|
The US scene -- much smaller in scale than the scene in Europe, first off -- seems to be in the midst of conflict between the commerical European big-hitters such as Oakenfold, Tiesto, Paul van Dyk, Ferry, etc., and the native underground such as Christopher Lawrence, particularly here in California. You have fans of EDM who have come in contact with the music via the European media outlets versus the acidy techno and breaks that have been around for years from the desert raves.
I remember back in 2001 or so, when the electronica section in my local CD store grew fivefold, the United States was billed by many as the Next Big Thing in electronic music. I think Bunkka was Oakie's attempt to catch this failed wave, as the album has seen much more popularity here, I think, than anywhere in Europe.
Then you had the Gabriel & Dresden and Markus Schulz crowd emerge, which I think is going to develop into the American variety of 'mainstream' trance and progressive, perhaps to forge a new genre or two as well. I'd rather see the dark and hard style of underground trance, which only Lawrence has really broken out of, become more popular in the United States, but in doing so it might lose that very sound which makes it unique, restricting it indefinitely to a supporting role.
|