Free tekno, also known as tekno, freetekno and hardtek, is the music predominantly played at

free parties Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procur ...

in Europe. The spelling of the word tekno is made to deliberately differentiate the musical style from that of

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

. The music is fast and it can vary between 150 and 185 bpm and is characterised by a pounding repetitive

kick drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...

.Dover, Wan
10 Dance Music Documentaries That Will Make You an Expert
''Dallas Observer''. July 25, 2015 Nevertheless, bass drum distortion by

clipping Clipping may refer to: Words * Clipping (morphology), the formation of a new word by shortening it, e.g. "ad" from "advertisement" * Clipping (phonetics), shortening the articulation of a speech sound, usually a vowel * Clipping (publications) ...

is used less often as in the related genre of mainstyle hardcore. Nowadays, some tekno producers also use drum sets that rather sound trancey, since many members of the tekno subculture as well as the

psytrance Psychedelic Trance, Psytrance or Psy is a subgenre of trance music characterized by arrangements of rhythms and layered melodies created by high tempo riffs. The genre offers variety in terms of mood, tempo, and style. Some examples include full ...

subculture frequently attend the same

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

s and the two scenes are closely connected.

History

Tekno evolved in tandem with the

teknival Teknivals (the word is a portmanteau of the words tekno and festival) are large free parties which take place for several days. They take place most often in Europe and are often illegal under various national or regional laws. They vary in size ...

movement in the early 1990s since many of the teknival organisers and DJs were also making music. The music drew on influences such as

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅ ...

early hardcore Gabber (; ) is a style of electronic dance music and a subgenre of hardcore techno, as well as the surrounding subculture. The music is more commonly referred to as Hardcore, which is characterised by fast beats, distorted & heavier kickdrums, ...

and

, with the producers taking the sound in a darker direction. Spiral tribe were the first to start making and widely disseminating this genre taking it to France and Eastern Europe after the Criminal Justice act was implemented in the UK. An emphasis is placed on samples from TV shows, films and popular culture which are placed at strategic moments in the tracks. The music was produced with whatever was available: drum machines,

synthesisers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

and

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

as well as computer programs such as audio/MIDI sequencers and Trackers, sometimes even hitting a random table with a pen. Starting from year 2001 there has been a trend using laptop and laptops for live performances, because the capabilities of both the hardware and software were improving very quick. With the evolution of the genre it has come to be known by a number of names, including spiral tekno, hardtek, tribetek, tribe and lately evolved in many other subgenres like pumping tek, hardfloor and

Frenchcore Frenchcore is a subgenre of hardcore techno. The style differs from other forms of hardcore in terms of a faster tempo, usually above 190-250 BPM, and a loud & distorted offbeat bassline. In the 1990s, drum machines and samplers were used to ...

which is a sort of mixture between

mainstream hardcore Mainstream hardcore, mainstyle, nu style gabber or newstyle hardcore is a subgenre of hardcore techno. The essence of mainstream hardcore sound is a distorted bass drum sound, overdriven to the point where it becomes clipped into a distorted s ...

and hardtekno, with funny and pumping samples taken from different media supports. Tekno producers come from numerous places, particularly in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, including the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. Some of the most active artist who from the early 1990s up till the mid 2000s were

Spiral Tribe Spiral Tribe is an arts collective and free party sound system formed in 1990. It organised free parties, festivals and raves in the UK and later Europe in the 1990s. Spiral Tribe was involved in the Castlemorton Common Festival and members ha ...

, Crystal Distortion, Lego, Liqitex, 69db, Ixy, Kaos, Jack Acid, Curley, Unit Moebius, Les Boucles Etranges, Yale, FKY, Babyon Joke, Arobass, Gotek, Frank@, Floxytek, Suburbass, Zone-33, Mat Weasel Buster, Narkotek, Kernel Panik, Revolt99, Infrabass, Vinka, Banditos, La Bloukak, Diablo (LSDF), Teknambul, Spiralheadz, Asphalt-Pirates, Aya Sound, Puissance K, Guigoo, Billx, Maissouille, Key Gen, Psychospores, Fractal, Sceletor, and Lyzor-sak. Many record labels contributed spreading the sound mostly via underground distribution operated mostly by record shops / labels such as Hokus Pokus (Paris) and Toolbox Records (Paris), and record labels such as Tek No Logique (TNL), Narkotek and Astrofonik. Here a list of some of the most active record labels Network 23 record label

sound system, Hokus Pokus, Passe Muraille, Perce Oreille, Infrabass, KGB Records, OQP Crue Production, dSP records, Tek No Logique, Narkotek, Astrofonik, Le Diable Au Corps. Artists within this genre usually follow a very different ideology when compared to more modern and mainstream producers: * Artists often use many pseudonyms, as they are not interested in mainstream success or recognition * Most are not interested in profit * They also support the free distribution of their works, as they do not see it as their own material, but as something that belongs to the fans and the community This is described as "returning to the roots".

Subgenres

Jungletek and Raggatek is a subgenres derived directly from Hardtek. These well known genres collide to create fast energetic 190 BPM dance floor smashers. Kicked of around 2008 in the UK Mandidextrous & Vandal were among the first producers to start writing this genre of music. It breathed new life into the underground rave scene not only here in the UK but also picking up a strong following in Italy, Spain and Austria to mention a few. Massive influence for this music also came from the Techno scene in Europe where some of the first underground music lovers started to up the bpm and add variations in structure thus becoming Tekno. Techno in the UK in the early 1990s was based on a bpm of 130-140. By the 2000s music on its never ending journey of progression had gained more speed and Hardtek was starting to dominate UK raves especially in the South and London.. Even Trance had progressed from sweeping delicate melody's to whats now known as Hardtrance a faster, harder more bouncy music to its predecessor. Music all over the underground was getting harder and faster. In today's world the most recent and noticeable evaluation in music is the progression of DnB into Neuro Funk, very similar to DnB but with grittier and harsher bass and synth sounds often using masses of compression to get those tearing bass line which is now worlds apart from one of the original DnB genres pioneered by Carl Cox Jungletechno. Raggatek is predominantly influenced by Reggae and Ragga music, incorporating Jungle, DnB, Dancehall, Reggae, Ragga and Techno music. Well known MC's such as YT and Top Cat are a massive influence on the world of Raggatek. Producers loving this type of sound wanted to bring it to the dance floors of the underground. Upping the bpm to between 180 – 200 adding amen breaks and the basic structure of Hardtek that kick bass kick bass format was the formula for a new hybrid music. The big sounding Ragga style vocals are often a massive presence on Raggatek productions. Jungletek works on exactly the same formula as Raggatek just replace the Ragga with Jungle & DnB. Being less known for the vocal arrangements and more about the bass lines. Jungletek takes the basics of the bass line from well known Jungle and DnB tracks and recreates them in a Hardtek format. Original productions also use the simple format of kick bass with amen breaks. European Raggatek and Jungletek is often recognisable by the high energy eletro sounds in the bass lines and synth melody's.

Notes

{{Reflist

External links

Freetekno.org websiteFreetekno stable archive
Musical subcultures Electronic dance music genres Teknivals Techno genres