Banging Techno = B-O-R-I-N-G???

[BigBadBaldy]

So, after Bittersweet (which I had an AWESOME time at) I was left with the feeling that the style of techno Misstress Barbara spins BORES THE FUCK OUT OF ME. Same with Carola to a certain extent the last couple of times I've caught his sets. Straight 4/4 hardcore is the LEAST challenging and interesting types of techno IMO. I think this is why I'm so excited by the recent injection of funk into the techno scene (nulectro, etc..), "a funky groove to fuck to..".

Any opinions? I've been hearing people raving about Misstress's set on Saturday, and it makes me wonder..

BBB.

..and I used to LOVE that style.

 

[seeker]

depends...

on your opinion. i'll admit that i'm not into 2 hours of straight banging techno. there are some techno djs i just can't appreciate.

i think misstress barbara's style is hit or miss. i've got a tape of hers that came out just prior to relentless beats 1, and it's only just decent. the cd, however, i really like. and her recent essential mix is fantastic. the thing i like about her is the 'hard groove' she sets up. it's very hard and fast, but there's more to it than that. it's a really fun, groovy sound that doesn't just make you want to go crazy, but makes you want to shake your ass doing it.

unfortunately i had to leave just prior to her set on saturday, but the people i talked to afterwards echo the popular opinion that it was amazing. but again, to each his own.

 

[The Kid]

I completely agree with you. I used to be into hard banging techno, i.e. marco carolla, gaetek, etc., etc. I've never been that crazy about Mistress Barbara, in my (ever so humble) opinion she is way overrated as a DJ.

I think my changing tastes in music has come about largely due to the fact that I just can't dance to hard techno anymore! I used to love dancing my ass off all night to hard techno, but it's not doing it for me these days. I also find that unless the mixing is unbelievable it's really boring to listen to a straight 4/4 all night. It might as well be trance as a far as I'm concerned.

What drew me to techno in the first place was that techno dj's seemed to be more concerned with the integrity of their music be it through production (pushing boundaries, using new/different sounds/arrangements - pushing the envelope etc.) or their dj'ing (using gear/effects/3 decks etc.) than were artists involved in other genres of music. There seemed to be a sophistication or intelligence in techno (sorry if this sounds pretentious), whereas in other genres artists seemed more concerned with making the next big anthem or releasing as many albums/mixed cd's etc. that than can in a given year with little regard to the quality of the product they're putting out.

That said, I find I'm actually listening to less techno these days simply because I'm becoming more selective in what I listen to.

the kid

 

[BigBadBaldy]

Yeah, I'm thinking it's pretty much just a case of my personal taste changing. I love hardcore shit, and get my freak on as hard as the next person (harder) but I guess I've had my fill of those types of sets.

BBB.

I would still carry her records home for her, though.

 

[deep]

I love her style, personally. When I'm out I want to go full tilt, hear music that indulges that. I have enough variety in what I listen to at home.

 

[poker face]

I think mistress barbara only plays they way she does sometimes to prove that she is the hardest chick dj!

Personally I think I am too old to try to keep up to that music!

 

[ViShiS*]

I had a good time at Bittersweet dancing to Misstress Barbara, but at the same time there were moments when I thought it was too much. Lots of the tracks were hard and funky, which was good, but there was not enough variation.

I like a set that weaves through different styles and has some harder points within it. The complete package.

 

[Straight Up D Shit]

After DJ DAN's horrorshow...

I was pretty happy with her set. Why did they put the worst DJ at prime time?

 

[Adam Duke]

^^^ WHAAAAAAAT?

Ha ha~! You get a Darth Vader too, then!

Glad to see you possibly swaying on your thoughts she she didn't do it for you and sucked as a dj....

 

[tommysmalls]

misstress barbara and many other banging types (i.e. the swedes) bore me as well....its all about laying down a set that is comprised of a variety of intensity and mood.

i like to play some banging stuff, but i also like getting some organic and melodic elements into a set as well.

to be quite honest, i don't see what the appeal is in misstress barbara is *shrug*

 

[ElektroTekBabe]

Techno vs. Elektro

DJ Dan = Boring. (NO funk at all!!!)

Mistress Barbara played very hard tek, but she was way more funky than the horror-show-DJ-Dan before her. I really did enjoy her set. She rocked the place. People were dancing and going wild. I also really like the little dances she did behind the tables...cool chick.

I can TOTALLY understand how techno can become very repetitve and boring...especially the hard kind. That's why many people are getting into the funky stuff like elektro, nuskool breaks, etc. I really like what the Dukes do because they mix the crazy hard tek with the funky elektro and nuskool breaks and even old weird stuff. That's awesome because they give people the variety and funk in their set instead of just giving people "boom boom boom" for 4 hours straight.

I also really admire people like Cryogenetic and Si Begg for coming up with crazy weird beats and sounds. Also, lets not forget Anthony Rother (king of electro) who is so dark and delicious. He has a new album coming out soon called Hacker. It is the coolest thing I have ever heard! He actually freestyles in German in the background through a vocoder!!! This is crazzzzzy!

There are many funky producers/dj's on the market right now, and I find that the REALLY HARD Techno scene is getting a bit on the boring side. I find myself really drawn to the funky elektro breaky sound lately....whereas two years ago, I was in love with the hard-rip-your-sould-out-of-your-body techno. Its good to have a variation of both funky and hard.

 

[beaker]

Re: Techno vs. Elektro

i like seeing hard techno DJs every once in a while but i was never inspired to play it all the time because hard techno only has one setting (loud club/party). that's part of the reason why i decided i wanted to play something other than NRG. i was getting bored of not being able to play anywhere but underground parties. for a long time, i kept changing my mind between breaks, house, and techno. but then i finally figured out that there's no reason why anyone can't play all of them together. and it was encouraging watching and talking to other DJs like Satori, Otis, Decepticon, and the Dukes who play and buy whatever they like and try to make it their own.

although electro hasn't actually really won me over yet. i like the ethereal tracks and other music with electro noises in it (nuskool breaks, some quirky techno, other electronica) but i can't seem to get hooked on a lot of the mr. roboto sounding stuff. i find it to be too nonsensical. does anyone know what i mean?

i'm definitely excited to see those wintergalactic headliners though.

 

[Nesta]

at a big party in a big room, i like it bangin'. but in a small room, say the basement of element, bangin' really doesn't work (for me at least). i would much rather hear minimal tech a la richie hawtin, stewart walker, etc.

can you imagine the misstress dropping big bangin' tunes in a small intimate venue?
it wouldn't feel right...

 

[d.code]

I like hearing a progression through a night. Its not really my position to bash a DJ for they're style- but putting 4 techno DJ's who all spin the same style back to back to back to back isnt a good idea in my opinion.
As the Dukes say 'fuck genres'.
..

Well they say it I guess..

But I think of techno as abstract repitition. Not much more to it than that. It can encompass alot. Theres something to said about flow too. Ive heard alot of DJ's go from house to breaks to trance- and they do it horribly. Keys are off- and the timing just dosnt make sense on a large time line (their whole set).
Im guessing this means if Carola comes back to town- he wont get a warm a greeting as he is used too. Which I hope isnt what you people are hinting at- considering the state of things its no use in being picky- but rather just enjoy what you hear.

I have alot of gigs in march- and Im hoping to show case that techno can be many other things than banging (yet still relentless).

Is this the start of the straight 4/4 revolution?
Or are we entering an off beat?

I think with the larger events- the focus of the night can change a bit. House to techno seems to be how it grooves- when I can think of a million other ways it can do. Im missing minimal techno to be honest. The clicky beats and whiz whir funk.

Here is my theory: Since techno tends to = everything
then let it encompass everything. Not nessarilly in one set- but through out a night.

excuse me spelling- for I dont care.

Cheers
Tyler

 

[d.code]

can you imagine the misstress dropping big bangin' tunes in a small intimate venue?
it wouldn't feel right...

So are you saying that a DJ wouldnt be able to build it?

 

[d.code]

At Wes's house party- the people who were down stairs when Erwin J and ____ (Forgot his name) were going back to back- that was hard sweedish techno- and people seemed to be loving it.
That was deffinatly a small room party if I have ever seen one.

 

[djUnabomber]

I like hard bangin' techno....
The more repetative the better. That way you can mix in and out of it as fast as you want. And I love headbangin' to some hard techno bass.....
Just my opinion...

 

[deep]

Re: Re: Techno vs. Elektro

Originally posted by beaker
i can't seem to get hooked on a lot of the mr. roboto sounding stuff. i find it to be too nonsensical. does anyone know what i mean?

the eighties regurgitated

 

[deep]

The irony of it is that Misstress Barbara produces house under her Barbara Brown nick and her first Relentless Beats compilation was much more subtle than her live sets.

Techno can just as easily fall into the trap that so called progressive did. In aiming for a more 'mature' or 'refined' sound, it becomes very easy to become boring and pretentious. If I wanted to be sedated I'd eat a bag of valium for the same cost as paying cover to hear someone spin at a party.

There's nothing wrong with someone playing to the energy of a full on party. This aversion to hard music just further perpetrates the stereotype of the chin stroking techno snob. And rather than making people look like they've got more refined tastes than the lowest common denominator, having grown beyond their primitive raver roots, it only makes them look like they've already got one foot in the grave with their bullshit pretenses. Maybe it's time to switch to Yanni for some.

deep <- shit disturbing

 

[tommysmalls]

i don't see the comparison between mistress barbara and marco carola....one is much harder than the other....one layers, builds and funks up the place more than the other.

 

[Nesta]

Originally posted by d.code


So are you saying that a DJ wouldnt be able to build it?

of course a dj could slowly build and craft a set to progress into something fairly aggressive and bangin'. that's what i love most. but i don't think it works well when a dj comes into a small intimate venue and bangs it out right off the bat. then again, it depends how/what the dj before him/her was playing.

 

[tEkKiD]

Originally posted by Nesta
of course a dj could slowly build and craft a set to progress into something fairly aggressive and bangin'. that's what i love most. but i don't think it works well when a dj comes into a small intimate venue and bangs it out right off the bat. then again, it depends how/what the dj before him/her was playing.

well said....there is nothing more i like when a dj can program a set playing all subgenres of Techno....and ive alway's said this.

i love hard techno, but bang - bang - bang - relentlessly for 2 hours straight just doesn't do it for me anymore. ex. Gaetek at Turbo recently.

i couldn't agree with you more Tommy about Carola and Mistress not being comparable.

peace,

Doug.

 

[Adam Duke]

Reading the crowd is probably 60% of how the set off a party.

 

[The Truth]

I hope you people know that "techno" isn't just hard and bangin. To me, "techno" is such a broad term. Some of the best techno in my opinon is made just for listening at home.

I hope that most of you who say they like techno also listening to this type of stuff. The stuff I like to listen too include

B12
Aphex Twin
The Black Dog
Derrick May
Carl Craig
Kenny Larkin
Underground Resistence
Kirk Degeorgiou
Ian O Brien
Plastikman

 

[BigBadBaldy]

Originally posted by deep
Techno can just as easily fall into the trap that so called progressive did. In aiming for a more 'mature' or 'refined' sound, it becomes very easy to become boring and pretentious. If I wanted to be sedated I'd eat a bag of valium for the same cost as paying cover to hear someone spin at a party.

No one said anything about 'mature', 'refined' or 'sedate', all I'm saying is that I find doom-doom-doom-doom for
hours at a time to not inspire me to dance a lot. I like a little syncopation and some unexpected stuff thrown in. I'm an old man and I dance my ass off harder than some kids half my age without the benefit of hard drugs IF THE MUSIC INSPIRES ME. Could be good house, d&b, techno fuck, if I'm in the right mood it could be gabber. I have no aversion to blistering music, but without a contrast point it all becomes like a river of jello running under your nose. (Huh?)

Originally posted by deep
There's nothing wrong with someone playing to the energy of a full on party. This aversion to hard music just further perpetrates the stereotype of the chin stroking techno snob.

See above point re: not talking about any aversion to hard music. I think it's people like YOU who perpetuate the stereotype of the techno snob by constantly bringing it up! What the fuck are you doing watching skinny white boys in poorly matched outfits when you should be dancing to your "relentless" beats anyway?

Originally posted by in-deep-shit-now-boyee
And rather than making people look like they've got more refined tastes than the lowest common denominator, having grown beyond their primitive raver roots, it only makes them look like they've already got one foot in the grave with their bullshit pretenses. Maybe it's time to switch to Yanni for some.

Maybe they just like what they like, and you like what you like? Not such a tough concept for a big smart malchick such as yourself, right right?

Primative raver roots? What the fuck is that? Oh yeah, back when my phat pants were made of sabretoothed tiger fur and I had a stegosaurus horn piece for my labret peircing.

BBB.

Your mamma braids Yanni's nosehair, bitch.