the future goes, I have the feeling the "Ethno-sampling hype" will become even bigger and more annoying…”

One of the biggest changes has been the introduction of computers, into both music making and DJ’ing, further blending the roles of DJs, artists and producers. With the decline of vinyl sales being a key factor in the current problems the issue is one close to many people hearts, but often in different ways.

Patrice Bäumel does not understand why there is so much resistance against change in dance music: “For me it is a place to escape conservatism. New technologies have liberated us. They have always driven music to new heights. If it wasn't for people willing to push music forward we would still be sitting in caves and beating on a drum with a bone.”

Thomas Schumacher and Daniel Melhart, however, still have an affinity with vinyl as Thomas explains: “What was wrong with playing records in the first place? I must have missed something.... Only so many DJs get it right with Traktor Scratch. The majority? They are lazy bastards, a disgrace to any real DJ. They can't be bothered to go record shopping and to carry the 25 kg crate around.
For Daniel it just isn’t exciting to watch. “Seeing a DJ staring into his laptop turns me off mostly. I’m very old fashioned when it comes to this topic. I like to play vinyl, and some CD's in combination with my little sampler and then I’m happy.”

But what about the creative possibilities that open up with computers? Gavin Herlihy is both a gadget geek and a lover of vinyl: “I am a complete retard when it comes to absorbing new technologies. I really struggle with computer manuals yet I can read magazines about computer music production all day long! I changed over to Traktor Scratch almost a year ago and it’s been a real creative push in developing my DJ’ing. I'd rather use Traktor with a pair of CD-Js any day of the week to using vinyl. I still love the experience of buying vinyl though. If a record really touches me then I want to be able to own the vinyl in order to feel connected to the track. But when it comes to DJ’ing I'd rather be able to manipulate the file of the track with an arsenal of technology at my disposal than be inhibited by vinyl's limitations.

Clearly there is no right or wrong answer to what are some complex issues. There is however plenty of room for ideas and opinions, and so that’s what we got. If our producers were king for a day, what would they ban?
 
For Caitlin and Thomas it’s simple. C: Fucked up door politics. T: Ibiza.
 
Patrice Bäumel doesn’t share my Machiavellian leanings. He would ban “nothing. Freedom for everybody and everything.” Gavin Herlihy’s ruling is perhaps the most simple. He would ban anyone from saying things were “better back in the day”.
 
For Daniel Mehlhart that’s a difficult question, as he rightly points out that a lot of the things we consider bad, have a good side to them as well. He does, however, wonder about the future of music as a commodity: ”What I really dislike is the way electronic music starts to become a disposal article like most of the mainstream tracks are. Download. Listen. Delete. What makes me worried is the next generation of kids. For them music has no meaning anymore. They never bought a CD. They grew up with the possibility to get it on the Internet for free. So why go and buy them in some store? That’s not very comfortable.”
 
These are just three aspects of a much larger issue. However, hopefully it shows that like the Western economy at large - the business of actually making money from dance music - is not in a good way. Not that most people who get involved in the business of electronic music do it to become rich. The problem is: right now a lot can’t even get by.
 
But what can been done in the future? What can make things better?
 
Patrice thinks that people should have a more open mind about music, as both artists and party people. “There are just too many rules in dance music. I wish people would be more open to explore other emotions than just ecstasy, that there was more room for subtleties and a willingness to explore and discover. DJ's should experiment a lot more, too.”
 
For Gavin the problems are oblique. He does however have an idea. “It's simple. Buy music, don't fileshare it. Give the artists a chance to survive by paying for music not stealing it. Is that realistic? Probably not. A more practical solution might be if the world of music publishing improved so that artists were paid every time their tracks were played in professional environments. That is currently the case but its impossible to have a man with a clipboard taking note of what tunes get played in every club every weekend.” What a sight that would be. Thomas has some more simple advice: “Don't follow the hype... don't jump on the bandwagon. Come up with something unique and original. Be bold (and smart!) and then: Have a proper career! Who needs the copycat of a copycat of a copycat?!”
 

Some background on the artists:
 
 Patrice Bäumel
 
 What was the first record that got you interested in music?
 Probably my dad's Frank Zappa records because of their wild cover designs. I must have been 4 years old back then.
 
 What has been your best experience performing?
 I've had a couple pretty unforgettable ones. This year it must have been at an afterhours club in Lisbon called Europa. A very demanding crowd but extremely rewarding once you connect to them.
 
 What are you most proud of?
 That I've made the step from an office slave to an independent artist. It was hard work and took years, but now I am where I belong; everything feels natural and I am really excited about the future because there is so much left to discover.
 
 What inspires you to create music?
 Dancing, listening to other music, sounds I hear in daily life. Mostly it's the urge to express yourself as a human being. I think everybody has that in some way.
 
 
 Daniel Mehlhart
 
 What was the first record that turned you onto music?
 My first record was probably the album of Culture Beat called Serenity back in 1993. I recorded it on a tape and listened to it the whole day on my super new Sony Walkman. In school my friends laughed about me listening to such crazy music.
 
 What has been your best party experience?
 Last year when we set up our own party in the woods near Frankfurt. We were only 80 people, close friends and their friends. We had a booming Soundsystem and hoped that the police would not find us.
 Everything was perfect. When the sun went up we all had a very emotional and special moment. That was very intense. We still talk about this night a lot and did it again this year, but the Police disturbed us very early.
 
 
 Caitlin and Thomas (Elektrochemie). [They are actually stopping Elektrochemie now to pursue other projects]
 
What was the first record that turned you onto music?
 C: The first song that made me want to sing was “Here Comes The Sun” by Nina Simone. The first record I ever bought, listened to insanely and made the soundtrack of my life was “Some Great Reward” by Depeche Mode.
 T: Depeche Mode's 1983 album “Construction Time Again”. I must have listened to it a thousand times on my headphones back then. It sounded like nothing else I had heard before and I still love it.
 
 What was your best gig - live set or DJ?
 C: Sonne, Mond und Sterne 2003. It was our first ever live gig together as Elektrochemie. The International Pony guys played an amazing set before us and totally got the people off their bum’s and up and out and into the party. Before we went on one of the I.P. guys spontaneously gave me a power pep talk. This was such a beautiful thing because they had just come off stage and most people are so full of themselves (myself included) in these moments but they took 30 seconds to give me pure love energy and very good vibes to take on stage with me, for the people. The set was unforgettable, the sun going down, the people up for it, hooting and dancing and loving.
 
 What is your proudest achievement so far?
 C: Baking a baby!
 T: The baby.
 
 
 Gavin Herlihy
 
 What got you into music?
 I probably owe more to listening to my dad's music on car journeys as a kid than anything else. He was a big fan of people like Simon & Garfunkel, Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash and they featured heavily in my early listening. The first techno record I bought was the Laboratoire remix of Laurent Garnier's “Flashback'“- still to this day one of my favourite techno records ever. I grew up in a small town in Ireland and wasn't able to buy records until I was old enough to venture up to Dublin on the weekends to get into trouble. The artist to first turn me onto dance music was Michael Jackson. We used to try and breakdance to “Thriller” on our lunch breaks at school when we were kids!
 
 How obsessed are you about music?
 I'm so obsessed I have trouble remembering to try and live a normal life!
 
 
 Full Body Workout Volume 4, featuring all of the above artists plus the Italoboys, Djuma Soundsystem and Matchbox, is available now on GetPhysical.