Music With Words - Part 1

Textures

We all have them, those friends that just don't get it. I've lived my adult life loving Techno in almost all its forms. I have also lived with the knowledge that we have historically been a counter culture to the mainstream. That was one of the reasons I got into this music to begin with. Man do I ever hate Pop music. That's not to say I don't have Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and "Bad" on vinyl, but the pop of the 80s is part of the reason I love Techno today. How much inspiration have we all taken from that era?

One of the most common complaints I get whenever I DJ for a non-house-head crowd, or try to bring some techno or house music to the attention of a pop music fan is "This all sounds the same, there are no words I can sing to!" Challenge Accepted!

I did a mix years ago now when I lived in Vancouver for my cousin who just couldn't wrap her head around Techno. She was used to singing out her favorite songs on the radio and was just unfamiliar with taking in the sonic tapestry of an instrumental track, more specifically of a whole hour of them!

"Hey I get it, there is something visceral and ancestral about vocal music, it's where music started after all.", I said. So I proceeded to create a Progressive House mix made up of all vocal tracks. That was tough back in the days of Vinyl as I had to peel through a relatively modest collection by today's standards.

This months mix is the start of a new series that I have had the pleasure of compiling in order to try to introduce this music to another un-initiated. My goal is to slowly ramp up to the non-verbal mixes that make this group of genres so compelling to me but to start with... A mix of all Vocal tracks! And let me assure you, even I was surprised by how many I have been able to compile over the last decade of digital music. Hence we have another Rob C series on our hands and hopefully some classic mixes for you all to enjoy in the years to come!

RC