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More bytes and pieces: Pop goes the market once again

By Steve Schultze and Andrew Smith
Guest writers, A & E

In our last article, we left you with a rather dismal picture of popular music. Corporate greed has infiltrated the music industry and has encouraged a profit-based industry that no longer encourages artistic individuality. As discerning listeners, we should seek out the sources of music that defy this norm.

graphic courtesy www.rephlex.com

Rephlex Records has a nifty logo, too.

Many of these artists release through foreign and often obscure record labels. Rephlex Records, for example, is a tiny label out of London, specializing in groundbreaking underground electronic music. Originally started by legendary Aphex Twin front man, Richard D. James, to distribute his own material, it has since grown to support other musical misfits.

Internally, Rephlex functions more as a group of friends, rather than a corporation. This encourages groups such as Mu-Ziq, Squarepusher, and Cylob to interact and collaborate, but also allows them to persue their unique artistic endeavors. Overall, Rephlex is characterized by frantic drum programming and sampling combined with complex synthesizer melodies. The Rephlex “sound” now constitutes a significant portion of contemporary electronic music. Warp Records, a UK distributor of Rephlex products, has been building a broad artist base since 1989, uniting the Rephlex artists with a larger, even more diverse community of artists.

The Warp “sound” ranges from the soothing, computer generated bleeps of Autechre to the bizarre lo-fi keyboards of Jimi Tenor. Warp Records is becoming widely regarded as the premiere label for new forms of electronic music. Closer to home, New York based Astralwerks Records exposes the somewhat ignorant American public to the likes of The Future Sound of London, Photek, Gearwhore, and even the Chemical Brothers. The domestic distribution of Astralwerks bands makes their releases easier to find and lowers retail prices. For example Mu-Ziq has begun releasing domestically on Astralwerks to keep American fans from paying $25 per CD. Often, obscure electronic artists are difficult to discover because the cost of importing music significantly raises prices. Oftentimes, imports can cost twice the original price, and some sell for even higher. However, the relative quality of a 72 minute Plaid import far exceeds the thrift of a 40 minute Matchbox 20 album.

MoWax, another foreign and often neglected record label, is developing new sounds in a budding genre called trip-hop. Combining elements of old school hip-hop and the new technologies of electronically generated music, MoWax has become highly respected by those who value truly innovative music. DJ Shadow, the most widely known artist, masterfully combines a multitude of samples with his barrage of programmed beats. MoWax artists are gaining popularity particularly in Japan, where the new hip-hop artists have found an eager following. Fortunately, DJ Shadow, DJ Krush, Mono, and the rest of the MoWax roster value the American audience enough to tour stateside frequently. The labels we suggest are only a small sampling of what is available for the aggressive listener. It is up to you to search for the kind of music that you will truly enjoy. The key is to keep an open mind and avoid the easily accessible corporate substitutes.