Do Electro House Vinyl Records Represent The Ultimate Fusion Of Music And Media?
Electro house vinyl records make some people smile, not just because electro house has such an upbeat sound, but that such a modern, electro style of house music should find its way securely onto vinyl at all. Electro house and its various sub genres and precursors such as techno house have seen a massive revival in the early 1980s style of synthesized electro pop, but of course with a much more raw, dirty sort of sound, and the fact that it has proven to be so popular clearly demonstrates the way in which this sort of reinvention works.
Many of the techno house hits of the last few years have gone on to become some of the hottest hits of the year, and in places such as Ibiza and the heavy house scenes techno house has become one of the staples of the modern house scene. But why should people still be interested in buying modern techno house in vinyl form - what does vinyl have to offer that MP3 and CD don't?
I'm a great fan of modern technology, computer technology and modern music file formats. I think that the ability to download, share and transfer music around has opened up a whole new field in the world of music and entertainment. Obviously I don't agree with piracy, but there's always been a problem with that, and you're never going to stamp out sharing in the world. But there are some things that modern technology can't offer us, at least not as well or as successfully as some of the more traditional media.
If you've ever been to a nightclub, house scene or other event such as Ibiza, one thing you'll notice is that the vast majority of the top DJs don't use CDs or MP3s, or at least, they don't use such formats exclusively. You'll still see cases of vinyls stacked up, and there are good reasons for this. Yes, it might take a little longer to find a record, and yes, it might be slightly more fiddly, but let's be honest, when you've been in this game for as many years as most of these top DJs, the difference between flicking a vinyl on the turntable and hunting through thousands of MP3s, loading the right file and fiddling about with the buttons is negligible at best, and preferable at worst.
But one of the major advantages of having electro house vinyl records is that you can experiment and play with the music. You just can't do that with digital files - you need a hands on approach. At a house event - perhaps imagine Ibiza here - you can't see DJs just sitting idly by clicking the play button every three or four minutes. They're active, they're involved and they're participating with the music.
This is something which, while not exclusive to house music, is a predominant aspect of the genre - the fact that people enjoy participating in the performance of the music, and that It is not a passive experience. Whether you're in to techno house, house, RNB, hip hop or one of the many other massive urban genres or sub genres, the one thing in which they all seem to share is the experience of participation.
Electro house is a relatively new form of music, and one which, in my opinion, still hasn't finished being reinvented yet. It's already a reinvention of early 80's electro pop, and with its roots based firmly in both the 80s and the urban house scene. Electro house vinyl records represent quite a wide range of musicians and styles, with a great many artists keen to break in to the techno house music scene as a direct result of its overwhelming success and popularity.
Electro house has a strong beat, an intense rhythm and distinctive melodies and riffs. This all lends itself perfectly to reinvention and experimentation, and the best DJs know this. The performances you experience at techno house events are ones in which you feel a real sense of creativity and uniqueness. The rendition you'll hear of your favourite techno house music will likely be unique to that particular venue, and maybe even that particular night. This is all thanks to vinyl in combination with the skills of a top class DJ who knows house music like the B side of his techno house vinyl records.
