Innerspans

It's an unwritten rule in the techno business that a track has about a 3-month life span. But if you wait long enough, you can actually still spin some of those outdated tracks under the guise of "classic". This contrasts sharply with pop songs, which can still be heard on commercial airwaves years after their release. This morning for example, "Maneater" was my wake up call, followed by "Where The Streets Have No Name". It seems that in the techno bizz, people scowl at just about everyone who dares to remain idle longer than three months. You have to keep producing, remixing and it's even better if you come up with an album or get a chance to compile something.


Don't get me wrong, this is also the case in other niches of the music industry. I just have the distinct impression that the techno branch evolves faster than any other musical branch. Take the nü-rave scene, which is very dear to me, for instance: The sound of flag bearers such as Boys Noize (him again) and Justice is rapidly evolving. The former has created quite a mellow (for his standards at least) remix of Feist's "My Moon My Man" and an epic, genre-blending remix of Apparat's "Arcadia"; the latter's sound is getting increasingly poppy with singles such as "D.A.N.C.E" and "DVNO". Furthermore, the entire nü-rave scene is no longer the novelty it used to be about four years ago and I reckon that in a few years, this trend will get pushed to the outskirts of techno town by a new one.

Sometimes though, contemporary producers get nostalgic and huddle together to reminisce on how extraordinary some of these past trends really were. This is precisely what Innervisions honchos Âme and Dixon did during a trip to Japan. They even decided to revive some past glory: in May, an ambient compilation will be released on their label.


“At the beginning of the 90s it was normal to have an ambient floor on every bigger techno or house party", say the twosome. "This culture got lost in the new millenium though. It became a niche and went more into cultural activities. When we returned from Japan we spoke about that with some friends and artists, and all of them were inspired to make a contribution to this project. Even Klaus Schulze, one of the pioneers of electronic music.”

"Muting The Noise" comes together with a 60-page book and will be released on May 19, 2008.

Tracklist
01. Mark Pritchard & David Brinkworth - Sentience
02. Karma - Kon Tiki
03. Âme - Doldrums
04. Henrik Schwarz - Arthur
05. I:Cube - Nuées Ardentes
06. Tokyo Black Star - Kagura
07. Stefan Goldmann - Life After Death
08. Terre Thaemlitz - Get In And Drive
09. Kammerflimmer Kollektief - That's How The Light Gets In
10. Koss - Negai
11. Klaus Schulze - Invisible Musik