Golden eras of techno...

Inspired by the other thread about if techno will ever be as interesting as 8 years ago, i thought it might be interesting to hear from people their differing perspectives on the high points over the years.. when ground was/is being broken and by whom... i know techno is all about the future blah blah but i'm in a nostalgic mood .. so here's mine..

1995 -1996/7

Club UK in wandsworth was on fire , with ALL the big techno guns from around the world playing alongside each other every friday night...

Green Velvet released "Leave my body" http://www.discogs.com/release/1616 and RELIEF records in general were churning out tonnes of stuff from GV and Paul Johnson among others which was to influence so many people..

Hard techno was blessed by Neil Landstrumm releasing his "Brown by August" LP that just bashed and boshed with the rawest and most untamed of energy, not forgetting his 3 classic ep's .. all on peacefrog

Mills began his 'purpose maker' label that spawned a whole wave of producers trying to imitate the 'tribal loopy sound'

Edingburgh's Sativae and Brighton's Mosquito labels were both firing on all cylinders.. putting out maverick hard, twisted, tricky techno that also spawned a scene and some would argue a sound that has never been bettered.. Mosquito was even running a regular night freekin the frame at 'the end' club in london

Druncode 001 was released following on from an ep on Planet rhythm which at the time, was also something new and exciting.. "yeah.. they're from sweden apparently!!" The rest.. we all know

DBX aka Dan Bell and XTrak aka Todd Sines had already released all their greatest works a year or two previously, but this was the time i discovered them, same with Planetary Assault systems (slater)

Dance Mania were doing it proper and without them, the music of a lot of people would sound very different today

Fat Cat record shop in London.. Tag, Chocis, Trax, Quaff.. You could go to soho and spend literally ALL day browsing in about 10 independent record shops catering for techno and house

London's squat party scene was in full flourish with mental parties in exciting venues, and wicked rigs with strong musical beliefs and spirit... Bedlam, Virus, Jiba, Immersion, Toe to Head... great times

The main thing though, was that it was all happening together and at once, there weren't the divides and snobbery that you get now... Jam and Spoon djing alongside Jeff Mills, Dave the Drummer and Si Begg both releasing on Eukatech
Buying a Paul Johnson record on relief, a Mode 4 record on Soma and a totally random record... like this: http://www.discogs.com/release/122174 (Which is a ****ING MONSTER by the way - I dare someone to buy it!) And there wouldn't be the : oh, that ones a chicago house record, thats detroit techno and thats european mental shit... it was ALL TECHNO

FORKLIFT
RED1 + 2
MAGNEZE
I could go on for ever.... but i won't, even though i know i've missed out loads

Everybody likes and feels different stuff, one person's golden age is another's hiatus

So when was the 'Golden era of techno' for you and why?

1996/97

was going out to a punk and ska club in dublin (fusion) - you'll remember it jerome (derek f was resident). at the time there was some techno getting played at the end of the night.

eventually more and more techno was creeping its way in - london acid city, neurodancer etc. all london acid and german stuff.

every saturday for 3 years you were guaranteed a club full of crusties and punks losing it to an hour or two of ska and punk followed by a local dj (usually derek or myself or some others) and then a fairly decent headline (liberators, henry, varella, carola)

good times.

music wise i was discovering the london sound, brain recordings, planet rhythm, drumcodes, red series etc

if i remember right my best times were 1999 - 2001/2 (i think)

going to subway city for hog and also the jam

seeing paul damage play last set 5-6 at hog and people standing there holding there ears because it was so fecking loud UNT harsh


good times!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wrong

Inspired by the other thread about if techno will ever be as interesting as 8 years ago, i thought it might be interesting to hear from people their differing perspectives on the high points over the years.. when ground was/is being broken and by whom... i know techno is all about the future blah blah but i'm in a nostalgic mood .. so here's mine..

1995 -1996/7

Club UK in wandsworth was on fire , with ALL the big techno guns from around the world playing alongside each other every friday night...

Green Velvet released "Leave my body" http://www.discogs.com/release/1616 and RELIEF records in general were churning out tonnes of stuff from GV and Paul Johnson among others which was to influence so many people..

Hard techno was blessed by Neil Landstrumm releasing his "Brown by August" LP that just bashed and boshed with the rawest and most untamed of energy, not forgetting his 3 classic ep's .. all on peacefrog

Mills began his 'purpose maker' label that spawned a whole wave of producers trying to imitate the 'tribal loopy sound'

Edingburgh's Sativae and Brighton's Mosquito labels were both firing on all cylinders.. putting out maverick hard, twisted, tricky techno that also spawned a scene and some would argue a sound that has never been bettered.. Mosquito was even running a regular night freekin the frame at 'the end' club in london

Druncode 001 was released following on from an ep on Planet rhythm which at the time, was also something new and exciting.. "yeah.. they're from sweden apparently!!" The rest.. we all know

DBX aka Dan Bell and XTrak aka Todd Sines had already released all their greatest works a year or two previously, but this was the time i discovered them, same with Planetary Assault systems (slater)

Dance Mania were doing it proper and without them, the music of a lot of people would sound very different today

Fat Cat record shop in London.. Tag, Chocis, Trax, Quaff.. You could go to soho and spend literally ALL day browsing in about 10 independent record shops catering for techno and house

London's squat party scene was in full flourish with mental parties in exciting venues, and wicked rigs with strong musical beliefs and spirit... Bedlam, Virus, Jiba, Immersion, Toe to Head... great times

The main thing though, was that it was all happening together and at once, there weren't the divides and snobbery that you get now... Jam and Spoon djing alongside Jeff Mills, Dave the Drummer and Si Begg both releasing on Eukatech
Buying a Paul Johnson record on relief, a Mode 4 record on Soma and a totally random record... like this: http://www.discogs.com/release/122174 (Which is a ****ING MONSTER by the way - I dare someone to buy it!) And there wouldn't be the : oh, that ones a chicago house record, thats detroit techno and thats european mental shit... it was ALL TECHNO

FORKLIFT
RED1 + 2
MAGNEZE
I could go on for ever.... but i won't, even though i know i've missed out loads

Everybody likes and feels different stuff, one person's golden age is another's hiatus

So when was the 'Golden era of techno' for you and why?

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MORE MORE MORE. Tell me more. I loves reading shit like this. :)

For me it was 97-2001 with all the harder stuff coming out then. Fine Audio, Stigmata, Compressed, Planet Rhythym, Colours, Drum Code and so on. Loved that era and it's a good chunk of what I still play.

2002 with stuff like "bugmod" by speedy j and "year of reflection" by henrik b and adam beyer. used to cain some of marco carola's "question" series as well.

2000 is abt when i first start getting into techno, listening to umek live @ i love techno 2001 , Chris liberator trust da dj 01, drum codes , recycled loops, tortured records, adam beyer and henrik B, rock da discotheque, Billy nasty torture chamber, prime, maurio picotto and ricardo ferri(prime and alchemy).
pounding grooves,speedy j - krec c, bugmod , Loudboxer(CD)
alot sven vath
thats the kinda of things i got into at the start.

The forum Waterford
Acts like neck snapper and billy nasty, dave clarke , umek, coming to waterford

Necksnapper are 2 lads from waterford they have gone minimal , but by god they use to bang it out harder than billy nasty and they were the support.

98-00 for me. I'd always liked techno but knew nothing about it, then a mate of mine started buying it and that gave me a starting point of labels to look for.

It's always exciting getting massively into a new genre as you keep hearing great tune after great tune. The hard looped sound has been imitated many times since that era but has never really been bettered. Tortured, Drumcode, Conform, Synewave, Compound, Planet Rhythm, Primate (yes, even Primate), Zync, the first 3 Intec releases, Missile etc were all putting out some monsters. Got good memories of my Friday ritual of getting paid each week and heading down to Underground Solu'shn to buy a shedload of new tunes.

The most eye-opening (ear-opening?) experience was hearing my first Stay Up Forever record (Secret Hero - Build Up The Pressure). I remember picking it up and thinking I'd give it a shot as I'd heard of the label, and being completely blown away by it. After that I was grabbing every SUF, Smitten, Routemaster I could find. Discovering Cluster was another experience in itself, hard as nails techno and just the sort of stuff I was looking for.

Also discovering the more melodic side of techno - Vince Watson, Bellboy Records were the two standouts for me ("Stunner" on this - http://www.discogs.com/release/31326 - is one of the greatest chilled techno tunes of all time IMO, yet it's gone totally unnoticed) but it was great hearing atmospheric, meloncholic and sometimes euphoric records that weren't cheesy trancefests.

This was all helped by the fact that Edinburgh at that point had a thriving techno scene. It seemed that a whole load of us got into the music (and the associated indulgences) at the same time and as a result there was a real community vibe to it all. Nights like Apex, Pillbox, Lift, Pure, Subtle Logic, Loop (not forgetting Lost / Dogma, although that was slightly later)...every week it was a trip to Calton Road and either The Venue or Studio 24, both grubby hellholes with sweat dripping off the walls, next to no lighting, and a range of people off their trolley, then off to Blackford Quarry at 3am to carry on into the morning. A lot of the time these nights didn't even have big name guests, just local dj's who knew how to make us all dance. Edinburgh being the place that it is, everyone knew everyone and it helped to create the feel of a real community.

It couldn't last of course - people get older, tastes change, you can't cane it every weekend anymore - and I believe Edinburgh's techno scene isn't as thriving as it once was. I look back on those times and can't help grinning though, and that's what matters.

For me...the old school bleep type techno of 1992-93 old jeff mills stuff....rotterdam stuff as well......when sounds were fresh....everything was so new....now everything is cookie cutter for the most part....the best direction techno had was when it had no direction....IMO


With that said...production wise....techno will always push the envelope...keeping it at the fore front of EDM over other genres that havent evolved much over the past 15 - 20 years....

There are 5 mixes that changed the way I view electronic music. Chris Liberators "Walk the dog", D.A.V.E the drummer @ Terror networks, Thomas Krome @ (can't remember- pure filth?), Dave Clarke "World service 1" and It's time to Gabber, by anon. So I guess my techno buzz started around 2002/3.

I love Techno.

For as long as I've been into techno (99) there have always been people complaining that it was so much better "back in the day". Had the same problem with hardcore as well. Arsecandles to the lot of them. Got to see the rise and fall of jungle at least...

The sense of having always "just missed out" on the golden age pissed me off, until I realised it didn't really exist in the way I thought it did. Utterly brilliant that people are now referring to 99 as a golden age...

Events and things that stood out for me - jeff mills at the lighthouse around 2000 was incredible. Had never heard anything like it. Every jeff mills set I've heard since has been pretty much the same, but meh, when he nails it he nails it.

First Sonar in 2003 was amazing - seeing techno as the lynchpin of a massive electronic media and music festival just reinforced my view that techno was the lifeblood of the electronic scene.

I love it all just as much now though. Still can get blown away by Mills hammering a 909 if the setting is right, and still get goosebumps from some of the detroit stuff coming out.

But personally I'm having more fun with music now than ever. Scene seems smaller, friendlier and more informal than a decade ago, and I enjoy it on different level. Might be due to age, or maybe just the way the scene has evolved but I'm dead happy with the way things are now.

I miss events where people broke a sweat.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jay Pace

The sense of having always "just missed out" on the golden age pissed me off, until I realised it didn't really exist in the way I thought it did. Utterly brilliant that people are now referring to 99 as a golden age...

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Personal thing though isn't it. For me, that was a golden age. Pretty much anyone's golden age will be when they started getting heavily into the music and going out shitloads (and often getting trollied into the bargain).

I do believe though that the original 88/89 vibe would have stood out a mile from the golden ages that the rest of us have experienced, simply because it was something so completely new and out of the blue.

To be honest, my golden age is now. Techno in the present means more to me than anything ever has. My time is now and I f*cking love it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DannyBlack

There are 5 mixes that changed the way I view electronic music. Chris Liberators "Walk the dog", D.A.V.E the drummer @ Terror networks, Thomas Krome @ (can't remember- pure filth?), Dave Clarke "World service 1" and It's time to Gabber, by anon. So I guess my techno buzz started around 2002/3.

I love Techno.

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Sounds like the cd collection we brought to letterkenny on that 8 hr bus journey a few years back, I still have that thomas krome must route it out.

wat abt fuse presents dave clarke?
wat a cd

Quote:

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Originally Posted by djfilthmonger

Sounds like the cd collection we brought to letterkenny on that 8 hr bus journey a few years back, I still have that thomas krome must route it out.

wat abt fuse presents dave clarke?
wat a cd

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Yeah man, thats exactly it! The same Journey we ate an obnoxious amount of Morocan black :lol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObeiW...eature=related


This shit looked F-R-E-S-H!!!!!!!



I must have been a senior in Highschool....still wish I was there....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BDC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObeiW...eature=related


This shit looked F-R-E-S-H!!!!!!!



I must have been a senior in Highschool....still wish I was there....

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damn right!
just listening the track around 8:30 - mental tune!
the track is called "morning after" and its from 87 or 88 i think
awesome!

In the north of Spain there was a golden era (1998-2000) with so many DJs playing UK techno from labels as Surface, Downwards, Meta, Dynamic Tension, Hardgroove, Theory.... also some old Italian techno (previous to filtered italian techno that arrived later) mainly from Carola, Parisio aka Gaetek. And finally some Swedish techno mainly Beyer, Hardcell....etc
I remember Oscar Mulero playing this music, maybe you can find some mixtapes on the net if you can't belive it :D

everyone has their own 'golden period' in techno... ESPECIALLY if ya liked the jack n jills innit ;)

imo, techno has moved up n down n left n right n forwards n back in the time i spent with it.. from around 92/3 when i was listening to the music, but not going to the clubs, it was jus music that i needed.. having been on NIN & PWEI & such, i found techno thru remixes & a store in belfast called Dr Roberts (rip.. best store in the world it was) where i shopped from i was 12 (into metal & rock) thru to i was about 22 (techno, techno and.. techno)


its jus phases.. everyone hated tribal.. then it was all about mnml.. ten schranz bashing.. now mnml bashing.. wonk has been invented by some tool & the media (and consumers) have caused more boxing of genre & sub-genre than is healthy...

either way.. techno will NEVER die no matter what grime, house, dnb or hip hop djs say... its the only genre that hasnt went Top 10... yet.. careful Hawtin ;)




as for snobbery... ever seen 2 jazz fans argue about who was the best free styler lol

1997

The Complex Islington.

Nuff said.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Technologic

1997

The Complex Islington.

Nuff said.

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wasn't that a 'universe' production too? i'm sure something moved there after club uk.. maybe final frontier?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wrong

wasn't that a 'universe' production too? i'm sure something moved there after club uk.. maybe final frontier?

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Certainly was. The Universe party was Voyager, but Eurobeat 2000 threw parties there as well.

I remember when the SUF crew were there, the Liberators did a live set, it was actually one of the last techno parties to showcase there (if i remember rightly), they announced over the PA that the place was being raided (it wasn't of course, it was part of the act), which freaked me out for sure but was a stroke of genius LOL.

Carl Cox launched Fact 2 there shortly beforehand, Gayle San, Billy Nasty, DJ Wag, CJ Bolland, Dave Angel, Dave Clarke, Jeff Mills and many more honcho's played there on a regular basis.

I remember tripping out on the mirror cealing on the second floor, i came to on the stairwell where the bubbles rose to the roof LOL, and the freaky projections they had in the chillout room, playstations, pool tables, arcades.

Now those were the days. When they closed that club a very important part of clubland was lost forever. Once that closed Escape From Samsara follwed shortly afterwards, two places that had a vibe like no-where else i've ever witnessed, have come close but never bettered.

Limelight NYC
Function parties.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Technologic

Certainly was. The Universe party was Voyager, but Eurobeat 2000 threw parties there as well.

I remember when the SUF crew were there, the Liberators did a live set, it was actually one of the last techno parties to showcase there (if i remember rightly), they announced over the PA that the place was being raided (it wasn't of course, it was part of the act), which freaked me out for sure but was a stroke of genius LOL.

Carl Cox launched Fact 2 there shortly beforehand, Gayle San, Billy Nasty, DJ Wag, CJ Bolland, Dave Angel, Dave Clarke, Jeff Mills and many more honcho's played there on a regular basis.

I remember tripping out on the mirror cealing on the second floor, i came to on the stairwell where the bubbles rose to the roof LOL, and the freaky projections they had in the chillout room, playstations, pool tables, arcades.

Now those were the days. When they closed that club a very important part of clubland was lost forever. Once that closed Escape From Samsara follwed shortly afterwards, two places that had a vibe like no-where else i've ever witnessed, have come close but never bettered.

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Yeah it was good in there.

Missed out on club uk, as I was living up North when that was going.
Orbit, Morley mid nineties was my golden era for techno.

After the Complex closed I started going to Immersion parties and got into the free party side of it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Technologic

I remember tripping out on the mirror cealing on the second floor, i came to on the stairwell where the bubbles rose to the roof LOL, and the freaky projections they had in the chillout room, playstations, pool tables, arcades.

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Remember when effort was made into making a club interesting? Projections, backdrops, things hanging from the roof, random shit like Lego and jenga, proper chillout areas with big **** off cushions etc etc. Tiny things really but they stuck in your head. Since the turn of the century it's just been one box after another, nothing makes clubs stand out anymore. It's not the most important thing but it added to the experience and helped it seem like less of the same old same old.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by speed-it-up

Yeah it was good in there.

Missed out on club uk, as I was living up North when that was going.
Orbit, Morley mid nineties was my golden era for techno.

After the Complex closed I started going to Immersion parties and got into the free party side of it.

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See i stayed in the club scene mostly, was still a regular at Eurobeat 2000, was never as good at the Mass tho, plus i was going Trancentral @ Pleasure rooms on a regular basis, Nuclear Free Zone, as well as the Lost parties & Retroverts/Split.

On a much more underground tip, anyone remember the Acid Bath?

Also frequented a few parties at the Dungeons, Hedfuk did a good party there, ha i went to their first party ever at the Standard in Blackhorse Rd, jeez, how long ago was that???

Haha, this is bringing back some wikkid memories!!!

Crazy days but wikkid fun!!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Paul Zykotik

Remember when effort was made into making a club interesting? Projections, backdrops, things hanging from the roof, random shit like Lego and jenga, proper chillout areas with big **** off cushions etc etc. Tiny things really but they stuck in your head. Since the turn of the century it's just been one box after another, nothing makes clubs stand out anymore. It's not the most important thing but it added to the experience and helped it seem like less of the same old same old.

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It wasn't just materialistic tho, it was the crowd too.

The vibe of people being sprawled out all over the chillout room, was like a human obstacle course, of course people were so ****ed they'd have barely any balance so people who were sitting down would hold their hands up and help them along their way, that's the kind of vibe it was, same with Escape From Samsara. You just don't get that anymore, sure you get ****ed up people, but instead of helping people they just stare and watch them falll over their mates, which admittedly can be quite funny but not in the spirit of it all if you ask me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Technologic

Certainly was. The Universe party was Voyager, but Eurobeat 2000 threw parties there as well.

I remember when the SUF crew were there, the Liberators did a live set, it was actually one of the last techno parties to showcase there (if i remember rightly), they announced over the PA that the place was being raided (it wasn't of course, it was part of the act), which freaked me out for sure but was a stroke of genius LOL.

Carl Cox launched Fact 2 there shortly beforehand, Gayle San, Billy Nasty, DJ Wag, CJ Bolland, Dave Angel, Dave Clarke, Jeff Mills and many more honcho's played there on a regular basis.

I remember tripping out on the mirror cealing on the second floor, i came to on the stairwell where the bubbles rose to the roof LOL, and the freaky projections they had in the chillout room, playstations, pool tables, arcades.

Now those were the days. When they closed that club a very important part of clubland was lost forever. Once that closed Escape From Samsara follwed shortly afterwards, two places that had a vibe like no-where else i've ever witnessed, have come close but never bettered.

---

Eurobeat 2000 i think it was

http://www.davethedrummer.net/images/spockears.JPG



some golden ears of techno

Quote:

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Originally Posted by davethedrummer

Eurobeat 2000 i think it was

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Yes it was indeed! I remember it well(ish). Some guy nearly knocking water over the rig with some crazy arse dancing, wtf, i know the drugs were good back then but that was something else.

World war 303 had just come out at the time.
I was still wet behind the ears but the Complex was the first techno club i ever went to, was my birthright to it all really.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRghD...eature=related


some familiar faces in this vid..... :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by module

wonk has been invented by some tool

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lol
That's well funny in view of the original posters (alleged) connection to the term. :)

goin to Voodoo in Liverpool back in the days i guess, late nineties early naughties

seein the likes of Surgeon, Dave Clarke, Ben Sims, Green Velvet etc.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Patrick

lol
That's well funny in view of the original posters (alleged) connection to the term. :)

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Disclaimer:

nobody 'invented' 'wonk' as its not a genre, just an adjective.. and yes, i did make a section in the record shop where i worked called 'wonky' purely as a pointer at the time when the 'loopy' techno seemed to be churning em out every month so the no-skool techno had a place to reside and be discovered by those who couldn't be arsed searching through hundreds of generic washing machine titles ;) And i'm really not a 'tool'.... well, maybe just a little one, like an alan key...

... where's crime?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Technologic

Certainly was. The Universe party was Voyager, but Eurobeat 2000 threw parties there as well.

I remember when the SUF crew were there, the Liberators did a live set, it was actually one of the last techno parties to showcase there (if i remember rightly), they announced over the PA that the place was being raided (it wasn't of course, it was part of the act), which freaked me out for sure but was a stroke of genius LOL.

Carl Cox launched Fact 2 there shortly beforehand, Gayle San, Billy Nasty, DJ Wag, CJ Bolland, Dave Angel, Dave Clarke, Jeff Mills and many more honcho's played there on a regular basis.

I remember tripping out on the mirror cealing on the second floor, i came to on the stairwell where the bubbles rose to the roof LOL, and the freaky projections they had in the chillout room, playstations, pool tables, arcades.

Now those were the days. When they closed that club a very important part of clubland was lost forever. Once that closed Escape From Samsara follwed shortly afterwards, two places that had a vibe like no-where else i've ever witnessed, have come close but never bettered.

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Now that takes me back... Universe events where were i cut my techno teeth so to speak... the original Tribal Gatherings in Luton etc - they were the days!

And Island Universe (New Years Eve 96 I think?) in 3 Mills Island Studios, anyone remember that? Where the cement floor started turning to mush, and they 'lost' all 3000-odd cloakroom tickets! Turned into a proper free-for-all lasting into the afternoon! Still one of the best nights i can remember (sigh).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wrong

Disclaimer:

nobody 'invented' 'wonk' as its not a genre, just an adjective.. and yes, i did make a section in the record shop where i worked called 'wonky' purely as a pointer at the time when the 'loopy' techno seemed to be churning em out every month so the no-skool techno had a place to reside and be discovered by those who couldn't be arsed searching through hundreds of generic washing machine titles ;) And i'm really not a 'tool'.... well, maybe just a little one, like an alan key...

... where's crime?

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Lurking, ironically listening to a dave clarke mix from '95 thinking that you kids have no idea how exciting 92-97 really was...

I guess the real tools were the people who took wonky to be a genre and went out to make identikit trax in the same way that all the 2nd rate loop techno people went and did bad copies of Purposemaker records..

I really look back fondly at the times of hearing mitch dropping bombs on the Virus rig (circa 1993, brewery road, caledonian road, Evesham) and having no idea of what this music was apart from knoing that it was some kind of techno that sounded different to my ears compared to what the majority of DJs were playing at that time.. And I might add hearing similar sounds coming from Jiba around the same time, most probably with jerome at the helm, we hadn't met at this point, I hadn't even started playing but it was a magic time..

i dunno, things change people get older. techno was good for me in the early 90s, and i rediscovered acid techno, in about 2001.

all i know is that these days im buying a lot of good techno from the 90s mostly, from ebay at good prices. got some great early tunes by steve stoll, derrick may, ken ishii - which im really enjoying and is much better than the dross released recently.

i only wish i can wirte and produce my own music, as i'm sure i could do a lot better. thats the problem too many techno djs doing too much coke, or woteva and losing the plot.

i've only bought 4 records that were released this year.

i think schranz and all that crap saturated the market, there's very little worth buying being released.

i mean even relatively prolific writers like dave the drummer/geezer/ant have hardly released anyhting this year, but the situation was similar last year.