my intention in this certainly wasn't to set out a hard-and-fast set of rules to be followed by all musicians/DJs/producers. i'm interested in manifestos as a constraint-based system for individuals to work under, but i would never presume to proscribe what others shouldn't do. of course, some of the respondees here may have that in mind, and of course that's up to them.
like many who have commented on the piece, i'm intrigued and a little disconcerted by the hate for digital processes. torn, as well. on the one hand i have an almost allergic reaction to certain digital traits (like the awful "abletonizing" of over-warped samples), and i certainly hold faith (possibly mystical, possibly outdated) in conventional ideas of "soulfulness" -- warmth, subtlety, nuance, modulation, uncertainty, etc. and yet at the same time i also produce most of my own music almost entirely digitally -- what i've done so far has been mostly based upon softsynths (love the zebra 2.... what an invention), softsynth drums, and plugin effects, with a small part played by samples and hardware synths or drum machines. so as much as i love juju & jordash's music, for instance, i couldn't personally get behind the points in jordan's manifesto. going beyond that, i'd be hard-pressed to say, in many cases, whether something was made with analogue gear or softsynths -- and that, to me, is ok.
anyway, thanks for reading and responding... this has been a fun and productive exercise. and moey, don't worry -- i'm not nearly as gloomy as i come off in most of my writing.
(though i am a little worried about this 2012 thing!)
