| Minimal techno | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Early 1990s,Detroit, United States andBerlin, Germany |
| Fusion genres | |
Minimal techno is a subgenre oftechno music.[1] It is characterized by a stripped-down[2] aesthetic that exploits the use of repetition and understated development. Minimal techno is thought to have been originally developed in the early 1990s byDetroit-based producersRobert Hood andDaniel Bell.[3][4]
By the early 2000s the term "minimal" generally described a style of techno that was popularized in Germany by labels such asKompakt,Perlon, andRichie Hawtin'sM-nus, among others.
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 withDetroit techno. According toDerrick 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".[5] This younger generation included producers such asRichie Hawtin,Daniel Bell,Robert Hood,Jeff Mills,Carl Craig,Kenny Larkin, andMike 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 ofgabber. Such trends saw the demise of thesoul-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 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."[4]
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 funkygrooves 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."[6] Daniel Bell has commented that he had a dislike for minimalism in the artistic sense of the word, finding it too "arty".[4]
InAudio Culture: Readings in Modern Music (2004), music journalistPhilip Sherburne states that, like most contemporary electronic dance music, minimal techno has its roots in the landmark works of pioneers such asKraftwerk andDetroit techno'sDerrick May andJuan Atkins. Minimal techno focuses on "rhythm and repetition instead of melody andlinear progression", much like classicalminimalist music and thepolyrhythmicAfrican musical tradition that helped to inspire it.[7] By 1994, according to Sherburne, the term "minimal" was in use to describe "any stripped-down, Acidic derivative of classic Detroit style".[8]
Los Angeles-based writer Daniel Chamberlin attributes the origin of minimal techno to the German producersBasic Channel.[9] Chamberlin draws parallels between the productions by Richie Hawtin,Wolfgang Voigt, andSurgeon withphase music techniques used by American minimalist composerSteve Reich. Chamberlin also sees the use ofsine tonedrones by minimalist composerLa Monte Young and the repetitive patterns of "In C" by minimalist composerTerry Riley as other influences.[10] Sherburne has suggested that the noted similarities between minimal forms of dance music andAmerican minimalism could easily be accidental. He also notes that much of the music technology used inelectronic dance music was traditionally designed to suitloop-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.[11]
Philip Sherburne proposes that minimal techno uses two specific stylistic approaches:skeletalism andmassification.[12] 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 inclub music, but is becoming increasingly heard in popular music.[13] 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'".[11]
The average tempo of a minimal techno track is between 125 and 130beats per minute.Richie Hawtin suggests 128 bpm as the perfect tempo.[citation needed] In the early minimal techno scene, most tracks were constructed around aRoland TR-808 orRoland TR-909drum machine. Both are still often used on today's minimal techno tracks. In contrast tominimal house, minimal techno is less afrocentric and focuses more on middle frequencies rather than deep basses.
Many projects in other locations, such as those ofRegis in the UK,Basic Channel in Berlin andMika Vainio in Finland, have also made significant contributions to minimal techno.
In recent years[when?], the genre has been heavily influenced by themicrohouse 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,[14] Germany,[15] 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 whenKylie Minogue employed the sound on her number-one hit "Slow", while in years to come the work of M.A.N.D.Y. andBooka Shade would be sampled bywill.i.am.[16]
Record labels specializing in minimal techno are [a:rpia:r],Traum Schallplatten,BPitch Control,Cocoon Recordings,Kompakt,[15]Perlon, Clink,Plus 8, andSähkö Recordings, among others.