"Why do bankers love techno?"

[chava]

It's almost impressive how they managed to take techno, a music that once revolved around invigorating the dancer, and took everything out of it that did that, and replaced it with something so dissociative, dematerialized, and vacuous that it now does the exact opposite.

Idk about that. There is no ultimate root point in techno, that dictates what "techno was supposed to be" or any of that sort. That's Derrick May BS rhetoric. Who says techno should "invigorate the dancer"? I don't even know what that means.

Europeans probably and hopefully did it different, and that's great even though I still believe the US producers overall has the edge. But it is not the great innovators of european techno fault that everything now is crap (probably it is only 90% crap, but whatever).

 

[chava]

i'm not saying middle class whites shouldn't participate at all. there's loads of examples of good middle class musicians, the issue is when the wrong ones take over and try to shape the scene in their own image, which brings us back to the adrift thing. gentrification. let's never forget that this music was always for the streets, the warehouses and basements. even though the Bellville 3 were all pretty middle class, their music was being played in underground environs and that's a huge part of what made it so invigorating. fucking state of what it's all become with tabitha and olly doing their little bumps draped in comme des garcons bdsm club gear and limited edition givenchy crocs. fuck outta here

Techno was always middle class

 

[chava]

The best US stuff is sci fi music of course, like a soundtrack to an 80s educational science video.

True enough, but luckily when at some point the sci-fi tropes get too silly european techno is there to take over:

 

[thirdform]

Techno was always middle class

ah now, let's argue that the middle class detroit lads appropriated working class chicago. that's when it gets really spicey.

 

[thirdform]

Idk about that. There is no ultimate root point in techno, that dictates what "techno was supposed to be" or any of that sort. That's Derrick May BS rhetoric. Who says techno should "invigorate the dancer"? I don't even know what that means.

it should be invigorating though, the best techno will you make you jack till 7 AM. Even Basic Channel is visceral in the right environment. otherwise you just get trance universalisms and a lack of street smart urban aesthetics. Joey Beltram understood this before most, even when he was doing trancier stuff.

 

[chava]

ah now, let's argue that the middle class detroit lads appropriated working class chicago. that's when it gets really spicey.

prob not wrong, but I shouldn't get into this discussion. how would I even know, class is not something we are able to discuss in scandinavia (anymore)

 

[pattycakes_]

Idk about that. There is no ultimate root point in techno, that dictates what "techno was supposed to be" or any of that sort. That's Derrick May BS rhetoric. Who says techno should "invigorate the dancer"? I don't even know what that means.

It's not about an ultimate root point, it's an unspoken thing about humans and technology. Man and machines. Doesn't matter if it's the most ultra-minimal or abstract avant shit, the one thing it should never be is boring. That is the ultimate musical crime unless you're some poseur po-mo tit head who likes stroking your beard to shit no one else likes. The current wave of Euro-centric techno is terribly fucking boring.

Europeans probably and hopefully did it different, and that's great even though I still believe the US producers overall has the edge. But it is not the great innovators of european techno fault that everything now is crap (probably it is only 90% crap, but whatever).

It's not about all Euro techno ever. There's loads of amazing shit from all over the globe. I'm talking specifically about the modern variant that dominates Berghain etc. Drumcode was one of the leaders of this sound. Weirdly though, only a few tweaks away from that sound and you get shit like Mike Parker which I love. But Adam Beyer et al can get tae fuck.

 

[chava]

it should be invigorating though, the best techno will you make you jack till 7 AM. Even Basic Channel is visceral in the right environment. otherwise you just get trance universalisms and a lack of street smart urban aesthetics. Joey Beltram understood this before most, even when he was doing trancier stuff.

agree somewhat, some techno should probably just make you go wtf or something. I am also not hostile to the idea of "muzak techno", a kinda background coolness, the studio 1 records f.i.

I remember I had that Joey Beltram but I sold it because I though it was too "trancey" and uncool, haha. Stupid me.

 

[thirdform]

agree somewhat, some techno should probably just make you go wtf or something. I am also not hostile to the idea of "muzak techno", a kinda background coolness, the studio 1 records f.i.

Sure, but the studio einz stuff is heavy in its austerity, which so much microhouse never managed to tap into. some lawrence and c.jost stuff is alright though.

also this one


Kinda like Amapiano.

 

[pattycakes_]

I-F and Legowelt talking about Berghain 6 years ago. Boring and conservative is right. Funny part is they were booked to play there a month or so later haha

 

[chava]

It's not about an ultimate root point, it's an unspoken thing about humans and technology. Man and machines. Doesn't matter if it's the most ultra-minimal or abstract avant shit, the one thing it should never be is boring. That is the ultimate musical crime unless you're some poseur po-mo tit head who likes stroking your beard to shit no one else likes. The current wave of Euro-centric techno is terribly fucking boring.



It's not about all Euro techno ever. There's loads of amazing shit from all over the globe. I'm talking specifically about the modern variant that dominates Berghain etc. Drumcode was one of the leaders of this sound. Weirdly though, only a few tweaks away from that sound and you get shit like Mike Parker which I love. But Adam Beyer et al can get tae fuck.

"Boredom is deep and mysterious" is one of my favorite quotes. There's techno (and other genres) which borders on boring and uneventful even somwhat bland, but still manages to somehow be.. "attractive" might be the best word. Adam Beyer does not try to be boring or uneventful, he risks nothing.

a couple of ultra boring no-drama, no tricks, no soul, techno tracks that americans could never do:

 

[thirdform]

"Boredom is deep and mysterious" is one of my favorite quotes. There's techno (and other genres) which borders on boring and uneventful even somwhat bland, but still manages to somehow be.. "attractive" might be the best word. Adam Beyer does not try to be boring or uneventful, he risks nothing.

a couple of ultra boring no-drama, no tricks, no soul, techno tracks that americans could never do:

Ingmar is heavily influenced by hip hop though, that's why his stuff sounds totally different to most techno. In fact most techno today could do with more of a hip hop influence. That's an 80s rap swing in the cowbells.

 

[thirdform]

in general though most UK techno is better than continental techno imo. not because the UK producers are more minimal or maximal, but because of the reggae and hip hop culture in the UK.

90s and 00s though. 2010s UK techno is mostly too influenced by Berlin to count as its own thing.

 

[chava]

in general though most UK techno is better than continental techno imo. not because the UK producers are more minimal or maximal, but because of the reggae and hip hop culture in the UK.

90s and 00s though. 2010s UK techno is mostly too influenced by Berlin to count as its own thing.

Also influenced by weird UK experimental stuff in general, UK really had some eccentric techno boffins. I miss them a lot. Finland and Austria also had proper wierdoes doing great stuff far from mainstream (and UK and US traditions).

Now the vortex that is Berlin (maybe) seems in many ways to have smoothed things over.

 

[thirdform]

 

[thirdform]

Also influenced by weird UK experimental stuff in general, UK really had some eccentric techno boffins. I miss them a lot. Finland and Austria also had proper wierdoes doing great stuff far from mainstream (and UK and US traditions).

Now the vortex that is Berlin (maybe) seems in many ways to have smoothed things over.

yup, 80s industrial vets etc.

 

[pattycakes_]

"Boredom is deep and mysterious" is one of my favorite quotes. There's techno (and other genres) which borders on boring and uneventful even somwhat bland, but still manages to somehow be.. "attractive" might be the best word. Adam Beyer does not try to be boring or uneventful, he risks nothing.

a couple of ultra boring no-drama, no tricks, no soul, techno tracks that americans could never do:

All of those tracks are totally invigorating and not even close to being boring though. I didn't mention the word soul. I'm a big advocate, but that's not what I'm talking about here. Take Sähkö, some of their most sparse, bleak, anti-groove shit is still totally compelling and not boring at all. You kinda landed on it at the end of your paragraph. There are people who make sparse music and manage to find a way to keep things moving for 6 mins or so with just a few elements. But then there are people who think that being minimal is all it takes, as long as it's kind of intense and all cathedral-like and processed through expensive gear. As for Americans being unable to pull that sort of stuff off, what about James Donaddio, Traxx Alan Oldham or Jamal Moss?

 

[thirdform]

Also influenced by weird UK experimental stuff in general, UK really had some eccentric techno boffins. I miss them a lot. Finland and Austria also had proper wierdoes doing great stuff far from mainstream (and UK and US traditions).

Now the vortex that is Berlin (maybe) seems in many ways to have smoothed things over.

This is still one of the best hard techno records ever made. Andrew Lagowski on the remix.


Like belgian techno told to get funky. a madness.

 

[thirdform]

this is the best minimal record ever made, not techno though.


bad company just copied this, cleaned it up and made it a technical wank stadium rock fest. But Mampi knew the score.

 

[thirdform]

that vortexion joint on reinforced as well. like sahko techstep, super sparce but really weird. proto-terror danjah in fact.