Know Your History?
by rachMiel

Does every self-respecting electronic-music creator owe it to himself (and his listeners) to have a solid grasp of e-musical history? To know who did what, when, and how it sounded? To be aware of the procession of styles, from musique concrete to analog synthesis to techno to house to glitch and beyond?

The obvious answer is yes. Without a sense of the past, of the accomplishments of your forerunners, how can you make music that fits in and adds to the e-musical canon? How can you make music that breaks new ground?

But there is another, riskier answer, one that outsider artists know and love: just say "No!" to history. Knowledge of history can limit your personal development, seduce you to imitate, reproduce, copy. Even worse, it can cause you to abandon a certain avenue of musical exploration in which you might shine because it's "already been done."

If you are intent on attaining some degree of worldly success, you should take Path A and get on intimate terms with your e-musical ancestry. Not to do so is not to play the game, and the world isn't kind to non-players. If, on the other hand, you make music for yourself, or a select group, or the aether ... beware the dangers of being steeped in the past. Regard history as a nice place to visit, to mine for ideas and inspiration. But spend most of your energy creating your own history.