Techno Minimalism

[RDR]

Read a good essay once on the link between techno and abstract art.

Basically said that the less is more approach was evidence of mastery of of more complex forms.

You can only reduce to minimalism and abstraction when you know exactly what you are doing.

Otherwise you actually do sound like a bunch of bleeps and wibbles.

Wow - that makes it sound really, really snotty.

[Jay Pace]

Read a good essay once on the link between techno and abstract art.

Basically said that the less is more approach was evidence of mastery of of more complex forms.

You can only reduce to minimalism and abstraction when you know exactly what you are doing.

Otherwise you actually do sound like a bunch of bleeps and wibbles.

Wow - that makes it sound really, really snotty.

how so?

[doc12inch]

I was reading Mixmag last night and they were saying how Minimal is massive in Ibiza at the moment... they said the best nights this summer were Circo Loco @ DC10 and Cocoon @ Amnesia.... both being well mininal with giuests like Hawtin, Vath, Vilallabos etc.

Theres also a goo Minimal CD on the cover.... Mixed by Loco Dice, very good stuff indeed.

my mates wer at cocoon this year when sven vath didnt turn up and said james holden managed to make the whole night more minimal than prog which he normally plays. good on him

[Frank Dogshit]

I was reading Mixmag last night and they were saying how Minimal is massive in Ibiza at the moment... they said the best nights this summer were Circo Loco @ DC10 and Cocoon @ Amnesia.... both being well mininal with giuests like Hawtin, Vath, Vilallabos etc.

Theres also a goo Minimal CD on the cover.... Mixed by Loco Dice, very good stuff indeed.

my mates wer at cocoon this year when sven vath didnt turn up and said james holden managed to make the whole night more minimal than prog which he normally plays. good on him

hes another one on the minimal bandwagon,hardly plays prog no more so it seems. to be fair though from listening to some old progressive house cds the other week there isnt really a huge difference between the 2 genres.

[Jay Sanders]

Yeah ive heard alot of good things about Jame sHolden recently... his productions kick ass!!!

[TechMouse]

Yeah ive heard alot of good things about Jame sHolden recently... his productions kick ass!!!

Remix of "The Sky Was Pink" by Nathan Fake is outstanding.

[RDR]

Read a good essay once on the link between techno and abstract art.

Basically said that the less is more approach was evidence of mastery of of more complex forms.

You can only reduce to minimalism and abstraction when you know exactly what you are doing.

Otherwise you actually do sound like a bunch of bleeps and wibbles.

Wow - that makes it sound really, really snotty.

how so?

It just stinks of the Elitism and self congratulatory bollocks and you can only do this if you are the best, nonsense that rears its ugly head sometimes. I just happen to believe that music can be written by anyone with a passion , rather than what the essay (essay...!) says - you have to know what you are doing?

I understand what the essay writer is talking about, minimalism in art is an interesting concept. But when those who comment on the scene, like the essay writer is doing, try to place boundaries on who can and cant do it, depending upon percieved ability.

Im probably going a little overboard, but it gets my goat. Its the whole "Ubercoolische" philosophy that really makes me want to vomit.

[Jay Pace]

Read a good essay once on the link between techno and abstract art.

Basically said that the less is more approach was evidence of mastery of of more complex forms.

You can only reduce to minimalism and abstraction when you know exactly what you are doing.

Otherwise you actually do sound like a bunch of bleeps and wibbles.

Wow - that makes it sound really, really snotty.

how so?

It just stinks of the Elitism and self congratulatory bollocks and you can only do this if you are the best, nonsense that rears its ugly head sometimes. I just happen to believe that music can be written by anyone with a passion , rather than what the essay (essay...!) says - you have to know what you are doing?

I understand what the essay writer is talking about, minimalism in art is an interesting concept. But when those who comment on the scene, like the essay writer is doing, try to place boundaries on who can and cant do it, depending upon percieved ability.

Im probably going a little overboard, but it gets my goat. Its the whole "Ubercoolische" philosophy that really makes me want to vomit.

Easy badger, that's not quite what I was getting at.

Any form of art can be analysed, and techno is no different.
What they were talking about was that techno has a rawness, simplicity and beauty that can be paralleled with abstract art.

I'm not into being wanky for the sake of being wanky, but I really like reading what people were trying to do when they make minimal music.

Same as knowing the ideas behind paintings by Mondrian or Kandinsky make them that much more interesting.

Just as you can reduce abstract art to "just a bunch of squares and random blobs" you can reduce minimal techno to just a bunch of bleeps.
You could level the same criticism that "my five year old could do better" at a lot of minimal stuff.

Its not elitism, I just think that especially with minimal there is a lot going on beneath the surface that isn't that obvious. Its not virtuoso performance screaming "look how clever I am" with every over produced second of it, the talent lies behind it. It's much more subtle.

Sorry, I couldn't think of any other way of saying this, and am aware that this probably sounds really poncy. Incidentally the essay was on the inside of a CD cover. Can't remember which one, but it was a brief 4 page inlay on techno's history, and it stuck in my mind because I liked the parallel.

I'll get me coat.

[TechMouse]

I think what you're trying to say is that in order to do minimalism well, you need to know what you can take away without losing the essence of a piece.

[schlongfingers]

Or to emphasise the essence.

[TechMouse]

Or to emphasise the essence.

Indeed.

I do think that better producers can do more with less, and that's the trick... but I think some people can just naturally do more with less, and that's equally as valid as arriving there through a convoluted route taking in very big complex sounds.

[Fordy]

Alex Smoke, nuff said.

[MARKEG]

yeah really love alex smoke's stuff :clap:

[Jay Sanders]

TechMouse - Yeah that remix of 'The Sky was pink' is a cracker....

I used to buy and hear alot of James Holdens stuff when he was producing Prog House... Like Frank said.. it isnt that far from minimal really!!

[Jay Sanders]

The other thing with it becoming increasingly popular is that fact thats every magazine and club has jumped in and said... "Oh Yeah we Love Minimal"

Mixmag and IDJ this month both have Massive Ritchie Hawtin interviews in them... not knocking this but it just goes to show how much coverage it must be getting.... Even a minmial CD on Mixmag cover.... i bet theres a lot of people out there that usually love the Lisa Lashes cds or whatever scrathing their heads.

[TechMouse]

Magda, make the tea...

[RDR]

The other thing with it becoming increasingly popular is that fact thats every magazine and club has jumped in and said... "Oh Yeah we Love Minimal"

Mixmag and IDJ this month both have Massive Ritchie Hawtin interviews in them... not knocking this but it just goes to show how much coverage it must be getting.... Even a minmial CD on Mixmag cover.... i bet theres a lot of people out there that usually love the Lisa Lashes cds or whatever scrathing their heads.

Thats part of what i was getting at. The positivity is nothing to dis' fo sho' and i certainly give artists the props they deserve.

I Like a lot of minimal, how can i not - some of it is superb. Millsian minimalism - beast! Hawtin minimalism - not very beast in my book..(IMO of course)

I just wanna say that i suspect HIGHLY anything that has the potential to call itself high art, and minimalistic techno has this potential. I'm kinda down to earth about these things, and i love complex sounds. However It kinda begs the question "Can you have highly complex minimalism that dodgyedgy wont feel annoyed with?"

Probably...

[doc12inch]

I was reading Mixmag last night and they were saying how Minimal is massive in Ibiza at the moment... they said the best nights this summer were Circo Loco @ DC10 and Cocoon @ Amnesia.... both being well mininal with giuests like Hawtin, Vath, Vilallabos etc.

Theres also a goo Minimal CD on the cover.... Mixed by Loco Dice, very good stuff indeed.

my mates wer at cocoon this year when sven vath didnt turn up and said james holden managed to make the whole night more minimal than prog which he normally plays. good on him

hes another one on the minimal bandwagon,hardly plays prog no more so it seems. to be fair though from listening to some old progressive house cds the other week there isnt really a huge difference between the 2 genres.

my mate used to be into happy hardcore - now hes into minimal stuff - one extreme to another

[basslinejunkie]

i really like a bit of minimal,as some of you have probably seen as i post a few sets in the files sections now an again.its just summit diffrent,good for chillin out to.its an absloute pleasure to mix aswell,really fun.

[Jay Pace]

I just wanna say that i suspect HIGHLY anything that has the potential to call itself high art, and minimalistic techno has this potential.

Gabber has that pedestal.
Minimal could only compete if it was sped up to 220bpm.
;)

I love minimal for getting the same effect out of a crowd with less. That takes talent.

Proper minimal should be able to rock a crowd and get it grooving in just the same way that hard or funky techno can.

Poncy parallels can be drawn if you like that sort of thing. Keeps us blethering types happy anyway...