techno isnt about the past, its about the future

[tone-def]

this is a quote by tomasjaldemark.

as techno heads that's something we all like to think. in the 1980's it really was futuristic, nobody would argue with that but is still about the future in 2010? could it be that the future turned into the present and eventually the past?

i'd like to make some points that support this theory...

there seems to be a 1990's revival going on at the moment. seems a little strange for something that's about the future don't you think? everyone wants to make that dub techno that sounded so fresh in the 90's, or that 90's deep house sound that sampled the 70's, or dark and mood Berghain techno... whatever it is i don't see any innovation and things seem to be going backwards.

now lets talk about how techno is made. everyone wants a TR-909, TR-808, TB-303, SH-101, stuff that roland discontinued over 20 years ago! then there's the old digital synths and samplers some techno people like to use. some of these things have the worst user interfaces you will ever come across. if your lucky enough to find them in a non techno studio, they're most like in a storage cupboard or being used as a doorstop. the modern software gets a hard time because it sounds different. it's too clean, sterile and cold... like the future maybe?

now listen to the modern RnB & pop music that dominates the top 40. we have autotuned vocals that make everyone sound like a robot, synths and drum machines. apparently one of Lady Gaga tracks has the hoover noise in it and Black Eyed Peas and a few others are talking about 808's.

what do you think?

[5meohd]

rottun records is one of the few labels making the sounds of the present's future.

but then you'll say its "lame" dubstep.

I'm all ears for a hybrid of the past, present & future.

Which what I personally feel from guys like Trentemoller or Boris Brejcha.

[oblioblioblio]

i think "techno is the future" isn't about the structure of the music (though is related somewhat to use of machinary)

i think it describes the peculiar mixture of events in 80s 90s. Many things came together and snowballed and eventually crashed into peices. The drugs, the venues, the music, the spirit of everything.

In some ways the music was never about the future. The foundation of it was an ancient tradition of repeating rhythms. Music always uses machines that are based in technology, and with the right musician, and a listener paying attention, it can sound beyond the normal boundaries of human experience. It is always like this.

I think you just gotta do your thing. Make music with feeling. Apparantly we only perceive time due to gravity anyways.

[tone-def]

rottun records is one of the few labels making the sounds of the present's future.

but then you'll say its "lame" dubstep.

it's funny you should say that because it's nothing new to the UK. this stuff has been everywhere and it's considered generic in dubstep. i guess the wobbles will be to dubstep what acid is to house and techno.

anyway lets not talk about dubstep for now, this is more about techno.

[AK]

I have only been into Techno for a relatively short period of time so anything that might be in 'fashion' or whatever isnt really applicable to me. My own take on it though, is not so much about it being some form of 'future retroism', as a form of 'retro futurism'. By that I mean the instruments described at the start of the thread are, by all accounts, arbitrary. They are just instruments and are not directly responsible for the 'age' of a track. They just happen to be good analog gear that has proven worthy time and time again.

So using old gear is fine in my book, it can be used in combination with modern gear which keeps things fresh. Anyway, I dislike the term, 'futuristic', I feel the term 'forward thinking' is more where I want to be.

[s.k.]

funny i was thinking about that thomas jaldemark quote too... techno IS about the future, period. but he also said "sample it" - and thats definitely about the past.

[coldfuture]

I agree with this thread in general, I do think techno is taking a step back... and I do agree that most of it is unhealthy.

On a personal level, however, I am all for it.

Perhaps for some people it represents a 90's revival, and I can totally see that as I myself am returning to some of the ideas and sounds I was fascinated by in the 90's.

As to having some nostalgic ideas, yes, they are also there... but I think in the 90's I was a lot more focused on machine sounds and some sort of cybernetic future.

I have not been so thru most of the new millennium, what with the instant ableton to beatport phenomenon.

I think as everything went digital the small fry like me stopped thinking about Blade Runner and started thinking a lot about having a slick t-shirt, tight pants and being famous... this was stuff I never thought about before Richie grew his comb-over and started working for Native Instruments and peddling plastic DJ products.

So, in every way, I consider my giant rewind to the moment when I was thinking clearly about machine music a good thing.

I might be cliche in my approach (I am one of these 909/303/hardware guys), but I am thinking of wormholes and Arrakis, Spiceworms, Dune, cyborgs, aliens, and scary mind control conspiracies again... and this is right where I need to be.

And ironically, since I made this big recoil, without dropping any names I will just say that my recent output finally got some positive feedback from some of my biggest influences in this thing called techno.

i am very happy to be back imagining the future.

[djd_oz]

Good thread, techno is a music genre dominated by machines (either new or old), it has elements such as a driving kick, 4/4 beat etc ... Just like any other music genre, there are some core components in it. If you take away those components, it would no longer be techno. However, I am more interested in how people can be more creative and morphing this genre with new sounds, techniques, equipment etc ... available today to integrate and blend this into something new and interesting.

It is the same with any music genre. If it doesn't evolve it becomes stagnant and it gets boring.

However, I do think the sound from the Roland gear mentioned before have been done to death. Techno needs something fresh.