Well yeah, 2 step/1 bar jungle is a hellscape.
I appreciate the infinite timelessness of 4 to the floor, but dont you think it just gets incredibly dull after a while? its like the amen in jungle, too powerful, easily reproduced, and as such, ultimately impotent
Techno is useful for when you're off your head on pills, to the extent that you'd happily dance to an alarm clock. So in those circumstances, techno is a definite improvement on an alarm clock.
1)
2) the impotency of four-to-the-floor. by that logic drone is the most impotent music. it's never accorded that status though as we've been conditioned to think of it as celestial, xen or avant-garde. but if we try to think outside of those associations, what do we get?
Beat you to the drone comparison, but I think there are important differences. Drone (especially at volume) does something neurologically that no other music does, or it least not in the same way. It takes you out of time without the body.
Techno is useful for when you're off your head on pills, to the extent that you'd happily dance to an alarm clock. So in those circumstances, techno is a definite improvement on an alarm clock.
lol, I dont think there's some secret knowledge here. I can 'get' the appeal, but this fixation on the nuance... ...aesthetically it's like walking through endless beige halls and rejoicing because you see a cream chair when you could just pull open the curtains to reveal a riot of colour.
Its akin to drone in a way, and much as I love drone, I don't think it should be the template of 95% of music.
My taste in techno & house is mostly limited to detroit (for the melody, vibe and directness) and Chicago (for the off kilter madness, divas and ecstasy) and maybe a bit of acid, dub techno and weird house like Isolee. Ive been out in recent times and the sound that seems to predominate - even with good DJs - is a kind of 4 to the floor fusion with bass music. Nothing objectionable, some of it quite good in isolation, but the overall effect is a kind of beige blanket with the occasional splodge of pastel colour bleeding through.
Afterwards I sometimes wonder if Ive heard any music at all.
Yeah US stuff from Detroit, Chi, NYC, NJ and then the occasional anomaly from somewhere like Murkfrom Miami is where its at. They all did so many different things with their beats. You can't reduce that to shades of beige, man. No way. Filtered disco loops, backwards hats that sound like they suck into themselves, mad beats made from several drum machines with different swing settings. Using claps on every kick. Using sidechained reverb on a kick to create an underwater push n pull sensation. The decayed sound of Detroit Beatdown drums. Plastikman - Spastik, 808s and tempo synced delays. There's so many things that can be done. Just saying it's a little bit much to reduce it down like that. Curtis Jones vs Dana Kelley. Shit, cat!