Uprising by Fabio Jones In these troubled times of ours, people of all shapes and sizes seem to be asking age old questions like "what does it all mean" and "where are we going?" The dance music industry is no exception. As for Dance Music, "where are we going" is a very good question. In a divided and conquered Western Judeo-Christian Capitalist Society we are faced with many choices regarding youth culture and just which rebellion we're going to take part in. First and foremost, we all want to be individuals (right?), but choosing specifically which individual group of individualists we are going to individualize ourselves with (so we can express our individuality) is a tough choice. Especially during these transitional times. The death of Techno/Rave has left so many people in the music business at a loss. Naturally record companies, magazines, and clothing manufacturers are extremely concerned about where we're going because they want desperately to be a part of our decision-making process in terms of what most of us are going to really get into next. Everybody in the "industry" wants to be the one that really gets a hold of the next big thing first so they can get really rich off of our mad and endless desire for CD's, hats, and slipmats and t-shirts. So, in this post-rave world, what's it going to be? Acid Jazz? Ambient? Deep House? Progressive House? Ambient Dub? Electronic Music? Trance? Hard Trance? Ambient Trance? Progressive Ambient Techno Trance? Hard Deep House? Progressive Acid Jazz Dub? This might be getting a little ridiculous for you, but to our friends at record labels like Moonshine, Tribal America, Hardkiss, FFRR, Caroline, Zoe Magik, Instinct, and most importantly Epic Street (the proud new signers of the chart-topping M-People), this is serious stuff. Let's backtrack a minute: record companies are in business -- the business of selling records to make money for themselves (and very often, their parent corporations.) While labels like Moonshine, Zoe Magik, Instinct, and Hardkiss are privately owned (although dubiously funded), others like FFRR and Caroline are satellite labels for Polygram (which is actually owned by Thorn/EMI, the largest weapons manufacturer in the world); Tribal America is an offshoot of IRS records which is a thinly guised play for the underground by CBS/Sony. We here at XLR8R are not trying to expose these connections in order to sway your buying habits in any way. We're simply establishing the motivation of the part of a record company to make big BIG money, in other words, a serious interest in what is about to break into the mainstream from the underground. Recently at Billboard Dance Music Summit in San Francisco, topics like Dance Artist Development (spending a ton of cash so you know what Rozalla looks like when you hear her song), Independent Record Labels (how they can make cash off vinyl and the future of Techno (if it's not called Rave anymore, then what is and what do we call it so people can buy it?) were deeply investigated. Don't think these people are stupid, because they're not. These industry types are very good at what they do and keenly interested in where we are going as a culture and what we're gonna do next. So where are we going? Divisions is on the rise -- Unity seems to be out -- separatism and difference are quickly replacing the desire for everyone to be together. At least that's how it seems. We might, however, be suffering from the diversification of a small yet broad market. Let's take a look at what that means: Moonshine Music, a privately owned and well- established techno label have suddenly turned around and scheduled the release of numerous Acid Jazz compilations. At the same time, they claim to be "staying pure with the original intentions of the label." Although the transition from House to Hip-Hop is a natural one (take Bobby Kondors or Masters at Work, for example) the stretch between Hard Trance and Acid Jazz (a dubious one to say the least (grasping at straws?)) Young American Primitive, the MCT/Zoe Magik mass medial monolith, is without a label deal. Daisy Glow/Tasti Box are now doing a self-professed "pop thing." The Hardkiss Label is promoting and actually charting records like "Little Wing" and "Rabbit in the Moon" before they've got white labels to play. Billboard Magazine only seems to talk about Deep House and Hip-Hop. Epic Records is on a rampage spending spree trying to break their M- People act. NovaMute (Mute Records America) sent a lovely record bag (a $35 retail value) to all their industry friends for Christmas (but in collaboration with Plus Right Records this same label seems to be breaking some ground with the new Detroit sound.) Ambient and Dub are the new hot terms for '94. WaxTrax/Warp records are forging ahead with the Artificial Intelligence series. (I think you get the idea.) There are so many different niches of style rising up as we speak. Offshoots, hybrids or retro forms of house music that how is anyone supposed to know where we're going with all this. Labels are waging war against the concept of unity and togetherness an we (the buying public) are being taken for a ride. The House Culture in any given city is not a large one. We have survived until now without major label support, without large chain record store support and we have done well for ourselves. As we've all learned from the Techno-Rave phenomena that when big money gets involved in a movement created by the people, the marketplace is immediately watered own and quickly becomes a money-oriented parody of itself (look to the record industry can do to a grass roots movement.) A grass roots movement is what we have. Until now we've received no attention from CBS/Sony, EMI/Polygram, Warner Communications and other BIG money companies. Until now we've been largely comprised of privately owned record labels, distributors, clothing stores, magazines, and newspapers. Our marketing strategies have been based on word of mouth and the quality of the work we produce. As more and more corporations become involved with out movement we will begin to change. We here at XLR8R invite this change. We have never been a discouraging voice in the movement and if merging with a major label or the signing of an underground artist by a large corporate record label will enable them to produce more and better records, then bring it on. We at XLR8R are also anxious to take part in the roasting of these same labels as they miss the mark dramatically and seriously underestimate the power and intelligence of the underground movement we freely associate ourselves with. The point of UPRISING and its place in XLR8R is to provide a monthly perspective on our professional progress as a movement. We believe that there is quality and love in this phenomena we are a part of and although progress in the past has been the enemy of the underground, that with unity, positively and love as our premise, we will rise to the surface in order to bring this music and its vision of love into the 21st century and beyond. Please address your press releases to UPRISING c/o XLR8R, 1314 NE 43rd Suite 208, Seattle WA 98105.