Liceul Teoretic Alexandru Ioan Cuza - Bucuresti

Lucrare de atestat la limba engleza 2010

Music

Candidat: Morarescu Andrei Clasa aXII-a D Profesori Coordonatori: Maier Doina Malancu Paula

Table of contents

1.0 Argument.... 4 2.0 Introduction.... 5 3.0 Origins.... 6 3.1 Detroit Sound. 7 3.2 School Days..... 8 3.3 Juan Atkins..... 10 3.4 Music Institute.... 11 4.0 Developments... 13 4.1 Exodus.... 14 4.2 Berlin.. 15 4.3 A Techno Alliance... 16 4.4 Minimal-Techno.... 17 4.5 Intelligent-Techno.. 18 5.0 The New Era. 20 5.1 Free Techno.... 21 5.2 Tech-trance. 23 5.3 Tech-house. 24

6.0 Techno Music Festivals.. 27 6.1 Love Parade.. 27 6.2 Time Warp 33 6.3 I love techno. 38 7.0 Conclusions 39 Bibliography. 40

1.0 Argument
The main reason for choosing the history of techno music as a subject for this project is my passion for EDM (electronic dance music), especially techno and house music. I discovered EDM almost 10 years ago due to some older friends and as the years passed, although I was one of the few my age who listened to this kind of music, I started to discover and listen to more and more genres of EDM such as trance, progressive, techno, electro, house and so on. As the years passed and my knowledge about music and the history of music grew, I started to pay more attention to the people actually playing this music in clubs or in festivals. I really appreciated the work of the DJs and producers so I decided to try it out, first playing music on computer software to try to understand the basic principles and through that, adding the help of other DJs, I got to learn how to play music and actually mix different tracks between them on real hardware, not just on my PC. One of the most exciting moments in my life was the first time I played music in a club in the front of a crowd. Soon I started to play music at more and more clubs and pubs in Bucharest. All in all, I can say that one of the biggest loves of my life is music, EDM more precisely. Furthermore, I want to show you how it all began and evolved in huge techno music manifestation, practically changing peoples perceptions of electronic music around the world.

2.0 Introduction
Techno is a form of electronic dance music (EDM) that emerged in Detroit, Michigan (USA) in the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988.Many styles of techno now exist, but Detroit techno is seen as the foundation upon which a number of subgenres have been built. The initial take on techno arose from the melding of Eurocentric electronic music by artists such as Kraftwerk with African American music including funk, electro, Chicago house and electric jazz. Added to this is the influence of futuristic and fictional themes that are relevant to life in American late capitalist societyparticularly the book The Third Wave by Alvin Toffler. Pioneering producer Juan Atkins cites Tofflers phrase techno rebels as inspiring him to use the word techno to describe the musical style he helped to create. This unique blend of influences aligns techno with the aesthetic referred to as afrofuturism. To producers such as Derrick May, the transference of spirit from the body to the machine is often a central preoccupation; essentially an expression of technological spirituality. In this manner: techno dance music defeats what Adorno saw as the alienating effect of mechanisation on the modern consciousness. Music journalists and fans of techno are generally selective in their use of the term; so a clear distinction can be made between sometimes related but often qualitatively different styles, such as tech house and trance. Techno is also commonly confused with generalized descriptors, such as electronic music and dance music.

3.0 Origins
The initial blueprint for techno was developed during the mid-1980s in Detroit, Michigan, by Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson, Derrick May (the socalled Belleville Three), and Eddie Fowlkes, all of whom attended school together at Belleville High, near Detroit. By the close end of the 1980s, the four had recorded and released material under various guises: Atkins as Model 500, Flintstones, and Magic Juan; Fowlkes simply as Eddie Flashin Fowlkes; Saunderson as Reese, Keynotes, and Kaos; with May as Mayday, R-Tyme, and Rhythim Is Rhythim. There were also a number of joint ventures, the most commercially successful of which was the Atkins and Saunderson (with James Pennington and Arthur Forest) collaboration on the first Inner City single, Big Fun.

3.1 Detroit Sound

The early producers, enabled by the increasing affordability of sequencers and synthesizers, merged a

European synth-pop aesthetic with aspects of soul, funk, disco, and electro, pushing electronic dance music into uncharted terrain. They deliberately rejected

the Motown legacy and traditional formulas of R&B and soul, and instead embraced technological experimentation. Within the last 5 years or so, the Detroit underground has been

experimenting with technology, stretching it rather than simply using it. As the price of sequencers and synthesizers has dropped, so the experimentation has become more intense. Basically, were tired of hearing about being in love or falling out, tired of the R&B system, so a new progressive sound has emerged. We call it techno! Juan Atkins, 1988 The resulting Detroit sound was interpreted by Derrick May and one journalist in 1988 as a post-soul sound with no debt to Motown, but by another journalist a decade later as soulful grooves melding the beat-centric styles of Motown with the music technology of the time. May famously described the sound of techno as something that is like Detroita complete

mistake. Its like George Clinton and Kraftwerk are stuck in an elevator with only a sequencer to keep them company. The sound exerted an influence on widely differing styles of electronic music, yet it also maintained an identity as a genre in its own right, one now commonly referred to as Detroit techno.

3.2 School days

Prior to achieving notoriety, Atkins, Saunderson, May, and Fowlkes shared common interests as budding musicians, mix tape traders, and aspiring DJs. They also found musical inspiration via the Midnight Funk Association, an eclectic five-hour late-night radio program hosted on various Detroit radio stations, including WCHB, WGPR, and WJLB-FM from 1977 through the mid1980s by DJ Charles The Electrifying Mojo Johnson. Mojos show featured electronic music by artists such as Giorgio Moroder, Kraftwerk, and Tangerine Dream, alongside the funk sounds of Parliament, and danceable selections of new wave music from bands such as Devo and the B-52s. Atkins has noted: He [Mojo] played all the Parliament and Funkadelic that

anybody ever wanted to hear. Those two groups were really big in Detroit at the time. In fact, they were one of the main reasons why disco didnt really grab hold in Detroit in 1979. Mojo used to play a lot of funk just to be different from all the other stations that had gone over to disco. When Knee Deep came out, that just put the last nail in

the coffin of disco music. Despite the short-lived disco boom in Detroit, it had the effect of inspiring many individuals to take up mixing, Juan Atkins among them. Subsequently, Atkins taught May how to mix records, and in 1981, Magic Juan, Derrick Mayday, in conjunction with three other DJs, one of whom was Eddie Flashin Fowlkes, launched themselves as a party crew called Deep Space Soundworks (also referred to as Deep Space). In 1980 or 1981 they met with Mojo and proposed that they provide mixes for his show, which they did end up doing the following year. During the late 1970s/early 1980s high school clubs such as Brats, Charivari, Ciabattino, Comrades, Gables, Hardwear, Rafael, Rumours, Snobs, and Weekends created the incubator in which techno was grown. These young promoters developed and nurtured the local dance music scene by both catering to the tastes of the local audience of young people and by marketing parties with new DJs and their music. As these local clubs grew in popularity, groups of DJs began to band together to market their mixing skills and sound systems to the clubs in order to cater to the growing audiences of listeners. Locations like local church activity centers, vacant warehouses, offices, and YMCA auditoriums were the early locations where underage crowds gathered and the musical form was nurtured and defined.

3.3 Juan Atkins

Of the four individuals responsible for establishing techno as a genre in its own right, it is Juan Atkins who is recognized as The Originator. Atkins role was likewise acknowledged in 1995 by the American music technology publication Keyboard Magazine, which honored Atkins as one of 12 Who Count in the history of keyboard music. In the early 1980s, Atkins began recording with musical partner Richard 3070 Davis (and later with a third member, Jon-5) as Cybotron. This trio released a number of rock and electro-inspired tunes, the most successful of which were Clear (1983) and its moodier follow-up, Techno City (1984). According to a recent bio on MySpace, Atkins coined the term techno to describe their music, taking as one inspiration the works of Futurist and author Alvin Toffler, from whom he borrowed the terms cybotron and metroplex. Atkins has used the term to describe earlier bands that made heavy use of synthesizers, such as Kraftwerk, although many people would consider Kraftwerks music and Juans early music in Cybotron as electro. Atkins viewed Cybotrons Cosmic Cars (1982) as unique, Germanic, synthesized funk, but he later heard Afrika Bambaataas Planet Rock (1982) and considered it to be a superior example of the music he envisioned. Inspired, he resolved to continue experimenting, and he encouraged Saunderson and May to do likewise.

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Eventually,

Atkins

started producing his own music under the pseudonym Model

500, and in 1985 he established the record label Metroplex. In the same year, he released a seminal work entitled No

UFOs, one of the first Detroit techno productions to receive wider attention and an important turning point for the music. Of this time, Atkins has said When I started Metroplex around February or March of 1985 and

released No UFOs, I thought I was just going to make my money back on it, but I wound up selling between 10,000 and 15,000 copies. I had no idea that my record would happen in Chicago. Derricks parents had moved there, and he was making regular trips between Detroit and Chicago. So when I came out with No UFOs, he took copies out to Chicago and gave them to some DJs, and it just happened.

3.4 Music Institute

In mid-1988, developments in the Detroit scene lead to the opening of nightclub called the Music Institute (MI), located at 1315 Broadway in downtown Detroit. The venue was secured by George Baker and Alton Miller with Darryl Wynn and Derrick May participating as Friday night DJs, and Baker and Chez Damier playing to a mostly gay crowd on Saturday nights. The club

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closed on November 24, 1989, with Derrick May playing Strings of Life along with a recording of clock tower bells. May explains: It all happened at the right time by mistake, and it didnt last

because it wasnt supposed to last. Our careers took off right around the time we [the MI] had to close, and maybe it was the best thing. I think we were peaking we were so full of energy and we didnt know who we were or [how to] realize our potential. We had no inhibitions, no standards, we just did it. Thats why it came off so fresh and innovative, and thats whywe got the best of the best. Though short-lived, MI was known internationally for its all-night sets, its sparse white rooms, and its juice bar stocked with smart drinks (the Institute never served liquor). The MI, notes Dan Sicko, along with Detroits early techno pioneers, helped give life to one of the citys important musical subcultures one that was slowly growing into an international scene.

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4.0 Developments
As the original sound evolved in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it also diverged to such an extent that a wide spectrum of stylistically distinct music was being referred to as techno. This ranged from relatively pop oriented acts such as Moby to the distinctly anti-commercial sentiments of the appropriately named Underground Resistance. Derrick Mays

experimentation on works such as Beyond the Dance (1989)

and The Beginning (1990) were credited with taking techno in dozens of new directions at once and having the kind of expansive impact John Coltrane had on Jazz. By the late 1980s and early 90s, the original techno sound had garnered a large underground following in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Belgium. The growth of technos popularity in Europe between 1988 and 1992 was largely due to the emergence of the party scene known as rave and a thriving club culture.

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4.1 Exodus
In America, apart from regional scenes in Detroit, New York, and Chicago, interest was limited. Producers from Detroit, frustrated by the lack of opportunity in their home country, looked to Europe for their future livelihood. This first wave of Detroit expatriates was soon joined by a number of up-and-coming Craig, Octave artists, One, the so called second-wave, Larkin, including Carl Pullen,

Jay

Denham, Kenny

and Stacey

with URs Jeff Mills,Mike Banks, and Robert Hood pushing their own unique sound. A number of New York producers were also making an impression at this time, notably Frankie Bones, Lenny Dee, and Joey Beltram. In the same period, close to Detroit (Windsor, Ontario), Richie Hawtin, with business partner John Acquaviva, launched the influential imprint Plus 8 Records. Developments in American-produced techno between 1990 and 1992 fueled the expansion and eventual divergence of techno in Europe, particularly in Germany. In Berlin, following the closure of a free party venue called UFO, the club Tresor opened in 1991. The venue was for a time the standard bearer for techno and played host to many of the leading Detroit producers, some of whom relocated to Berlin. By 1993, as interest in techno in the UK club scene started to wane, Berlin was considered the unofficial techno capital of Europe. Although eclipsed by Germany, Belgium was another focus of second-wave techno in this time period. The Ghent-based label R&S Records embraced harder-edged techno by teenage prodigies like Beltram and C.J. Bolland, releasing tough, metallic trackswith harsh, discordant synth lines that sounded like distressed Hoovers, according to one music journalist.

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4.2 Berlin
Germanys engagement with American EDM during the 1980s paralleled that in the UK. By 1987 a German party scene based around the Chicago sound was well established. The following year (1988) saw acid house making as significant an impact on popular consciousness in Germany as it had in England. In 1989 German DJs Westbam and Dr. Motte established UFO, an illegal party venue, and co-founded the Love Parade. After the Berlin Wall fell on 9 November 1989, free underground techno parties mushroomed in East Berlin, and a rave scene comparable to that in the UK was established. East German DJ Paul van Dyk has remarked that techno was a major force in reestablishing social connections between East and West Germany during the unification period. In 1991 a number of party venues closed, including UFO, and the Berlin Techno scene centered itself around three locations close to the foundations of the Berlin Wall: Planet (later renamed E-Werk by Paul van Dyk), Der Bunker, and the relatively long-lived Tresor. It was in Tresor at this time that a trend in paramilitary clothing was established (amongst the techno fraternity) by a DJ named Tanith; possibly as an expression of a commitment to the underground aesthetic of the music, or perhaps influenced by URs paramilitary posturing. In the same period German DJs began intensifying the speed and abrasiveness of the sound, as an acid infused techno began transmuting into hardcore. DJ Tanith commented at the time that: Berlin was always hardcore, hardcore hippie, hardcore punk, and now we have a very hardcore house sound. At the moment the tracks I play are an average one

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hundred and thirty-five beats per minute and every few months we add fifteen more. This emerging sound is thought to have been influenced by Dutch gabber and Belgian hardcore; styles that were in their own perverse way paying homage to Underground Resistance and Richie Hawtins Plus 8 Records. Other influences on the development of this style were European Electronic Body Music groups of the mid-1980s such as DAF, Front 242, and Nitzer Ebb. In Germany, fans referred to this sound as Tekkno (or Bretter).

4.3 A Techno Alliance

In 1993, the German techno

label Tresor Records released the compilation album Tresor II: Berlin & Detroit A Techno Alliance, a testament to the influence of the Detroit sound upon the German techno scene and a celebration of a mutual admiration pact between the two cities. As the mid-90s

approached Berlin was becoming a haven for Detroit producers; Jeff Mills and Blake Baxter even resided there for a time. In the same period, with the assistance of Tresor, Underground Resistance released their X-101/X-102/X103 album series, Juan Atkins collaborated with 3MBs Thomas Fehlmann and Moritz Von Oswald and Tresor affiliated label Basic Detroits Channel had National taken Sound to having their the

releases mastered by

Corporation;

main mastering house for the entire Detroit dance music scene. In some sense popular electronic music had come full circle; Dsseldorfs Kraftwerk having

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been a primary influence on the electronic dance music of the 1980s. The dance sounds of Chicago also had a German connection as it was

in Munich that Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte had first produced the 1970s Eurodisco synth pop sound.

4.4 Minimal techno

As EDM continued to transmute a number of Detroit producers began to question the trajectory techno was taking. One response came in the form of so-called minimal techno (a term

producer Daniel Bell found difficult to accept, finding the term minimalism, in the artistic sense of the word, too arty). It is thought that Robert Hood, a Detroit based producer and one time member of UR, is largely responsible for ushering the emergence of the minimal strain of techno. Hood describes the situation in the early 1990s as one where techno had become too ravey, with increasing tempos leading to the emergence of gabber. Such trends saw the demise of the soul infused techno that typified the original Detroit sound leading Hood and others to redefine the music as a basic stripped down, raw sound. Just drums, basslines and funky grooves and only whats essential. Only what is essential to make people move. Hood explains:

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I think Dan [Bell] and I both realized that something was missing an elementin what we both know as techno. It sounded great from a production point of standpoint, but there was a jack element in the [old] structure. People would complain that theres no funk, no feeling in techno anymore, and the easy escape is to put a vocalist and some piano on top to fill the emotional gap. I thought it was time for a return to the original underground.

4.5 Intelligent techno

In 1991 UK music journalist Matthew Collin wrote that Europe may have the scene and the energy, but its America which supplies the ideological directionif Belgian techno gives us riffs, German techno the noise, British techno the breakbeats, then Detroit supplies the sheer cerebral depth. By 1992 a general rejection of rave culture, by a number of European producers and labels who were attempting to redress what they saw as the corruption and commercialization of the original techno ideal, was evident. Following this, the ideal of an intelligent or Detroit derived pure techno aesthetic began to take hold. Detroit techno had maintained its integrity throughout the rave era and was inspiring a new generation of so called intelligent techno producers. As the mid-1990s approached, the term had gained common usage in an attempt to differentiate the increasingly sophisticated takes on EDM from

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other strands of techno that had emerged, including variants such as breakbeat hardcore, Schranz, Dutch Gabber, and overtly commercial strains that were simply referred to as cheese. Simon Reynolds observes that this progression involved a full-scale retreat from the most radically posthuman and hedonistically functional aspects of rave music toward more traditional ideas about creativity, namely the auteur theory of the solitary genius who humanizes technology. Warp Records was among the first to capitalize upon this development with the release of the compilation album Artificial Intelligence Of this time, Warp founder and managing director Steve Beckett has said the dance scene was changing and we were hearing B-sides

that werent dance but were interesting and fitted into experimental, progressive rock, so we decided to make the compilation Artificial Intelligence, which became a milestone it felt like we were leading the market rather than it leading us, the music was aimed at home listening rather than clubs and dance floors: people coming home, off their nuts, and having the most interesting part of the night listening to totally tripped out music. The sound fed the scene. Warp had originally marketed Artificial Intelligence using the description electronic listening music but this was quickly replaced

by intelligent techno. In the same period (199293) other names were also bandied about such as armchair techno, ambient techno, and electronica, but all were used to describe an emerging form of post-rave dance music for the sedentary and stay at home. Following the commercial success of the compilation in the United States, Intelligent Dance Music eventually became the

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phrase most commonly used to describe much of the experimental EDM emerging during the mid to late 1990s. Although it is primarily Warp that has been credited with ushering the commercial growth of IDM and electronic, in the early 1990s there were many notable labels associated with the initial intelligence trend that received little, if any, wider attention. Amongst others they include: Black Dog

Productions (1989), Carl Craigs Planet E (1991), Kirk Degiorgios Applied Rhythmic Technology (1991), Eevo Lute Muzique (1991), General Production Recordings (1991), New Electronica (1993), Mille Plateaux (1993), 100% Pure (1993), and Ferox Records (1993).

5.0 The New Era

In recent years, as computer technology has become more accessible and music software has advanced, interacting with music production technology is now possible using means that bear no relationship to traditional practices: musical for performance laptop

instance,

performance (laptronica) and live coding. In the last decade a number of software-based virtual studio environments have emerged, with products such as Propellerheads Reason and Ableton Live finding popular appeal. These

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software-based music production tools provide viable and cost-effective alternatives to typical hardware-based production studios, and thanks to advances in microprocessor technology, it is now possible to create high quality music using little more than a single laptop computer. Such advances have democratized music creation, leading to a massive increase in the amount of home-produced music available to the general public via the internet. Artists can now also individuate their sound by creating personalized software synthesizers, effects modules, and various composition environments. Devices that once existed exclusively in the hardware domain can easily have virtual counterparts.

5.1 Free techno

In the early 1990s a post-rave, DIY, free party scene had established itself in the UK. It was largely based around an alliance between warehouse party goers from various urban squat scenes and politically inspired new age travellers. The new agers offered a readymade network of countryside festivals that were hastily adopted by squatters and ravers alike. Prominent among the sound systems operating at this time were Tonka in Brighton, DiY in Nottingham, Bedlam, Circus Warp, LSDiesel and Londons Spiral Tribe. The high point of this free party period came in May 1992 when with less than 24 hours notice and little publicity more than 35,000 gathered at the Castlemorton Common Festival for 5 days of partying.

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This one event was largely responsible for the introduction in 1994 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act; effectively leaving the British free party scene for dead. Following this many of the traveller artists moved away from Britain to Europe, the US, Goa in India, Koh Phangan in Thailand and Australias East Coast. In the rest of Europe, due in some part to the inspiration of traveling sound systems from the UK, rave enjoyed a prolonged existence as it continued to expand across the continent. Spiral Tribe, Bedlam and other English sound systems took their cooperative techno ideas to Europe, particularly Eastern Europe where it was cheaper to live, and audiences were quick to appropriate the free party ideology. It was European Teknival free parties, such as the annual Czechtek event in the Czech Republic that gave rise to several French, German and Dutch sound systems. Many of these groups found audiences easily and were often centered around squats in cities such as Amsterdam and Berlin.

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5.2 Tech-trance
Tech Trance is a sub-genre within Electronic Dance Music that draws upon the Techno and Trance genres as the name suggests. Tech Trance was pioneered by Oliver Lieb in the mid 90s. Other early Tech Trance producers are Humate, Chris Cowie and Marmion. Tech Trance later took a new turn in the early 2000 when producers such as Marco V and Randy Katana sprung out as the leading Dutch Tech Trance producers. This appealed to several Trance DJs such as Ferry Corsten, Tiesto, and Armin van Buuren, who each started incorporating Tech Trance into their sets. Tech Trance incorporates traditional elements of Techno, with its repetitive nature and strong 4/4 beat, while deriving the melodic elements from Trance. Tech Trance compositions tend to have a tempo of around 135-150 beats per minute. Tech Trance tends to utilize a more driving sound while commonly using distortion as an effect on the melodies. Commonly, the melody containing strings and pads will begin once the beat has completely stopped, playing by itself much like a Trance breakdown. This melody will suddenly stop, leaving the drums and a completely different synth to begin, whereas Trance songs would generally continue with the same melody. The synths are short, repetitive and contain less note changes than Trance, often having the same note played in an interesting sequence. For an example, see Sam Sharps Deep.

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While breakdowns and builds within a song are important elements of many electronic genres, they are less prevalent in Tech Trance. As a result, more abrupt stops and starts are used to increase the effect of sudden changes within the music. Vocals are also quite rare within the Tech Trance genre, with only short phrases or single words normally incorporated. Tech Trance is currently quite an underground genre, but is growing in popularity due to its hard-edged nature and growing list of producers.

5.3 Tech-house

Tech house is a subgenre of house music that mixes elements of minimal techno into simple, 4-to-4 beats found in soulful deep house. The genre came to prominence in the late-1990s atmosphere of American clubs as soul influenced Detroit-style techno that also borrowed elements from house before reaching Europe. As one reviewer for Amazon.com suggested, this style fuses steady techno rhythms with the soul and accessibility of house. Unlike progressive house that arose on European dance scene during the same era, tech house does not represent a breakaway from electronic simplicity, but rather takes it to a new level, by experimenting same simplicity in techno subgenres. Reaching mainstream popularity worldwide from 2000 to roughly 2005, tech house was eventually succeeded by the more prominent electro house movement.

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As a mixing style, techhouse often brings together deep or minimal techno music, the soulful and jazzy end of house, some minimal techno and microhouse (especially with a soulful feel, such as Luomos music), and very often some dub elements. There is some overlap with progressive house,

which too can contain deep, soulful, dub, and techno elements; this is especially true since the turn of the millennium, as progressive-house mixes have themselves often become deeper and sometimes more minimal. However, the typical progressive-house mix which might integrate some funky house, trance, and even some hard techno at timeshas more energy than tech-house, which tends to have a more laid-back feel. Tech-house fans tend to appreciate subtlety, as well as the middle ground that adds a splash of color to steel techno beats and eschews the banging of house music for intricate rhythms. Also in contrast to most progressive house, which tends to have a progression over the course of the mix ending in an ecstatic release of energy at the end, tech-house often aims at achieving an even groove. Although there might be dips and peaks in the energy level any interesting mix will have them, after allthey will be more on the restrained side. As such, tech-house is found to be as enjoyable a headphone experience as it is a dancefloor one, a fact not lost on the creaters of such music a classic release by the duo MRI on the Force Tracks label was their 12 titled Nightclubbing at Home. Later tech

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house tracks include Dirty Vegas Days Go By (2002) and Fab Four Last Night a DJ Blew My Mind (2003). As a musical (as opposed to a mixing) style, tech-house uses the same basic structure as house. However, elements of the house sound such as realistic jazz sounds (in deep house) and booming kick drums are replaced with elements from techno such as shorter, deeper, darker and often distorted kicks, smaller, quicker hi-hats, noisier snares and more synthetic or acid sounding synth melodies from the TB-303, including raw electronic noises from distorted sawtooth and square wave oscillators. The well known tech-house producer, Jean F. Cochois, also known as The Timewriter, has often used jazzy, soulful vocals and elements, and equally as much raw electronic sounds in his music. However, a rich techno-like kick and bassline seems to be a consistency amongst tech house music. The term tech house has proved controversial over the years as some say that the use of the expression has mutated to represent a very particular and narrow style of music (see above), rather than the broad-minded attitude and approach to Djing and production that the tech house scene once was during the mid-nineties. For this reason, certain artists such as Asad Rizvi no longer attach the term with their work, as they feel that popular perception of tech house is a vastly inaccurate representation of their work.

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6.0 Techno Music Festivals

6.1 Love Parade

The Love Parade (German: Loveparade) is a popular festival and parade that originated in 1989 in Berlin, Germany. It was held in Germany annually between 1989 and 2003, and then from 2006 to 2008. The 2004 and 2005 editions in Berlin and the 2009 edition in Bochum were cancelled. Internationally, spin-off Love Parades have occurred in Zurich, San Francisco, Mexico City, Acapulco, Geneva, Vienna, Cape Town, Tel Aviv, Leeds, Sydney, Santiago, Caracas, Rio de Janeiro, Oslo, Budapest. The Love Parade has its roots in the spirit of a changing Europe. In 1989, it was first celebrated four months before the demolition of the Berlin Wall. It was started by the Berlin Underground under the initiative of Matthias

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Roeingh aka "Dr Motte" and his then girlfriend Danielle de Picciotto. It was held as a political demonstration for peace and international understanding through love and Music. Until 1996, the parade was held on the famous Berlin

"Kurfrstendamm". Since by then, not only the Kurfrstendamm was overcrowded but the streets and even railway tracks near the Ku'damm too, the parade moved to the "Strae des 17. Juni" which is near the Tiergarten Park in the center of Berlin by the Brandenburg Gate and provided plenty of space. The center of the parade is the Siegessule in the middle of the park, and the golden angel on top of the column has become a symbol of the parade.

Many people from Germany and abroad travel to Berlin to take part in the Paradeover a million attended in the years 1997 through 2000 and 800,000 in 2001. Attendance at the 2001 festival was significantly lower because the date of the parade was changed with little advance notice. 2002 and 2003 also saw lower figures, and in 2004 and 2005 the parade was canceled due to funding

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difficulties. 2004 did however host a scaled-down version which served more as a mini-protest, and was promoted with the title 'Love Weekend'. Dozens of clubs promoted the weekend-long event all over the city, with various clubs staying open for 3 days straight without closing. In 2006, the parade made a comeback with the help of German exercise studio McFit. The Love Parade 2007 was planned for July 7, 2007 in Berlin. However, the Berlin event was cancelled in February as the Senate of Berlin had not issued the necessary permissions at that time. After negotiations with several German cities, on July 21, it was announced that the Love Parade would move to the Ruhr Area for the next five years. The first event took place in Essen on August 25. The Parade in Essen saw 1.2 million visitors in comparison to the 500,000 who attended the 2006 parade in Berlin. In 2008, the festival took place in Dortmund on July 19 on the Bundesstrae 1 under the motto Highway of Love. The event was planned as a "Love Weekend", with parties throughout the region. For the first time the Turkish electronic scene was represented by an own float "Turkish Delights (music project)". The official estimate is that 1.6 million visitors attended, which makes it the largest Loveparade to date. The next parades are planned to take place in Bochum, Gelsenkirchen and Duisburg. The music played at the events is predominantly electronic dance music: in this case mainly Trance, House, Techno, and Schranz music. Attempts to introduce other music styles, such as hip hop, have failed. Hardcore and Gabber music were part of the parade in early years, but were later removed. They are now celebrated separately on a counter-demonstration named ironically after the original festival.

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The love parade is seen to be louder and more crowded than most concerts. With its water-cooled sound systems on every truck, the parade produces an extremely loud sound floor. The parade consists of the sound trucks that usually feature local, or important, clubs and their DJs. It has become a rule that only trucks that have sponsors from a techno related field, such as clubs, labels or stores, are allowed, but advertising space was increased after the 2006 event to offset the high costs of equipping a truck. The trucks are usually open on top and feature dancers, with box-systems mounted on the side or rear. Love Parade is a place where some exhibit and enjoy other people's exhibitionist tendencies. Some attendees enjoy carrying around toys such as pacifiers or face masks. Often the crowd is imaginative in terms of clothing (or lack thereof) and appearance. One famous picture from the Love Parade is people sitting and dancing on streetlamps, trees, commercial signs, telephone booths, which gave the event's nickname "the greatest amateur circus on earth". The Love Parade has been quite peaceful for event of its size, seeing only little arrests. In 2008, for example, charges were pressed for 6 robberies, 3 sexually-related offences, 40 thefts. 23 participants were caught with drugs and 49 were charged with bodily harm. 177 Love Parade visitors were provisionally arrested by the police. Arrests are usually related to drug crimes and most other incidents feature mostly people passing out due to dehydration or hyperthermia. In 2000, after the parade, a girl under the influence of ecstasy was run over by an S-Bahn after she had been leaning on the door too hard. The finale of the demonstration is by the so-called

"Abschlusskundgebung" which are half-hour sets of the world's leading top DJs such as DJ Tiesto, Paul Van Dyk, Carl Cox, Armin Van Buuren, DJ Rush, DJ

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Hell, Westbam, Drum Connection, Miss Djax, Marusha or Chris Liebing. During this time all trucks (usually about 40) are connected to each other and set online to the statue of victory where the turntables are. This is one of the few chances a DJ can ever have to play for a crowd of about one million people. At the

weekend of the Love Parade many clubs hold special events and

parties and book wellknown DJs for this

occasion. Parties range from clubs with a

hundred exclusive

mostly guests, to

almost raves with several floors and ten thousand dancers. Many people used to come to Berlin only for the parties and miss the parade in order to sleep. Or they enjoy it with other "ravers" in the park right next to the parade route. Together with Mayday, Nature One the Love Parade is one of the oldest and largest Festivals of Electronic music. Under German law the state has to pay for security during political demonstrations as well as cleaning up the streets after the demonstration. In the

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case of a commercial event however, the organizer must cover these expenses. For a large event like the Love Parade the costs are quite high: an estimated 300,000 to 400,000. The Love Parade was initially held as a "political demonstration" to save costs; however it is organized by two companies set up just for the Love Parade. The name of the demonstration, Love Parade, is a registered trademark and the organizing companies have been busy getting license fees for the use of their name. This not only included merchandise and CDs but also fees for participating clubs, vendors of soft drinks and the like along the streets and even broadcasting fees for the TV stations MTV and Germany's counterpart, VIVA, along with, for the first time, Germany's RTL 2. Love Parade 2006 was the first time in that Berlin's RBB did not broadcast direct from the Siegessule. Due to this there was a dispute between the organizers and the city of Berlin every year about the status of the Love Parade and who should bear what costs. Finally in 2001, the courts ruled that the Love Parade had to be held as commercial event. In 2004, the organizers claimed they do not have the necessary funds anymore to host it again. Since there are numerous other Love Parade-like but commercial events in Germany, there are speculations that the funding is not, or at least is not the only reason, for the cancellation, the other being the fast dropping number of participants. To be noted that the mayor of Dortmund, Germany and the police confirmed for the Love Parade Festival held there in 2008 the number of 1,600,000 participants.

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6.2 Time Warp

Established in 1994, Time Warp has grown into one of Europe's most important dance events and has developed into an exchange platform for electronic music and

lifestyle. The numerous visitors from abroad

who have been coming and keep on coming to the original location in Mannheim were joined by legions of new

visitors at our very first and highly successful event in Prague in October 2005. And, with our next event in Vienna in May 2006, we will once again demonstrate how international the spirit of Time Warp truly is. Since 2005, TDK Marketing Europe has been presenting the timehonoured event as its headline sponsor. With TDK Marketing Europe, cosmopop, the promotion company behind the successful Time Warp brand, has found a strong partner to share and bring to life a new vision for a truly unique and exciting form of event. 1994 is the year of birth of Time Warp! The intention was mainly to produce a high quality program without belonging to the mainstream Techno! On a perfect cultural location in Ludwigshafen, the party breaks totally loose for

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more than 3000 surprised party people. Most of the people remind the set of Speedy J, and the back 2 back set of John Acquaviva and Heiko MSO. In 1995 is the transition to the Maimarkthalle in Mannheim. This time Sven Vth, the techno super star from Frankfurt, is playing for the first time at Time Warp. Peak of the evening was the live act of Cosmic Baby. The return of Time Warp for the second time in 1995 does not harm the party, on the contrary, the group of party people grows and grows. The name Time Warp becomes a conception in the surroundings.

In the year 1996 Time Warp leaves her home port and the party is build up in the Arena in Berlin. Orbital (live) was for many the main act of the evening, with loads of spectacle and a high dancing driven level! The next station of the trip is Bremen in 1997. Sven Vth, DJ Hell and Speedy J are taking care of the musical glamour, and carrying out the true spirit to the audience in the North of Germany.

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The movement to the TFO-Halle in Mannheim (same year) is the 6th venue change in the history of Time Warp were the organizers show their flexibility. The sound system, the program and the decoration are taking care of an unsurpassed match in Germany. On the Industriestrasse in Mannheim the location scouts found a perfect location. In the industry hall they build up 7 areas, a chill out and an outdoor area. The line up was gigantic, and loads of visitors came from all over Europe to witness the event. Back to the Maimarkthalle, Time Warp has finally executed her last location switch. The infrastructure has improved and the Maimarkthalle has been transformed by magic into a huge party temple. One of the best moments of the party was Laurent Garnier with his live act ! One of the climaxes of this 12th edition was King Sven Vth with his performance on the Abstract Floor. On the Tribal Floor Der Dritte Raum and Paul von Earth Nation performed a SUPER live show for the audience! Also because of the extraordinary decoration pieces the year 2001 was definitely a successful edition. Time Warp

has found her home base, as far it goes for the yearly event. More than 10.000 party

people from all over Europe, seemed to have found their way to

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Mannheim, to hear the best Djs in the world. This time Green Velvet was on top of the top 10 list of best performances. On March 27th Time Warp celebrated its 10th birthday! For this jubilee all favorite vinyl athletes were invited to Mannheim. The Dj sets were amazing, and this was definitely a way of saying thanks to the loyal audience and the organizers of the event! 14.000 people were present at this specific event to enjoy the music and to celebrate Time Warps anniversary! In 2005 Cosmopop decides to broaden their successful concept to more elements. Therefore they presented a new culture festival in the electronic scene. Main thought of TDK Time Warp is the integration of all electronic sorts of music, with the connection to artistic arts, technical developments and lifestyle. Under the name Colours of Rhythm three new event zones were produced: blue, green and red. TDK Time Warp Prague: more than 7000 people entered the Prumyslovy Palast, where the party went completely crazy! This was the first party abroad, but for many people totally unforgettable! From 24 until 31 March 2007 Mannheim will once again be the worlds premier meeting point for progressive electronic music and experimental media arts. In the run-up to the final event, the infamous TDK Time Warp where club cultures leading stars and artists will be appearing and performing in Mannheims Maimarkthalle visitors can look forward to a whole host of exciting and innovative events at various venues around town. As a landmark of the regions cultural variety, the Time Warp concept has been expanding since 1994 to cater for new ideas and concepts. In 2007, the sevenday Festival of Contempoary Music and Media Arts is officially part of the festivities marking Mannheim citys 400 year anniversary.

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The threefold colours of rhythm system that designates the individual zones consists of the following geographical and cultural areas: blue: refers to all music events, live film score events

and contemporary music concerts promoted by TDK Time Warp, including the final event, our traditional dance party on 31 March 2007 in Mannheims Maimarkthalle. red: dealing with all aspects of the music business and

music production, various workshops, seminars, lectures and panels will be held in the Musikpark Mannheim and the Popakademie. green: various evenings have been planned with

documentaries and movies. The focus is on club culture, electronic music and film. Europe comes to us and we come to europe. After successful events in Prague and Vienna they presented in 2008 Time Warp Club Events in the european metropols Zurich, Rotterdam and Torino. They invited the party people to the hottest clubs of these cities! A sophisticated line up combined with a special stage show will transfer the Time Warp experience. Romanian DJ Raresh played on 29th of February 2008 at the Time Warp Club Event in Torino, Italy .

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6.3 I Love Techno

I Love Techno is an international techno event that takes place in Flanders Expo in Ghent, Belgium. Famous national and international DJs perform every year at this event. The last editions each attracted about 35,000 visitors from Belgium, the United Kingdom, The

Netherlands, France, Ireland, Spain and Germany as well other parts of Europe and the rest of the world. The first edition of this event took place in 1995 at Vooruit in Ghent and attracted 700 people. Because of the sudden growth of the party, the event had to move to Flanders Expo. I Love Techno has become one of the biggest techno events in Europe. In Flanders Expo there is one central room and connected to this room are 5 other rooms: the Red, the Yellow, the Blue, the Orange and the Green room. In these rooms the action takes place. The 2008 edition took place on 15 November, with acts including Boys Noize, Justice, Digitalism, Hot Chip, Booka Shade, Underworld, Dave Clarke, Richie Hawtin and Magda. The 2009 edition took place in Ghent on 24 October.

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7.0 Conclusions

In the conclusion, I can say that techno and electronic dance music, in general, is a vast subject that deserves everybodys attention and if you find it interesting you can always research the internet because what I have presented in this project is just a slice from what it really is out there. A lot of people dedicated all their life to techno and electronic music, to evolve it and in the same time to spread it all over the world. In the 80s almost nobody had heard of techno music, in 2008 the Love Parade Festival has gathered 1,600,000 fans. The evolution and the spreading of techno cant go unseen and we all have to admit that this really is the music of the future, constantly changing its influences and targets. I can say that the main reasons for me liking this music are: great background stories since the beginning, constantly changing the influences from industrial sounds to acoustic instruments and last but not least, every person can interpret this music in his own way.

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Bibliography: Anz, P. & Walder, P. (eds.), Techno, Hamburg: Rowohlt, 1999 (ISBN 3908010144). Barr, T., Techno: The Rough Guide, Rough Guides, 2000 (ISBN 978-1858284347). Brewster B. & Broughton F., Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey, Avalon Travel Publishing, 2006, (ISBN 978-0802136886). Butler, M.J., Unlocking the Groove: Rhythm, Meter, and Musical Design in Electronic Dance Music, Indiana University Press, 2006 (ISBN 978-0253218049). Reynolds, S., Energy Flash: a Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture, Pan Macmillan, 1998 (ISBN 9780330350563). http://en.wikipedia.org http://www.sflovefest.org

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