The Great Focus Shift
A short essay on TikTok, distraction and the potential of the loop in the current times
Once again, I am stuck at home; is it the fourth or the fifth time I find myself locked in my house? I am losing count, but the act of turning nearly all my work, my social activities and entertainment needs to my phone and computer does not feel odd - in fact, it does not even feel that much different than most days I would have outside of a quarantine period either.
The umpteenth corona wave gave me the chance to think about our relationship with technology: recent times saw a massive increase in the use of technology worldwide, and subsequently in the use of social media platforms. As much as it’s easy to understand how this was a direct consequence of being stuck at home and needing to socialise, the effects of this increased presence in our lives have yet to be completely comprehended. I am not only thinking of the direct correlation between anxiety, depression and the take-over of these digital platforms, but also of how we experience music, which for some prolonged periods had to be strictly enjoyed at home, leaving a powerful mark in how everyone, especially in younger generations, is exposed to and enjoys it.
I am reluctant to even talk about it in this space, but it is undeniable that TikTok (and more recently Instagram with its latest video-oriented algorithms and policies) have majorly impacted global music consumption. You can find countless sources that analyse how trending on TikTok took over as the deciding component of a worldwide hit. When you put your head out of the underground scene bubble, you witness a world where number one hits are decided by how one or two 10 seconds bits are tied to trends and their success.
Does it sound horrifying? It absolutely is. But here is where I would just like to put things into perspective and try to tickle your minds with a different view.
If it’s true that a lot of this algorithmic success is driven by obsessive repetition of the same music bits, isn't repetition also that we seek for as underground dance music listeners, promoters and makers? Yes, there are different aspects to it, but a lot of the dance electronic music craft, for as underground or avant-garde as it can be, comes from obsessing over a 4, 8, or at most 16 loop bar... Which is likely to result in fewer seconds than a song bit for a TikTok trend.
Don’t get me wrong, I could go on and on about how it’s the micro-adjustments and slow progressions in these loops that make it interesting. But at its core, there is a certain love for hypnotising grooves, mesmerising iterations, and inescapably repetitive composition.
If we compare the experience of a TikTok music trend to an underground electronic music piece, on one side, I hear the same 10 seconds of music copy-pasted, used as a tool for a different piece of video content or meme, while on the other side, I also hear 10 seconds of music copy-pasted, but perfected to sound as interesting and enjoyable as possible in the name of repetition itself, as a work of art, and not as a consequence of a need for absorbing as much attention as possible. Moreover, one is essentially made to be reproduced on phones, computer speakers or AirPods at best, while the other is created with the ultimate purpose of being played as loud and clear as possible, in highly qualitative sound systems. This creates another difference in the improvement of the loop in underground dance music compared to music made to be used in the social media context, also in terms of sound design.
My reflection brings me to this: the world has changed, and the focus shift affecting music consumption might be irreversible. Our collective attention span is probably doomed to shrink more and more in the next few years as a direct consequence of technology taking up more space in our daily lives. But we need to try and take the good from this focus crisis. As electronic music lovers, we have something good to obsess our attention (and the attention of new potential fans) with - pushing sounds forward and introducing new generations to the cult of the loop, to the blissful abandonment that comes from giving up quick judgements in favour of a more primordial, instinctual and physical reaction for abstract and repetitive electronic beats.
I remember when I was just back on the dancefloor after lockdowns - thinking back I rarely felt so disconnected from technology such as in those moments during the last few years. Especially when there’s an exceptional DJ set going on, the urge to peek at my phone quickly fades away, crushed by an obsessive attention for the sound details that are being thrown into my ears, and the welcoming surrounding filled with music lovers doing the same thing in a silent yet loud understanding... I believe this exciting feeling of freedom is something familiar to anyone who lives a love affair with electronic dance music.
Ultimately, as a collective underground music scene we need to better understand this shift in music experience, and perhaps embrace some elements of it. To embrace the need for repetition, not to suffer it. To dominate the loop and bring it forward. To communicate real emotions and not to end up consuming something we don’t actually like over and over.
The post-corona dance scene will surely need some fresh and exciting dance spaces and selectors. But it will also need a better understanding of how music consumption is changing to create a new exciting present instead of merely replicating the past: this can either be the tail end of underground dance music history or the very beginning of an exciting new chapter.
Written by Giovanni Bodrato
Special thanks to my dear Amelie and my friend Alessandro for the precious feedback and notes.
