Because some of us at Ears To The House have been around for a while, allow us to share an insight with you. Techno was originally meant to be a way of sticking two fingers up at the mainstream. The genre didn’t follow the rules – it did its own thing and cared little about whether others liked it.
In a way, it reminds us of ourselves – we don’t need anyone’s validation either. Which is why we’ve noticed some developments within techno recently, and are watching on with a combination of horror and absolute bemusement. Namely, by asking – what the bloody hell has happened to this genre?
Now, we’re not naive. We don’t expect techno today to sound like it did in 1995. Of course not – music evolves over time, and we welcome evolution which brings out new ideas and new ways of doing things into the open. But the sound of techno in 2023 suggests to us that the genre has completely and utterly lost its mind.
Take this clip, for example, of Marco Carola and Joseph Capriati – possibly two of techno’s most overrated, amidst heavy competition – playing at Pacha. The video is tantalisingly captioned with the words “wait for the bomb”…
The consensus at Ears To The House HQ was this was more akin to a wet fart than anything else. Even Carola and Capriati look bored as they wait for “the bomb” which, at the time of writing, has yet to arrive.
However, listen to the song selection. It’s some utterly tuneless, dull remix of “I Feel For You” by Bob Sinclar – a song that the baguette-wielding Frenchman released back in 2000. Which, incidentally, sounded like this…
A great record, yes. But er, here’s the thing. It isn’t techno. Not in a million years does this come anywhere close to being called a techno record. So what on earth is it doing anywhere near a techno set?
This isn’t the first instance like this, either. We note, for instance, a recent example of Keinemusik playing “Waiting For Tonight” at a recent event in Rio De Janeiro. Yes, “Waiting For Tonight” by the well-known queen of techno Jennifer Lopez. This scene is eating itself alive…
