Pop techno!?!

As everyone knows 'techno' is getting more and popular in the UK clubs. I've taken alot of time out to listen to the more commercial UK DJs and what precisely style of techno they play. Not cause I want to play it myself (duh!), but because it's good to know what's going on around you. That way you can explore other avenues.

And I think I've figured it out. Obviously it's always 4/4 stuff but it seems to ALWAYS have a main sound in, ALWAYS have a breakdown and ALWAYS have some tribely conga type patterns in there. They're definitely not going for the acid techno, anything too hard (a la Wilson etc) or anything too dark (Regis/Surgeon etc).

Just wondering what other people's thought on this are. What are you seeing as becoming this whole new 'pop techno' thing that's infiltrating the trance clubs? What are the commercial jocks playing and what are they not playing.

I heard this Eddie Halliwell geezer on the Essential Mix and again, he was opting for all this sound based techno.

Let's not turn this into a commercial DJ slagging match but instead let's use it to learn a bit about what's really going on out there and what the available options are for those who what to take techno forward. :wink:

I would agree, totally. Marco bailey stuff is very populer wi mainstream djs. As it mostly has a familier sound in it. Not to complicated.

Ah heard judge jules over a year ago now, and he played 2 or 3 bailey tracks.

In mainstream clubs they wouldn't get away with playing glenn wilson kinda stuff, as it doesnt have any catchy kinda riffs or hooks imo. Or not catchy in the kinda way they would want.

A lot of stuff gettin played by mainstream djs are also kinda trancey in a way, with an uplifting vibe too it.

I suppose it at least makes the word "Techno" in itself less of a dirty word, even if the trax that are being played only represent one kind of sound....

I'd deffinantly agree that all the mainstream dj's are going for the tribaly/bongo sound. Fergie plays lots of this.

Baily, redhead and others are the main culprits. But i have recently come to the conclusion, they are playing it because the crowds like it. They certainly aint playing the kinda techno that i play, nor would they ever, so let them. they are making the word techno into a club friendly word instead of a dirty word.

Jules played a Player record the other day. I think this label is turning out some exceedingly poppy techno, with the latest player using the eminem vocal. I agree its very catchy but that record will be caned all over clubland.

just mentioned that in the ig.. tech post ****in eminem he gets bloody everywhere..

i like what u said about giving techno a friendlier image think that is a positive step... i don't really know enough on the issue tbh, been a long time since i went to a mainstream club nite... GK are shamlessly promoting the "techno" banner and i have seen a few other club do the same.... it will be interesting to see how far the flag flys.......

whats happening in the way of techno at global gathering this year, that must have the potential to influence a fair few people....

atomic jam has become the "global" tent or summit hasn't it? is that promting itself as a techno arena?

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Originally Posted by ampassasinbirmingham

I'd deffinantly agree that all the

Baily, redhead and others are the main culprits. e .

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I would agree with with what you all have said but the problem is that 2/3 years ago us techno heads were whinging about the fact we werent getting recognition from the mainstream or even better slagging off people for NOT liking techno. Now its 'popular' people cant swallow it.

This 'poppy' techno that you talk about was around last year and the year before. Its retarded that the same people who complained about it NOT getting recognition and pissed of that its in the public eye at last..

Tough titty. I'm no fan off jules or fergie. But how else can youngsters discover regis/glenn wilson/blackout audio etc without using these guys as some sort of a gateway. Were hardly a good advertisment with all our bitching and moaning etc. If this 'popular' techno inspires some kid to ditch his Lasgo records for some Intec tunes then i'm all for it. Dont tell me that the day after you dropped your first 'yoke' you woke up and your head was suddenly filled with buckets of techno knowledge and you knew what tunes to play!!!

At the end of the day the muppets will give JJ and Fergie a raptourus applause if they drop their cacks on stage and take a dump on the decks. but.... some of them will be drawn to what techno is really about and add new blood to the scene.


example-> a spiky haired glowstick merchant JJ fan goes to one of his gigs or hears one of his sets-> he eventually find out the name of that 'killer' track , it's a 'player' record -> he visits the player website -> 'player' have a top ten section on the site > two glen wilson tracks are on it -> Next time he's in a record shop he picks up some wilson track on compound -> he ditches the glowstick fetish and becoms a moany old **** like the rest of us!!!!!!!!!!

Cheer up!!!!
Steve

no no no... i really didn't want this to become an arguement about commercial/underground. whether it's good or bad etc etc. we've been here before in lots of other topics on this board. please read my first post guys.

i just want us to look into what they're playing and the type of techno they're going for and why. that's all.

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Originally Posted by MARK EG

no no no... i really didn't want this to become an arguement about commercial/underground. whether it's good or bad etc etc. we've been here before in lots of other topics on this board. please read my first post guys.

i just want us to look into what they're playing and the type of techno they're going for and why. that's all.

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I'm not starting an argument!!!! I'm not picking on anyone!!Its not about commercial vs the underground. But its obvious that they are going to to pick stuff which has 'clubbier' elements in their tracks. Obviuos basslines, obviuos riffs... and probabaly the most important.. really shiny production.

BUT! maybe they will ditch bailey and the likes when the nu-breed of commercial techno producers come through. Trance/hard house tec producers are leaning towards the 'tech' sound at the moment and maybe jules will start picking from these guys shortly???

sorry man, i wasn't having a go.. i just really want to keep this on topic if i can...

anyway, yeah good point.

i think we'll find a whole load of producers coming from the 'trancey' thing making more comemrcially acceptable dancefloor techno.

these guys will already have in-roads to getting their stuff heard by Radio 1 DJ's and so this stuff will surely be their focus.

yeah i can see them taking the 'sound' aspect of techno to new extremes.

you know i was listening to the drum parts of fergie's techno on the radio the other day and even though i'd certainly dance to it and enjoy it in a club over a nice beer and good company, i thought to myself 'god there SO MUCH more better percussion in techno out there than this.)

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Originally Posted by MARK EG

ke, i thought to myself 'god there SO MUCH more better percussion in techno out there than this.)

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yeah... but techno has been very very percussive for the last few years and 'maybe' a change is needed. I love melodies (dark ones) and am sort of glad that they are creeping back into techno... but then again

.. jules etc will always play tunes that STAND OUT like a sore thumb because thats the nature of their mixing and performance. They could never chop and cut up two percussive monsters. its usually just straight in and out as far as their deck skills go and they couldnt make a repetive techno track work in a club by playing it from start to finish...

Judge Jules - Plays Records
Massplanck et al - Plays WITH records!!

[quote="massplanck"]

.. jules etc will always play tunes that STAND OUT like a sore thumb because thats the nature of their mixing and performance. They could never chop and cut up two percussive monsters. its usually just straight in and out as far as their deck skills go and they couldnt make a repetive techno track work in a club by playing it from start to finish...

I'd go with this alright, i've heard a few big name DJ's play techno and they definitely play techno the same way they'd put together hardhouse or trance records. I have noticed though that many of the more well known techno producers have bought into this too much as well- Bailey and Varela are putting breakdowns twice as long as they used to be in their tracks, Hardcell is beginning to sound like Technasia, Beyer and Henrik B's productions sound far less "Underground" than they used to... I think the popularity of techno has its pros and cons but personally I feel too many of these producers are compromising their style to buy into a piece of the Prime pie!

It really doesnt bother me at all tbh, cause techno is never gonna reach the hights trance did imo. Inturn not gettin as much of a raping.

But the way i see it, is that the real producers who strive to move on, will work harder on having a more unique, intelligent, underground sound. Because of the ever expandin popularity of techno.

For me personally, i have a mate, who tends to follow me into whatever style i go into, tune buying wise. And this just pushes me to find records more unique as i hate being the same as peeps.

And i see the same happening with dj/producers in techno, as more peeps either copy there sound or go more commercial, it will push others harder to make/play good tech.

I can only see good things coming out of this surge in popularity in tech.

Its not as if drummer and co are gonna sell out are they lmao.

There's talk here of "sounds" techno and personally I quite like the odd stand out sound to get my head around.

I haven't actually heard many of the mainstream dj's that are now playing techno in their sets, and it would piss me off if I did as I hate the bandwagonning aspect of it. But as has been rightly pointed out it's unlikely that people are instant techno lovers. This develops over time. Even those of us here are still developing our tastes as has been mentioned in this thread.

If it wasn't a genre crossing thing would it be as bad. My first taste in techno was for hard stuff, and only hard stuff, but I've developed a taste for other styles of techno... so am I bandwagon jumping? I don't think so.

I'd be interested to hear some examples of the tracks being played by JJ etc, as I find it quite odd to hear some of the names who get "slagged" here. I like a bit of Marco Bailey stuff in my sets. Along with the occasional Picotto tune, and some of these more "obvious" type tunes. I find that when I'm out in clubs I don't always want to be stroking my chin and nodding about an amazing production technique. If it makes me dance I'm up for it.

That's not to say I don't want to here "big" tracks all night either. Like everything a good balance keeps things interesting.

To get back to the point though, I think it's quite a good thing if techno's creeping into the mainstream, as long as it stays at the fringes. I don't want it to backfire, and all the "real" techno producers start making tracks so far up their own arse it is actually a turd by the time it comes out. And all in the name of "keeping it real".

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Originally Posted by Sunil

... I think the popularity of techno has its pros and cons but personally I feel too many of these producers are compromising their style to buy into a piece of the Prime pie!

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Totally, man...

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Originally Posted by daviec

I don't want it to backfire, and all the "real" techno producers start making tracks so far up their own arse it is actually a turd by the time it comes out. And all in the name of "keeping it real".

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I don't think anyone who makes trax, would make stuff wierd just to stay underground, I think if you're making trax, primarily you're doing it for your own enjoyment, so you're gonna make what you like, and if anyone else likes it then thats a bonus... Also it's cool to be able to make a living, but if you compramise yourself so much, making more commercial trax just so Judge Jules is playing it, you might as well give up and go and work in the stock exchange....

But like I said before, it's good that techno isn't a dirty word anymore.....

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Originally Posted by crime

I don't think anyone who makes trax, would make stuff wierd just to stay underground, I think if you're making trax, primarily you're doing it for your own enjoyment, so you're gonna make what you like, and if anyone else likes it then thats a bonus... Also it's cool to be able to make a living, but if you compramise yourself so much, making more commercial trax just so Judge Jules is playing it, you might as well give up and go and work in the stock exchange....

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I'd like to think folk wouldn't make "weird" just to stay underground, but surely if some people are commercialising their music, then the opposite can be true. Others may take the opposite approach and distance themselves from anything which appears too accessible. Or they may simply fear being labelled a sell out, and overcompensate when trying to make sure this doesn't happen.

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Originally Posted by crime

But like I said before, it's good that techno isn't a dirty word anymore.....

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Totally. :D

Ideally techno bods will go on producing stuff they like, and some of that stuff will crossover and be acceptable in non-techno sets, some will remain completely within the current boundaries of techno, and some of it will push those boundaries back with innovation.

I'm looking forward to it all. :D

i was gonna write precisely the same thing. it's good to be aware of what's happening out there and to be concious about not going down that root. at the end of spending a day in the studio, it's a powerful feeling listening back to a track and thinking that it's really unique. anything that helps you achieve that is worth doing...

Techno and its people are going in all sorts of directions at the moment. This fad with the bigger DJs is simply just a fad. Time will pass, and something new will come along.

Remember, its just techno...its not like its ever going to get real popular anyway. And if playing a couple of shit tracks to a new audience gets them to accept crazy techno like Downwards or Sheep, than so be it.

I personally don't think its worth worrying about.

On a funnier note, and a true story...an upcoming producer who is a good friend of mine found out that Fergie played his new EP on Radio 1, he got a hold of me and told me about it. I explained to him who this Fergie character was and he immediately was disgusted. He said he was going to write to him and ask him not to play his record anymore. I'm willing to bet my money that he actually wrote the email to him, thats his style.