(Drum Breaks By Vitor Drums)
Se você também nunca concordou com esta idéia de que Techno tem que ser necessariamente associado a fórmulas imutáveis do tipo de bate-estaca quatro por quatro, ou se percebeu isso com o passar do tempo, contente-se: tudo está em constante mudança, e seguindo este predicado, o paradigma de batidas retas associado ao gênero nos últimos anos poderá vir por água abaixo nos próximos tempos. Ou pelo menos, grande parte dele.
É só lembrar o quanto é absurdo ouvir as pessoas cobrarem criatividade dos artistas de Techno no tocante às partes melódica, harmônica, de desenvolvimento de timbres e de perspectiva de número de elementos usados, deixando de lado um pilar fundamental na concepção de qualquer gênero chamado ritmo.
Independente da concepção que eu, você ou eles venham a ter, uma nova revolução virá (para trazer a exploração em maior profundidade de algo que sempre existiu, até então deixado às margens). Tomará lugar, de forma diferente, fazendo uso das novas tecnologias. Afinal, ritmos mais complexos sempre estiveram presentes na vida do Techno. Quem duvida, pesquise. Os exemplos estão aos montes por aí – e não apenas no período Fourth Floor / Bonesbreaks e Hardcore.
Espero que o texto abaixo traga novas idéias a essa discussão. As transformações não param nunca!
Em ‘Cameo – Money (Reese Revamp Mix)’ (1992), Kevin Saunderson fez uso dos brilhantes beats de “N.T.” do Kool & The Gang, de 1971
Já Juan Atkins optou pelo famoso solo de batera do Clyde Stubbelfield em trecho de ‘The Passage’: homenagem aos J.B.s com os beats do “Funky Drummer” (1969)
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ENGLISH
TECHNO: CHANGING FOREVER TO MORE COMPLEX AND CHALLENGING MODELS
It’s Time For Techno To Abandon The Outdated 4×4 Straight Beats Pattern And Look For More Challenging, Complex Rhythms
I have the feeling that a new revolution will happen one day on the World of Techno: the genre’s international production scene will be assaulted by a new level of Breakbeats-Techno Fusion. It will be based on a new concept, with the help of the newest technologies, through more challenging and complex rhythms than the ones used these last fifteen years.
To understand better about this, we brought a resume of the history of Techno under the influences of Soul-Funk beats (considered the essence of Breakbeats).
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The First Wave: The Samplemania Era (1986-1988)
It was during a short period of months, between 1986 and 1987 that the whole dance music scene changed forever. From mid 1986 when the ‘Ultimate Breaks & Beats‘ compilation series came out first to few months later when the electronic equipements such as Akai S-1000 and EMU SP-1200 became really popular (and at the same time affordable) that took place a new era called the Samplemania.
Based on new concepts and amazing combination of oportunities, the movement in question took place on two major centers – New York (USA) and England. This massive movement of production gave us standards like “Pump Up The Volume” from M|A|R|R|S, “Beat Dis” by Bomb The Bass, “Paid In Full (Coldcut Rmx)” by Eric B. & Rakim, all from 1987 and on the following year, “King Of The Beats” by Mantronix – whose side effects would affect the rest of the World since then. Among the kids affected by it, one from Coney Island, Brooklyn, decided to bring the B-Boy culture to the House Music universe. His name is Todd Terry.
Eric B & Rakim – Paid In Full (Coldcut Mix, 1987): beat from Soul Searchers – “Ashley’s Roachclip” (1974)
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The Second Wave: United States And The Brooklyn Scene (1988-1991)
In the 1988 to 1991 period, the 2nd Wave of Breakbeats-fusion reached the House and more particularly the Techno-Rave domain. Right in the New York scene, more particularly Brooklyn, Todd Terry melted the esthetic of Break Dance with House Music, using samples and raw beats and changed the course of the dance music scene, which would at the same time inspire other producers.
On the same neighbourhoods, under the surveillance of Silvio Tancredi, two young producers named Leonardo ‘Lenny Dee’ Didesiderio and Tommy Musto released an underground dance standard called ‘Fallout – The Morning After (Sunrise Mix)’ based on broken snares which would set standards (1987); on the next couple of years they would get together with DJ and producer Frankie Bones, the man behind the legendary ‘Bonesbreaks‘ series and settle their own revolution with Breakbeats, Techno & House fusion.
These trend setter artists brought up essential dance music projects such as Fourplay, Looney Tunes, Brooklyn Funk Essentials, Major Problems, Critical Rhythm, The Break Boys, Escape From Brooklyn, Mental Mayhem, Gansters Of Freestyle, destined to join the elements of Techno, House and Breakbeats with the help of new technologies and amazing drum break samples, creating a bolder and wilder perspective of dance music.
They would put out Breakbeat-Techno hits with electronic and sampled drum breaks bases such as ‘Apachie’, ‘Funky Drummer’ and ‘Amen Break’ and hit the whole Techno scene, from USA to the Rave generation in Europe on the end of the Eighties to the early Nineties.
“At My House” on Bonesbreaks 2 (1988) with a sample from “Apachie” (1973)
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The Third Wave: Hardcore Waves Hit England (1989-1993)
After the early works of Frankie Bones, Lenny Dee and Tommy Musto called the attention of the English underground electronic scene, specially the Orbital M25 Raves during 1988-1989, Bones was called to play at Energy rave for a twenty five thousand audience, and on that year, he was the first to play an accelerated Amen Break based tune for an English crowd called ‘Roll It Up (Rmx) Bass Kickin’ Beats’ from Success-N-Effect, which would make a deep impact and inspire all the future Hardcore, Jungle and Drum n Bass artists.
On the Techno-House domain, people from Brooklyn inspired their colleagues from the other side of the Atlantic through labels such as Underworld Records, Nu Groove, Breaking Bones and Fourth Floor Records. The result of all these mentionned influences was certain: Shut Up & Dance and their DJ Hype, 4 Hero, Rob Playford, Fabio, Grooverider, LTJ Bukem and later Rebel MC brought the British to the Hardcore. During the years of 1992-1993, the paths of Jungle and Drum n’ Bass were founded from this Hardcore scene, and the rest is history…
Shut Up & Dance’s “£20 To Get In” (1989) brought Kool & The Gang’s “Give It Up” Beats (1971), just like Chad Jackson
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From 1994, The Breakbeats And Separation
Why Techno got primarly dissociated from the Breakbeats since 1994 is a fact I never understood really why happened. Of course we understand and respect the minimal school that came through the hands of people such as Jeff Mills, Robert Hood, Moritz Von Oswald and so many other genious.
All the credits and respect must be given for what they did, as well as to the heroes of Aesthetic & Soulful side of Techno like B12, Black Dog, Kirk Degiorgio, Carl Craig, Russ Gabriel, Ian O’Brien. Not by accident, some of the aesthetic-driven artists (or if you prefer to call Hi-Tech-Soulers) ventured through Breakbeats and Techno fusion, just like Carl Craig, Kirk Degiorgio and The Black Dog, despite not being from the Hardcore Rave era or Brooklyn. They all had Jazz, Soul & Funk influences and were influenced by the Breakbeats, and remained only few to continue on the genre’s rhythmic experimentations.
However, most of the Techno productions since 1994 applied to four-by-four straight beats and trapped the genre into a limited range of rhythm conception, instead of being based on several influences including Jazz, Soul & Funk which by the way are essential to understand the development of Dance Music since the Eighties, from Hip Hop, to (Hip) House, Techno, Hardcore Techno, Jungle, Drum n Bass, and other types of Breakbeats.
The Fourth Wave Is Coming.
And finally, the Techno genre will lead as a whole to more complex and challenging types of rhythms, as it should have never ceased to be. One day or another, someone will realize that these two Universes (Breakbeats and Techno) must meet again, on a new context, on a new perspective. Not to do what the previous artists did, but something on another level, maybe with the use of all the new technologies and freakin out like Paradox did hundreds of drum breaks research.
Genious Mind: Carl Craig (Photo by Timothy Saccenti)
‘Sessions’, Carl Craig’s Amazing New Release on !K7
Robert Hood, referência do Minimal Techno