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I've been listening to techno (not EDM in general, Techno) since the 90s. It's definitely my favorite music for deep work; something about the tight repetitive loops is just perfect for concentration. Since the pandemic started I've been listening to techno mixes almost constantly in order to mask the noise from everyone else in my house. Initially, I found it difficult to find decent mixes since Techno has become a generic term for EDM. I just returned to following the genre so I really didn't know where to look. However once I found a single Soundcloud account curating mixes of the style I like, it opened up an unlimited supply of music through following recommendations. Maybe someone will find this useful:

https://soundcloud.com/invite-1


Here's a great channel I found in 2020 for techno mixes. Seems like its mostly folks from Berlin but there are a few big names also.

https://www.youtube.com/c/H%C3%96RBERLIN/videos

EDIT: There's craploads of content, a lot of styles, although I will observe that oldschool sounds have continued to come back in a big way in 2020. Rave, electro, acid.

Here's my favourite party set from 2020.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0qeZ1fpWwU

So happy to see HÖR references on HN! Thanks for your recommendation!

Videos I've come back to way more than once below (most of these are on the harder side of "electro" -- hard techno, hard acid -- but not all)

Lady Starlight (live modular!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb9oVM7CQbI

Tigerhead https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpuHmH495us

Tham https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdOfhuYW_OI

The Brvtalist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0qeZ1fpWwU

FJAAK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwpF8CAcGQ8

SPFDJ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ7lbqyLbX8

Tham is awesome! Really working all 4 decks during his mixes, with multiple tracks looping in layers.

Dax J and Hector Oaks also need a mention - Hector adding a sparkle of punk to electronic mixes.

I did not expect to find a link to hör on hn news today. Interesting overlap
I lived in Germany in the 90s and early 2000s, loathed techno, and I must admit that bouncing around a dozen or so of these videos gave me a flashback of nostalgia for lost youth mixed with the same desire to escape the music.

No offense intended - divergent musical taste should be celebrated!

I've got about 40 or so playlists on SoundCloud for individual techno DJs I like, as well as a couple for general techno mixes - they're all the ones with "techno" in the title :) You'll find a some overlap with the artists in your playlist in fact, I've got playlists for Ben Sims, The Advent and Drumcell that I found in the first minute of scrolling through it.

What sort of techno do you prefer? The artists I've got are mostly the tougher end of European techno, there's also some Detroit techno, acid techno and hard techno/schranz. You can look at my likes for my favourites...

https://soundcloud.com/spiralx/sets

I've also been into techno since the 90s and it's still my favourite thing in the world :) The combination of relentless kick drum and the constantly changing synths and percussion never fails to draw me in. It manages to sooth my ADHD with the constant heartbeat of the kick drum while the constant progression of everything else serves to keep my attention from wondering off after a few bars.

Not sure if you have spotify, but here's my "techno" playlist that has over 800 songs in it so far. I put techno in quotes because I'm sure someone can find songs in there that aren't "real techno" but you won't find any big room EDM, that's for sure.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1LSjVUxQk1Nrh7kHavZ4uu?si=...

Slam, Adam Beyer (Drumcode) and Chris Liebling (CLR) are all good places to start. They all have weekly radio stations.

From there on you can follow an guest DJs who you like the style off.

Also when did “techno” become an umbrella term again? I was possessed off enough when “EDM” was redefined as a specific genre (and such a lousy one at that).

If you like Slam then Reclaim Your City (https://soundcloud.com/reclaim-your-city) is a good one to go with it.
Reclaim Your City is fantastic! I've been listening to it for years. Endless totally techno sets from a wide range of DJs and a wider range of tracks, and they're all really expertly put together. Seamless is the rule, not the exception. It generally feels like it's one mad synthesizer boffin performing on a giant machine, rather than picking individual tracks to play in sequence. Rarely can you tell when they switch from one track to another.
> Also when did “techno” become an umbrella term again?

I would guess in the '90s, when there was a lot more crossover between electronic music and other genres. Rock and hiphop oriented stuff like the Prodigy and Chemical Brothers were topping the dance charts, and other more conventional techno like Aphex Twin and Underworld were getting decent media coverage as well.

Plus movie soundtracks at the time tended to include a lot of techno. Trainspotting, Pi, Hackers, The Jackal, The Saint....discovered a lot of artists thanks to these.

Yeah, I was around then; buying those records, going to those clubs and in many cases partying with those DJs. But that was the end of “Techno” as a synonym for “electronic music. By then there was already numerous sub genres and many of them because music styles in their own right (like rock, metal, blues are all guitar music) with people identifying themselves as trance, house, hardcore et al clubbers rather than techno.

My comment was in regard to how the GP suggested that techno has since become another umbrella term again now. Or maybe I misunderstood their post?

Swedish techno... That brings me back. If you like Adam Beyer, check out Cari Lekebusch and Jasper Dahlback too.

His style is a bit less minimal, but Boris Brejcha is absolutely sick.

Already got a stack of records from Cari and Jasper. Particularly love Cari’s Agent Orange stuff.

I’ve not knowingly come across Boris before though. Pretty sure I’d have heard some of his records play but looking at his discography I think he might have started making a name for himself around the same time I hung up my own DJ headphones so he’s not a name that’s immediately recognisable for me.

I did recently hook my decks up again but not yet had a chance to play anything.

+1 for Boris Brejcha
+1 adam beyer
I think the repetitive loops of percussion and basslines let you keep a certain part of your mind "busy" so you can focus on other things. Like it occupies some sort of nervous energy and let's other areas of the mind run more free.
‘Techno Live Sets’ are good at long mixes in the genre, though they do delve into house regularly: https://www.techno-livesets.com

(IIRC they were on Mixcloud previously, but parted ways for some reason.)

Wow, I didn't realize they have a website. They're also on the iOS Podcasts app which is how I have always consumed the feed.
DI.fm is 100% dance music with so many channels dedicated to the nichest of niche genres. They have channels dedicated to mixes as well.
I agree completely - techno is hypnotic and almost by design is meant to be heard and not listened to, and I find this really helps me maintain focus/flow while working. No vocals, ear catching melodies, or overdone chord progressions that try to grab your attention. Techno is my go to work music for this reason!
Cercle channel on YouTube puts out some great techno shows. They go to historical places and record a set with some of the best djs Here is the link for Pan-Pot set https://youtu.be/hENgrbIMiy4
That's not techno, it's Techno
lol, the linked video is not techno but some pretty bland tech-house...
The entire set is combination of experimental techno, tech-house and techno

Enjoy the music instead of going around and barking like a mad dog

Grrrr... Woof-Woof!

Nah, it's not experimental at all. It's bland, posh, Tomorrowland-tier tech-house.

Just to pitch in a suggestion for anyone looking: NTS radio and boiler room both have a huge number of mixes by techno artists - generally speaking I find artists by listening to mixes on NTS and checking the track list and then find mixes by them on boiler room.
Very much seconding Boiler Room. Been a huge fan of all genres electronic but those sets have made me "understand" Techno, specifically.
Nice, I will be checking that out.

I maintain a YouTube playlist called "music to hack by" which is up to over 500 songs now. Basically the criteria are: 1) electronic 2) has a beat (no ambient) 3) few to no vocals, with only one or two exceptions

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2A7B99AB93F1E522

It's fascinating how the "techno" moniker nowadays really just means any non festival non house dance music.
Not among people who care it doesn't.
By that logic anything with a guitar is rock music.

Techno has a vast range of styles.

Yes that is my point

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