indiemusik

Detroit Central Depot.

The world that is ‘techno music’ is a unique experience and one that I want to remember in my own goals- whether that is writing, or spinning music or making mixes or producing music. Techno music though, is only one representation of a challenge to hear new voices and express new ideas and communicate with an audience. I think it’s easier to look at the time and the place and the characters of the Detroit myth and to romanticize it, but at the same time this way of thinking about Detroit moves counter to the intent and the challenge presented to us by the creators. I think this romanticization happens more often in popular music and it ends with people treating music as a commodity.

I started listening to techno music because I identified with the aspect of underground music, music made to present a different voice than one of the mainstream. But techno music specifically because I think it describes so many of the thoughts and feelings that I have in an audible way where I feel that language fails me. I didn’t see the pretense in electronic dance music in the people that I knew that enjoyed it. Everyone that I knew that listened to techno music was a person on the level and I didn’t feel like there was that air of superiority, those cliche hipster record-collection and pop music trivia moments that spoiled indie rock. I decided to learn more about Detroit because I knew that it was one place in America that was strongly associated with techno music.

I wanted to know about the mythos surrounding Detroit techno. I had to find out what it was about this place that was so special. Where does this music come from? What were the circumstances of these producers and DJs that would lead them to create such radically different music? Techno music was probably a response to the dire economic circumstances in Detroit- gripped by White Flight like most American cities at the time. One particular anecdote makes a grand statement….in a blog post, Cliff Thomas lends his perspective as a Detroit musician:

“Detroit first off is one of the most racist areas in the US. Just like Berlin had the Berlin Wall Detroit has 8 Mile Road which granted isn’t exactly the same but it seems to hold the same function. On the other side of 8 Mile are the shiny white neighborhoods and all the money of the white community that abandoned the city after the ’67 riots and the black community has had it made clear to them over the years that if they cross 8 mile they’re going to have trouble from the police…. In a way it seems like a racial version of a cold war that has never stopped.”

Detroit in particular is one place where innovation still occurs. To this day, Detroit still suffers with poverty and crime. In spite of it all, Detroit is a city with a history of rich music culture and the musicians and artists of Detroit persevere through it all.

There will always be people that want to label and categorize music and art in a way that diminishes the value of it, and techno music is just the same. The rhetoric is very similar, it sounds like what you’ve heard before: who did what first, this place doesn’t get the credit it deserves, etc etc., and I think there will always be a voice like that. I want to make a contribution to the understanding of techno music, without adding to that narrative. I want to use this space to further my thoughts and ideas in whatever form they should take. In an interview with the Onion AV Club, Carl Craig deemphasizes the myth surrounding Detroit, “I look at it as being a part of me, but not the main part of me… I’m not so precious about Detroit techno. I’m precious about music.”

There’s more to say about Detroit and techno music- there is a video online with commentary about the city and the music from some influential musicians online which you should check out. Also I want to recommend the hurried style of Robert Hood’s Fabric 39 mix which you can stream online.

Recommended Viewing: Detroit Techno: The Creation of Detroit Techno(High Tech Soul)

Recommended Listening: Robert Hood – Fabric 39

Fabric 39 – Robert Hood – Stream at imeem.com

Battaglia, Andy. “Carl Craig | The AV Club”. The AV Club. 18th June 2008. http://www.avclub.com/content/interview/carl_craig

Thomas, Cliff. “Back to Detroit (part 4 of a 3 part series)”. mnml ssgs. 24th June 2008. http://mnmlssg.blogspot.com/2008/06/back-to-detroit-part-4-of-3-part-series.html

RA.117 Portable / Bodycode – 2008.08.25 – Portable Bodycode

I went back and listened to a podcast from Resident Advisor by Portable AKA Bodycode, also known as Alan Abrahams. He released this podcast with some unreleased material along with releases from Perlon, Spectral Sound and more. Here in this 60 minute podcast he has created a wonderfully colorful set that ebbs and flows into a natural progression of tech-house music.

His selection of soulful vocals combined with deep house sounds and rhythms is unbelievably moody and emotive. A flute solo flutters between notes as the break comes along, welcoming a moment of rest and respite. Soon the loops build up again, a short organ progression, a couple of percussive, metallic rhythms on top of a punchy bass drum. Although the bass never really deviates from the steady 4/4 gallop, the multiple syncopated bells, pipes and percussive noises afford plenty of different beats to focus on throughout the course of the set. A woman bursts in rapturous cries. More computer squelches and rhythmic, futuristic keys descend over a track. A filtered computer voice is cut up, skitters, and completes, looped over a dozen bars.

How Portable balances the entrances and exits of the loops, playing with tension and energy and mood over the set is a refreshing break from the endless, hypnotic looping of minimal that seemingly lacks any sort of direction.

I guess also I should note that the Resident Advisor podcast series updates every 10 days or so…it’s completely free and an easy way to get introduced to electronic dance music in general, but especially caters towards underground techno, house, disco.