Trying to be “apolitical” is not a real fucking thing
Brooklyn's WTCHCRFT on resistance, dialectical materialism, boycotting Berghain and hating Fred again..
Brooklyn producer and DJ WTCHCRFT has spent the past few years building a reputation as one of the most exciting new talents in techno. He’s put out a bunch of thrilling music (both self-released and on labels such as Noise Manifesto, BPitch Control and Al Gharib), played parties from Colour Factory to Boiler Room to Draaimolen, and is blessing us with two new (excellent) EPs this month, on Haven and Boysnoize Records. The passionate, furious energy found in WTCHCRFT tracks exists outside of his music too — he’s not afraid to make his opinion known, whatever the consequences, and has been an inspiring, consistent and loud voice opposing the genocide over the past year.
So this is the least of our concerns but I wanted to talk about it quickly…I noticed you reposted the scathing RA review of the new Fred again.. album today. I saw that you basically said your issue is not that he’s rich, it’s that his music sucks.
Yeah. It’s just bad. It's not good to me.
It's not good to me either, it’s anonymous, but I also don’t hate it because it’s so well produced. There's a lot of aggressive EDM that's super popular that I fucking hate, whereas his music, I'm like, I don't like it. I'm not going to go to his gigs. But it doesn't annoy me deeply either.
I know what you mean. And I did listen to the entire album. I'm being hyperbolic on Twitter and you’re right, it's not like the music is offensive. But I think that's the offensive thing about it, it’s so milquetoast, it’s just very bland. It’s like, you're not even challenging me, you're not even making me hate it — what are you doing exactly? It feels very much like it’s packaged for a wider audience, which is like, whatever, if you want to do that. But part of it is also the whole culture around him.
I don't know who the fuck he was, I know he's been around and writing songs for different bigger artists and stuff. But as soon as he came out with his dance music, it felt forced down my throat in almost the same way that BRAT was. But at least I could trace Charli XCX’s trajectory, whereas I barely know where Fred again.. came from.
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