Randomly I’ve been listening to a lot of 60s british beat groups this week - Yardbirds, Zombies, Animals etc
A lot of the groups split up, which made me realise that to make music back then you pretty much needed a band?
I mean there were solo guitarists like Davy Graham. But if you wanted drums, keyboards, backing vocals etc…

We’re lucky that we can do solo stuff now, like live coding and emom acts.
The possibilities afforded by all manner of hardware and software mean one person can create a whole musical experience from a few bits of equipment.
It also simplifies the process, not having to co-ordinate with others before you can make something.
It’s also effectively free to record and distribute music now, as opposed to requiring (an often exploitative) record contract to even get in a studio.

colonialism and the patriarchy

And lets face it the band scene back then was very white male dominated.
England was a divided country for those who came from the ‘colonies’.
I’m not sure but it seems if you wanted to perform as a woman your options were limited to being a singer, due to patriarchal typecasting.

have we lost something too?

Collaboration is great, but it’s hard to organise rehearsals and even just get things started. Maybe we (I) should put more effort in.
I have some possibilities though so watch this space.
As electronic musicians we are often constrained to a rigid tempo, though not necessarily. Possibly we don’t have the same freedom of expression. But tbh the beat groups of the 60s weren’t typically indulging in free improvisation.

Then there is pastagang who have used the tech to create a group that no one knows who is in it (spoiler: its everyone)

one more thing:

Its easy to forget that the concept of a band was fairly new back then? Well the idea of a pop group at least. historians please weigh in :)

bonus content

we need to talk about: amapiano

This is probably one of the hugest genres worldwide, yet still somehow feels low profile.
Let’s take a minute to appreciate how given decades of aparteid and ongoing ingrained impoverishment, the people of South Africa have chosen to give a massive gift to the world by enlivening and extending house music, which had become pretty stale.
I recommend this mix as an intro: https://m.soundcloud.com/resident-advisor/ra-1000-mark-ernestus
check it out!