Free tekno, also known as tekno, freetekno and hardtek,[1] is the music predominantly played at free parties in Europe. The spelling tekno is deliberately used to differentiate the musical style from techno. The music is fast and it can vary between 150 and 185 bpm and is characterised by a pounding repetitive kick drum.[2] Nevertheless, bass drum distortion by clipping is used less often as in the related genre of mainstyle hardcore. Nowadays, some tekno producers also use drum sets that rather sound trancey, since many members of the tekno subculture as well as the psytrance subculture frequently attend the same raves and the two scenes are closely connected.
Tekno evolved in tandem with the teknival movement in the early 1990s since many of the teknival organisers and DJs were also making music. The music drew on influences such as hardcore, rave, jungle, early hardcore and techno, with the producers taking the sound in a darker direction. Spiral tribe were the first to start making and widely disseminating this genre taking it to France and Eastern Europe after the Criminal Justice act was implemented in the UK. An emphasis is placed on samples from TV shows, films and popular culture which are placed at strategic moments in the tracks. The music was produced with whatever was available: drum machines, synthesisers and keyboards as well as computer programs such as audio/MIDI sequencers and Trackers, sometimes even hitting a random table with a pen. Starting from year 2001 there has been a trend using laptop and laptops for live performances, because the capabilities of both the hardware and software were improving very quick.
With the evolution of the genre it has come to be known by a number of names, including spiral tekno, hardtek, tribetek, tribe and lately evolved in many other subgenres like pumping tek, hardfloor and Frenchcore which is a sort of mixture between mainstream hardcore and hardtekno, with funny and pumping samples taken from different media sources.
Tekno producers come from numerous places, particularly in Europe, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. Some of the most active artist who from the early 1990s up till the mid 2000s were Spiral Tribe, Crystal Distortion, Lego, Liqitex, 69db, Ixy, Kaos, Jack Acid, Curley, Unit Moebius, Les Boucles Etranges, Yale, FKY, Babylon Joke, Arobass, Gotek, Frank@, Floxytek, Suburbass, Zone-33, Mat Weasel Buster, Narkotek, Kernel Panik, Revolt99, Infrabass, Vinka, Banditos, La Bloukak, Diablo (LSDF), Teknambul, Spiralheadz, Asphalt-Pirates, Aya Sound, Puissance K, Guigoo, Billx, Maissouille, Key Gen, Psychospores, Fractal, Sceletor, and Lyzor-sak.
Many record labels contributed spreading the sound mostly via underground distribution operated mostly by record shops / labels such as Hokus Pokus (Paris) and Toolbox Records (Paris), and record labels such as Tek No Logique (TNL), Narkotek and Astrofonik. Here a list of some of the most active record labels Network 23 record label Spiral Tribesound system, Hokus Pokus, Passe Muraille, Perce Oreille, Infrabass, KGB Records, OQP Crue Production, dSP records, Tek No Logique, Narkotek, Astrofonik, Le Diable Au Corps.
Artists within this genre usually follow a very different ideology when compared to more modern and mainstream producers:
Artists often use many pseudonyms, as they are not interested in mainstream success or recognition
Most are not interested in profit
They also support the free distribution of their works, as they do not see it as their own material, but as something that belongs to the fans and the community
This is described as "returning to the roots".
Subgenres
Jungletek and Raggatek is a subgenres derived directly from Hardtek. These well known genres collide to create fast energetic 190 BPM dance floor smashers. Kicked of around 2008 in the UK Mandidextrous & Vandal were among the first producers to start writing this genre of music. It breathed new life into the underground rave scene not only here in the UK but also picking up a strong following in Italy, Spain and Austria to mention a few. Massive influence for this music also came from the Techno scene in Europe where some of the first underground music lovers started to up the bpm and add variations in structure thus becoming Tekno. Techno in the UK in the early 1990s was based on a bpm of 130-140. By the 2000s music on its never ending journey of progression had gained more speed and Hardtek was starting to dominate UK raves especially in the South and London.. Even Trance had progressed from sweeping delicate melody's to whats now known as Hardtrance a faster, harder more bouncy music to its predecessor. Music all over the underground was getting harder and faster. In today's world the most recent and noticeable evaluation in music is the progression of DnB into Neuro Funk, very similar to DnB but with grittier and harsher bass and synth sounds often using masses of compression to get those tearing bass line which is now worlds apart from one of the original DnB genres pioneered by Carl Cox Jungletechno.
Raggatek is predominantly influenced by Reggae and Ragga music, incorporating Jungle, DnB, Dancehall, Reggae, Ragga and Techno music. Well known MC's such as YT and Top Cat are a massive influence on the world of Raggatek. Producers loving this type of sound wanted to bring it to the dance floors of the underground. Upping the bpm to between 180 – 200 adding amen breaks and the basic structure of Hardtek that kick bass kick bass format was the formula for a new hybrid music. The big sounding Ragga style vocals are often a massive presence on Raggatek productions.
Jungletek works on exactly the same formula as Raggatek just replace the Ragga with Jungle & DnB. Being less known for the vocal arrangements and more about the bass lines. Jungletek takes the basics of the bass line from well known Jungle and DnB tracks and recreates them in a Hardtek format. Original productions also use the simple format of kick bass with amen breaks. European Raggatek and Jungletek is often recognisable by the high energy eletro sounds in the bass lines and synth melody's.
Drum and bass is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast breakbeats with heavy bass and sub-bass lines, samples, and synthesizers. The genre grew out of the UK's rave scene in the 1990s.
Breakbeat hardcore is a music genre that spawned from the UK rave scene during the early 1990s. It combines four-on-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats usually sampled from hip hop. In addition to the inclusion of breakbeats, the genre also features shuffled drum machine patterns, hoover, and other noises originating from new beat and Belgian techno, sounds from acid house and bleep techno, and often upbeat house piano riffs and vocals.
A rave is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance music scene when DJs played at illegal events in musical styles dominated by electronic dance music from a wide range of sub-genres, including drum and bass, dubstep, trap, break, happy hardcore, techno, hardcore, house, and alternative dance. Occasionally live musicians have been known to perform at raves, in addition to other types of performance artists such as go-go dancers and fire dancers. The music is amplified with a large, powerful sound reinforcement system, typically with large subwoofers to produce a deep bass sound. The music is often accompanied by laser light shows, projected coloured images, visual effects and fog machines.
Freetekno is a cultural movement that is present in Europe, Australia and North America. Freetekno sound systems or tribes form in loose collectives, frequently with anarchist philosophies. These sound systems join to hold parties wherever a viable space can be found – typical locations include warehouses, fields, abandoned buildings or forests. Because freetekno parties are usually held illegally this sometimes leads to clashes with the police, as was the case at both the 2004 and 2005 Czechtek festivals and many other, smaller parties around the world at different times.
Jungle is a genre of dance music that developed out of the UK rave scene and sound system culture in the 1990s. Emerging from breakbeat hardcore, the style is characterised by rapid breakbeats, heavily syncopated percussive loops, samples, and synthesised effects, combined with the deep basslines, melodies, and vocal samples found in dub, reggae and dancehall, as well as hip hop and funk. Many producers frequently sampled the "Amen break" or other breakbeats from funk and jazz recordings. Jungle was a direct precursor to the drum and bass genre which emerged in the mid-1990s.
Microhouse, buftech or sometimes just minimal, is a subgenre of house music strongly influenced by minimalism and 1990s techno.
A free party is a party "free" from the restrictions of the legal club scene, similar to the free festival movement. It typically involves a sound system playing electronic dance music from late at night until the time when the organisers decide to go home. A free party can be composed of just one system or of many and if the party becomes a festival, it becomes a teknival. This typically means that drugs are readily available. The word free in this context is used both to describe the entry fee and the lack of restrictions and law enforcement.
Happy hardcore, also known as 4-beat or happycore, is a subgenre of hardcore dance music or "hard dance". It emerged both from the UK breakbeat hardcore rave scene, and Belgian, German and Dutch hardcore techno scenes in the early 1990s.
Breakcore is a style and microgenre of electronic dance music that emerged from jungle, hardcore, and drum and bass in the mid-to-late 1990s. It is characterized by very complex and intricate breakbeats and a wide palette of sampling sources played at high tempos.
Hardcore is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany in the early 1990s. It is distinguished by faster tempos and a distorted sawtooth kick, the intensity of the kicks and the synthesized bass, the rhythm and the atmosphere of the themes, the usage of saturation and experimentation close to that of industrial dance music. It would spawn subgenres such as gabber.
Speedcore is a form of electronic music that is characterized by a high tempo and aggressive themes. It was created in the early to mid-1990s and the name originates from the hardcore genre as well as the high tempo used. Speedcore beats per minute (bpm) is classified when a song is 200+ bpm.
Bouncy techno is a hardcore dance music rave style that developed in the early 1990s from Scotland and North England. Described as an accessible gabber-like form, it was popularised by Scottish DJ and music producer Scott Brown under numerous aliases.
Teknivals are large free parties which take place for several days. They take place most often in Europe and are often illegal under various national or regional laws. They vary in size from dozens to thousands of people, depending on factors such as accessibility, reputation, weather, and law enforcement. The parties often take place in venues far away from residential areas such as squatted warehouses, empty military bases, beaches, forests or fields. The teknival phenomenon is a grassroots movement which has grown out of the rave, punk, reggae sound system and UK traveller scenes and spawned an entire subculture. Summer is the usual season for teknivals.
A sound system is a group of DJs and audio engineers contributing and working together as one, playing and producing music over a large PA system or sound reinforcement system, typically for a dance event or party.
Hard trance is a subgenre of trance music that originated in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands in the early 1990s as the Breakbeat hardcore production community began to diversify into new and different styles of electronic music, all influenced by Hard house, New beat, Happy hardcore and Jungle music. The popularity of hard trance peaked during the late 1990s and has since then faded in scope of newer forms of trance.
Drum and bass is an electronic music genre that originated in the UK rave scene having developed from breakbeat hardcore. The genre would go on to become one of the most popular genres of electronic dance music, becoming international and spawning multiple different derivatives and subgenres.
Frenchcore is a subgenre of hardcore techno. The style differs from other forms of hardcore in terms of a faster tempo, usually above 190-250 BPM, and a loud & distorted offbeat bassline.
Law of the Jungle is a compilation album of various early jungle music tracks by various artists, released in 1994 in the United States on Moonshine Music. Jungle had started to emerge in the United Kingdom a couple of years earlier but despite its growth, albeit slow, in the United States, no jungle albums were available on the American market. Moonshine conceived the album as a primer for jungle music for American shores, using music from British jungle label SOUR Records, and as a spin-off to their fast tempo techno compilation series Speed Limit 140 BPM+. Law of the Jungle was the first jungle album released in the United States.
Belgian hardcore techno is an early style of hardcore techno that emerged from new beat as EBM and techno influences became more prevalent in this genre. This particular style has been described as an "apocalyptic, almost Wagnerian, bombastic techno", due to its use of dramatic orchestral stabs and menacing synth tones that set it apart from earlier forms of electronic dance music. It flourished in Belgium and influenced the sound of early hardcore from Netherlands, Germany, Italy, UK and North America during the early-1990s, as a part of the rave movement during that period.
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