How Techno Shapes the Future 

Social media killed techno. This video hurts a lot.

Techno has been mainstream since at least 2016. The underground is where all new things come from, and the underground has nothing to do with the mainstream, nor will it ever.

A lot of people interviewed talk about pushing boundaries and progressive music, but none of the music they make does this in anyway.

The years before and shortly after the year 2000 were truly golden. There was high-quality music, freedom, diversity, and great energy. The fact that we used to prepare for every party, not just to keep up with fashion but to be in sync with the music, is something sorely missed today. Back then, information came from a few radio shows, and we all recorded on cassette tapes and swapped recordings. There was a powerful magic in going to a party, where the DJ would take you on a journey without you knowing what they'd play. We attended techno, trance, house parties, absorbing every sound. As the years went by, we developed our tastes, knowing what we liked and having preferences. All the DJs who came during that time are legends, and except for a few names, like Adam Bayer and Marco Carola, who changed their style, most of the others still play quality techno and haven't succumbed to the garbage that has infiltrated the scene. At one of my recent festivals, I had the feeling I was at a pop festival, not a techno festival. I strongly hope that anyone daring to become a DJ first looks back at history, takes the time to listen to true, unadulterated techno, and then immerses themselves in this wonder.

The electronic music and club culture flourished when no media, no marketing gurus, no political and social agendas and no global conglomerates knew its existence or even considered it a form of art. Now it is just a commodity.

Watching this has made me sad. Coming from somebody who got into techno from 1995 to now,techno is in a really bad state and lost what made it beautiful in the first place ……it’s for everyone! It’s not about fashion, social media or money😢 to honest nobody used to care where the DJ was, the speakers was where we all congregated.

Within the first seconds .... A dj throwing themselves into the crowd and screaming girls making love heart hand gestures .... This once beautiful electronic scene is an embarrassment .... Money .... Greed .... Image .... Social .... Absolutely saturated with bland, monotone djs and producers who get everything they make, labelled as a masterpiece ... Or their sets are the greatest set ever heard .... You may be fooling the new fans but the majority who started this scene are appalled by how it's changed and those occupying it ! .... The once spiritually unique electronic music scene, is now a swamp of imagine conscious, talentless tripe, getting paid rediculous money because non educated clones keep clicking like on their Instagram posts ! ... Thousands of productions lasting no more than 6 months .... No stand out identity to the majority of the music ... There's nothing about today's scene that will be remembered with fondness by those with eyes to see .... There's glimmers still making the right moves but overall it's in a shocking state ❤

For me the underground atmosphere is what makes Techno special. The non-conformism with modern trends, the dark atmosphere. I think if you eliminate those it makes the whole techno scene less valuable. Fortunately there are still non-mainstream techno artists. My all time favorite both for his music and style will always be Oscar Mulero !

''Techno is harder, faster and more diverse than ever.'' this couldnt be farther from truth ... technoculture literally got destroyed over the past 10 years

I had been out of the electronic scene since the early 2000s, however just the past few years I've been reinvigorated by some of the new sounds and artists. I hope they keep pushing the boundaries and don't listen to the gatekeepers. I am here for the music and to fellowship with people that enjoy the same sounds. It is a special door.

Dear users, you've asked for the tracks we used for this documentary. Below, you'll find the list. Any tracks not listed can be found inserted in the video. We hope you enjoy it! 0:00 Unreleased Track produced exclusively for the documentary 2:55 Unarmed - Gareth Johnson / Jason Pedder Ben Ziapour 3:45 Untitled - Live Sven Väth @Tresor, Love Parade, Berlin (1996) 4:45 Unreleased - Jan Wagner & Luca Eck 7:55 No Remorse Barrie Gledden / Tim Reilly / Jeff Dale 10:10 Unreleased - Jan Wagner & Luca Eck 10:40 Echolust - Tom Boddy 11:05 Originalsound Mike.mej 11:45 Ghost Town - Luca Eck 12:07 No Remorse - Barrie Gledden / Tim Reilly / Jeff Dale 12:15 Echolust - Tom Boddy 13:00 Incense On the Subway - Luca Eck (feat. Izzy Camina) 15:55 Untitled House-Mix - Stacey Hotwaxx Hale 16:25 Untitled House -Mix Stacey Hotwaxx Hale 16:51 Berlin Minimal - George Georgia 17:50 Unreleased - Jan Wagner & Luca Eck 18:45 Untitled - Live Nur Jaber b2b Luca Eck @Rimbu Outdoor, Ghent (2023) 20:15 Echolust - Tom Boddy 21:15 Intense Dark - Barrie Gledden et al 21:58 Brave - TAAHLIAH 22:38 Hypnotic State - John 00 Fleming 23:30 Unreleased - Jan Wagner & Luca Eck 23:50 Unreleased - Jan Wagner & Luca Eck

Techno has developed into pop multiple times here in Europe. Rave, Happy Hardcore, Trance, Psytrance, Hardstyle and Jump to name a few.

Modern Techno is Early Hardstyle basically

Kraftwerk, Moebius and Conny Plank started experimenting with electronic music in the 60s and 70s, laying the foundation for the genre. The Detroit artists then mixed these sounds with House music and gave it the name Techno. This new genre quickly gained popularity and has since evolved into various sub-genres with a global following.

Techno and other electronic music styles are safe. We do not need Vogue to tell us to be our selves, we do not need a permission from main stream, or from anyone, to do anything. I welcome everybody to the scene, they might come because of social media but stay for the music. Or they leave when something else becomes hip, it does not matter. Social media might have an influence on some superficial level and techno will evolve like it has always done, but it will always stay independent and undergroud, at least the main part of it.

For me techno is freedom. just be you in the past years since the pandemic techno parties don t feel the same anymore.... everyone dances, dresses, behaves the same... even in smaller clubs But i think that is going to change again once we adapted to the social media influence

There is still underground techno but this is definitely not it, and it's harder and harder to fight for it. Social media and especially TikTok killing the real spirit and sound of it, business techno is rampant, and new generations of kids don't know any better at least the majority in the US.

I hope we won't see tracks shortening in duration. It's really nice to have a longer track to listen to!

Techno will always depend on technology.. in production, in presentation and in upscaling the Reichweite.. as long as technology is evolving (DAWs, Synths), techno evolves as well.. also with some fruits to become POPular.. but also a big chance to develop (in very fast lifecycles) a broad, inspirational diversity in the playground under the ground.. glad to see so many creative persons and sounds in today’s scene ❤🎉🙌💥 thx for your research

Techno/House was always known for being diverse and open minded since day one. Everybody who knows anything about it will acknowledge the vital role the queer and black communities played in the development of these genres. To act like there is some sort of struggle going on nowadays is just laughable. Also the discussion about commercial vs underground has been going on since at least 1991 when Moby's hit single "Go" reached top ten chart positions in the UK and The Netherlands. I just think techno now is kind of in a position where trance was in the late 90's/ early 2000's. And of course, social media ruins techno, like it ruins everything.

The best time was for me very early 2000. After the 90s hype, everything went really back to the underground. The discussion was always focused on the music. More less minimal or not. House or not. You had the hardcore people, who were there still from the 90s, and a young generation, which was there for fresh sound being developed and the underground spirit.

"The message is party, dude!" in German: "Die Message ist Feierei, Alder!" Sven Väth do a lot for the scene, Thanx to Baba Sven!

Props for the interview with Nur!

Techno is everchanging and allways impressive!

Thanks so much for posting

Can you do the same video for the Rave scene in Lebanon, The Balkans or something in between?

for me the 90s/00s golden era techno style was the best, lots of variation in tracks, not so hard mastered, more lofi & dynamics. After 2008 or something everybody went full on minimal, with the exception of a few djs like ben sims. After that, i think around 2012, techno became more mainstream, you got harder kicks and it became a lot darker. Since a few years there has been really good golden era influenced techno coming out, but you have to search for it. the mainstream became even weirder with age of love remix from charlotte de witte and that other guy. Now deborah de luca has a remix of robert miles - childeren, and plays even remixes of abba tracks. That whole mainstream is more rave oriented and far more commercial than the underground. I wouldnt even call the mainstream techno. For me personally i hope that techno becomes more underground again.

I've been in the scene since '88 and there is not a lot of modern stuff in here that I would call "techno" (it sounds a lot more like commercial Trance). I still release techno mixes and there is not a single modern artist featured here that I would play, or have even heard of. For me Techno is a feeling. A pulse. A ripple. A boom. Techno is faceless bollocks. It is a punch in the face. It is a slap on the ass. It is an adrenaline shot. It is a roar, a scream, a horn, a siren. An explosion of sound and noise and emotion. For me Techno is the stuff Dave Clarke and Christian Varela are putting out each and every week. It's about as far from commercial Pop music as you can get.

DAWs like Ableton & FL Studio have contributed to the downfall of originality when producing electronic based music. Add in an oversaturation of plug-ins for DAWs, most producers experience a thing called "option paralysis" where they have too many options to choose from, so they stick to whatever plug ins & DAWs the pros use (Sylenth, Massive, FL Studio, etc) along with the oversaturation of the sample pack industry (BILLIONS upon billions of samples online) and you have a recipe for staleness. As a producer, I started seeing this around 2011 and switched to a hardware based set up and started building a studio full of gear from the early 2000s to the present. A lot of gear is expensive, but I enjoy being able to play an instrument like a synth that I can actually feel & experiment with different guitar pedals to get sounds & tones that can't be recreated on software (unless you get a plug in, lol). I enjoy jamming out & seeing where the music takes me, instead of me forcing the music to sound how I want. I can't stand using computers to produce and design sound, I only use them to record, mix & master.

The biggest problem for Techno today is that everyone keeps calling their music techno, when its not. 90% of this music getting called techno is actually trance. Melodic Techno is just rebranded Progressive Trance, Peak Time Techno is rebranded hard trance, hard dance & Hard Techno is Hardcore & Gabba rebranded, and none of it is innovative or pushing boundaries as actual techno music always does. Also the modern scene is saturated with Instagram model DJs who are often average DJs, and use Ghost producers to make music but have 300k subs because they look good in bikinis. These same "fans" who follow the instgram models are people who think Skrillex invented techno, so think they have found the "underground", when in reality EDM just rebranded itself Techno. Dont worry though they are already moving over to Psytrance now, so won't be long before the instagram model DJs get their dreadlocks glued in and hire new ghost producers..

I think Maxi Jazz from Faithless deserves a lot of credit for breaking racism in the techno scene. God Bless his soul in heaven !!!

Just a quick one, only few techno tracks I've heard inside this document. Rest is new wave pop, straight kick 4x4 doesn't mean that you're making techno. Thank me later ;)

"Mixing two genres together is the future", but that's nothing knew, that's how techno was created.

No drugs, no techno (as it is in nowdays). Unfortunatly both goes hand in hand. I'm all about music, art and expression, but seems like nowadays big part of "mainstream" scene are run as hudge enterprises, where, big name clubs, rental companies, promoter agencies and different beverage brands are legal side of it and "underground" drug market as illegal or "dark" side of that scene and both sides are benefiting hudge on it. It turns around hudge amout of money worldwide. The same scheme are running almost everywhere in world, at least in western hemisphere and than comes internet with its own game with lot of "artists" gaining popularity tru social media and often its not much about music as it is about artist image it self. Weird world we living in... "Underground resistance" ✊️

First, they say Gen Z is the first generation who has the freedom to experiment with their identity. Some minutes later, they present TikTok videos teaching correct dance moves and fashion for clubs. This is ridiculous and saddening. Everything essential to the underground electronic music culture has been eaten away by the free market, hyper-social media narratives, and corporate high fashion.

We've been living in Berlin for 7 years and clubbing here is definitely a unique and unforgettable experience 😎

Techno since the beginning inspired people to be themselves, express their emotions and to be authentic without judgement. A pure existence...Bliss. accepted just as you are. It energizes humanity ..We all believe in ourselves. Power. To the people.

Yeah we used to know how to have fun in the 80s and 90s

Experimentation and the creative risk-taking never happens in the mainstream. No genre has its best iconic and ground-breaking work in the mainstream part of its "catalogue".

Anyone know the track playing around 16:40?

I think it is important to have these conversations on the current state, trajectory and history of the music scene. And really it is the sound and the people in unison that creates the scene. It’s important to pass on wisdom and speak highly of the beauty in the past so that the current generation can learn and grow freely. To throw off the chains of the oppressors being government, media, corpo, parental and learned traumas. Change is inevitable. Techno is inevitable. We stand strong United and should uplift and teach each other rather than sour ourselves or others for having a good time at the party. Give respect where it is due and love yourself and each other the most possible. Be here now

I remember when techno nights were rocking up in old, comfortable clothes, old trainers etc, no pretentious "uniforms" and judging those not conforming to a set style, and there was certainly no virtue signalling or political bs mixed into it. Its also such a shame that anything with a 4/4 kick nowadays is calling itself techno.

I honestly feel like nowadays, a lot about how successful you are as an artist is about how you market yourself. And the problem about that is that mainly the people who are good at and willing to put their focus on that are getting the creative freedom to express themselves. This is the reason for the so-called "underground" still being commercial af. I personally think that some people who could really contribute something way more meaningful with emerge with time, they'll just need some time to adapt and create their own spaces. I am waiting for this moment with endless excitement.

so refreshing and exciting

I don't know what this documentary is trying to tell but it has little to do with techno. There is enough interesting stuff around if you have a good ear.

GREETINGS from CABO VERDE ISLANDS🤩🤩🤩

I think within those negative developments there is still hope. The "agenda" of techno (tolerance, diversity...) reaches more people then ever. Maybe the big clubs got mainstream but the small raves are so diverse and cool in fusion with the new "mainstream members". They like the industrial style and get to know the ground rules the feeling of techno and maybe get more open and tolerant themselves. Let's use the new attention to make an positive impact 💗💗

I think Afterlife has been provided a new vision of techno music since 2018. They combine music with post-modernism visual art, including both album covers and their lives

thank you

I have been to an Day festival with kobosil as Main act. It was harder, faster but it felt a lil bit like fake love. .

For me in order for the DJ, Club & Rave Scene to survive and relevant it must get in touch with its underground influences first. But also its rhythmic, tribal, energetic and acoustic sounds and influences of the past of which it stems; Soul, Funk, R&B Which where the elements that made into Disco & House. Along with groups like Tangrine Dream, Kraftwerk, Harmonia etc. To artists like jean michel jarre, Klause Shulze etc. Started the elements to hip-hop and yes to even acid house then Techno. And also the New Beat is the cradel and early sounds from which Trance was birthed. Hope that clears. Any info please leave a comment in the thread. Thank You!

Now its time on Sprockets when ve dance!!; Its been too long since ive been to a legit warehouse party. Clubs sre cool, but there is a certain air of superiority disguiesd ad inclusivity that is tough to take. To me, the underground scene is what need to thrive.

I would like to see a Video that presents the big influence of Kraftwerk , Jean Michel Jarre and others that have shaped the first steps of the Electronic music.

11:45 that is the biggest cringe ever 😂

DJs were heard not seen,in the darkness

Give a huge credit to the edm pioneer Giorgio Moroder...specially the 1970s hit Back to Eternity. It was way ahead of it's time and a prerequisite to the techno and electronic music....

I think you guys made a great job with the video. There's various viewpoints on the past, present and future of the scene. You may not agree with some of the opinions, but you can't argue with the facts 😂 What really hurts is seeing all the gatekeeping happening nowadays. So what the DJs are paid horrendous amounts of money? Most of them are working hard and deserve to be paid. If you don't support them don't buy the records, don't go to the shows. Find a local club that pushes younger generation artists and spend your money there. On a positive note the wide popularity of the genre means more people will get into producing/DJing and you may get your next Drexciya.

Anyone knows what song is playing at 17:00 ?

New Dance Show mentioned!!!

Can someone id the first tune in the video?

track id on the intro

Thank god for Techno.

It's a really interesting video but it's too focused on the german club techno in my opinion. You need to keep in mind that this music and culture has also evolved a lot due to other european countries like UK, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic etc... And there is also free-parties in which the sound and the way of partying are really different than in the clubs and festivals.

15 cans of stella!!!

The grandpas can cry all they want, but they can't hold techno back!

MAKE TECHNO UNDERGROUND AGAIN!!! 6 6 6 ❌❌❌

The destruction of techno captured in 26 minutes 😢

@11:30 is definitely one of the main reasons why the scene feels less authentic now.

I have been listening techno, trance, dance since the end of the 80ties. The period of blossom was for me the +/- 1990 till +/- 2010. Many styles evolved and the speed of novelty was high (acid, new beat, trance, euro dance, chill, drum & base, etc.) Today I feel the novelty is more on microscopic scale and broadbanded (many micro-styles), and I feel that the established styles have become superficial noisy monotonous. Some audiances and DJs are trapped in a box of mutual expections. (harder, faster, maximum climax, ..) and which might be the cause for this.

3:00 track ID on the background?

I can't believe they didn't mention Boris brejcha and Ann clue❤

How did Techno make the jump from Detroit to Europe? Techno was a local only underground scene in Detroit but for some reason when it make the jump to Europe it exploded. Thank you.

The 00's era of Trance is what was my gateway to Electronic music. Was is the instruments/synths? The melody? I don't know, but nowadays Trance tracks doesn't hit the same at all. For some reason I was always interested in Techno even back in 2015, but the new wave of "Melodic Techno" AKA remixes of Trance tracks kinda feels like home to me. I get from the comments that "this isn't really Techno", but then what IS Techno? Could "Melodic Techno" be seen as a first layer, a gateway to deeper, truer levels of Techno? Same could be said for Hardstyle: I like D-Block & S-te-fan or Ran-D (melodic!), but real hardstyle fans may find them too mainstream or soft compared to say Sefa (random artist, I don't know who I can compare with there. Think harder styles.)

I hope to see more tours of these amazing artists trough out the world. Music for the people. Keep pushing boundaries and uniting through sound. ❤

Where's the talla 2xLC interview?

I don't see any pushing of boundaries here. Saying that mixing pop and techno creates something completely new, unheard of, is a ludicrous affirmation. Honestly I felt very sad watching all of this ostentation, poser attitude and obsession with fashion. I think it defeats the purpose of the spirit of the culture. We can all hear the bliss of freedom in the tracks that we grew up with. I hope me and many more from my generation and the ones following us can contribute to a brighter future for techno/electronic culture through music, video, new media, words and attitudes. The Tresor exhibition at Kraftwerk 'Ruins of an Alternative Future' seems like a good example to me. Thus we have a possibility of pulling it back from the capitalist, cellphone infested hole it has gotten itself into (society in general, actually). 'The Burnout Society' by Byung-Chul Han is a great analysis of our times, in my opinion. Thank you for this work and the whole series! Obrigado!

🔥🔥🔥

as always in these types of documentaries, no mention at all of the freetekno / freeparty / teknival scene, what a shame, but somehow not surprising.

Is techno a spot to be free or to fit in esthetically? Is techno a call to flex on future or to be top looking.... for sure is about everything but the soound crafting has been in the tiniest light.

These documentaries are always high quality.

I like this can i come along ?

Techno seems to be in the same state as disco by the end of the 70s

Tracks ID plz

Video killed the radio stars (2023 Remastered)

Electronic music is a genre of music that is continuously growing with a significant number of labels. Labels such as Warp, Tresor, Soma, Hypnus and R&S are always searching for originality and favor experimentation over commercial success. They strive to find unique sounds and artists, paving the way for a diverse and exciting range of electronic music. With so many talented producers and DJs, the electronic music scene is constantly evolving, creating an infinite world of experiences for its listeners. These labels are committed to advancing the electronic music culture, making electronic music one of the most innovative and boundary-pushing genres in the music industry.

4:00 Track?

Trance!

Social media, especially TikTok makes even techno go rancid.

Techno was a global phenomenon already at the start since the people in Detroit have been influenced by Düsseldorf Kraftwerk...

Hells yes

I am not a fan of the commercial techno and i agree with most comments but if you allow your self to dig there is still really great underground techno especially in industrial hard tek. Like "Krtm - orgy - kozlov - brecc - ornviom - 6EJOU - Paula temple - snts - Ogts -

Everyone so original yet everyone wants and looks the same. Like everything else, you can't have quality and quantity.

I love techno and want to learn how to produce it 🖤🖤🖤

👏

Many names are forgotten here. Some of the biggest ones, except for Sven Vath and maybe few others, it's all about how Techno is became a "pop" movement, not what's was about to be back in the early 90s.

this sounds more like a eulogy by those who have only a passing knowledge of the deceased.

LoL... This video is so hot that it practically burns... I sort of wanna share a personal experience ~which in retrospect I am not particularly proud of, obviously of course, but it still kind of happened. The musical genre was more like IDK... I'd say Drum & Base... But all and all ~electronic sounds by live DJs... It was this ~sea side event, not beach, because elevated above sea level rocks for the most part (at certain point there were some sand beach nearby actually). At that time I were quite a lot into illegal substances. So I were "practicing" of course that ~"hobby" alongside a group of people... Which were also ~knowledgeable and into distribution. Electronic Music was along the way of course... Dubstep, Techno, Live Dub/Rapping... Some good sounds of some good speakers in some ~I wanna say "good" places (and for their intent and purpose they were), but in fact ~anything but according to the dominant and most likely ~correct part of society... it`s majority. So one of the guys (btw I am also male if it isn`t kind of obvious) and his girlfriend and a friend of him and me... After a certain period of time ~"Prepping ourselves"... using and stocking aforementioned substances... Started this trip to the described location... I drove... (yes under a lot of influences and probably severely, chronically under slept and we only almost crashed into on going traffic during over take in the nigh once... but I became aware of the unappropriated, miscalculated, maneuver while the 3 or so (not actually sure) passengers screamed a little... so we arrived. There there have been this on going ~Techno Party (let`s call it that way for the sake of the argument) which probably have been going on for a while. I did a lot more substances (I am not exactly sure, but I think they had, legit on the spot, "labs" in caravans) on the spot and alcohol... roamed and listened and dance on many of the scenes around the spot. At certain point I lied down into a bliss full black out... I were obviously OD AF (and fully aware of it, weren`t my first time, but this was the time I cared less of probably them all, because reasons). When I woke up I had most of all "trip" experiences you can think of... again under the sounds of heavily distorted by it (the tripping) music. Than I remember ~stuffs... like me, some of the others I came with and those I knew, that were already there... and I am pretty sure one of the DJs were going to one abandoned observation beacon/tower on the nearby beach and the only way I could ~climb the broken down stares was on 4 legs... but I assure you the DJ had exactly the same way of moving... I practically were re learning how to walk ~or something... I ~drove back, leaving the people I came with, them assuring me they will be o.k., also picking a hitchhiker of the spot to a nearby town, like the day after that... So I spent there like total of 2 days within 3 days... meaning 1 night, 1 day and up until some time on the next day... good times... good times... Few years latter my "frictions" with the police became too often and with some marginal time inside of a precinct detention unit so I had to give up the ~substances abuse... but I still listen to electronic music on my PC during most of all I do on it... the PC. Now a lil bit of promo to a fledgling Adriana Botez. Go check her RU-vid channel with her ~3 so far sets I think. Bye.

It’s nice for me living in the us in a city that doesn’t have a big club scene. In the one hand I don’t get to go to clubs as easily but I find I just find artists for the sound and not for their social media presence.

Think you’re conflating techno and other electronic music sub genres at some points… nice video

Techno is turning into wanne be hardstlye (just in a mainstream form)!