Birmingham sound

Birmingham sound
Stylistic originsTechno
Cultural originsEarly 1990s, Birmingham, England

The Birmingham sound is a subgenre of techno that emerged in Birmingham, England in the early 1990s.[1] It is most commonly associated with the city's House of God club night,[2] the Downwards Records label,[3] and the local DJs and producers Regis, Surgeon and Female.[4] It is characterised by a hard, fast and uncompromising style[1] that strips the music of the bassline funk that characterised the techno of Detroit and Berlin,[5] leaving only "huge slabs of unrelentingly unchanging minimalism".[6]

The Birmingham sound marked a turning point in the development of techno and its influence can be heard throughout the Berlin techno of the Berghain and Ostgut Ton.[6] It also formed the starting point for Regis and Female's later Sandwell District project.[7]

  1. ^ a b Sande, Kiran (9 June 2010), "Regis: blood into gold", FACT Magazine, London: The Vinyl Factory, retrieved 31 August 2013
  2. ^ Burns, Todd L. (24 August 2010), Surgeon: British murder boy, retrieved 31 August 2013
  3. ^ Finlayson, Angus (1 March 2013), "Downwards is the Only Way Forward: An interview with Regis", Electronic Beats, Berlin: EB, retrieved 31 August 2013
  4. ^ Finlayson, Angus (13 February 2013), The industrial techno revolution, Resident Advisor, retrieved 31 August 2013
  5. ^ Glazer, Joshua, "Disintegration", Allmusic, Rovi, retrieved 30 August 2013
  6. ^ a b Otasevic, Dragan (22 February 2011), "Sandwell District", Altered States, archived from the original on 7 September 2013, retrieved 30 August 2013
  7. ^ Masterson, Patrick (10 September 2012), "Silent Servant - Negative Fascination", Dusted Reviews, Dusted Magazine, retrieved 31 August 2013