Is CHRISTIAN electronic music the new underground? I’ve heard it said before and I’m beginning to think its true. It used to be that all of the good new music was in the rave scene and then would trickle out into the internet and store shelves. Now when I look for traditional electronic music anywhere, I find that the music seems generally boring or has too much of a political or sinful feel. I recently listened to a mixset which really turned me off when it started a vocal that pretty much promoted pornography as being cool. I don’t find that kind of music to be entertaining. What makes a song groovy anyways? Its an element which I have not heard so much in the typical scene lately.
One thing that gives our christian electronic scene a lot of merit is the fact that the producers are coming up with honest original music. We’re not coming up with just a bunch of copy-cat tracks that would end up being boring because 20 other people produce 10 cds each that sound just like it much like in the commercial scene we find today. Honestly the secular based electronic music I’ve heard lately is nothing new. I’ve been hearing the same old stuff over and over and its giving the genres a bad name. For a while the Pop-py sounding electronic music was gaining tons of momentum all around the world, but it seems to more and more be replaced with electronic-y sounding main stream hip-hop stuff. I heard from a new friend the other day that he really didn’t like the constant same old beat of electronic music since that’s all he heard from a friend of his who was into it. I can take a fair amount of "the same old beat" as long as the music is good, but it seems that the focus is lost on the variations and the alterations in the beat of our styles of music. When I listen to the good christian stuff though, ..its a completely different story. Even the newcomers in the scene are pumping out fantastic hits.
Also in the area of originality is the extensive creativity being put into the christian electronic tracks. I like to use dj404’s Deep Inside track as an example because the cd of the complete remixes really shows the variety and diversity in the music we love to listen to. I honestly enjoy promoting this cd because it offers nonstop great music all the way through. Every remix done is entirely different and a total breath of fresh air when it comes to something original. There’s no denying it - Christ inspires the best in us and it comes out in our electronic music.
Another factor is that this new twist on our electronic music called Worship is taking hold. Worshipping to music is not new and has been done across various genres with most of its success in a particular style commonly known as "Praise and Worship". This is something that a lot of people just can’t really get into. In fact many people who go to church just can’t stand it and skip that part of the service. Electronic music thats set to the tone of worship however is breaking the mold in more ways than one. Our scene is beginning to put a lot of focus into it. For example, there’s Club Worship which has regular DJ-led worship and is incorporating a lot of club elements.
Whats worse than a dying scene that was hard to take serious at first and then is modernized by being used in commercials and tv shows to give a more upbeat feel? This scene needs more christian producers and DJs who come up with great innovating music. We benefit by having a scene to begin with by having a market for our shows and being able to stir up interest amongst the masses. If the non-christian scene loses all its momentum though, then it may present us with more work and more challenges of which will be overcome ultimately.
So as for this being the new underground scene, you be the judge. I just wanted to give my thoughts or insight into it..
