First Floor #101 – The Battle Between Futurism and Nostalgia

a.k.a. Techno turns 40 (and struggles with its identity), plus a full news round-up and a huge batch of excellent new tunes.

Oct 20, 2021

Hello there. I’m Shawn Reynaldo, and welcome to First Floor, a weekly electronic music digest that includes news, interviews, my favorite new tracks and some of my thoughts on the issues affecting the larger scene / industry that surrounds the music. This is the free edition of the newsletter; access to all First Floor content (including the complete archive) requires a paid subscription. If you haven’t done so already, please consider signing up for a subscription (paid or unpaid) by clicking the button below. Alternately, you can also support the newsletter by making a one-time donation here.

ELECTRONIC MUSIC IS GETTING OLD

Techno turned 40 this year.

Is that old? Maybe not, especially in comparison to other genres, but it’s fair to say that techno’s days of being a plucky young upstart have long since passed. Like it or not, the music has officially entered middle age, and that transition hasn’t necessarily been a graceful one.

From the very beginning, the philosophy (and mythology) of techno has been tied up in ideas of futurism. Cybotron’s Juan Atkins and Rik Davis were famously both fans of futurist philosopher Alvin Toffler, and the aspirational, forward-facing, technology-driven aesthetic they established with 1981’s “Alleys of Your Mind”—which is widely regarded as the first techno record, alongside “Sharevari” from fellow Detroit outfit A Number of Names—remains the dominant stylistic blueprint for all of electronic music, four decades later.

As the years pass, however, it’s sometimes hard to differentiate between which artists are truly pushing things forward, and which ones are merely maintaining a sort of techno pastiche. Although the future that techno artists imagined in the ’80s (i.e. robots, lazers, interplanetary space travel, liberation through technology, etc.) is still largely the stuff of fantasy, sheer repetition has sapped that vision of its prior potency—after 40 years, those dreams have already been dreamed too many times.

Over time, electronic music has widely settled into a particular set of conceptual tropes, to a point where even explicitly future-oriented works often feel more like retro-futurism. It doesn’t help that the music itself has also proven to be increasingly rigid; it’s difficult to make a track sound like it’s from 2099 when its drum pattern is something that’s been endlessly recycled since 1999 (or probably earlier). It’s telling that many of the biggest trends in electronic music over the past few years (e.g. electro, UK garage, drum & bass, trance, industrial techno) have effectively been revivals of older sounds, as opposed to something genuinely new.

To continue reading this essay, please go here.

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REAL QUICK

A round-up of of the last two weeks’ most interesting electronic music news, plus links to interviews, mixes, articles and other things I think are worth sharing.

Avalon Emerson is on the cover of the latest issue of DJ Mag, and the accompanying feature by Ray Philp, which dives into her life during lockdown, move to upstate New York and album-in-progress, is now online. (Full disclosure: I work with Emerson on the Buy Music Club project, and yes, that is mentioned in the article.)
Butterz co-founder Elijah, who I recently interviewed here in the newsletter about his efforts to share music industry wisdom via social media, announced that he would be pausing his daily Instagram posts for the time being, with an eye towards bringing them back in 2022. Before that happened, he also spoke at length with Vivian Host on the latest episode of her Rave to the Grave podcast.
With his new book Major Labels having recently hit the shelves, New Yorker writer Kelefa Sanneh—whose 2004 piece “The Rap Against Rockism” inadvertently launched the whole rockism vs. poptimism debate—has been all over the place lately, but this interview with Mark Richardson for Pitchfork is quite good, as was his appearance on a recent episode of the WTF podcast with Marc Maron.
Sherelle nabbed the cover of DJ Mag last year, and now the UK artist has also landed on the cover of the latest issue of Mixmag (riding a horse, no less). To mark the occasion, she also granted an in-depth interview to Seb Wheeler, who traces back her history and details her current efforts to reshape the dance music industry and promote fellow Black and queer artists.
Despite being one of ambient music’s most celebrated artists during the past year or so, Perila hasn’t done much press, which is what made this feature, which Philip Sherburne penned for Pitchfork’s Rising series, such a nice surprise.
Few people realize that Duppy Gun, the unusual dancehall label founded by Cameron Stallones (a.k.a. Sun Araw) and M. Geddes Gengras, already has more than a decade of music under its belt, and now the details of its story have been compiled by Oli Warwick in a new article for International Orange.
Fresh off the release of Re:Generate, a compilation of classic E-Dancer tunes freshly remixed by an all-star slate of producers, Kevin Saunderson has delved deep into his past for this DJ Mag feature, which was written by Bruce Tantum (and also sheds some light on what the Detroit icon is up to in the present).
Space Ghost released his excellent Dance Planet LP just a few weeks ago, and now he’s been profiled by Louis Anderson-Rich for Mixmag’s Impact series. (Even better, the article also comes with a new mix from the underrated Oakland producer.)

JUST ANNOUNCED

A round-up of noteworthy new and upcoming releases that were announced during the past two weeks.

Peach has become one of the UK’s favorite DJs in recent years, but she’s only released a handful tunes during that time. (Granted, one of them was “Silky,” which was everywhere when it dropped back in 2018.) That said, the native Canadian will soon be releasing her official debut EP, Galaxy Girl, through the Peach Discs label. It’s scheduled to drop on November 12, but lead track “Galaxy Girl” has already been shared.
Over the past decade, Robert Hood has breathed new life into his Floorplan alias (and even enlisted his daughter Lyric to be part of the project), and now the Detroit legend is poised to revive a different moniker, Monobox. He’s lined up a new EP, Forwardbase Kodai, that’s set to arrive on October 29—previews can be heard here—and will quickly follow it up with a full-length album, Regenerate, on November 26. Both releases will arrive via Hood’s own M-Plant label.
Sangre Nueva is a new collaboration between dembow maestros Kelman Duran, Florentino and DJ Python, and the trio’s debut EP, Goteo, dropped last week. Released by DJ Python’s Worldwide Unlimited imprint, a digital version isn’t yet available, but the vinyl (and some track previews) can be found here.
Blawan is making the leap to the XL label, and his new EP, Woke Up Right Handed, is being billed as as move away from techno and the confines of the club. Nevertheless, the playfully bruising first single “Under Belly” still has plenty of dancefloor swagger, but we’ll have to see what the rest of the record sounds like once it’s released on November 12.
Jlin has a new EP on the way. Although the Indiana native is best known for her mutant footwork creations, the title track of Embryo takes plenty of influence from techno—although the scattered, hyperactive rhythms that have become her signature are still very much present. The full EP will arrive on December 10 via Planet Mu.
Boy Harsher have completed a new album (of sorts). The Runner, which is slated for a January 21 release through Nude Club / City Slang, is actually a soundtrack for a short horror film of the same name that the synth-pop duo wrote, produced and directed themselves. The moody first single “Tower” has already been shared.
Adult Swim has assembled another head-turning compilation, this time featuring music from Cooly G, Ikonika, Claire Rousay, Nídia, Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore, Katie Gately and many others. Entitled Digitalis, the 15-track collection can be streamed here.

MY WIFE HAS BETTER TASTE THAN I DO

My wife Dania is a wonderful person, but she has little regard for my taste in electronic music. Head of the Paralaxe Editions label, she often describes the music I like with words like “cheesy,” “simple,” “predictable,” “boring” and, worst of all (in her mind), “happy.” In contrast, I think she has a fantastic ear, and I’m constantly amazed by the obscure gems she unearths, both from record bins and the dark corners of the internet. Given that, I’ve asked Dania to share some of her finds with the First Floor audience. Each week, she highlights something that she’s currently digging, and adds some of her thoughts as to why it’s worth our attention.

Bendik Giske “Up” (Smalltown Supersound)

Hello. I have been a recluse in my studio lately, as I’ve been preparing for a few shows I have coming up next week, which unfortunately means I don’t have much new music to share. However, I did go out last night to see Norwegian saxophonist Bendik Giske play with Caterina Barbieri, and I’m so that happy I did. Seeing a space be filled by one human, playing one instrument, was something to behold. “Up” is one of my favourites from his 2019 album Surrender. (Note from Shawn: Dania is being modest here. By “a few shows,” she means her very first live concert and then a DJ set at the Sónar CCCB mini-festival. If you’re in Barcelona, you should come.)

Follow Dania on Twitter, or check out her monthly radio show on dublab.es.

NEW THIS WEEK

The following is a selection of my favorite tunes that came out during the past week or so. The ones in the ‘Big Three’ section are the songs I especially want to highlight (and therefore have longer write-ups), but the tracks in the ‘Best of the Rest’ section are also very much worth your time. In both sections, you can click on the track titles to hear each song individually, or you can also just head over to this convenient Buy Music Club list to find them all in one place.

THE BIG THREE

Hoavi “Flay” (Peak Oil)

Hoavi “Dyson Garden” (Peak Oil)

Hoavi “Sava” (Peak Oil)

Like many people, I don’t know much about Hoavi—the press release for his new Invariant LP literally describes him as “Russia’s best-kept electronic secret”—but as soon as I saw that the Peak Oil label was releasing his music, I knew it would be good. (It also helped that the Balmat imprint, which is headed up by Philip Sherburne and Lapsus founder Albert Salinas, have lined up a separate Hoavi album that’s set to drop next month.)

Home to records from artists like Topdown Dialectic, Strategy and Black Deer, Peak Oil has never been terribly prolific, but the LA-based outpost has a proven track record when it comes to dubby, left-of-center rhythms. That holds true here, as LP opener “Flay” offers a narcotic, almost deconstructed (but not quite) take on jungle and footwork, slyly sliding a raft of fleet-footed percussion into its woozy bliss. “Dyson Garden” takes a similar (albeit somewhat more linear) route, wrapping its techno gallup in gauzy pads and busted boogie basslines, while “Slava” is more of a patient plodder, its loopy psychedelics half-gliding, half-tumbling atop the song’s slow-motion beat. These are just a few of the gems on Invariant—an album that’s honestly full of them—and if Hoavi’s productions continue to be this good, it’s unlikely that he’ll remain a secret for much longer.

Relaxer “Narcissus by the Pool” (Planet Mu)

Relaxer “Concealer” (Planet Mu)

Coconut Grove, the 2019 album from Relaxer, was quietly one of that year’s best electronic full-lengths—not to mention an ace collection of dubby, dreamy techno—which is why it’s a bit odd that his latest LP, Concealer, hasn’t yet been greeted with waves of enthusiasm. It ought to be, as Relaxer—who’s spent time in recent years studying composition with electronic music pioneer Morton Subotnick—has carved out an enticingly meditative space, one in which the dancefloor still exists, but also feels somewhat intangible or unreal. “Narcissus by the Pool” is simply gorgeous, its hypnotic melodies gently warbling like the reflective surface that so entranced its titular character. “Concealer” has a similar soft glow, at least in its opening moments, but the track ultimately takes a grimier route, employing busted techno rhythms and jagged, sci-fi synths, ultimately approaching the same territory as labels like Ilian Tape, or even someone like DJ Stingray.

MLO “Wimborne” (Music from Memory)

MLO “Ebb and Flow” (Music from Memory)

The latest installment of Music from Memory’s Virtual Dreams series (which focuses on ’90s ambient), Oumuamua spotlights the work of MLO, specifically focusing on the UK duo’s output between 1993 and 1995. “Wimborne” opens the record on a particularly peaceful note, its gently plucked bassline echoing the Balearic sounds of the Mediterranean as the song’s languid, spa-ready melodies lazily float across the horizon. Clocking in at more than nine minutes, there’s a sense of luxury to the track, but MLO’s restraint and elegance prevent things from ever feeling too decadent. “Ebb and Flow,” one of several previously unreleased tunes on Oumuamua, reins things in a bit—its run time doesn’t even crack three-and-a-half minutes—but the vibe is just as warm and welcoming, as the song’s almost folky guitar melodies pleasantly drift through its pillowy ambience.

BEST OF THE REST

Topdown Dialectic “A4” (Peak Oil)

Frankly, if the newsletter’s ‘Big Three’ section were expanded to the ‘Big Four,’ this track absolutely would have been in there, despite the risk of me looking like a hopeless Peak Oil fanboy. “A4” is taken from Vol. 3, the third album from the anonymous Topdown Dialectic, and since the LP was apparently born out of the same sessions that spawned the previous two full-lengths, its funk-infused, dub-techno(ish) machinations are both immediately familiar and agreeably odd. This particular track scuttles and lurches, its static-laced undulations mirroring the ephemeral hallucinations one sees when they’re extremely sleep deprived. That does make “A4” feel a bit nightmarish, yet it’s still lush all the same.

Cratan “Boulder” (Fixed Rhythms)

I’ve seen and heard a lot of genre descriptors over the years—many of them rather questionable—but “Boulder” is honestly the first track I’ve even seen touted as a piece of “minimal hyphy techno.” Musically, this thundering tune has a lot more in common with vintage Jeff Mills and Robert Hood than it does Rick Rock and Keak Da Sneak, but the song’s infectiously ravey undercurrent and slightly unpolished sound brilliantly capture the unbridled energy of early ’90s warehouse bangers. Techno might have turned 40 this year, but Cratan—a Dallas producer who also goes by Decoder, and also released an album under that name on Mills’ Axis label earlier this year—is proof that the genre (at least for now) is poised to pass into capable hands.

Perila “Haven’t Left Home in 4 4 Days” (Vaagner)

Perila actually dropped two releases on Vaagner last week: a solo EP called 7.37/2.11, and a collaborative record with Ulla entitled Memories of Log. “Haven’t Left Home in 4 4 Days” is taken from the former, and sounds something like a ghostly ambient lullaby. With its sparse construction and fuzzy reverb, the vibe is definitely a little haunted, but the song’s soothing tones make it feel like even if there is some sort of phantom hanging around, its presence is benign, or maybe even welcome.

36 “Sanctuary Sunset” (9128)

36 “Innersense” (9128)

Weaponised Serenity, an hour-long live set from UK artist 36 that was originally broadcast this past August, offers a compellingly deconstructed take on early hardcore and jungle rhythms. And when I say deconstructed, I mean really deconstructed, to a point where those styles are barely discernible. Epic opener “Sanctuary Sunset” forgoes percussion altogether, and is more of an exercise in rousing string swells and majestic grandeur, but “Innersense” gets into the muck, ultimately sounding like a chopped-and-screwed version of Burial trying his hand at heavyweight dub.

Ivy Lab “Options” (Dirtybird)

Yes, it’s a bit unusual for a Dirtybird record to wind up here in the newsletter, but after years of building its brand around somewhat goofy, big-room-ready tech house, the label has intriguingly been branching out in recent months through a series of white-label releases. The latest, Press Play, comes from London duo Ivy Lab, and though its title track is essentially a Neptunes-style instrumental, “Options” is a soulful slice of R&B-infused drum & bass. Loose, breezy and accentuated with some nice string samples, it’s worlds away from the typical Dirtybird offering, yet it retains the label’s fun-loving spirit.

Slim Vic feat. Plasmafuse “Fundament (Part 2)” (Lamour)

A highlight of the new Mörkrets Narr LP, “Fundament (Part 2)” is a stirring epic from Swedish producers Slim Vic and Plasmafuse. Taking the idea of “slow burn” to its extreme, the 11-plus-minute song offers little more than drone and moody chords during its opening half, but once a plaintive, siren-like female vocal enters the mix about halfway through, the music’s emotional register spikes significantly, conjuring memories of classic 4AD acts like Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil.

HMOT “Isles Discontinuity Birds” (Warm Winters Ltd.)

After years of running the Klammklang label, Russian artist HMOT has made all sorts of connections within electronic music’s more experimental corners, which explains how This Music Greets Death, his debut album that’s apparently been in the works since 2014, features contributions from such artists as Perila and Rupert Clervaux. “Isles Discontinuity Birds,” however, is something HMOT did on his own, and it’s a sublime piece of dreamy ambient music, its twinkling tones offset by a series of sharp, string-like melodies that dance on the edge of serenity and distortion.

Maenad Veyl & The Sarcasm Ensemble “Harsh Whispers” (Veyl)

John Carpenter just scored the new Halloween Kills film, but Comfort in Misery—the first full-length that Italian producer Maenad Veyl has made with his unspecified “Sarcasm Ensemble”—is arguably the best John Carpenter-style record of 2021. Largely ditching percussion altogether, the album steers clear of the EBM- and post-punk-infused techno of past Maenad Veyl releases, and the spooky “Harsh Whispers” is brimming with tension, its lilting synth riff landing somewhere between Aphex Twin and the Suspiria soundtrack.

Ko-Ta “Shiya” (Bitta)

Ko-Ta “Shiya (Don’t DJ Remix)” (Bitta)

Regular First Floor readers are probably already aware of my love-hate relationship with Aleski Perälä, and thankfully Ko-Ta isn’t a new moniker from the hyper-prolific Finnish artist. It is, however, the name of a Japanese producer who apparently shares Perälä’s love of melodic chimes and polyrhythmic techno. Both the original “Shiya” and the Don’t DJ remix can be found on Ko-Ta’s new Shiza EP—the latest offering from DJ Nobu’s Bitta label—and the rework puts an inventive new spin on the track, dialing back the chimes while cranking the low end and swapping in a sort of mutant drum & bass framework. What results is a bit dizzying, but the song’s hypnotic, herky-jerk rhythms will leave heads spinning in the best way possible.

Time Wharp “10 Year Warranty” (Leaving)

Time Wharp “R (Version)” (Leaving)

Time Wharp has been releasing music for more than a decade now, but the NYC artist’s recent krautrock flirtations have taken her craft to a whole new level. Six weeks after debuting on Leaving Records with “Ingenue” and “ETGSS,” she’s offered up another excellent two-tracker, and the motorik funk of “10 Year Warranty” sounds like Neu! jamming with the Bush Tetras at a gritty ’70s loft party. “R (Version)” follows a trippier, more melodic path, its spiraling melodies coming off like something The Orb would have cooked up in the early ’90s.

Daniel Avery “Lone Swordsman (Chris Carter Remix)” (Phantasy Sound / Mute)

More than 18 months after his death, the absence of Andrew Weatherall still looms large. Back in January, Daniel Avery released “Lone Swordsman” as a tribute to the late UK icon, and now the song has been given a fresh rework by industrial pioneer Chris Carter (of Throbbing Gristle and Chris & Cosey fame). With his resume, you might expect something dark and morose, but Carter has taken a different route, crafting a whimsical, subtly psychedelic breakbeat tune that joyfully recalls Weatherall’s groundbreaking work as part of Two Lone Swordmen during the ’90s.

Planetary Assault Systems “Say It Loud” (Token)

First released in May, “Say It Loud” has resurfaced on Sky Scraping, the latest full-length from techno mainstay Luke Slater and his long-running Planetary Assault Systems moniker. A hard-charging tune born out of his live sets, the track flips a sassy vocal (“Say it loud / make it work”) into a surprisingly bouncy bit of booming techno, complete with bubbly drums and some lazer-like synths.

Guy Contact “90 Mile Straight (Nullarbor Mix)” (Butter Sessions)

Guy Contact “Body Groove” (Butter Sessions)

It’s probably just a coincidence that Drinking the Mirage, the excellent debut album from Guy Contact, has a song called “Voices from the Bedrock,” but the Australian producer does appear to be channeling the proggy aesthetic that John Digweed (and his Bedrock label) championed back during the early 2000s. So yes, there’s a trance influence, but there’s no overwrought, hands-in-the-air nonsense happening here. LP opener “90 Mile Straight (Nullarbor Mix)” is a shimmering, psychedelic chugger, while “Body Groove,” another album highlight, offers a similarly floaty aesthetic—albeit with the help of a beefier bassline and a (slightly) more banging beat.

Marco Shuttle “Bembe Bongo” (Incienso)

Marco Shuttle “4Dimensional Soundwaves” (Incienso)

Marco Shuttle’s techno bonafides are top notch, but the Italian producer’s new album, Cobalt Desert Oasis, isn’t really a techno record. Rooted in ideas of “psychedelia, ritualism, and mysticism,” and constructed using field recordings he collected around the world, the record moves through different tempos and styles, often occupying heady spaces far away from any dancefloor. It’s not all ambient though; “Bembe Bongo” sounds like someone bringing their modular set-up to a head-spinning drum circle in the middle of a rainforest. “4Dimensional Soundwaves,” which closes out the LP, is a touch more traditional—and could even be described as a techno track, albeit a pensive one where airy melodies slowly blossom atop a bed of crisp percussion.

Kölsch “Speicherband” (Kompakt)

Wait a minute… how did Kölsch wind up in here? No offense to the man, but his tunes are usually a bit too far into the tech house realm for my tastes. (And yes, I mean the “bad” tech house, not the “good” stuff that is apparently cool again.) Anyways, “Speicherband,” which appears on the new Speicher 119 EP isn’t exactly experimental or “underground”—the swaggering track more than capable of rousing a massive stadium crowd—but there’s something special about its urgent drums and brawny horn samples, which the Danish producer has piled on top of each other as he confidently struts across the dancefloor. Do I like Kölsch now? Do I need to start paying attention to what artists in the Ibiza / Miami / Mysteryland circuit are doing? Hopefully not, but “Speicherband” has “big tune” written all over it, and is a good reminder to never judge a book by its cover.

That brings us to the end of today’s newsletter. As always, thank you so much for reading First Floor, and I do hope you enjoyed the tunes. (Don’t forget, you can find them all on this handy Buy Music Club list, and if you like them, please buy them.)

Have a great week,

Shawn

Shawn Reynaldo is a freelance writer, editor, presenter and project manager. Find him on LinkedIn or drop him an email to get in touch about projects, collaborations or potential work opportunities.