Go(a)ne Today, Here Tomorrow

Interesting that I should come across this article several days after finishing and a few days before publishing a massive new Difference Engine column on coldwave and memory (not that I needed more material to work from). It turns out the rudiments of what eventually came to be Goa's psy-trance movement started in the burgeoning electronic dance music scene, much of which (from the list detailed on that page) carries crossover classifications with coldwave and minimal wave (Borghesia, A Split Second, Neon Judgement, Front 242, et al.). Idiot's Guide to Dreaming, upon suggesting a new future for trance (that assumedly erases Judge Jules, Infected Mushroom, and company from the equation), brings up the concept of uchronia, which seems perfect to apply to coldwave as it basically involves an alternate reality that bridges time and space. Coldwave artists notably came from separate scenes,had little interaction with each other, and recorded over a roughly decade-long span. Pretty hard to imagine coldwave being enjoyed at the beach though. Even more fittingly, the concept of uchronia seams to have its roots in the steampunk scene from which The Difference Engine gets its name.

Most interestingly though perhaps from the article are the facts that:

1. DJ Laurent spliced the vocals out of tracks where they might prove distracting, thus anticipating techno's forced exile from disco/diva Chicago House. Notably, he left in darker,colder, and presumably less emotive vocals.

2. DJ Laurent mixed his sets on cassettes, tying us yet again back to the common means of distribution for minimal wave