Death of the dance album?

I hate to sound ominous, but will 2007 be remembered as the year that the dance artist album finally dies off? I know that other crystal ball-like predictions have as yet failed to materialse -  eg the death of vinyl or, my favourite, the now charmingly dated claim that we’d all be entertained by DJs in remote locations thanks to advances in internet broadcasting technology -  but this one seems more accurate. Last year yielded more than its fair share of great electronic albums – if you haven’t done so already, I urge you to check releases by My My, The Knife, Crowdpleaser & St Plomb, Jon Tejada, Arctic Hospital, Anders Ilar, Bodycode, Milosh, Nathan Fake, Alex Smoke, Junior Boys, Trentemoller and Modeselektor -  but the warning signals that 2007 may be a far less rewarding time for the dance album are already there. Usually at the start of the year, reviewers and feature writers are inundated with pre-release material, but this year the only artist albums of note are the second Pantha Du Prince long player (see  one of the recent posts) and Gui Boratto’s album, which I’ll write more about soon. The only other artists putting out albums are 90s acts like 4 Hero and Alex Gopher, and, perhaps more promisingly, electro producers the Blotnik Brothers. Techno and house producers have always struggled to make artist albums: on one hand, the rationale for putting out a collection of 10 dance floor tracks is flawed – why not just put out three EPs? -  and on the other, those who chose a more adventurous approach ended up sounding contrived and lame. Apart from the aforementioned exceptions, the music just doesn’t suit the format, or maybe the increased popularity of digital shops means that an audience whose short attention span keeps getting shorter can pick and mix without having to go through the hassle of listening to fillers? Think about it -  what are your favourite dance albums? Apart from essentials like early Black Dog, Orbital and As One, mine are mainly DJ mixes like I-F’s ‘Mixed Up In The Hague’, Hawtin’s ‘DE9’ releases or Mills at the Liquid Rooms as well as compilations like Warp’s ‘Artificial Intelligence’ series and the ‘Deeper Shade of Techno’ comps.  I know it’s somewhat off topic, but the labels that I’ve talked to are pessimistic about the future of the mix CD, and, unless they have a surefire winner like Booka Shade -  one of the acts releasing an artist album this year - I can’t see many of these people taking risks with a format that seems at best in questionable health…

Comments

[onno]

i really enjoy your writing,
great post and its so nice to read someone thoughts on the future development of music and how we listen too it.
i think that mp3 releases for dance records or specific tracks to be specific will become a more common way of consumption this year.
label released dj mixes do seem to be in poor health, with all the mixes available on the intraweb these days i personally would be very slow to purchase a mix

[Z]

I think an album should only be completed when it truly does represent the pinnacle of an artist's career. Some people just do an album because it will give them a reason to tour, or make them feel like a real musician.

[Brophy]

Hey thanks for the feedback - yes, the dance album has been in decline for a while. It's easy to blame the internet, but as Z says, too many people rush into completing an album just to 'get ahead', which probably is the wrong motive for making music...

[Brian]

I'm not particularly fond of buying individual artist releases. That said, I think the labels should make it easier to download individual tracks either from their own sites or i-tunes etc. But I must say I still prefer the dj mixes on cd (although I wish they were less expensive). When I purchase a dj mix online, I'm often confused as to whether it's a continuous mix with no breaks, a continuous mix with breaks, or those individual tracks unmixed. Does anyone else have this problem?

[Brian]

Oh, one more thing, I recently happened upon this site and really like it. Thanks and keep up the good work.

[pipecock]

aril brikha "deeparture in time", theo parrish "parallel dimensions", 3 chairs "second album", basic channel "bccd", plastikman "consumed", theres really alot of great albums by dance artists, theyre just not the ones getting all the press (just like the people making the best 12"s, often theyre the same people, see all the artists i just listed....).

as for mix CDs, who cares? the number of ridiculous deejay mixes available for free on the web (by both famous and unknown deejays) far outweighs the entire canon of "real" mix CDs in quality.

[Brophy]

That said, I think the labels should make it easier to download individual tracks either from their own sites or i-tunes etc. - as far as I know KOmpakt digital sell whole albums, but on a general level, it has never really taken off with electronic music...

[Brophy]

Oh, one more thing, I recently happened upon this site and really like it. Thanks and keep up the good work - thanks, very much, spread the word if you like it! Thanks for the support...

[Hillsman]

Thought provoking article and my own buying practices support your theory. I used to be a regular buyer of CDs, though I virtually never buy an artist album. For my sins, I am a fan of progressive/trance, with Markus Schulz and Armin Van Buuren counting among my favourite DJs. I have bought all their mix albums, but neither of their artist albums. The one artist album I did buy was by Probspot...and it was unsurprisingly disappointing. I enjoy the journey and flow of a mix, as opposed to listening to a collection of tracks. Sadly, even the mix album is rapidly losing it's appeal, with only the Balance series and some of Australian house/trance/prog labels churning out anything of interest. Please correct me if I'm wrong - these days, I'm happier to download a DJ mix for a minimal subscription fee and end up with a superior product.

[Jerome Jones]

I agree with you to a point on the albums but I have to say is there are plenty of albums that go under the radar because lack or promotion or major distribution. Check UR "Order and Chaos" 2CD or Jeff Mills "one man space ship" or MR De' "full circle" just to name a few albums. All these being from Detroit and I can go on and on with other territries too but I guess it all comes down to personal taste on what is good anyway.....

Peace from Detroit - "The City That Pushed The World Into The Future"

[BrianP]

Whenever, I think I'm getting tired of mix CDs, one comes along that blows my mind. Yesterday, I bought John Digweed Transitions Vol. 2 and it's so damn good. I don't even like prog-like house, but I think he's on a different level than most other DJs. Check it out - trust me, you won't regret it.

[Brophy]

happier to download a DJ mix for a minimal subscription fee and end up with a superior product. - thanks for the post: I reckon this is the main reason why the dance album as a concept is flailing...

[Brophy]

there are plenty of albums that go under the radar because lack or promotion or major distribution. - definitely agreed on this, but poor distro affects all kinds of releases, including eps... it's been the bane of house/techno since the get go and it's one of the reasons why so many people are 'going digital'... but that's material for another post...

[Brophy]

I bought John Digweed Transitions Vol. 2 and it's so damn good. Check it out - trust me, you won't regret it. - i will listen to it, but anything he's done before has sent me to sleep...