You know that scene in “The Fly” where Goldblum is experimenting with steak, and has Geena taste a sample of teleported meat? “Not right?” I feel that way about a lot of modern electronica in music. I would’ve thought that with the advent of PCs with keyboards/ MIDI gear essentially replacing banks of synthesizers, new artists would be able to improve on the old. To me… rarely. Most stuff today sounds like minimalist, more basic echoes of riffs and chords from my youth. I’ve never found an answer that satisfies me, either. It could very well be multi-faceted. I don’t think modern gear quite replicates classics such as the Prophet 5 and Fairlight CMI (something delightfully and ironically organic in those), and I don’t think as many “users” are as formally – or classically – trained in real instruments. Furthermore, many recording artists relying heavily on digital sounds don’t use a producer – can’t afford one, think they don’t need one, whatever. But a producer knows layering, knows arrangement, knows nuance. I don’t know. All I know is, they don’t make records like this anymore.
– Steve Stav
