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I’m not attending shows regularly anymore. Why? I recently situated myself after moving from location to location searching for housing during the cockroach epidemic at my last apartment. Moving nearly everyday for six months. Why do I want to spend days traveling back and forth, two hours from the Poconos to Philadelphia, and continue my life as a headless chicken? 

I do not.
Plus, I’m meeting resistance about the topics I’m covering. Narcissists are a stone throw away, the community aggressively defends transgenderism, and the majority of artists I’ve seen are DJs. I’m not Anti – DJ, but I’d prefer covering artists.

A major problem with the music industry is ghost producers and management teams. A pay to play industry where somebody with zero songs can easily book festival lineups due to connections. Is the artist actually pushing new sounds, good music, or being utilized for marketing opportunities, filling lower lineup slots, promoting somebody else’s music? Recently read a post on the Mickman Facebook page where somebody mentioned the lack of transparency in the music industry: “The awareness of the evils of the music industry is bleeding into the casual fans lives more and more, resulting in people paying closer attention to who’s an industry plant, who’s truly “underground”, who’s managing who, who’s name is bigger on the event flier, etc. I’m guilty of it for sure.”

It certainly is a vibe, and as an intuitive empath, you can feel the silent judging from crowds amongst less established artists — artists who haven’t claimed their sound. Is this a problem, DJ’s in the scene? No, the problem is passing DJ’s as producers which is becoming increasingly more evident. Drama with Excision and Space Laces highlighted the trickle down effect from ghost producing, an artist (Excision) over encumbered by touring needs, required production assistance from dubstep’s latest, greatest artist (Space Laces). How did this mentality not trickle down the dubstep canopy? If the touring needs are so demanding on the music production, how do we know Jeff’s also handpicking talent efficiently for his Subsidia label? When after all, music creation is everything to the industry, no? 

Could you imagine the uproar if Dave Tipper used a ghost producer? 

Record labels and management teams create a circle jerk of nepotism, disguising artist individuality beneath a collective narcissism. The more you pay, the more you play: access to sample packs, mixing engineers, production lessons or outright ghost production, marketing, distribution, opening slots, and even booking tours. Instead of mastering art over five—ten years, somebody buys into a well-oiled machine, reaping the rewards instantaneously. As opposed to naturally progressing your art, manifesting likeminded relationships, and building an ethical art business with similar goals.

The experimental bass scene, largely underground, escapes ghost producers temporarily due to lack of stardom, financial success, and obscurity. However, the genre will reach success sooner than later, and the industry leeches will be lurking nearby.

Just to talk shit for a second.
Why do I want to write about DJ’s and who played what song next?
I don’t, it’s incredibly boring and lackluster. I find satisfaction in pushing the new sound, finding artists with powerful vibes, who are putting in the work. DJ’s are important to sound system culture, sure,  they carry unreleased dub plates from bass music’s hottest producer’s and set the tone; however, from a journalism perspective it doesn’t do much for me. Writing about somebody’s collection and queue feels empty to the blood, sweat, and tears of the artist. Especially when three fifths of a lineup are DJ’s instead of producers. I know DJ’s are supposed to guarantee the crowd moving, but still, over half the lineup?

We’ve gotten to a point in music where artist’s respond “I’ve got an EP coming out shortly” as if its the biggest secret on the planet they release music for a living. I hope you’re releasing music, isn’t that your job. What are you doing everyday? 

I’d hope you have something to show for the work? 

No?

I guess we have to ask ourselves: What is an artist?
Doesn’t art expresses the unconscious mind, the soul, the human state? Isn’t the artist a conduit for the unseen realms of existence, the expresser of the Divine? What happens to the artist when they stop producing art? Is art about perfectionism or expressing the emotion?
To me, the bastardization of art occurs when we ignore these questions, treating art like a commodity for buying and selling, instead of absorbing and appreciating — Placing management and promotion companies into positions of power instead of well-deserved artists.

So who are the people looking for the short cut? Are they artists or opportunists? A byproduct of the narcissism pandemic, fragile ego’s searching for endless supply, bunny hopping for the admiration of an ignorant crowd, chasing the carrot.. Didn’t we see situation with NotLo, who lazily ripped sample pack demos, claiming them as her own, climbing the ladder of underground bass music before positioning herself comfortably on Deadbeats roster? Do these people care about the art? If not, what do we call them?

How about narcissists?
What is a narcissist?

What happens when you repress somebody’s needs and emotions from birth to two years old?
Anger and ugly emotions turn on the infants ego, regressing the child to a state of anger and the reptilian brain— the lower evolved brain responsible for primal desires. The child becomes trapped for life, projecting negative emotions onto society, falling underneath the umbrella of narcissistic personality disorder. Are these the people primarily responsible for the pitfalls of the music industry, even society as a whole? 

I believe the influence of narcissism greatly affects the scene — people idolizing fame, wealth, and power instead of promoting great art. While I’m not claiming Excision to be a narcissist, I’m saying he’s not perfect either. A lot of Jeff’s problems seem to exist from his current size, lessening his ability to produce or manage a label closely. How many of Excision’s signed artist’s use ghost producer’s or bought onto the team? There have been more than one occasion where a dubstep artist feels uncomfortable discussing their music. Why? Do you make music, bro?

But isn’t that what art’s about, the imperfection, the flaws, the message? Being human.
I thought so, maybe somebody should spread the message?

I did encounter a few great shows over the months, Midnight Tyrannosaurus, Dubloadz, Bommer, Cut Rugs, Seppa, Brainrack…. but after being stung by a bald faced hornet before my last show, I’ve decided to take a rest and heal.