This is a comp of tracks from Carl Craig, who I was aware of and who has an album from the late 90's I planned to listen to when I got there. But turns out he was recording under different names much earlier. As I was listening to this I had to keep checking the dates in the title, because this sounds super ahead of its time. This sounds like a lot of the techno-inspired IDM (or IDM-inspired techno?) from the 90's, including the work of a certain well-known artist from England. Yes, I have to expect that Richard D James had heard some of this material, though I suppose he started recording his debut before these tracks were released so maybe it was a case of convergent evolution. In any case, if you like Aphex Twin's debut I expect you'll find something to like here.
I feel like with every artist I cover I say they feel more cosmic than the next, and that continues here. These tracks feel eerily open while still having enough rhythm to keep you hypnotized. Many of them feel like floating aimlessly in space. Of the prior artists I talked about, I think this is most similar to Model 500, but I think it does that cold, desolate feel a bit better since it's more subtle while still having a lot going on. "Neurotic Behavior" displays this type of track well, while "Crackdown" shows the comp's more traditional side. I think this might be my favorite thing I've listened to so far front-to-back, though I could do without the ambient closing track "Sleep" that has some kind of contented sighing throughout the whole thing.
The pioneers of Detroit techno were from the suburbs, and the clubs that played their music were primarily middle class as well. The music reflected the mechanical nature of the auto-industry in Detroit, and looked to the future for how that industry would progress, but that same auto-industry caused some families to prosper while others didn't. The core audience of this wave of Detroit techno was primarily Black, but also very middle class. Its artists sought to bring dance music and society into the future, but it was a future for all, not one delineated by race.
The second wave of Detroit techno saw a different goal, that of using techno music as a way to promote awareness of social and political causes, especially among young Blacks. One of the primary groups in this scene was Underground Resistance, comprised of "Mad" Mike Banks, Jeff Mills, and Robert Hood. UR geared their music towards lower class listeners to encourage them to inspire to fight for better futures for themselves. I've read comparisons to Public Enemy, and that seems to fit their aesthetics in mission. They were also fiercely against commercialism, which means they never signed a major label deal and thus your main hope for finding their music is hoping someone has uploaded it to YouTube.
I listened to a sampling of UR songs, and my main impression is that they feel bigger and hit harder than what came before them. This was intentional of course, as it went along with the group's aggressive approach. Much of the coldness and interstellar sound is still on display though, such as on this track:
UR also recorded under a few different aliases that seem more like catalog numbers than names. I couldn't find their release under X-101, but I did find this song from it, which is one of the harshest things I've listened to here yet:
(1992) I said last time that every release I listen to feels more cosmic than the last, and that continues here. Appropriate given the album title and track names, this feels more like space rock than techno at times. There are still a few bangers, but they're surrounded by ambient-inspired pieces that feel enormous. I'm not entirely sure this works as an album - it's a bit long and very scattered in style - but it's a fascinating listen. I wasn't huge on it but I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys space ambient and the like. Just be ready for a few major disruptions.
Lastly, the group released an album called Atlantis as X-103. Ever true to their album names, the group made this one sound appropriately watery, though I'd say it's also bogged down by the same lack of focus as Discovers The Rings of Saturn. Techno: there's a fine line between too much repetitiveness and not enough. In 1992, around the time these spin-off releases were coming out, Mills and Hood left the group to record solo. UR released their first proper album in 1998, by which time it was more of a loose collective of similar-minded artists than a real group. I'll likely listen to that eventually, but first I want to cover the solo work of Mills and Hood since I've already given some of it a listen. _________________ And it's hard to be a human being. And it's harder as anything else.
Perhaps you've seen my techno chart? It might not be exactly your taste, but maybe you can find something...
May this thread goes on, I will be following it closely.
Hey, thanks! I hadn't seen your chart but just took a look at it and I think I'll add a few of these to my list. Was going to skip Carl Craig's first album but I'm guessing I shouldn't since it's first on your list. _________________ And it's hard to be a human being. And it's harder as anything else.
I took a break from techno over the weekend because I was a bit burnt out, but after a weekend of listening to slowcore I'm back and ready for more. I'll probably start posting a bit more infrequently here though so I don't get burnt out again.
(1992) Around the time Underground Resistance was releasing all of their kind of side project albums, Mills released this solo effort. It's unlike anything else I've talked about here. For the first time the mechanical sounds don't just sound like what you think robots sound like, they sound like actual machines hissing and scraping together. It sounds harsher, almost industrial, and yet the sound really doesn't overpower you; it's not uncomfortable to listen to. I would also say it has fewer dynamics than most I've what I've heard so far in that the songs have less range and thus feel a bit flat. On the one hand this makes it a bit less rhythmic and energetic, but on the other hand it makes it feel like there's more power behind the songs. Like with the UR songs I listened to, I think this is music that would sound better on the dancefloor than for casual listening.
That thought is confirmed with this set. If you think a live techno album sounds silly, give this a listen. You can feel the energy of the crowd, feel Mills playing on that energy as he decides which song to play next. You can hear the euphoria of the crowd when a popular song gets put on (appropriately, "Strings of Life" gets one of the biggest cheers). I think I'd have even more appreciation for this if I had ever been to a set like this and had any understanding of how Mills did all this mixing in real time, and of course knowing more of these songs would probably make it more enjoyable as well. But somehow, despite having the same general sound palette as Waveform Transmission, this is a lot more listenable and feels like it has more momentum behind it. The transitions between songs on the album are a bit jarring, but here Mills blends things together so it feels like there's endless momentum until the set is over. Which is likely the purpose, of course.
I gave a compilation from Mills a listen too but thought it seemed a bit flat and I stopped a few songs in; some of the songs appeared on the live mix and sounded much better. All in all I think Mills is maybe a bit too minimal for my taste, though perhaps it's just the way Mills's music is minimal (given that there's another artist I've really fallen in love with, who I'll get to eventually, that is even more minimal). _________________ And it's hard to be a human being. And it's harder as anything else.
(1994) Next up we've got Jeff Mills's UR groupmate, Robert Hood. While Mills's work was minimal in the sense that it lacked dynamics, Hood's version of techno puts a different spin on the word. This is minimal in the sense that there's actually very little here; the quick bloops and relatively subdued drumming is a huge contrast to the driving, industrial sound of Jeff Mills. The word that keeps coming to mind is "primitive," though I think that has a negative connotation and I don't necessarily intend for it to. These tracks aren't fleshed out, but they're not really supposed to be. Here's a pretty good representation of the sound:
While this was really enjoyable at first, my enjoyment quickly wore thin and this became a bit of a difficult listen. The simplicity is a draw but it's also a drawback as these tracks don't have a ton of variety. Hood also has a well-regarded EP called Minimal Nation that I listened to a couple tracks from, and if you can believe it it's even more minimal than this one. I was about ready to be done with this album when the last track hit, and I was pretty quickly pulled in again. This one's got a bit more going on than the other but perhaps more than anything it uses sounds that are a bit more robust. And...it actually kind of feels like a dance track? Like I promised last time I'll have a lot more to say about minimal techno eventually, and while I think picking out the nuances in the style can be a lot of fun this one lacks those nuances and relies a bit too much on skeletal rhythms. Still an interesting listen though to see how much Mills and Hood diverged in sound in such a short time period.
Link _________________ And it's hard to be a human being. And it's harder as anything else.
(1994) By this point it seems like the Detroit sound had kind of solidified, with producers opting for a mechanical but still spacey sound, reminiscent of ambient techno. I hadn't read anything about Kenny Larkin and had just seen this album cover on RYM, which is why I added it to my queue. If you're a hardcore fan of this scene I'd recommend it, but not otherwise.
In preparation for this blurb I decided to do some research on Larkin and found that he released this track four years earlier. It proves once and for all that albums are the wrong way to explore the genre, as this is way more exciting than anything off of Azimuth. Maybe a bit more primitive in that there's not a lot going on, but I prefer these tracks to have big obvious beats than subtle ones.
(1995) And we've come full circle. I was curious since the start what the first official album from Juan Atkins's Model 500 moniker would sound like given that it came out 5+ years after his early recording. Well, it's more ambient techno! Atkins seems to have been inspired here by the producers he inspired, as this is once again a lot more subtle and airy. The highlight for me is the third track, which is a vocal song. I don't really care for the vocals, but the beat is a lot more interesting than on the other songs. I guess it's hard to sing over ambient techno? I'd give the same recommendation for this album as the last one: fans of the genre only.
I'll be tackling Carl Craig next. Like with Atkins I'm excited to see where he ended up in the mid-late 90's, especially since he made one of my favorite albums I've listened to so far in this journey. _________________ And it's hard to be a human being. And it's harder as anything else.
I know I said I'd be covering Carl Craig next but I have a confession to make: I'm a dirty liar. I hope this doesn't torpedo my reputation.
I was watching a YouTube video that was in my recommended where producers were trying to identify techno tracks, and one of the tracks sounded really good. I was surprised when they revealed it was by Jeff Mills since I didn't recognize it from when I listened to some of his stuff. It turns out it's considered a techno classic and it's way better than anything else I'd heard from him:
This is just fantastic. I think what differentiates it from the rest of Mills's work is that melodic synth line that really gives the track some added character. I still like the sound of the rest of the elements but it sounds so much complete with that there while a lot of his other tracks feel like they're missing something. _________________ And it's hard to be a human being. And it's harder as anything else.
One of the artists on my list to check out was Drexciya, who I saw listed on a few techno lists I checked out. They released an album in 1997 but upon further investigation they were releasing vinyl-only EPs back in the early 90's. Luckily a lot of that material was reissued recently, though it's scattered across four compilations that don't seem to be in any order. I gave the first one a listen and wasn't too impressed. Their whole act seems to have a water theme, with most of their record and track names referencing aquatic things. I'm not sure it comes out too much in their music, which is a bit hard to listen to. A lot of it is very percussion heavy, with very few synth lines. Not really my thing, but I want to highlight this song which is pretty ridiculous. I can't decide whether it's supposed to be intentionally campy or not:
I probably won't be checking out the rest of their stuff. Going back also caused me to check out this track by Anthony "Shake" Shakir. I had seen he has a massive compilation of tracks that has good reviews, but it's not on streaming and is like three hours long so I was too overwhelmed to dive into it. However, this track is absolutely incredible. It's warm where other Detroit tracks are cold, possibly because it's another one of those tracks with a huge house influence. There's apparently a Steely Dan sample somewhere here but it's been too long since I've listened to Aja to recognize it. Regardless though this might just cause me to dive into the rest of that comp, or at least give some of the additional tracks a spin.
Link _________________ And it's hard to be a human being. And it's harder as anything else.
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