First off, in my own words, let me say that you can listen to whatever kind of music that you like and no one should be able to judge you for it. But somehow, the electronic music crowd has developed a sense of elitism that apparently gives individuals the right to pass judgement on the musical preferences of others.
Henry Fong, a producer who is known all too well for his magnanimous productions and stellar humility, recently posted a lengthy piece on Facebook, discussing the (not-so-recent) trend of hating on mainstream/main stage DJs and the fans that flock to them.
In short, he relates the mainstage appeal to melody – something that underground techno and house has seemingly lost. Their complex productions can appeal to those with enough knowledge and appreciation of design and ability to understand what’s going on, but for those wanting to just dance the night away, it leaves little to latch onto.
Still not sure why some of the underground deep/techno guys are still hating on the mainstage EDM. It’s pretty simple as to why it’s more popular, and why it’s played on the mainstages. It’s very melody/riff based. People relate to melodies, and can sing along. I’m not saying techno or deep house doesn’t have melody at all, some of it does, but a lot of proper techno has very dark driving basslines with some percussion and isn’t based around a hooky or apparent melody. Oliver Heldens is killing it right now because he makes the groovy stuff but really focuses his tracks around the melody. Both genres have their own feel, and thats ok. People go through different feelings at different times of their lives, and different music accompanies that. I’ve been front row at an Afrojack show going nuts before I did this as a career and I had a great time, then you grow older and your musical tastes morph as you age. Its not really fair for some bitter 40 something year old DJ to be passing judgement on an 18 year old dancing at the mainstage of a big festival, the 18 year old is clearly at a different point and wants to hear more upbeat party oriented music. It’s like a stepping stone to other genres of dance music later on. Comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges, and you’re just wasting your time. To be honest, I think its pretty awesome when you hear ‘Tremor’ played at a festival and everyone starts chanting the melody, it’s an incredibly catchy melody, and trust me it’s not easy to write one like that. Why does that deserve hate from a DJ from another genre who claims to be preserving the roots of dance music, when the root of dance music is the MELODY!!
Even Oliver Heldens responded with a resounding “Amen!”
Still, the debate from the masses rages on:
In the meantime check out Fong’s new free bootleg of “C’mon Ride It” below. It is yet another electro house banger from the Florida native, and one we will be bumping from the pre-game to the party this coming weekend.