zackster Stef Mendasidis is currently carrying the Jeff Mills brand of techno/djing better than anyone else, imo. Outside of Jeff obvs.

I like Stef Mendesidis’ stuff, but his fast, choppy/loopy/drummy style would definitely not be first thing which comes to mind when trying to recommend present day techno to someone who has an aversion to anything which might resemble “pots and pans”.

    LT42

    Try these, all a bit different, but often leaning a bit more to the melodic side of techno and a bit more crisp, so I’m guessing with a slightly lower likelihood of triggering whatever it is you seem to have a problem with:

    (despite my comment above in response to zack, Hadone’s set does happen to include a Stef Mendesidis track for 2 minutes though, ha)

    (Courtesy’s December 2019 Essential Mix is also worth checking out if you want to listen to something which is available on soundcloud and mixcloud, rather than only youtube)

      Don’t disagree. The problem is pots and pans is JC/Low T Progger speak for hats/rides/crashes and any other type of cymbal you can think of. As you correctly pointed out, the much lauded Blackwatch was actually a prime example of someone who banged one of the first nails into the prog coffin. Listen to any of that man’s top tunes and you will find a producer with a massive cymbal aversion. I’ve said it countless times, but it is worth repeating that prog abandoning the Roland groove boxes was one of the worst decisions the producers made.

      Also, those who cry about pots and pans can end up quite enjoying it in the right context. Stef plays a lot of the class Detroit latin fusion style of techno. Nothing like a few horns and vocals to soften the blow of a 909 crash. The only other way to take it is into the Perc style of techno, that actually seems to be the dominant strain at the moment, which the same Low T sufferers will call Ear Bleed. The stuff that the Possession Techno crew are championing if far different to the class Detroit sound, imo, and I see that going down ever worse around here. Shlomo Taapion is getting massively popular at the moment, for any who feel like dipping a toe. I would love to go out and listen to this kinda shit, but I personally would never play it or try to produce it.

      Anyone wanting something that has all of the above should check out Hecktor Oaks. He is one of my indisputable favorites at the moment, and completely on form right now.

        zackster The only other way to take it is into the Perc style of techno, that actually seems to be the dominant strain at the moment, which the same Low T sufferers will call Ear Bleed.

        Incorrect that it’s “the only other way to take it” - as per the DJs I posted above who lean more to the driving/melodic/trance-y side. Nina Kraviz and the whole Danish/Scandi crews, have been big drivers of this, but the style has been jumped on by loads of different scenes recently.

        For sure though the industrial Perc-style is certainly the last thing I’d suggest to someone with LT42’s proclaimed issue.

        Another direction is the more acid-heavy, slightly old-school rave style - Charlotte De Witte, Ki/Ki, Amelie Lens, Regal etc. all lean a fair bit into it. Alignment, who I posted above, does have some aspects of it, but straddles the rave side with a bit more of the Scandi/melodic type stuff.

        I’d also disagree with what is “the dominant strain” at the moment: the leading proponents of all the strains I’ve mentioned above seem to be doing very well right now and sharing headline slots along with the more industrial stuff. The only thing which is certain is that the loopy, neurotic, drum-focused, Jeff Mills Detroit style is definitely not the dominant strain right now.

        zackster Shlomo Taapion is getting massively popular at the moment, for any who feel like dipping a toe.

        Hadone, whose set I posted above, is mates with Shlomo and releases on his label - the final track on Hadone’s mix above, which for me is probably the tune of the year so far, has just been released on it.

            See I consider all of those guys to be of the Perc school. They are melodic where he is industrial, but they all follow the more euro style of techno, ie crisp and clean production with hardstyle gabber elements. Nina is all over the place, which I love about her, and I would say CDW is just a very commercialized version of the others. Can’t stand her. As far as someone who bridges the gap, I’d say Dax J is a guy who falls in between a Hadone and Perc.

              303abuser For me, he is about as good as it gets. His productions are exactly what I am after, and he plays the records in a way that I think they absolutely need to be presented. Very much from the Rob Hood school, especially where his productions are concerned.

                  zackster Anyone wanting something that has all of the above should check out Hecktor Oaks. He is one of my indisputable favorites at the moment, and completely on form right now.

                  Hector Oaks does straddle most of the en vogue current techno styles and as you say is on form right now. I’d hesitate to recommend him to LT42 though as his mixing style can also be a bit ‘shoes in a washing machine’ at times and so might trigger his aversion to electronic machinery somehow.

                  He’s also one of the current DJs who to my mind often hovers too much around the aforementioned 150bpm mark.

                      Dan Who Shlomo? I would never in 1000000 years recommending him for you. I’m young, at least by this places standards, and ever I would be slightly old for his scene. Wouldn’t stop me tho!

                          hugopal Oh agreed. He is going absolutely bananas at the moment. Take this clip from his recent London gig for example, lol. This is EXACTLY the vibe I am after rn.

                              zackster i shall be doing further research, thanks for the recommendation.

                                So far, has anyone genuinely come up with a legit better CD2 than CD1?

                                Only thing I know for sure from this threat is that Oakie’s 007 CD2 is better than Digweed’s 006 CD2, but Digweed’s 006 CD1 is great than the sum of all parts.

                                Francios X is a guy who walks the line between sub genres quite well. Also worth checking out imo.

                                And nobody listens to techno (let’s go)

                                zackster no way are they “Perc school” - for sure Perc’s current productions are incredibly “crisp and clean”, and occasionally he might use a gabber-esque kick-drum, but that’s where the similarities end. His breakout tracks weren’t even crisp either. His sound is incredibly drum/percussion focused. He rarely has any melodies at all. He also leans more towards the 80s/EBM side of things anything resembling 90s hardstyle/gabber/euro stuff. Ultimately, it’s very British somehow, not “Euro”.

                                I also don’t think Dax J “falls in between” Hadone and Perc - he has a lot in common with the Perc industrial side of things, but he’s very far from the Hadone euro style, I’m not sure he’s come close to touching it at all. I’ve generally considered Dax J more falling between the Perc industrial/British style and the more loopy old-school Detroit, Ben Sims etc. style.

                                Yes Nina is very all over the place, but she was frequently playing 90s fast trance and psy-trance stuff in contemporary techno sets pretty much before anyone, which partly opened the doors to the euro/scandi stuff. She also now plays all the big promos of that euro/scandi stuff alongside all the other random stuff she still does.

                                    hugopal I also don’t think Dax J “falls in between” Hadone and Perc

                                    Ah see I actually learned of Hadone because Dax J played one of his tunes in a mix which I loved and had to track down.