Faceless techno music (artists out of the spotlight)
Someone posted this little article in the Production Forum, about anonymity and "facelessness" among techno artists, but I thought it might be worth discussing here as well:
One point raised in the other forum was that attempting to stay faceless can itself be a publicity-raising technique. And it's a bit odd to see "deliberately faceless" artists doing interviews. On the other hand, I much prefer the non-identity thing to the legions of producers who write glowing biographies about themselves and post them up on MySpace, praising their own accomplishments and calling themselves "classically trained" because they took a few piano lessons when they were six years old. And I have to admit that I also like artists to have some mystique to them, even though it's not all that relevant to the music itself.
So, has this anti-"public identity" thing become a trend as the article seems to imply? And what do you think of it?
Aug-03-2009 19:36
david.michael
Supreme tranceaddict
Registered: Sep 2003
Location: Dayton, OH, USA
Just wanted to be the first to mention Burial.
Aug-03-2009 19:41
jupiterone
housin' guide
Registered: Dec 2004
Location: los angeles
they act as if they're getting chased around by paparazzi
i don't get the big deal. there is difference between plastering your face over every single thing you do, and being humble
who gives a shit, really? at the end of the day, when we all go out to buy music, we still buy music that moves us. the people who really respect and honor the music don't give two shits whether or not the guy has facebook/myspace pictures. i feel as if this is becoming a trend, i could understand, for performers such as daft punk or some really big celebs trying to protect their identity so it doesn't interfere with their personal lives, but low-key techno/house artists...please. and to say that people will appreciate your music more if you go faceless is ridiculous in my opinion
don't get me wrong, i love a veil of mystery some artists have. but usually it doesn't involve blurry pictures and ash-trays.
maybe i'm missing the point
Aug-03-2009 19:50
iTranscendence
Supreme tranceaddict
Registered: Jul 2009
Location: The Biggest Little City
I think its good to have a healthy balance. Like you need pics of yourself out there so people can identify with you as a human being, but you shouldn't make it all about you.
A good example of this in rock music is Tool. While they are world famous not many people know what the band members look like outside of maynard. Danny Carey, the drummer noted in an interview that this was especially poignant for him to be as big as they are but still be able to watch the bands opening for them from the crowd, without being accosted.
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Aug-03-2009 19:53
david.michael
Supreme tranceaddict
Registered: Sep 2003
Location: Dayton, OH, USA
quote:
who gives a shit, really? at the end of the day, when we all go out to buy music, we still buy music that moves us. the people who really respect and honor the music don't give two shits whether or not the guy has facebook/myspace pictures. i feel as if this is becoming a trend, i could understand, for performers such as daft punk or some really big celebs trying to protect their identity so it doesn't interfere with their personal lives, but low-key techno/house artists...please. and to say that people will appreciate your music more if you go faceless is ridiculous in my opinion
This.
Aug-03-2009 19:54
MrJiveBoJingles
Supreme tranceaddict
Registered: Jun 2004
Location: U.S.
quote:
Originally posted by jupiterone
they act as if they're getting chased around by paparazzi
Haha, yeah. I think it's possible to make it all about the music without making a point of saying, "Hey, look at me! I'm faceless and not trying to self-promote at all!"
Also this picture is awful:
Techno: a fat guy sitting hunched over on a bed.
Aug-03-2009 19:59
supersaw abuse
a child, literally
Registered: Apr 2009
Location: Michigan
i prefer djs who do full on photo shoots
Aug-03-2009 20:18
SYSTEM-J
IDKFA.
Registered: Sep 2003
Location: Manchester
"Faceless techno bollocks" was a popular T-shirt slogan in the early 90s, a self-parodic response to rockist criticisms that electronic music had no soul and so on. Of course, by the end of the decade it was redundant due to the rise of the superstar DJs and "electronica" giants.
Much as I love making fun of rockist idiocy, I see this trend towards anonymity as yet another way dance music is trying to distance itself from the burst bubble of late 90s/early 00s superclub culture. It all amounts to a highly strained facade of innovation and progression.
Thing about promoting yourself as 'faceless' is it tends to help sell yourself as legitimately underground. You can only afford to release your music on white labels, or you aren't popular enough to have professional photo shoots -things like that. That may have worked in the 90s, but it strikes me as simply another marketing ploy like so many others in the here and now, this time attempting to sell yourself to "the real underground".
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Aug-04-2009 04:27
idoru
You Can Call Me Al
Registered: May 2004
Location: Cascadia
quote:
Originally posted by jupiterone
they act as if they're getting chased around by paparazzi
i don't get the big deal. there is difference between plastering your face over every single thing you do, and being humble
who gives a shit, really? at the end of the day, when we all go out to buy music, we still buy music that moves us. the people who really respect and honor the music don't give two shits whether or not the guy has facebook/myspace pictures. i feel as if this is becoming a trend, i could understand, for performers such as daft punk or some really big celebs trying to protect their identity so it doesn't interfere with their personal lives, but low-key techno/house artists...please. and to say that people will appreciate your music more if you go faceless is ridiculous in my opinion
don't get me wrong, i love a veil of mystery some artists have. but usually it doesn't involve blurry pictures and ash-trays.
maybe i'm missing the point
Aug-04-2009 07:55
djdk
Nutritional Overachiever
Registered: Jul 2003
Location: London
I feel that this is somehow appropriate...
quote:
Originally said by Tony Wilson
The real moment for me was staring down from the [Hacienda] DJ booth one night when Mike Pickering was DJ-ing and suddenly going...
Oh fuck, now I get it, the democracy of the art experience, its everybody - the people who made the record, it's the DJ, it's everybody dancing - and it isn't four guys on a stage with white lights on and everybody in the dark.
What dance music has become is one guy with a white light on him and everyone else in the fucking dark, which is precisely how it wasn't meant to be
