Fleacore

Fleacore is the principle that most interesting and exciting electronic music is created by people early in their careers, using extremely cheap and shit equipment (from flea markets).

The most prominent example is the TB303, which was sold to one man bands, was too shit to use, hocked, picked up by other people for very little, who just turned knobs at random and created the ‘acid line’. The reality that the first acid lines were actually made on a MC202 doesn’t matter in the mythology. The TB303 is now enormously expensive because you are buying the history, not the actual machine.

This is why synthesiser enthusiast sites list the people that have used the gear. You are supposed to buy it because it made a famous sound, then spend time recreating that famous sound, and arguing with other people whether something else could have made that famous sound or something, I drift off around the beginning of the whole idea.

Anyway, when things are cheap they haven’t got a famous sound, so people make new music on them instead.

At the beginning of this descent I followed fleacore rules, and bought small cheap things. But limitations are best for people up the beginning of their career. It’s too late for me, and too serious minded. I should instead wallow in some kind of second hand opulence and see where the fun can be found there.

 

That does not mean I am buying a VCS3 or some shit. I’m not that daft.