Song Clash Blog

Most young musicians don’t know the story of their patches. What you hear in nightclubs are the ghosts of old sounds. Those things are older than your parents. Only occasionally do you hear the sound of innovation, something that didn’t come out of the resonators and oscillators of three generations ago.

A short history of electronic sound and an important lesson

In the late 60s and early 70s, oscillators in the form of the original synthesizer, the VCS3, basic waves, came into use. These were the direct ancestors of modern synthesizer sounds, but still very basic and very repetitive. These synthesizers were very popular, but still basically “keyboards”, and derived largely from a range of existing electronic sounds. They were sped up or slowed down, but not very advanced by any standard.

In the later 70s arrived arguably the first instrument to approximate modern synthesizer capabilities, the Fairlight. This was a truly revolutionary machine, able to create octaves, loops, sounds and true synthesis of sounds. These were the first real patches, but the music of the time was still playin’ that good ol’ rock and roll whether anyone liked it or not, and the music industry, as usual, was still a generation behind. It didn’t see the commercial potential.

The lesson here is that the usual result was apathy and/or incomprehension. A new sound was considered a gimmick. The music industry, and musicians themselves, made the wrong call. The idea of a musical culture dominated by loops, patches and rhythms wasn’t even on the radar. This is where the music industry usually loses the plot, and it’s why the really dramatically different new sounds and musical ideas regularly reinvent popular music and culture. Success is based on new sounds and ideas, not clichés and drab little ditties. Most people don’t get that. Make sure you do.

The cookie cutter- Something to avoid

The idea of marketing music hasn’t changed since the 1950s. The emphasis is still on old media like TV and drab little promos. A million artists come and go, anonymous, identical, and as entertainment pretty sad. This is the cookie cutter, and it’s a recipe for failure. Who needs a herd of lookalike nobodies churning out the same old garbage for decades, anyway? The audiences voted by buying repacks of other artists and new music sales died a thousand deaths.

This is absolutely basic marketing. If you want to be ignored, look and sound like everyone else. Nobody gives a damn what you do, because you’re not going to be doing very much. Most experienced musicians doubt the ability of the industry to sell booze to a wino, and this is why.

Case in point- Lady Gaga. Love her or hate her, you’re going to notice her. She doesn’t stand still, musically or visually. That’s the way it’s supposed to be done. Build a brand, build an image, get recognition, and people listen and buy the music.

Think about it- Who do you really like and remember? Not someone whose name you can’t be bothered remembering, that’s for sure.

The bottom line is brutal, but you need to recognize it for what it is:

If you’re looking for a career, not just a short pause for working on a gas pump, be different, sound different, and make yourself visible.

If you want a chance at the top of the heap, be someone, not just some thing.

Play your own music, be yourself, and throw the dice hard. You’ll at least have something nobody else can give you- Self respect.

Listen to the music in the bars – Can you do better?

Of course you can.

So do it.