Minimal techno
Encyclopedia
Minimal techno is a minimalist
sub-genre of techno
. It is characterized by a stripped-down aesthetic that exploits the use of repetition, and understated development. This style of dance music production generally adheres to the motto less is more; a principle that has been previously utilized, to great effect, in architecture
, design
, visual art, and Western art music. Minimal techno is thought to have been originally developed in the early 1990s by Detroit based producers Robert Hood
and Daniel Bell
, although what is currently referred to as 'minimal' has largely been developed in Germany during the 2000s, and made very popular in the second half of the decade by labels such as Kompakt
and M-nus.
and critic
Philip Sherburne, asserts that minimal techno uses two specific stylistic approaches, one being skeletalism, and the other massification. 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
are not only found in club music, but becoming more commonly heard in popular music. Regardless of the style, "minimal Techno corkscrews into the very heart of repetition" so cerebrally as to often inspire descriptions like 'spartan', 'clinical', 'mathematical', and 'scientific'."
The minimal techno producer Daniel Bell has commented that he had a dislike for minimalism in the artistic sense of the word, finding it too "arty". 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
. Such trends saw the demise of the soul
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 has been lost. Hood states that "it sounded great from a production standpoint, but there was a 'jack' element in the [old] structure. 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."
and Detroit Techno
's Derrick May
and Juan Atkins
. Minimal techno focuses on "rhythm and repetition instead of melody and linear progression
", much like classical minimalist music
and the polyrhythmic African musical tradition
that helped 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
based writer Daniel Chamberlin, attributes the origin of minimal techno to the German producers Basic Channel
and in doing so fails to credit the contributions of Robert Hood
or mention the influence of Hood, and other members of Underground Resistance
, on the Berlin techno scene of the early 1990s (the scene out of which Basic Channel emerged). Chamberlin draws parallels between the compositional techniques used by producers such as Richie Hawtin
, Wolfgang Voigt
, and Surgeon
and that of American minimalist composer Steve Reich
, in particular the pattern phasing system Reich employs in many of his works; the earliest being "Come Out". Chamberlin also sees the use of sine tone drones by minimalist composer La Monte Young
and the repetitive patterns of Terry Riley's
"In C
" 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 EDM has traditionally been designed to suit loop based compositional methods, which may explain why certain stylistic features of minimal techno sound similar to works of Reich's that employ loops and pattern phasing techniques.
genre. 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 Germany, Japan, France, Belgium, South Africa, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Ireland and the UK with DJs from a wide variety of genres incorporating differing elements of its tones, the famed after-hours club DC10
in Ibiza
being one exponent of the genre.
By the second half of 2006, the term 'minimal' had in many ways become contradictory, as it serves as a denominator for the tech house
sounds of the moment, many of which should rather be coined as 'maximal' in terms of their sonic content, in contrast to the original stripped down, i.e. minimalist electronic genre.
Some record label
s specializing in minimal techno are Traum Schallplatten
, BPitch Control
, Cocoon Recordings
, Kompakt
, Perlon
, Clink, Plus8
, Sähkö Recordings
.
Minimalist music
Minimal music is a style of music associated with the work of American composers La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. It originated in the New York Downtown scene of the 1960s and was initially viewed as a form of experimental music called the New York Hypnotic School....
sub-genre of techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
. It is characterized by a stripped-down aesthetic that exploits the use of repetition, and understated development. This style of dance music production generally adheres to the motto less is more; a principle that has been previously utilized, to great effect, in architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
, visual art, and Western art music. Minimal techno is thought to have been originally developed in the early 1990s by Detroit based producers Robert Hood
Robert Hood
Robert Hood is an American electronic music producer and DJ. He is a founding member of group Underground Resistance as a 'Minister Of Information' with Mad Mike Banks & Jeff Mills. He is often considered to be one of the founders of minimal techno....
and Daniel Bell
Daniel Bell (musician)
Daniel Bell is an American minimal techno DJ. He was born in Sacramento, California, but grew up outside of Toronto, Canada, and later moved to Detroit where he collaborated with Richie Hawtin as Cybersonik for three years on Plus 8 records...
, although what is currently referred to as 'minimal' has largely been developed in Germany during the 2000s, and made very popular in the second half of the decade by labels such as Kompakt
Kompakt
Kompakt is a Cologne-based electronic music 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 their Total compilation series which reached its eleventh installment in 2010.Kompakt...
and M-nus.
Style
In an essay published in the book Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music (2004), music journalistJournalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
Philip Sherburne, asserts that minimal techno uses two specific stylistic approaches, one being skeletalism, and the other massification. 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
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
and techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
are not only found in club music, but becoming more commonly heard in popular music. Regardless of the style, "minimal Techno corkscrews into the very heart of repetition" so cerebrally as to often inspire descriptions like 'spartan', 'clinical', 'mathematical', and 'scientific'."
The minimal techno producer Daniel Bell has commented that he had a dislike for minimalism in the artistic sense of the word, finding it too "arty". Robert Hood describes the situation in the early 1990s as one where techno had become too "ravey"
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
, with increasing tempos leading to the emergence of gabber
Gabber
Gabber , is a style of electronic music and a subgenre of hardcore techno. "Gabber" is a slang word of Yiddish origin that means "mate", "buddy" or "friend"....
. Such trends saw the demise of the soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
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 has been lost. Hood states that "it sounded great from a production standpoint, but there was a 'jack' element in the [old] structure. 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."
Origins
In his essay Digital Discipline: Minimalism in House and Techno Philip Sherburne also proposes what the origins of Minimal techno might be. Sherburne states that, like most contemporary electronic dance music, minimal techno has its roots in the landmark works of pioneers such as KraftwerkKraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
and Detroit Techno
Detroit techno
Detroit techno is an early style of electronic music beginning in the 1980s. Detroit, Michigan has been cited as the birthplace of techno music. Prominent Detroit Techno artists include Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson...
's Derrick May
Derrick May
Derrick May, also known as Mayday and Rhythim is Rhythim, is an electronic musician from Belleville, Michigan U.S.A. He was born an only child in Detroit in 1963 and began to explore electronic music early in his life...
and Juan Atkins
Juan Atkins
Juan Atkins is an American musician. He is widely credited as the originator of techno music, specifically Detroit techno along with Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson...
. Minimal techno focuses on "rhythm and repetition instead of melody and linear progression
Linear progression
In music, a linear progression is a passing note elaboration involving stepwise melodic motion in one direction between two harmonic tones. For example: -- over the tonic...
", much like classical minimalist music
Minimalist music
Minimal music is a style of music associated with the work of American composers La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. It originated in the New York Downtown scene of the 1960s and was initially viewed as a form of experimental music called the New York Hypnotic School....
and the polyrhythmic African musical tradition
Music of Africa
Africa is a vast continent and its regions and nations have distinct musical traditions. The music of North Africa for the most part has a different history from sub-Saharan African music traditions....
that helped 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 Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
based writer Daniel Chamberlin, attributes the origin of minimal techno to the German producers Basic Channel
Basic Channel
Basic Channel is a production team and record label, composed of Moritz Von Oswald and Mark Ernestus, that originated in Berlin, Germany in 1993. The duo released a number of vinyl-only tracks under various aliases, each of which employed their signature brand of dissonant dub techno...
and in doing so fails to credit the contributions of Robert Hood
Robert Hood
Robert Hood is an American electronic music producer and DJ. He is a founding member of group Underground Resistance as a 'Minister Of Information' with Mad Mike Banks & Jeff Mills. He is often considered to be one of the founders of minimal techno....
or mention the influence of Hood, and other members of Underground Resistance
Underground Resistance
Underground Resistance is a musical collective from Detroit, Michigan, in the United States of America. They are the most militantly political example of modern Detroit Techno, with a grungy, four-track musical aesthetic and a strictly anti-mainstream business strategy...
, on the Berlin techno scene of the early 1990s (the scene out of which Basic Channel emerged). Chamberlin draws parallels between the compositional techniques used by producers such as Richie Hawtin
Richie Hawtin
Richard Hawtin is an English-Canadian electronic musician and DJ who was an influential part of Detroit techno's second wave of artists in the early 1990s and a leading exponent of Minimal techno since the mid 1990s...
, Wolfgang Voigt
Wolfgang Voigt
Wolfgang Voigt is an electronic music artist from Cologne, Germany, known for his output under various aliases on a plethora of record labels, including Warp, Harvest, Raster-Noton and Force Inc...
, and Surgeon
Surgeon (musician)
Surgeon is the pseudonym of Anthony Child, an English electronic musician and DJ. Child releases music on his own labels Counterbalance and Dynamic Tension. Established imprints, such as Tresor, Soma, and Harthouse, have also released Surgeon's original material and remixes...
and that of American minimalist composer Steve Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
, in particular the pattern phasing system Reich employs in many of his works; the earliest being "Come Out". Chamberlin also sees the use of sine tone drones by minimalist composer La Monte Young
La Monte Young
La Monte Thornton Young is an American avant-garde composer, musician, and artist.Young is generally recognized as the first minimalist composer. His works have been included among the most important and radical post-World War II avant-garde, experimental, and contemporary music. Young is...
and the repetitive patterns of Terry Riley's
Terry Riley
Terrence Mitchell Riley, is an American composer intrinsically associated with the minimalist school of Western classical music and was a pioneer of the movement...
"In C
In C
In C is a semi-aleatoric musical piece composed by Terry Riley in 1964 for any number of people, although he suggests "a group of about 35 is desired if possible but smaller or larger groups will work"...
" as other influences. Sherburne has suggested that the noted similarities between minimal forms of dance music and American minimalism
Minimalist music
Minimal music is a style of music associated with the work of American composers La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. It originated in the New York Downtown scene of the 1960s and was initially viewed as a form of experimental music called the New York Hypnotic School....
could easily be accidental; he also notes that much of the music technology used in EDM has traditionally been designed to suit loop based compositional methods, which may explain why certain stylistic features of minimal techno sound similar to works of Reich's that employ loops and pattern phasing techniques.
Development
In recent years, the genre has taken great influence from, to the point of merging with the microhouseMicrohouse
Microhouse, buftech or sometimes just minimal, is a subgenre of house and glitch music.-History:Microhouse has its roots in the minimal techno, glitch , and house genres of music. Its first echoes appeared in a glitch album by German experimental artist Oval, in 1993...
genre. 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 Germany, Japan, France, Belgium, South Africa, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Ireland and the UK with DJs from a wide variety of genres incorporating differing elements of its tones, the famed after-hours club DC10
DC10 (nightclub)
DC10 is a nightclub on the island of Ibiza in the Mediterranean. It is located in a converted finca off the end of the airport runway on the South-East side of the island. Located in a former airplane hangar, the covered terrace nightclub holds 1,500 revelers....
in Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
being one exponent of the genre.
By the second half of 2006, the term 'minimal' had in many ways become contradictory, as it serves as a denominator for the tech house
Tech house
Tech house is a subgenre of house music that mixes elements of minimal techno into simple, 4-to-4 beats found in soulful deep house. The genre came to prominence in the late-1990s atmosphere of American clubs as soul influenced Detroit-style techno that also borrowed elements from house before...
sounds of the moment, many of which should rather be coined as 'maximal' in terms of their sonic content, in contrast to the original stripped down, i.e. minimalist electronic genre.
Artists and labels
Notable artists include:- Gui BorattoGui BorattoGui Boratto is a Brazilian electronic music producer. In the 1990s he was a member of Sect.His album Chromophobia was awarded the title of Mixmag Album of the Month. Regarding why he chose the name Chromophobia, Boratto said: "The same meaning as monochromatism in architecture, which means...
- Extrawelt
- Pantha du PrincePantha du PrinceHendrik Weber, better known as Pantha du Prince, Panthel and Glühen 4 is a German electronic music producer and DJ affiliated with Hamburg's Dial music label and British label Rough Trade.-Career:...
- Daniel BellDaniel Bell (musician)Daniel Bell is an American minimal techno DJ. He was born in Sacramento, California, but grew up outside of Toronto, Canada, and later moved to Detroit where he collaborated with Richie Hawtin as Cybersonik for three years on Plus 8 records...
- Richie HawtinRichie HawtinRichard Hawtin is an English-Canadian electronic musician and DJ who was an influential part of Detroit techno's second wave of artists in the early 1990s and a leading exponent of Minimal techno since the mid 1990s...
- Ricardo VillalobosRicardo VillalobosRicardo Villalobos is a Chilean-German electronic music producer and DJ. He is well-known for his work in the minimal techno and microhouse genres, and is one of the most significant figures in today's minimal techno scene....
- Jeff MillsJeff MillsJeff Mills is an American techno DJ and producer.-Career:Starting in the early 1980s, Mills, using the name "The Wizard", was a recurring guest DJ on "The Electrifying Mojo" radio show on WJLB...
- Robert HoodRobert HoodRobert Hood is an American electronic music producer and DJ. He is a founding member of group Underground Resistance as a 'Minister Of Information' with Mad Mike Banks & Jeff Mills. He is often considered to be one of the founders of minimal techno....
- Stewart WalkerStewart WalkerStewart Walker is a US born electronic music producer who lives and works in Berlin. Walker's forté is live performance, a rarity in the world of beat-driven electronic music, and he is known for contributing to the development of minimal techno with his 1999 album Stabiles.Walker played at the...
- Paul KalkbrennerPaul KalkbrennerPaul Kalkbrenner is a German electronic musician and actor from Berlin.-History:As of 2010, Paul Kalkbrenner has tallied up more than 15 years of experience as a producer and live act...
- TrentemøllerTrentemøllerAnders Trentemøller is a Danish electronic music producer and multi-instrumentalist based in Copenhagen, Denmark.-History:...
- Claude VonStrokeClaude VonStrokeClaude VonStroke is an American house and techno producer based in San Francisco. He owns the Dirtybird and Mothership labels. In July 2006 he released his debut album, Beware of the Bird, which received excellent reviews. He has produced a 'Fabric' mix, which was released in May 2009, and has also...
- Oval
- Moritz Von OswaldMoritz Von OswaldMoritz von Oswald , half of both Basic Channel and Maurizio, went on to become one of the most influential producers of techno music in the 1990s. In the 1980s he was percussionist for Palais Schaumburg and The Associates, but would segue into electronic music by the late 80s and early 90s...
- Baby FordBaby FordPeter Ford, better known as Baby Ford, is a British electronic music record producer, known particularly for his contributions to the birth of acid house...
- MinilogueMinilogueMinilogue is a Swedish Progressive House/Techno music group of Sebastian Mullaert and Marcus Henriksson. The name is a portmanteau of minimal and dialogue, which refers to music as a form of communication....
- Ellen AllienEllen AllienEllen Allien, born Ellen Fraatz , is a German electronic musician, music producer and founder of BPitch Control music label. She lives in Berlin, Germany. She sings in both German and English. She has said that one of the main inspirations for her music is the culture of reunified Berlin; her...
- Loco DiceLoco DiceLoco Dice is a German DJ and electronic music producer born and based in Düsseldorf. His family is from Tunisia, Loco Dice started his career as Hip-Hop DJ and rapper, playing support slots to performers like Usher, Ice Cube, Jamiroquai, Snoop Dog and R. Kelly. He has released records on labels...
- Umek
- Adam BeyerAdam BeyerAdam Beyer is a Swedish techno producer and DJ. He is the founder of Drumcode Records, Truesoul Records, Code Red and Mad Eye Recordings...
- Chris LiebingChris LiebingChris Liebing is dj, producer, radio host of a weekly show and the driving force behind the labels CLR and Spinclub Recordings. His sound has continuously evolved during his dj career, always true to his Techno roots. He was one of the first djs that used the new possibilities in the course of the...
- Cari LekebuschCari LekebuschCari Lekebusch is an electronic music producer and DJ based in Stockholm. His productions range from techno to hip hop. He owns a record label, H. Productions, founded and managed by himself...
Some record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s specializing in minimal techno are Traum Schallplatten
Traum Schallplatten
Traum Schallplatten is a Cologne-based minimal techno record label run by Jacqueline Reinhold and Riley Reinhold...
, BPitch Control
BPitch Control
BPitch Control is a German techno record label founded in 1999 in Berlin by DJ and producer Ellen Allien. In 1992 she became resident DJ at the legendary Tresor club in Berlin's Potsdamer Platz...
, Cocoon Recordings
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....
, Kompakt
Kompakt
Kompakt is a Cologne-based electronic music 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 their Total compilation series which reached its eleventh installment in 2010.Kompakt...
, Perlon
Perlon
Perlon is an electronic music record label founded in Frankfurt, Germany, based in Berlin, and run by Zip and Markus Nikolai. It is a minimal techno and microhouse label whose sound features vocals and crispy sounds. Producers such as Ricardo Villalobos, Baby Ford, Stefan Goldmann, Luciano, Matt...
, Clink, Plus8
Plus 8
Plus 8 is a Canadian techno record label, based in Windsor, Ontario and founded in 1990 by DJs Richie Hawtin and John Acquaviva. Initial releases were by the pair themselves and their friends using aliases such as States of Mind and Cybersonik, along with other Detroit-based musicians such as...
, Sähkö Recordings
Sähkö Recordings
Sähkö Recordings is a record label in Turku, Finland. Sähkö was founded by Tommi Grönlund in 1993. The label gained international acclaim by its minimalist electronic releases. Sähkö Recordings has also such sublabels as Puu, Keys of Life and Jazzpuu. On Sähkö and its sublabels have released...
.
External links
- - shoutcast.com minimal directory – an online directory of minimal web radios.
- - minimalstation.de – an online non-commercial webradio project specialized in minimal techno.
- - dance production information – resource for modern techniques.
- - digitally imported minimal radio – one of the most listened to radio on the web.
- - uzic.ch :: techno-minimal – underground minimal radio from Switzerland