By: Amanda Sandström Beijer
We catch up with Frederic from Selected and talk about quality vs. quantity when it comes to social media and booking politics, as well as the scares he has of seeing how the musical subgenres are starting a war against each other without acknowledging the skills behind.
Having lived in Berlin for the past 16 years Frederic spent most of his essential years in the city that feels like home to him.
“As a teenager I didn’t always feel accepted, but I still got along with everyone.”
Having been into techno and overall electronic music since his early teenage years, he’s seen the scene grow.
“I started listening to electronic dance music, like dubstep and other forms of electronic music when I was 13 or 14 years old. It really caught me, and then I started building up my collection. When it got more serious, I moved on to house music and then to techno.”
Back then he was pretty alone in his friends group with being into the music genres.Frederic is also one of the organisers being his club series Selected that has a respected reputation.
“I always try to create an environment that's open and welcoming to everyone. I want people to feel comfortable and have a good time. That's the most important thing for me. I also like to mix things up with different music styles, so people can experience something new and different.”
Frederic mentioning quality music makes us speak more on that topic, and what quality music means to him.
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“Music depends on personal taste. Quality is measurable, specifically their ability to mix sound or produce tracks. However, due to the growth of the market, there is room for less quality and some DJs, n’or promoters don’t care about this. Frederic highlights the importance of quality music as the experience of high skilled mixing, and the importance of finding a balance in lineups, and mentions that it can be difficult to find new people who fit their musical vision in selected’s sound genres.
We soon get into the topic of Social Media as a negative effect on this part of the scene, where Frederic means that it on one hand becomes a booster for all, regardless of skill level, although on the other hand creates a confusion where skill is not of the most importance for artists when it comes to being booked. “If you are really good in the game of social media, It doesn't matter how good you are in the game of mixing; many artists that are in the beginning of their career and would need a bit more of practice, yet have a big following on socials, play huge gigs. It creates confusion when the technique is not on point, yet they play huge gigs next to artists who have been practicing for decades. It's pushing the boundary of quantity over quality.”
Another thing that Frederic is worried about within the scene, is that he can see how the little camps of musical sub genres are starting war against each other.”
“We can see that, right now musical sub genres create war against each other instead of caring about the quality of the work. In the end, thinking one sound is better than another one, is just a personal opinion. And I think this hate against specific sounds, is something that’s growing in a really fast way, and that’s problematic”, Frederic says;
“If someone does a musical sub genre that isn’t my personal style, but they do it well, I enjoy it. I honestly don't give a fuck, but instead appreciate the talents behind it and enjoy the craft of it. Especially from a view of a DJ, as a producer it’s a completely different topic, but It should always be about quality. And that’s the thing; never judge someone based on what they play, judge on the fact how they play, you know. When you see past that and see the actual passion that people have for what they are creating and the talents they have, then it can be appreciated and should be respected no matter what.”
“All these bootleg* tracks for example, I don't have anything against them. If they are well produced they should be respected. There are however so many bootleg tracks, that are shitty produced that I would say are trash because they’re so easily done. But if it’s high quality music; like really well done. For example what DJ Heartstring is creating where it’s highly skilled and produced, it’s nothing to complain about. I play them myself, because it’s really super nice tracks”, Frederic says.
*Bootleg meaning the remix of a song without permission.