Listen up ravers, electronic dance music is failing you. I used to be right there with you, toiling on the front lines of a scene I thought was really special. But it’s become something that I don’t really want any connection to. That’s not to say there aren’t several incredible dance music acts, because there certainly are and I respect the hell out of them. But the genre is becoming too popular for its own good.

I’m not sure if it’s the ecstasy that’s blinding everyone, but there is so much more to electronic music than what’s coming through Eugene or being played on mainstream airwaves around the country.

Live electronic music with instruments is the future. Why? Because staring at someone press a few buttons, twist some knobs and yell into a microphone is boring. I mean, sure, it’s a fucking party and it’s fun. But we’re paying these artists money to see them live, so they better deliver a show that matches those financial expectations. For me personally, that means some sort of instrumental performance. And I’m not saying they have to play a guitar — although I do love a good electronic act with a guitar (see Gramatik or Papadosio) — but they need to be doing something more than just mixing two songs together.

I used to be all gung-ho about electronic music and DJs, but now I completely understand the criticism of generations much older than us. To them, it doesn’t look like they’re doing anything. I’m not talking about turntablism and scratching, because there very clearly is a skill behind that craft. I’m talking about playing a song and fist pumping your hands in the air until you change to the next popular song everyone is listening to these days.

That’s not to say that I listen to music exclusively with live instruments. Some of my favorite artists rock laptops, drum pads, iPads and other technology designed to perform music. And I love how artists are embracing technology. I think it’s an important part of our generation’s musical culture. Technology driving a new generation of artists and performers. But I want to see these musicians using the technology to perform their own music, where they have the opportunity to improvise rhythms, beat patterns and more. I just want to see more musicianship in the artists I go and see perform.

And I don’t think my expectations are too out of reach. We have artists in Eugene that are doing this very thing. Artists like Medium Troy and Hamilton Beach, who make music and actually perform it live with instruments. Eugene is a special place because we embrace that kind of talent and innovation, so we need to encourage that both in our local musicians and in the acts that come through this town.

This summer, Kaleidoscope Music Festival is offering a plethora of musicians who do exactly what I’m talking about. Sure, the festival features DJs in the classical sense, but they’re hosting Lotus, one of the most impressive live electronic acts this lovely country of ours has to offer, and many more that are truly taking live electronic music to the next level. This is not a vendetta against your favorite artists and music, rather a realization that electronic music isn’t meeting its full potential.