Minimal techno
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Minimal techno is a subgenre of
techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...
music. It is characterized by a stripped-down aesthetic that exploits the use of repetition and understated development. Minimal techno is thought to have been originally developed in the early 1990s by
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
-based producers
Robert Hood Robert Hood (born 1965 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American electronic music producer and DJ. He is a founding member of the group Underground Resistance as a 'Minister of Information' with Mad Mike Banks and Jeff Mills. He is often conside ...
and
Daniel Bell Daniel Bell (May 10, 1919 – January 25, 2011) was an American sociologist, writer, editor, and professor at Harvard University, best known for his contributions to the study of post-industrialism. He has been described as "one of the leading A ...
.Sicko, D., ''Techno Rebels: The Renegades of Electronic Funk'', Billboard Books, 1999, (pp. 199–200). By the early 2000s the term 'minimal' generally described a style of techno that was popularized in Germany by labels such as
Kompakt Kompakt (Labelcode: LC 12012) is a Cologne-based electronic music independent record label and vinyl/CD distributor, owned by Wolfgang Voigt, Michael Mayer and Jürgen Paape. They specialize in microhouse and minimal techno, and are known for ...
,
Perlon Perlon is an electronic music record label founded in 1997 in Frankfurt, Germany, now based in Berlin, and run by Thomas Franzmann aka Zip and Markus Nikolai. It is a minimal techno and tech house label which has been characterised as one of t ...
, and Richie Hawtin's
M-nus Minus or M-nus is a recording label based in Berlin, Germany and Windsor, Canada. It was created in 1998 by Richie Hawtin when Plus 8, a label previously created by Hawtin, was put on hold. By 2005, M-nus was releasing 2 to 3 CDs and 12 to 14 rec ...
, among others.


Origins

Minimal techno first emerged in the early 1990s. The development of the style is often attributed to a so-called "second wave" of American producers associated with
Detroit techno Detroit techno is a type of techno music that generally includes the first techno productions by Detroit-based artists during the 1980s and early 1990s. Prominent Detroit techno artists include Juan Atkins, Eddie Fowlkes, Derrick May, Jeff Mil ...
. According to Derrick May, "while the first-wave artists were enjoying their early global success, techno also inspired many up-and-coming DJs and bedroom producers in Detroit". This younger generation included producers such as
Richie Hawtin Richard "Richie" Hawtin (born June 4, 1970) is a British-Canadian electronic musician and DJ. He became involved with Detroit techno's second wave in the early 1990s, and has been a leading exponent of minimal techno since the mid-1990s. He beca ...
,
Daniel Bell Daniel Bell (May 10, 1919 – January 25, 2011) was an American sociologist, writer, editor, and professor at Harvard University, best known for his contributions to the study of post-industrialism. He has been described as "one of the leading A ...
,
Robert Hood Robert Hood (born 1965 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American electronic music producer and DJ. He is a founding member of the group Underground Resistance as a 'Minister of Information' with Mad Mike Banks and Jeff Mills. He is often conside ...
,
Jeff Mills Jeff Mills (born June 18, 1963, in Detroit, Michigan) is an American DJ, record producer, and composer. Thanks to his technical abilities as a DJ, Mills became known as ''The Wizard'' in the early to mid 1980s. In the late 1980s Mills founded ...
,
Carl Craig Carl Craig (born May 22, 1969) is an American electronic music producer, DJ, and founder of the record label Planet E Communications. He is known as a leading figure and pioneer in the second wave of Detroit techno artists during the late 1980s ...
, Kenny Larkin, and Mike Banks. The work of several of these artists evolved to become focused on minimalism. Robert Hood describes the situation in the early 1990s as one where techno had become too " ravey", with increasing tempos leading to the emergence of
gabber 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, ...
. Such trends saw the demise of the
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
-infused techno that typified the original Detroit sound. Robert Hood has noted that he and Daniel Bell both realized something was missing from techno in the post-rave era, and saw that an important feature of the original techno sound had been lost. Hood states that "it sounded great from a production standpoint, but there was a 'jack' element in the ldstructure. People would complain that there's no funk, no feeling in techno anymore, and the easy escape is to put a vocalist and some piano on top to fill the emotional gap. I thought it was time for a return to the original underground." The minimal techno sound that emerged at this time has been defined by Robert Hood as "a basic stripped down, raw sound. Just drums, basslines and funky grooves and only what's essential. Only what is essential to make people move. I started to look at it as a science, the art of making people move their butts, speaking to their heart, mind and soul. It's a heart-felt rhythmic techno sound." Daniel Bell has commented that he had a dislike for minimalism in the artistic sense of the word, finding it too "arty". In ''Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music'' (2004), music journalist
Philip Sherburne Philip Sherburne is an American journalist, musician and DJ based in Barcelona. He coined the term "Microhouse" (in a 2001 article for ''The Wire'')Cox, Christoph; Daniel Warner (Eds.) (2004). ''Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music''. Continuu ...
states that, like most contemporary electronic dance music, minimal techno has its roots in the landmark works of pioneers such as Kraftwerk and
Detroit Techno Detroit techno is a type of techno music that generally includes the first techno productions by Detroit-based artists during the 1980s and early 1990s. Prominent Detroit techno artists include Juan Atkins, Eddie Fowlkes, Derrick May, Jeff Mil ...
's Derrick May and
Juan Atkins Juan Atkins (born September 12, 1962), also known as Model 500 and Infiniti, is an American record producer and DJ from Detroit, Michigan. '' Mixmag'' has described him as "the original pioneer of Detroit techno." He has been a member of The Be ...
. Minimal techno focuses on "rhythm and repetition instead of melody and linear progression", much like classical minimalist music and the
polyrhythm Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music ( cross-rhyt ...
ic African musical tradition that helped to inspire it. By 1994, according to Sherburne, the term "minimal" was in use to describe "any stripped-down, Acidic derivative of classic Detroit style".
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
-based writer Daniel Chamberlin attributes the origin of minimal techno to the German producers
Basic Channel Basic Channel is a German music duo and record label, composed of Moritz von Oswald and Mark Ernestus, that originated in Berlin in 1993. The duo have also worked under other names, including Rhythm & Sound and Maurizio, and have founded offshoo ...
. Chamberlin draws parallels between the productions by Richie Hawtin,
Wolfgang Voigt Wolfgang Voigt (born 1961) is an electronic music DJ and producer from Cologne, Germany, known for his output under various aliases, such as Gas. He signed on numerous record labels, including Warp, Harvest, Raster-Noton, Force Inc, Astral In ...
, and
Surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...
with
phase music Phase music is a form of music that uses phasing as a primary compositional process. It is an approach to musical composition that is often associated with minimal music, as it shares similar characteristics, but some commentators prefer to t ...
techniques used by American minimalist composer Steve Reich. Chamberlin also sees the use of sine tone drones by minimalist composer La Monte Young and the repetitive patterns of " In C" by minimalist composer
Terry Riley Terrence Mitchell "Terry" Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his music became notable for ...
as other influences. Sherburne has suggested that the noted similarities between minimal forms of dance music and American minimalism could easily be accidental. He also notes that much of the music technology used in electronic dance music was traditionally designed to suit
loop Loop or LOOP may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Loop (mobile), a Bulgarian virtual network operator and co-founder of Loop Live * Loop, clothing, a company founded by Carlos Vasquez in the 1990s and worn by Digable Planets * Loop Mobile, an ...
-based compositional methods, which may explain why certain stylistic features of minimal techno sound similar to those in works by Reich that employ loops and pattern-phasing techniques.Sherburne, Philip. "Digital Discipline: Minimalism in House and Techno," in ''Audio Culture'', New York: Continuum, 2006, (p.322).


Style

Philip Sherburne Philip Sherburne is an American journalist, musician and DJ based in Barcelona. He coined the term "Microhouse" (in a 2001 article for ''The Wire'')Cox, Christoph; Daniel Warner (Eds.) (2004). ''Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music''. Continuu ...
proposes that minimal techno uses two specific stylistic approaches: ''skeletalism'' and ''massification''.Cox C. & Warner D. ed.(2004), ''Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music'', Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd, London. According to Sherburne, in skeletal minimal techno, only the core elements are included with embellishments used only for the sake of variation within the song. In contrast, massification is a style of minimalism in which many sounds are layered over time, but with little variation in sonic elements. Today the influence of minimal styles of house music and techno is not only to be found in club music, but is becoming increasingly heard in popular music. Regardless of the style, he writes, "minimal Techno corkscrews into the very heart of repetition so cerebrally as to often inspire descriptions like 'spartan', 'clinical', 'mathematical', and 'scientific'". The average tempo of a minimal techno track is between 125 and 130
beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...
.
Richie Hawtin Richard "Richie" Hawtin (born June 4, 1970) is a British-Canadian electronic musician and DJ. He became involved with Detroit techno's second wave in the early 1990s, and has been a leading exponent of minimal techno since the mid-1990s. He beca ...
suggests 128 bpm as the perfect tempo. In the early minimal techno scene, most tracks were constructed around a Roland TR-808 or Roland TR-909 drum machine. Both are still often used on today's minimal techno tracks. In contrast to
minimal house Microhouse, buftech or sometimes just minimal, is a subgenre of house music strongly influenced by minimalism and 1990s techno. History Microhouse has its roots in the minimal techno, bitpop (both developed in the early 1990s), and house (de ...
, minimal techno is less afrocentric and focuses more on middle frequencies rather than deep basses.


Development

Many projects in other locations, such as those of
Regis Regis or Régis may refer to: People * Regis (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Regis (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Regis (musician), full name Karl O'Connor, an Englis ...
in the UK,
Basic Channel Basic Channel is a German music duo and record label, composed of Moritz von Oswald and Mark Ernestus, that originated in Berlin in 1993. The duo have also worked under other names, including Rhythm & Sound and Maurizio, and have founded offshoo ...
in Berlin and
Mika Vainio Mika Tapio Vainio (May 15, 1963 – April 12, 2017) was a Finnish electronic musician. He was best known as a member of Pan Sonic. In addition to his real name, he recorded under the aliases Ø, Kentolevi, Philus, and Tekonivel. He has worked wi ...
in Finland, have also made significant contributions to minimal techno. In recent years, the genre has been heavily influenced by the
microhouse Microhouse, buftech or sometimes just minimal, is a subgenre of house music strongly influenced by minimalism and 1990s techno. History Microhouse has its roots in the minimal techno, bitpop (both developed in the early 1990s), and house (dev ...
genre, to the point of merging with it. It has also fragmented into a great number of difficult to categorize subgenres, equally claimed by the minimal techno and microhouse tags. Minimal techno has found mainstream club popularity since 2004 in such places as Romania, Germany,Nye, Sean
"Minimal Understandings: The Berlin Decade, The Minimal Continuum, and Debates on the Legacy of German Techno,"
Journal of Popular Music Studies 25, no. 2(2013): 154-84.
Portugal, Japan, France, Belgium, South Africa, The Netherlands, Spain, Sri Lanka, Italy, Ireland and the UK, with DJs from a wide variety of genres incorporating differing elements of its tones. In 2003, minimal techno received widespread commercial attention when Kylie Minogue employed the sound on her number-one hit "
Slow In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude (mathematics), magnitude of the change of its Position (vector), position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per ...
", while in years to come the work of M.A.N.D.Y. and
Booka Shade Booka Shade is a German house duo. It is made up of Walter Merziger and Arno Kammermeier, described as veterans of the Frankfurt electronic music scene. They have released 7 studio albums including Memento (2004) Movements (2006), The Sun & The ...
would be sampled by
will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas. ...
.
Record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
s specializing in minimal techno are :rpia:r
Traum Schallplatten Traum Schallplatten ( en, Dream Records) is a Cologne-based which started as a minimal techno record label run by Jacqueline Reinhold (née Klein) and Riley Reinhold (Triple R). but had developed into a melodic techno label. Its sub-labels are ...
,
BPitch Control Ellen Fraatz, known professionally as Ellen Allien, is a German electronic musician, music producer, and the founder of BPitch Control music label. Her album '' Stadtkind'' was dedicated to the city of Berlin, and she cites the culture of reun ...
,
Cocoon Recordings Cocoon Recordings is a record label founded in 2000 and operated by DJ and electronic music producer Sven Väth. Based in Frankfurt, Germany, Cocoon is a division of the Cocoon Music Event GmbH. Väth founded Cocoon Recordings in order to comp ...
,
Kompakt Kompakt (Labelcode: LC 12012) is a Cologne-based electronic music independent record label and vinyl/CD distributor, owned by Wolfgang Voigt, Michael Mayer and Jürgen Paape. They specialize in microhouse and minimal techno, and are known for ...
,
Perlon Perlon is an electronic music record label founded in 1997 in Frankfurt, Germany, now based in Berlin, and run by Thomas Franzmann aka Zip and Markus Nikolai. It is a minimal techno and tech house label which has been characterised as one of t ...
, Clink, Plus8, and
Sähkö Recordings Sähkö Recordings is a Finnish independent record label, based in Turku, Finland. Sähkö ("electricity" in Finnish) was founded by Tommi Grönlund in 1993. The label gained international acclaim by its minimalist electronic releases. Sähkö Rec ...
, among others.


See also

*
Microhouse Microhouse, buftech or sometimes just minimal, is a subgenre of house music strongly influenced by minimalism and 1990s techno. History Microhouse has its roots in the minimal techno, bitpop (both developed in the early 1990s), and house (dev ...
*
Electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...


References


External links


31337 Records
– a minimal label from Berlin, Germany.
Stereo For Two
– a minimal label from Antwerp, Belgium. {{DEFAULTSORT:Minimal Techno Techno genres
Techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...