Electronic Music 411 - techno for those who dont know

07/22/08 + cartesia

I've always shunned techno unashamedly,

I appreciate skill,
But I'm a man of melody rather than rhythm... and so techno never held much interest for me.

Anyhow, I've decided I need to tackle the rhythm head on because the rhythm/drums parts of my tracks suck . . and the rest of my tracks are starting to not be entirely horrible...

can someone point me to some techno which is more skillfully produced/technical wankery, rather than anthemic banger type tunes. unless these also fit the previous category.

Or even just suggestions of new artists who are pushing things forward

nothing minimal please for the love of god. unless its artsy minimal rather than trendy minimal(I hope this makes sense? I believe minimalism is a worthy cause, but only when purposely chosen for a specific situation)

Recent Blog: Inequality across the pacific...

07/23/08 + j_chot

techno really is an anti-music mind-fuck though... the first step towards successful techno production/listening seems to be realizing that it's not music.

Recent blogs: BAND NAME (useless blog), I give up, the reason I'm not on em411 lately....

07/23/08 + bla

j_chot said: "techno really is an anti-music mind-fuck though... the first step towards successful techno production/listening seems to be realizing that it's not music."

yes!
its fucked machine noise- but it can be funky and crazy as fuck - very atmospheric- all kinds of different emotions going on at once- its not about traditional song structures or musical scales n that- its just about making a rhythm out of cool sounds

Recent blogs: programmers please help, bla live at bitjam at the rigger feb 08, alesis hr16

07/23/08 + jarvis

i always considered techno as the most current form of drum ritual - just rhythm and direct transfer of energy. it has lost its way though.

Recent blogs: Non-standard midi keyboard, janko

07/23/08 + djugel

Learn to dance... like this... watch the children. You don't have to be good at it.. but you need to learn. If you don't .. you will never understand techno or "REAL" dance music from the last 20 years.

link

link

Recent blogs: Buffalo Stance, Wow. Hillary 08 !!, Animated Movies

07/23/08 + djugel

Techno is regressive and fascist.. a return to ritual... music before germans made it all fancy.. War and pleasure..

Recent blogs: Buffalo Stance, Wow. Hillary 08 !!, Animated Movies

07/23/08 + jarvis

find a copy of "jungle echoes" by chaino. link

Recent blogs: Non-standard midi keyboard, janko

07/23/08 + elronhubbard

i was always a fan of latour's blue (yes, the basic instinct song) growing up.

Recent blogs: luxeed keyboard led action for 200 bucks, stalking aaron funk, Hubbard's Continental Burger

07/23/08 + sweettrip

sweettrip said: "i like velocette/john williams..."

oops, i meant jason williams...

Recent blogs: Ni Ten Ichi Ryu, a badly written essay by Sweet Trip, Sweet Trip's Paprika Potatoes, Music you didn't at first, but eventually grew up on you...

07/23/08 + dkarma

UNDERWORLD!!!
Air.

The label techno is a total misnomer...you say techno and everyone thinks happy hardcore rave shit.
Technically pop is techno...you think anyone plays an instrument on a brit brit or nsync album? *laff*

07/23/08 + fora

The only one thats doing it for me in the sense of pushing techno foward is Gerald Donald..
Have a listen to Dopplereffekt's Calabi Yau Space, Apanet's Quantum Transposition, Zwischenwelt or Black Replica.

edited: Jul 24 2008 + djugel

I love Gerald Donald and everything ... but I have to disagree with him pushing things foward. I think if anything the electro trend killed techno.. and if anything is a heavy influence on the 80's fashion obsession in the early 2000's. VICE magazine, etc..

to me true "techno" .. meaning you can't call it anything else.. no blurred lines.. is from 90-98. From Energy Flash to Sweden. Then this came and ended techno's long run (8 years is a long time for a genre)

link

Recent blogs: Buffalo Stance, Wow. Hillary 08 !!, Animated Movies

edited: Jul 24 2008 + delete

djugel said: "to me true "techno" .. meaning you can't call it anything else.. no blurred lines.. is from 90-98. From Energy Flash to Sweden. Then this came and ended techno's long run (8 years is a long time for a genre)

link"

to me, techno can pretty much be summed up in 2 words: Dave Clarke.

Recent blogs: damaged good - walkman distortion box, ragga + jungle + death metal = ?, STFU Athens: thoughts & material

07/24/08 + Zanf

those 2 words for me are: techno trousers

Recent blogs: Randy Pausch, Volker Pispers - German satire, STFU Marseille live sets

07/24/08 + SenorFrio

em411's own "Let's Go Outside" AKA lgo... REALLY SICK TECHNO!
Gui Borrado, Pan-Pot, Pheek, Cane has some nice techno offerings of late.

Recent blogs: Radiohead and some ACID!!, on the Radio 2nite... and some shows!, Mutant Fest Fundraiser

07/24/08 + pillowtalk

My favorites are: DBX,Joey Beltram,Mike Ink,Damon Wild and Chicago 'house' that is really techno like Robert Armani, Steve Poindexter, lil louis. I really like techno but there is a lot of 'Detroit' stuff that I can't get into because of the 'strings' or whatever you call it, the atmospheric pad sounds like Jeff Mills or Model 500.
I don't think of techno as rhythmicaly interesting. The one thing that is given is the regular bass drum. Someone like Squarepusher is more intersting for how they program the drums.