Techno Music Interests
Current listening faves
All-time favorite artists
Recommended releases
Techno links
Last updated July 4, 2000
I discovered techno (electronica, trance, ambient, etc etc) early in
1997. I'd been looking for some new music to sink my teeth into, when
right about the same time I both rented "Hackers" (with a fine techno
soundtrack) and stumbled onto MTV's "AMP" program, which ran techno
videos late on the weekends.
One of the AMP videos, Fluke's "Atom Bomb", sent me into Sam Goody's
in Natick asking about this group "Fluke". This is when I first met
the young salesclerk Kat, who has an incredible knowledge of all
electronica music. She put me onto the Wipeout XL soundtrack which included Atom
Bomb and some other groups like Chemical Brothers, FSOL, Photek etc.
Since then, I've picked up another 200 CDs or so, between recommendations
from Kat, reading SELECT and CMJ and Bikini for reviews, and
trying CDs by new groups I'd heard on the compilations.
Of course, even still I only get a yield of about 50% in terms of
CDs that I play more than 5 times. But hey, 25 great CDS used to take
me 5 years to find...if you try my recommendations maybe you can
do better than 50%!
I keep my CD player at home loaded with CDs I like and can listen
to over and over. Here's what's current with me:
Current Techno CDs, July 2000
Sasha at Ibiza-Transglobal Underground
Sasha is probably the best of the "trance" DJs and this is a spectacular
double album recorded at a festival in Ibiza. Transglobal Underground is a whole
series of trance CDs, a bit uneven but this is the best. Also decent is
Sasha at San Francisco and "Xpander" by Sasha.
John Digweed Bedrock
John Digweed is my other favorite
trance DJ and this is probably his best double album. It features the
Bedrock-Heaven Scent theme (disc 2 track 10) that's highlighted in the rave
movie "Groove". Also great are "Northern Exposure-Expeditions" by Sasha
and Digweed, and Digweed in Sydney (and Hong Kong) by Transglobal Underground.
"Lola Rennt" Soundtrack
The soundtrack to the
German import movie "Run Lola Run", a really excellent movie that you should
go get at Blockbuster. Nice driving techno tracks reminiscent of Underworld's
"Pearl's Girl".
Sandra Collins Tranceport 3
The whole "Tranceport"
series is supposed to be heavy trance but I found this to be a bit closer
to mainstream techno. Has a good beat and you could dance to it. Sandra Collins
is one of the few women who've succeeded in the DJ field.
Urbal Beats 2 Compilation
I actually got this over
a year ago and took the best tracks for one of my mix CDs but it's worth mentioning.
It has one CD of "new" techno (mostly useless) and a second of classics I had
trouble finding elsewhere. Worth it just for Orbital's "Chimes" and Dubtribe's
"Mother Earth".
My current CD list from January 1998
My current CD list from April 1998
My current CD list from September 1998
(The rest of this page was last updated in 1998)
-
Fluke
- These guys are sort of "electronic groove" music. They did "Atom Bomb",
which I think is the greatest song and video ever made. It's on the
LP "Risotto" which just came out and is available in stores. An even
better LP is "Six Wheels on My Wagon"; the 4 song arc of "Glidub",
"Electric Guitar", "Top Of The World", and "Slid" is the best 4 song
sequence I've ever heard. You'll have to order "Six Wheels" from
Cdnow or whatever, it's not in stores. The LP "Oto" isn't quite as good, and
the "Peel Sessions" is impossible to find and more like video-game music
anyway. Check out the video if you have a high-speed connection:
Fluke
Atom Bomb
I caught these guys in concert during the
Electric Highway tour in 1997 and they were awesome.
-
Underworld
-
Underworld did "Cowgirl", the first techno song I liked off my first techno
LP (Hackers soundtrack). A lot of their stuff is more trancey although
they have some pieces with nice snappy breakbeats too.
All their stuff is great: the LPs "Dubnobasswithmyheadman"
and "Second Toughest of the Infants", and the EPs "Pearl's Girl", "Born
Slippy", "Cowgirl/Dirty Epic", and "Dark and Long" are all fantastic.
-
BT
-
I just discovered Brian Transeau AKA BT about 2 months ago. He has two
releases out, "IMA" and "ESCM". ESCM stands for Electric SkyChurch Music,
which somehow sounds descriptive of his style, even though I don't know
exactly what it means. Seems like I should be wearing a nice white blazer
and sitting in a room lit with blue neon as I listen to him, if that
helps your mental image. I've heard his style called "Epic House", which also
seems descriptive. Anyway, nice beats, nice sounds and hooks. Both IMA and
ESCM are great.
-
Chemical Brothers
-
These guys are the biggest name in electronica outside of Prodigy (whom I
am lukewarm on). The Chemicals are more down-to-earth great beats, lots
of breakbeats, cowbell sounds and samples from other records. "Exit Planet
Dust" is their first LP and (IMO) best. I listened to it a zillion times
while playing the Nintendo 64 "Pilotwings" game, now I have the two
linked in my brain. "Dig Your Own Hole" is their 1997 LP and is also
pretty great.
Note: An "LP" (long play) is generally a major release by an artist and has 60-80
minutes of different material. Unless otherwise noted, the releases
below are all LPs.
An "EP" (extended play) is usually 30-60 minutes and has 2-5 mixes (versions)
of the title track as well as a few other pieces (which may not appear
on any LP, so you need to collect the EPs also to get everything).
A "Single" is usually less than 30 minutes and is 4-5 tracks, some or
all of which are mixes of the title track.
Compilations/soundtracks
- "Hackers" soundtrack: Great techno pieces from the dumb fun movie.
- "Hackers 2": More great pieces "from and inspired by" Hackers.
- "MTV's AMP": Greatest techno hits.The CD to get if you're only getting one.
- "Wipeout XL" soundtrack: Electronica from the Sony Playstation game.
- "The Saint" soundtrack: Good Chem Brothers, Fluke, Underworld, Sneaker Pimps.
- DJ Icey "The Funky Breaks": Rowdier, drum-heavy DJ material, great for driving.
Individual artists/groups
- BT "IMA : "Epic House", fairly easy listening from Transeau.
- BT "ESCM" : His late 1997 release, also excellent.
- Chemical Brothers "Exit Planet Dust" : Their first; cuts 1-6 are best.
- Chemical Brothers "Dig Your Own Hole" : 1997 release, not quite as good.
- Cirrus "Drop The Break" : Obscure group, drum-heavy and hip. "Break In" is best.
- Coldcut "Boot The System" : Heavy but rhythmic sounds (this is an EP).
- Crystal Method "Vegas" : Excellent breakthrough LP from these guys. A "Must Have".
- Crystal Method "Keep Hope Alive" : Strong EP includes 4 new tracks.
- Fluke "Six Wheels On My Wagon" : The best from the best. Try CDNow or SirenCD.
- Fluke "Risotto" : Latest and easiest to get Fluke. Tracks 1,2,4 all great.
- FatBoy Slim "Better Living Through Chemistry" : Nicely varied, not trancey from the man of 1000 names.
- Moby "I Like To Score" : Some really great theatrical pieces, not hard techno.
- Sneaker Pimps "Becoming X" : Very tuneful, nice female vocalist, only barely techno.
- Underworld "Dubnobasswithmyheadman" : Great premier LP from these giants. Contains "Cowgirl",
"Dark and Long", and "SkyScraper".
- Underworld "2nd Toughest of the Infants" : 2nd LP, also great. Has "Juanita" and "Pearl's Girl".
- Underworld "Born Slippy" : EP of their hit from "Trainspotting" movie, not available on LP!
- Underworld "Dirty Epic/Cowgirl" : EP, several mixes of title pieces.
- Underworld "Pearl's Girl" : EP of great piece, also contains my fave "Oich Oich".
- Underworld "Dark and Long" : EP, also contains my fave "Thing in a Book".
The Astralwerks
FLUKE page. Astralwerks is Fluke's record label.
Underworld's web site.
BT's web site.
Rich's
FLUKE page which is unbelievably thorough!
Rich's BT page which is also unbelievably thorough.
Rich's Underworld page also fab etc.
In fact,
Global Trance and Dance which is Rich's main page, leads you
to great coverage of a lot of artists. As long
as you don't mind all those damned Geocities popup windows.
Paul Heising (Heising@attbi.com)
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