The ‘Real Techno’ group was launched on Facebook recently. Almost immediately there was a charge reminiscent of a fire alarm going off in a lunatic asylum to post everything and anything that maters. No bad thing really. I’ve already discovered loads of new music I had no idea existed, only to be instantly deflated at the amount of money some of these releases are going for on Discogs. It’s interesting to see that the members of said group broadly fall into a few different categories. You’ve got your techno populists who, regardless of any apparent commercialization will post because it’s a tune and that’s all that matters. You’ve also got your proper techno purist nerds, who post obscure stuff that is in the process of either being rediscovered, reevaluated or discovered for the first time. Then you’ve got some who are pushing forms that aren’t techno in the hope that they can be embraced as such. Anyway, it’s all good and seems to be a welcoming place full of genuine enthusiasm for the music. Another one is ‘World Of Echoes’, which is a companion page to Francois K’s monthly radio show on Worldwide FM and is a more expansive group designed for music appreciation generally, but seems to be taking its cues from dance/disco and any other significant offshoot. A little bit up its arse, but again, an amazing place to discover new music, which is the most important thing.
Groups like these have been around ever since social media started, but during lockdown are playing an ever more important role and with the diminishing of record shops, are becoming the same forums for debate that those stores used to be. The big difference being that record shops used to be intimidating for lots of people wanting to get their point across. Nothing will ever replace the atmosphere of a good record shop, but the debate hasn’t been lost. Having said that debate wasn’t always on the cards. Recollections are still clear of numerous visits to Probe when Pete Burns was behind the counter all in black with his matching contact lenses in scaring scallies shitless. I’m sure I’ve repeated myself on these very pages, but these are formative memories and will never fade. Will the record shop ever be the force it was? Well, it still is in many parts of the world, but has massively diminished in numbers and isn’t as accessible to the masses as it once was. The social media groups are filling a void which is getting bigger by the month, and they are better than nothing. It’s just getting harder by the hour to post something new, unless it’s achingly obscure.
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