I don't normally have a repsect for London. Ovecrowded, rude and a huge superiority complex, my usual words for London being 'spiv' or thinking that cockneys are only there for my amusement.
Yet London wins hands down in one area, its music and club scene. Very few cities can even try to compete with London for underground music. Cities like Manchester and Liverpool have had heydays, but not much more. Since electronic music was taken up by the masses, London has led the way in new interesting genres.
Something's wrong though. Music coming from London is visibly slowing down. Garage is pretty static in culture and music, grime's a parody, UK funky has always been 'respectable' and my views on Dubstep have already being mentioned. In the North, Bassline house is the closest competition for the South, but culturally the same as teh Garage forms mentioned.
Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions, I don't live or come from london, there's a strong chance their less popular pirate stations are trying to push a new form forward that just needs more time. I hope so, because I don't see the next step for the British underground. Speaking of pirates, why is London the only place capable of regular pirates? size I suppose, but its not as if Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham and others are small villages. These can still be split north south east and west with their own communities to try and push a sound, yet scanning FM doesn't get past community stations in Manchester at least.
My emphasis has been on black music so far, I'll be honest. Most modern black british music is based on electronica rather than 'real' instruments and its my bread and butter at the moment. 'white' electronic music is not inherently bad, I'm just so deep into the black equivilent that its all I want to know. there also seems to less dynamism from the white side. dominated by guitar music that is sonically and culturally regressive, it doesn't cut it with me anymore. Donk is Wigan's effort for electronic music, and not really worth anyone's time
In saying that, its a Northern creation that's tried to push an alternative. The problem with Black northerners is musically they stick with London for ideas. London is seen as the English alternative to Black America. This is probably stunting the musical capabilities for the North.
Fundamentally then, someone needs to create the next thing, before the English underground becomes stagnant. Preferably, it would a sound physically and culturally outside of London, at the very least that should buck up London's ideas and encourage them to get out of their slumber
