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YOUR all time top 10 techno albums


rino

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OK now, as some might know, I am a techno head. I don't get my rocks off all over shiny CD surfaces and all of that, but I do lurv tekno. Since this is, above all, a psy trance related forum, I avoided posting this topic before.

 

I always wanted to though. So please, if you feel like it, and think it could be fun and entertaining, please do share your favorite gems from a genre which always comes out on top. Cheers!

 

#1 Speedy J- Patterns (remix) EP (1997) (NovaMute)

The "this is the one and only" release in my book. Clocking in at only 28 minutes and 25 seconds, the pure power of this three tracker left me so shook that for three weeks my neighborhood block was on shaky legs from an after shock... Amazing. Nothing more to add. Amazing. Pannik and Punnik are by definition the strongholds of electronic music.

 

#2 Brother's Yard- Reaction (1999) (PV)

Petar Dundov? Who? Croatia's pride and legend, one of Europe's best DJs and producers of the 90's. This album gives you a perfect balance between harsh, mechanical, driving and modest, soulful and hypnotic. Perfectly exemplifies his experiment with rebuilding techno from scratch.

 

#3 Speedy J- A shocking hobby (2000) (NovaMute)

Yikes. Jochem George Paap goes where most don't think of peeping. Beautiful, tongue in cheek to the bone, with so much attitude and balls I could have confidentially stopped listening to music after this. Yes, it's that good. I don't think any producer anywhere has yet matched the intensity and enormous potential of Actor Nine, Drill and Balk Acid.

 

#4 Joey Beltram- Classics (1996) (R & S Records)

Self explanatory. The sub bass on Mentasm, the melody on Psycho Bass, the ecstassy sample on Energy Flash, etc. etc. etc. - this needs to be heard by everyone everywhere, and then some. A benchmark a mile far and wide.

 

#5 Regis- Penetration (2001) (Downwards)

Argh, Downwards. Techno the way it should be. This is IMHO where the entire niche of mono Birmingham releases peaked. And if you're relatively acquainted with techno, you ought to know that is saying a lot. If you don't, cover yourself in embarassement with the entire M_nus catalogue.

 

#6 Jeff Mills- Waveform transmission vol. 1 (1992) (Tresor)

Out of the entire series of early outputs by various permutations of the trio consisting of Jeff Mills, Robert Hood and Mike Banks, this has got to be my favorite. I mean, holy crap, you wanna know where modern hard techno/schranz producers got their ideas from? This is it. Changes Of Life is an alleged take on Derrick May's seminal Strings Of Life, while Phase 4 and Berlin are the most savage and devastating techno tracks to have ever emerged out of the Motor City. Check out The Hacker as well, no proper dance floor potential and "rave" sound, sounds like a 200 megawatt drill digging holes in your cerebrum. Awesome!

 

#7 Speedy J- Loudboxer (2002) (NovaMute)

Again? Yup. Speedy J is known to be the #1 musical figure in my life, so it should strike as no surprise that he churned out three releases out of the total ten on my fave's list. "Loudboxer", his fifth full lenght album is by far the best flowing techno album I have ever come across. There is no other album that literary flies by you in such manner in just a little over one hour. Flawless flow, with some real dance floor stompers: Krekc, Bugmod, Bark Decks and Pannik (rmx). Once again, Speedy J proved that he's a studio genius with few equals, if any, in my book that is.

 

#8 Richie Hawtin- Selections 1990-2000 (2000) (Hardware)

This one is here mainly because of the inclusion of Minus Orange, Substance Abuse and FU2. The first is my favorite track of all time, regardless of the genre, while the other two just might display Richie at his finest prior to hitting superstardom. The rest is ace as well. How can it not be? Krakpot, Spastik and Are Friends Electrik?! are tunes which changed the face of electronic music like... Forever!!!

 

#9 Alex Under- Dispositivos de mi granja (2005) (Trapez)

I was put on this CD by a member off this forum, and I don't think I was even close to guessing what was I in for before playing it through. I mean, Alex got quite a bit of attention with his Collage 12" on Plus 8, but my... This is two ladders above and beyond any post 2000 release with the prefix -minimal-. Just check this album out. Packed with micro melodic segments, groovy as hell bass lines, subtle yet feet taping kicks and miniature climaxes. The whole album sounds like a musical version of a priceless and fragile Ming vase, which has soooo much to offer and represent, but can be shattered to pieces if not cared with adequately.

 

#10 X 101- X 101 (1991) (Tresor)

Sonic Destroyer? Rave New World? Whatever Happenned to Peace? If these three don't ring a bell, you've most probably never walked passed by a church in your life. This is the Detroit trio walking to the chalk board and manifesting their vision (and ours) of techno in six steps. Love it to death or dispatch in disbelief, but denying is futile; this is stuff which turned generations upside their heads. Relentless, but most importantly, extremely challenging and forward thinking, especially when taking into consideration the historical context it was released in. A true class kick!

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Hah, good topic actually! Yet not... since I seriously have hard time providing a reply. :)

 

What bugs me is that there is so much techno cds released just this year (Petar Dundov, Kenny Larkin, Shed...) I haven't had the time nor the budget to check out yet and they might potentially be top shooters.

 

Quickly giving this a thought, only these would one hundred percent positively belong in my top-10:

 

Monolake - Hongkong (and I just bought the original metal case one today, I'm super happy about that! "Index" and "Occam" are the definitive techno numbers for me which really opened my perception of music when I first heard them.)

Brother's Yard - Reaction (psychedelic harsh industrial techno of the hiest orda)

Speedy J - Loudboxer (same as above...)

Joey Beltram - Places (the attention to detail on this one...)

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Brother's Yard - Reaction (psychedelic harsh industrial techno of the hiest orda)

Speedy J - Loudboxer (same as above...)

Joey Beltram - Places (the attention to detail on this one...)

Hmh, tasty. Very tasty indeed.

 

Not sure what people's definition of Techno is, but I would definitely favor first 2 Speedy J albums Ginger and G Spot.

 

Maybe these are too maximal for the minimal Techno purists :)

Beh, Jochem... Even tastier than the above.

 

Too maximal for minimal purists? "Ginger"? "G Spot"? What on Earth do either one of those have to do with minimal, or its purists/followers? My pair of ears doesn't even find them maximal, though. For reference only.

The Oil Zone and Ping Pong are so delicious it's crazy. Insane in the membrane. Brain.

 

Jeff Mills: Waveform Transmission vol. 1

 

Laurent Garnier: Unreasonable Behaviour

 

Speedy J: great live sets, A Shocking Hobby, Krekc

Wow, great to see so many similar view points. Really cool. A lot of us seem to love those 90s albums which really flipped the scene upside down.
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Too maximal for minimal purists? "Ginger"? "G Spot"? What on Earth do either one of those have to do with minimal, or its purists/followers?

Well some people would even call some of Speedy J's work on those albums Trance like Pepper for example....or even better

check out Orbital - Remind here:

 

It's quite different from minimal uber repetative Techno tracks a DJ would play like 5 of them each for 30 seconds on 5 turntables back to back kinda thing.

..so you right, they have little to do with minimal Techno.

My point is that some people who only count the kind of minimal Techno I describe above as "pure" would dismiss those 3 albums I mentioned as not a "real" Techno....but..who cares, I like'em :)

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I don't know anything about techno, but i've just got "Metropolis" by Jeff Mills and liking it quite a lot, especially the

(longer on the album) which sounds very haunting to me.

 

I also remember tripping on some Laurent Garnier tunes when i was like 10 yo, "The Sound of The Big Babou" and

.

He was quite famous in France back then, you could see his funny clips on tv regularly and listen to his music on the most known dance/techno french radios.

 

Some other tracks i liked were

(that melody starting at 0:59), as well as some Dj Fred & Arnold T, though i don't know if that qualifies as techno.
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I don't know anything about techno, but i've just got "Metropolis" by Jeff Mills and liking it quite a lot, especially the

(longer on the album) which sounds very haunting to me.

Is that song called "the bells" or something like it....? Saw him once live on 10 days of techno....I'm not into techno but that was great.....

 

:rolleyes::unsure:

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Is that song called "the bells" or something like it....? Saw him once live on 10 days of techno....I'm not into techno but that was great.....

 

:rolleyes::unsure:

It is named "Perfecture: Somewhere Around Now".

There is a youtube link in my first post if you can bear the sound quality.

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I'm not really into techno, but I think the Mentasm EP is one of the greatest EPs of all time. Mentasm and Mind to Mind showcase two completely different sides of techno and both are compelling tracks.

 

I also like....

Plastikman - Spastik

Plastikman - Plasticine

Galaxy 2 Galaxy - Hi-Tech Science

Sterac - Asphyx

Aztec Mystic - Jaguar

3 Phase feat. Dr. Motte - Der Klang Der Familie

Laurent Garnier - Wake Up

 

And I dislike Choice's Acid Eiffel, I find it really boring.

 

Otherwise I'm a total newbie when it comes to techno.

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I'm not really into techno, but I think the Mentasm EP is one of the greatest EPs of all time. Mentasm and Mind to Mind showcase two completely different sides of techno and both are compelling tracks.

Funny I was just listening to this one the other day and (once again) was just so impressed at how forward thinking Joey and M. Muzique were. Sure there are many upon many pioneers hailing from all over the globe and justifiably getting credit for bringing the gravy, but this is something else.

IMHO there is no other producer who managed to release so many groundbreaking tracks in such a short time span as Joey Beltram did during his relatively brief stay at R & S... The man is (or was?) a true genius.

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  • 5 months later...

It is so hard to distinguish 10 faves. I 've heard so many of them and liked so many of them .So i'll post the ones that spring to my mind faster than others :P

 

Let's see:

 

1/Daft Punk - Homework

2/Isolee - We Are Monster

3/Sven Vath - Contact and Fire and Fireworks

4/Fluke - Risotto

5/Dave Clarke - Archive One and Devil's Advocate and both World Services

6/Fumiya Tanaka - Unknown Possibility 2 and MIX.SOUND.SPACE

7/Laurent Garnier - all

8/Der Dritte Raum - Raumgleiter

9/Underworld - Beaucoup Fish and Hundred Days Off

10/emmmm..... I don't know, can't remember.

 

:)

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i was listening to VA - Fabric 39 - mixed by Robert Hood from last year pumping in the car stereo just earlier on this evening

 

nice stuff

 

also Dave Angel - 39 Flavours of Tech-Funk is a very nice cd from 1998, very soft though

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I add Petar Dundov's Escapements to my list. It's absolutely brilliant.

My man :)

 

Petar Dundov is one hell of a croatian producer to be mightily fond of! I only wish you have been here and witnessed some of his talent get exposed at parties...

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