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Techno Tips: Smack My Beat Up

Time for some subterranean beat smacking with Matt

Thomas

Although you might not guess it from the current music scene, techno has been one of the most influential
shaping forces in today's music.
Techno was to the 80s what drum n' bass is to the 90s; a breeding ground of completely new sounds and ideas.
Many of the sounds and rhythms that have filtered into house and trance originated in techno, and few artists in
any genre are held in the same reverential awe as the original Detroit techno innovators: Juan Atkins, Derrick
May, Kevin Saunderson and Jeff Mills. Their work is still seen as the techno blueprint; an ironic situation as their
own musical agendas were always about innovation.
It seems strange that such an integral part of the dance scene never made the transition to the mainstream in the
way that house did, but the explanation can be found in the early 90s. As techno took the UK and Europe by
storm it became a victim of its own success and the vile Toytown sound of techno-pop hit the charts. Anyone who
remembers the aural kick-in-the-goolies that was 2-Unlimited (Techno-techno-techno!!!!) and The Mad Stuntsman
will well appreciate why techno went scuttling back to the underground, clutching its nethers.
Going underground
Things got much healthier in the late 90s, and techno is as much about the European underground sound as it is
about Detroit, with musicians like Adam Beyer, Cari Lekebush, Laurent Garnier, Luke Slater and the multi-aliased
Paul Mac all helping to re-define the genre.
At the same time, Detroit is still home to many of the most respected artists, such as Octave One, Carl Craig and
the electro influenced Aux 88 and Underground Resistance. Despite over ten years of musical evolution, techno
(more than most styles of music) can honestly be said to have remained true to its roots.
Top Tip 1
The use of drum loops is also fairly common. Luke Slater has been using breakbeats in a way that would make
many a big-beat act drool with jealousy, while German bright-hope Thomas Schumacher uses all sorts of loops,
from hip-hop to old Michael Jackson tracks.
If you want to use loops yourself try and take them into new directions, maybe try some drum'n'bass style edits,
weird filtering or trip-hop style compression. Remember that techno isn't only about squeezing the last drop of life
from an 808, but about individualism of sound.
Top Tip 2
My second tip can be summed up in three words: distort your desk. I don't mean that you should bury your track in
fuzz (unless you're on a Cari Lekebush tip of course, in which case feel free), but even the cleanest techno tunes
tend to have just a hint of grit in there somewhere.
Distorting the 909 kick is so common that most people are familiar with the sound, but all sorts of drum samples
benefit from the extra edge that comes from overloading your mixer's input.
Analogue percussion sounds like rimshot and cowbell are some of my favourites, along with ride cymbals and
snare drums. Ignore the flashing red lights, and just keep turning the gain up until you like what you hear. You can
always compress the sound afterwards if it's too spiky.
What is it? Techno
Where did it come from? Detroit (America's version of Manchester: violent, full of gangs and the birthplace of
some of the best music of the last 20 years). The origin of the style is best defined as a fusion of George Clintonstyle funk mentality with the electro synth sounds of European bands like Kraftwerk, New Order and obscure
Belgian outfit Telex.

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When did it start?Like house music, techno arrived gradually during the mid 80s. The earliest tracks appeared
during 1985/86.
Top tracks: Dave Clark's Red.2; Laurent Garnier's Crispy Bacon; Hood & Mills' Tranquilizer EP; Mr Fingers' Can
U Feel It?; Plastikman's Spastik; Rhythim Is Rhythim's Strings Of Life; Thomas Schumacher's When I Rock.
Labels: Bush, Peacefrog, Soma, Novamute, F-Comm.
bpm range: Some of the minimal stuff clocks in at the low 90s, with the crossover into the realms of gabba and
hardcore occurring at about 150bpm. (Gabba is an offshoot of techno, mainly invented for Belgians on speed).

Matt Thomas 03/99

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