Birmingham sound

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The Birmingham sound is a subgenre of techno that emerged in Birmingham, England in the early 1990s. [1] It is most commonly associated with the city's House of God club night, [2] the Downwards Records label, [3] and the local DJs and producers Regis, Surgeon and Female. [4] It is characterised by a hard, fast and uncompromising style [1] that strips the music of the bassline funk that characterised the techno of Detroit and Berlin, [5] leaving only "huge slabs of unrelentingly unchanging minimalism". [6]

The Birmingham sound marked a turning point in the development of techno and its influence can be heard throughout the Berlin techno of the Berghain and Ostgut Ton. [6] It also formed the starting point for Regis and Female's later Sandwell District project. [7]

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References

  1. 1 2 Sande, Kiran (9 June 2010), "Regis: blood into gold", FACT Magazine, London: The Vinyl Factory, retrieved 31 August 2013
  2. Burns, Todd L. (24 August 2010), Surgeon: British murder boy , retrieved 31 August 2013
  3. Finlayson, Angus (1 March 2013), "Downwards is the Only Way Forward: An interview with Regis", Electronic Beats, Berlin: EB, retrieved 31 August 2013
  4. Finlayson, Angus (13 February 2013), The industrial techno revolution, Resident Advisor, retrieved 31 August 2013
  5. Glazer, Joshua, "Disintegration", Allmusic, Rovi, retrieved 30 August 2013
  6. 1 2 Otasevic, Dragan (22 February 2011), "Sandwell District", Altered States, archived from the original on 7 September 2013, retrieved 30 August 2013
  7. Masterson, Patrick (10 September 2012), "Silent Servant - Negative Fascination", Dusted Reviews, Dusted Magazine, retrieved 31 August 2013