Injecting politics into techno

[jordanneke]

Ok,

I was listening to a couple of tracks the other day, Redemption Song by Bob Marley, and Follow Me by Aly Us.

Music is the only medium I've managed to express myself over (not particularly effectively), but it is a medium whereby you can get people to experience something over 6 minutes (well, the 20 people who listen on soundcloud).

I'm quite political, and I'd like to know if there is anyway to get a message over in techno (house) without singing. I mean i'm barely able to string 10 tracks together into a coherent rhythm and a basic melody, so singing/ lyric speaking just won't happen.

This is NOT a plug for one of my tracks btw, but this is my attempt that I did a year ago, involving a speech that I really like the context of, but it wasn't really effective.




Anyone here put any politics into music? I know Steve (voidloss) has. Any suggestions on how to so it? (Apart from getting better at producing)

[TimBuys]

I haven't arrived at that point yet, but I have certainly thought about it. Find some vocal samples that made an impression on you and build a track around it. When it is executed properly I don't find it cheesy at all. Like this track, well done.

Also, stop plugging your tracks m8.

[Mattias]

Most of my music is political.

[SixOfOne]

Apart from lyrics I can't think of a way it can be done. I think I read that Porc or someone was trying a similar thing but the only thing political was the name of the track. Personally I can't stand lyrics in techno and electronic music in general. Alan Watts is a voice you hear in tracks from time to time and it gets old very quick.

We hear about politics absolutely everywhere these days. I get that you have a message/idea you want to portray but I'm the opposite, I want to get away from everything when I listen to/make electronic music.

[terly]

I think a way to make techno political is by doing parties in a conscious way. I used to do an annual anarchist book fair party, and in that context the music became political. Also, many spaces are initiating safety and anti-harassment measures informed by feminism.

Dance music originally was very political as it originated from queer, black, and Latin experiences and contexts. After it was appropriated by corporate interests and mainstream culture, all of that got watered down.

That being said, I don't really consider my music to be political.

[Alume]

I think the artwork and titles can set the tone and push the listener into a certain area you want tondiscuss, the music them has to speak on its own. This can be done through, aggressiveness, transitions, calmness, whatever basically.

Like any speach, try to write it out in words. Then translate those words into music and use the titles and artwork to underline your message.

[Prophän]

Artwork plays a big role into translating your political opinions, this and a nice sampled quote helps transmit your message

[innovine]

add samples from Fox News

[Críoch]

Just put one of these on every channel - Brexit Means Brexit from Tate FX. Love the parameter names.

Brexit Meanz Brexit.jpg (92.35 KiB) Viewed 2781 times

[chava]

"Injecting politics" into anything translates to propaganda in my view. Then your work stops being art.

[Lost to the Void]

One of the reasons I'm doing more confrontational stuff is I think techno has become totally borgoise. Having lost its ties to both the original Detroit movement, underground resistance etc, and the 90's politicism of raves, CJA, PLUR etc it has just become, to an extent, a soundtrack to debauchery and not much else.
In these troubled times I'd like a little more rock n roll, spit and fire, some actual meaning behind abstraction or the typical clever artwork used to sell anodyne music. Riot music , revolution music, music to share our rage against the machine, as it were.
Also, it's fun.

No one is really doing it in techno land so the field is open.

Just experiment, I've been doing my own vitriolic spoken word and cutting it up in to the music, it's all because I did that metal album, I want to inject more humanity and meaning to the music. The labels I am working with are really behind it too so we have all sorts of plans.

You don't have to do it as literal political manifesto. All good music is political or personal. Just a bit of artistic literature to create some, dare I say poetry or prose, or a mantra, keeps it from becoming propaganda. Talking about life is political.
Do it.

[dubdub]

Hasn't techno always been bourgeoise? The detroit guys, they were middle class kids that really wanted nothing more than to be petit bourgeoise fancy europeans. The detroit guys always loved jumping at any opportunity to collaborate with traditional orchestras and high art, the most bourgeoise artistic institutions there are. UR had a nice aesthetic but that was basically it was, no underlying theory, no active resistance. They weren't exactly Black Panthers.

I don't know what techno ever accomplished politically except fight for it's right for debauchery, ie. take drugs and rave. The whole 90s PLUR stuff is so painfully naive looking back, it almost hurts. But then again, that was also the theoretical spirit of the 90s, communication theory etc. Spiral Tribe is the only techno group I know of that were actually actively anti-capitalist and they eventually became a parody of themselves.

Of course, contemporary techno is so ridicously commidified even in comparison to the 90s, that I won't disagree that it got much worse. Back then you had naive kids, now you have big capital and PR agencies running the show. Although you had people just out for money right from the beginning, like the Low Spirit guys.

[jordanneke]

Most of my music is political.

Does that convey to the listener you think?

I ask because I know your music doesn't have lyrics.

[winston]

without lyrics music is much more open to interpretation, so there is much more chance that any message might be lost. it might depend on whether you proclaiming your position (abstractly or not) using music, design or words is enough, or is it necessary for the lay-listener to be aware clearly what point you are (but it is easy for it to become cheesy) and artwork and track names.

what political points would you want to get across in your music?

[jordanneke]

I'd actually really like to inject some sort of awareness about racism and the struggles that minorities still face . Many parties seem to be getting more homogenised, middle class and white, especially as people do festivals rather than clubs. It upsets me that despite having its roots in black culture (as with nearly all pop music), crowds have no idea that people still face issues because they're not white.

In Birmingham I've witnessed people of all races actually dancing to reggae (house and techno) together. UB40 may be laughed at nowadays for being lame, but they really managed to do something magic in Birmingham that in the 70's was unheard of.

I get that music is escapism, and that techno and house is basically taking a vacation for 8hrs while you melt brain cells, but it doesn't mean that the odd track here and there can't have some sort of message. And I don't mean a fierce techno beat with a FUCK YOU ANARCHIST CUNT message.

[willemb]

I typed a long reply but don't feel qualified to talk on the subject. Racism is bad. Spread wisdom and understanding.

[Chizmata]

you could just fiddle around with the word "political" or anything more specific from the field in your mind. if the sound finally expresses something that feels "political", you did it. then you could also translate political principles into music, like equality -> give different sounds equal "rights" a.k.a. presence in your track or sth like that.

[rktic]

I think we should draw a line between intent and impact here. For music to have an impact on politics it needs to convey a clear message - Bob Marley is a good example.

Also, UR shaped Detroits landscape by putting it on the map of music history. Same goes for the Berlin Techno movement in the early 90s. The difference is that they didn't come with clear political messages. To me Techno is and was always about artistic freedom. Being free to do what you wanna do. Wouldn't say that my need derived from politics in the first place. But politics had an impact on the way my parents raised me. Which I wanted to stand up against.

[innovine]

To me Techno is and was always about artistic freedom. Being free to do what you wanna do.

Just as long as it's the right kind of techno.

[rktic]

To me Techno is and was always about artistic freedom. Being free to do what you wanna do.

Just as long as it's the right kind of techno.

Weird way of saying "thx for the recommendations", dude.