2012 : Predictions by OndaSonora

It’s that time of the year again, when we don’t look back at the year that was, but the year that is and will be. First up in this series of partly guest-posts : OndaSonora, who almost wrote a book, and went in all types of directions, which is nice, for the people looking for music tips, there is a bit of name dropping in there too:

Although it seems the real House revival I’ve been predicting for many years now is finally happening (feel free to applaud and then blame me for all the mediocre bagger it produced) my lists for On-Point, the last few years, have been rather wish lists than actual predictions. This time I’m going back to the basics though. Awakening the Nostradamus in myself again. Subduing a big urge to forecast hover-pants, a portable smoke-and-fireworks kit for spectacular entrances and a cure for thinking homosexuality is a disease, here is what I think will take over the globe the next 12 months.

Re-releasing music that you can find cheaper on Discogs.

As a Belgian I can appreciate the absurd side of it but the vinyl-head in me is baffled by so much stupidity.

Pomrad.
Music making cat from Antwerp who adds a laugh to his nice beats. Refreshing.

Locked Groove, goldFFinch, Jazz Neversleeps, Carlton, Gullfisk, Title, … .

Local cats producing some very nice broken House grooves and taking the world by storm in 2012. Or so it should go. Anyway, pleased with what I’ve been hearing in 2011 and glad some of it will be released in the year to come.

Everyone his personal App.

The App as a new status symbol.

House is a feeling.

Now that everyone’s on board of the retro House bandwagon, it’s time to move on. Personally I’m succeeding increasingly well at joining the dots and finding my own personal groove. Mixing Disco, House, Boogie, JazzFunk, Techno, Broken Beat, UKG and beyond into one tasty sonic stew. Matching moods and feelings rather than styles and tempos.

Go Audiophile.

I’ll become an even more extremist audiophile. Bitching about Ditigal-to-audio converters (that Traktor or Serato box is a shite one so play WAVs all you want, your sound is awful), mixers, sound systems, needles and whatnot even more. But, on the other hand, I’m less and less a media-purist. Play whatever you want as long as it sounds good.

The end of ‘nerd cool’.

Let’s just beat them up again and make them do homework for us like we did in the good old days.

Kalimba.

All thumb pianos are cool but the kalimba is the suave member of the family. An Earth, Wind & Fire revival is due and thus can’t a found again interest for the instrument be far off.

The return of the ‘happy dance’.

I’ve started celebrating the high points of my life with little happy dances. When I find a killer 12” for cheap, make a fine casserole or people simply understand what I’m trying to explain I do a small, utterly nonsensical yet rhythmically correct, dance. The exuberance of it depending on my surroundings, I admit, but nevertheless always looking stupid. Last few weeks I’ve been in an animal themed period inventing, among others, ‘the rowdy Baboon’, ‘the funky Moose’ or ‘the epileptic Giraffe’. I think that’ll catch on.

Having principles.

Like having knowledge not a necessity anymore when discussing life. We willy-nilly ventilate our thoughts and opinions on the internet and others take them as valid when they sort of correspond with their own loose ideas. The 1% gladly making the best of that. For their own sake, of course. With the return of the protester I hope a change is coming. I miss people having a deep knowledge and conviction about things and the discussions they engage in.

Capers.

Something culinary as this is hip nowadays. Capers will be my favourite ingredient of 2012. I might ven write a book about it. Somebody told me they sell well, these books about cooking.

Making Music.

Now that OUR PARTY is running nicely and will – no doubt – conquer all and everything in 2012, our radio show is a weekly dose of freshness for quite a few people and we found our groove throwing around mixes, knowledge and nonsense on the international cyber connection thing, it is time to step up our game and go back to fiddling with music. Not promising completely new compositions but feeling mighty inspired by the sonic collages made by the Bomb Squad, Dust Brothers, the Avalanches and La Funk Mob lately. Hopefully this results in a few tunes that will be utterly unreleasable in a legal way but will make you and I do happy dances.

Electronic Body Music is the new House.

Now that all hipsters are tired of the House hype, it’s time to move on and there’s a few signs that EBM is next on the fashion list. Not that I mind, I like the music. Not that it’s that undiscovered either. Some DJs have been playing it all along. Like they’ve always incorporated Disco, Boogie, No Wave and old school House in their sets. But while the mainstream magazines will utter nonsense about the raw Chicago House sound and bring back the rubbish clothing and graphic artwork style of that era, the people thinking they make the trends will wear leather jackets, short Mohicans and aviator sunglasses while listening to the industrial drones of 80′s electronic dance music. I on the other hand hope to score a few good compilations with obscure cuts that are way too expensive in their original pressings while it lasts.

2012’s version of the vinyl vs cassette debate.

Or the early adopters once again thinking something will completely replace a medium because it’s shiny, new and above all convenient. Well, it didn’t happen with cassettes wiping vinyl of the surface of the earth, neither did CDs nor digital downloads do the job. So high quality downloads won’t replace CDs entirely, nor will the internet replace printed media like magazines and flyers, for instance or will communication centers on your smartphone replace email. These prophets of doom still think we’re going Jetsons and haven’t learned from the past. People don’t change that quick. They’re inert. Not everyone is ready, financially or practically, to jump on the next big thing, either. There’s nostalgia too. And there’s the big one for me. Convenience isn’t the only factor in life. For many people quality (of the experience) is a big issue. I still prefer vinyl, printed flyers, glossy magazines or less volatile means of communication, simply because they’re doing their job better. All these new solutions have become so disposable that they partly miss goal. They might be less handy but they’re still superior in many ways to their replacements. Not that I don’t adapt. I evolve but some things simply haven’t been bettered and as long that hasn’t happened I stick with them. And a lot of people with me.

Beer of 2012.

Orval. Same as the previous ones. Never change a winning team. That team being me, my friends and a crate of Orval. On a Friday. After work. Having deep and meaningful discussions about life and football.

Oh, and the world will not end but very much looking forward to Lefto’s tweets about it.

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