The Function of identity in techno

The Function of identity in techno

29 July, 2009 | 4.31AM

• Written by: Terry Church
• Filed under: Music News: downwards, function, regis, sandwell district

Like caped crusaders, they have a mission, and they hide behind masks. No one knows who they really are. Over the past 18 months, anonymous artists have released a stream of undiluted techno music on labels that are unknown.

The music usually comes with no sleeve notes, recognisable names, or logos. The artists are completely off the grid but their message is clear - let the music speak for itself.

“Anonymous techno is created to put space between the artist and the listener,” explains Function, aka Dave Sumner, a producer who is part of the Sandwell District collective, the only label in this small and mysterious purist techno niche that barely touches the outside world.

Groups Underground Resistance and Basic Channel hid their identities in techno first. Detroit’s UR were vehemently anti-mainstream, and through their uncompromising music they hoped to facilitate political change. For years, no one knew what UR’s co-founder “Mad” Mike Banks looked like. For live sets, they performed in ski masks and black combat suits, like a paramilitary unit.

Berlin dub techno duo Basic Channel similarly wanted to remain anonymous, with Moritz Von Oswald and Mark Ernestus famously playing live from behind a curtain as Maurizio, at London’s Lost club night in the mid 1990s.

Sandwell District has no physical base, Myspace or website. Their records come with no press notes or contact information. Only a lonely fax number appears on the record’s inlays.

“We’ve always said that no one owns Sandwell District, it’s more of a co-op,” says Function, in his spacious apartment in Berlin. He speaks quietly and clearly, pausing every so often to puff on a cigarette.

Sumner, along with Karl O’Connor aka Regis, oversee the day-to-day running of the label, which arguably could be said to be an off-shoot of the influential Birmingham imprint Downwards. O’Connor and British techno producer Surgeon founded Downwards in the mid 1990s, and the same core group of artists that appeared on that label also release on Sandwell.

“I’ve been working with Karl for 13 years and we’ve become really good friends - all of the artists on Sandwell District share similar ideals,” says Function.

“None of us own Sandwell, and it’s not really a label as such, as it doesn’t do what typical labels do. It’s an outlet for ideas, that all stem from the notion that techno should break the mould.”

From his sparsely disaffected music, and his black, understated gothic style, one would expect Function to be a reclusive idealist, but in person he’s a much warmer character.

For years it was a faceless thing. Then techno got hijacked, and a lot of people starting acting like major labels, focused on superstars and big promotions.

“In the early and mid 90s, a lot of statements were made through techno,” he says. “For years it was a faceless thing. Then techno got hijacked, and a lot of people starting acting like major labels, focused on superstars and big promotions.

“It seemed like people were doing things for the wrong reasons. ‘Don’t sell out’ was an early 90s mantra for techno, but that ideal disappeared. Now there is a backlash against the commercialism, and things are going back to the way they should be.”

Whilst Frozen Border, Wax, Ancient Methods, Equalized (who had a big hit ‘B’ in 2008), and Horizontal Ground have remained 100% incognito as they have released music silently over the past 18 months (Mark Ernestus’ Berlin-based Hardwax record store seems to be at the centre of it all), Sandwell Distict has hosted a handful of known names such as Marcel Dettmann, Kalon, and Silent Servant.

“The point is, the focus is not on the artist but on the music,” says Function. “For us, it doesn’t necessarily have to be faceless, but we only ever emphasise the music.”

To hammer the point home, Sandwell’s ‘Variance’ EP released on vinyl in May, came under the artist name ‘N/A’ (not applicable). In a world obsessed by identity, where self-promotion over things like Twitter has become the norm, Sandwell’s anti-marketing approach seems extreme.

“We’re not anti-image as such, but both Karl and me have a punk outlook on music,” says Sumner. “To us, techno is a like a sister or a brother of punk. With techno, proper techno, there’s no compromise. It’s against the grain and focused on technology. Kraftwerk once put out a 7-inch called ‘Kraftwerk Unplugged’. The vinyl was blank. The point they were trying to make is that techno is art plus electricity.”

It makes sense that Function, a former New Yorker now living in Berlin, fell in love with techno via Underground Resistance. Sumner was mesmerized when he first saw UR perform at New York’s Limelight club.

“The first time I saw them, they played two nights in a row,” he says. “On the Thursday night it was completely dead, and then the next night there was 3000 people there. They performed with ski masks on, and acted like Public Enemy.

“Jeff Mills became my teacher, as he was the first DJ that truly blew my mind. It was a special time for techno and his career. Mills influenced me at Limelight and shaped me as a consumer.”

Sandwell stands for raw undiluted techno, both ideologically and sonically. The sound which Function, Regis, Female, Silent Servant, and CH-Signal Laboratories centre on is classic techno, but with each producer having their own idiosyncratic way.

Perhaps the best way to hear what the label represents, is via their brand new mix compilation ‘Function presents Sandwell District Mix’.

The mix, which is exclusive on Beatport, but will also be pressed onto 100 specially-packaged CDs sold straight through Hardwax, is a twisted, spell-binding journey of industrial techno.

Mixed by Function, the set contains a number of the label’s best tracks from Kalon, Norman Nodge, Female, Silent Servant, and Function, as well as an unreleased Marcel Dettmann edit.

I get into a kind of self-induced hypnosis when I make music. When I can listen to a loop over and over again, for hours, and not get bored, I know it is perfect. It sucks me in.

Over 66 minutes, the set segues through driving mechanical rhythms, a plexus that’s as vast as it is intricate, with sound waves dense with brooding bass and calculated frequency changes. It drives forwards with intense nightclub instinct, and yet it is dark and monotonous.

“Our mantra is ‘hypnotic rhythms’, that’s our base,” says Sumner. “Both Karl and myself are not technically brilliant, but we’re ok with that. We don’t really care to make songs. Some of our best stuff is repetitious - a hypnotic loop that re-represents itself every time you hear it.

“It is cyclical, as is the process behind it. I get into a kind of self-induced hypnosis when I make music. When I can listen to a loop over and over again, for hours, and not get bored, I know it is perfect. It sucks me in.”

When asked, Sumner names Detroit’s Robert Hood and Regis as masters of the perfect loop.

Function’s music is not - as some sound geeks might expect - created solely on analogue gear. “I used to be an analogue guy and I had a huge mixing desk and racks and racks of synths in my New York studio, but as I’ve simplified things, and gone internal with software, I’ve been able to execute my ideas better,” he says. “My sound quality has also got better.”

Preaching anonymity and the anti-pop ideal of techno, whilst at the same time doing interviews, is of course a contradiction.

Sumner admits that at times, O’Connor and him have even discussed stopping Sandwell because of the increasing attention.

“Contradiction is something people do. It’s inevitable, like the Sex Pistols fan who went to school the next day. And as time passes you compromise. Moritz Van Oswald - no photographs of him ever existed and you could never find information on him - now you can book him.

“But nothing we have done has changed,” he says. “There is a perception, or fear, that Sandwell might change because of the press and hype, and when we started getting some attention a few of our hardcore fans said ‘oh, they’re jumping on the minimal bandwagon’, but any artist should be measured on the strength of their work, and not on their hype.

“We want as little restrictions as possible and in a lot of ways, techno purists are tricky people to deal with. On the one hand, you have to admire their commitment to something. They are die hard supporters. But being only into one thing can be bad too, because when you wear blinkers you can be so critical that it can put restrictions on artists, which is never a good thing.

“Stopping Sandwell, and not doing any press, has certainly been a topic of discussion and debate between me and Karl. I’ve always said that sometimes you can be the best artist in the world, but if no one knows about you then that’s a waste.

“Karl sent me this YouTube video link to an Iggy Pop interview once, where Iggy spoke about how David Bowie had taught him how to compromise. Karl says that about me.”

The physical releases that Sandwell District puts out are always unique. “Packaging is important for the physical product as it’s the whole aesthetic of music,” says Function. “From the packaging, to the artwork, to the music, it should be a statement of intent.

“That’s where Regis really shines. He’s one of the only people I’ve met in techno who truly gets that. He grew up with Factory Records who emphasized total product. When Tony Wilson died, they engraved a Factory Records catalog number onto his gravestone. That’s cracking the DNA of what a label is supposed to be.”

If anything, Function, Regis, and the rest of the Sandwell District artists seemed determined to let their music do the talking. They are not wholeheartedly against the idea of building an audience, only that it should build organically.

“There’s nothing wrong with becoming popular, and a lot of people have taken the short road to get there,” says Sumner. “But some artists, like François K. for instance, was a behind-the-scenes guy for years. He transcended three generations and it is only in the last few years that he has become really popular. He never put the emphasis on himself, was never flamboyant about being a superstar, and became a living legend.”

In the end, the gap that Sandwell District and the other anonymous techno creators push, only serves to heighten their mystique and impact.

That is never a bad thing, says Function, because “You never want to meet your heroes. If you’d met Michael Jackson in person, it would have diluted the impact of his music. Being anonymous makes it larger than life.”

Five Essential Sandwell District releases

Kalon ‘Man Is The Superior Animal’

Kalon’s ‘Man Is The Superior Animal’ is a deep and throbbing monotonous techno cut, with off centre percussion and radioactive bass.

N/A ‘Variance’ (Function Reduced edit)

The drones march slowly forwards in Function’s edit of ‘Variance’, a doom mongering, slow burning techno cut.

Silent Servant ‘Doom Deferred’

Silent Servant’s ‘Doom Deferred’ is an intense and rich sonic trip, that morphs through various interchanging synth loops.

Function ‘Burn’

One of the most charted tracks in underground techno last year, ‘Burn’ brought Sandwell District new fans with its gently undulating acid lines and sparse atmospherics.

Silent Servant ‘Violencia’ (Kalon Mix)

Space FX meet electronic feedback in this vibrant tech funk soundclash from Kalon, who took Silent Servant’s melodic loop and made it evolve at a brisker and more club-friendly pace.

More faceless techno bollocks

3 underground techno tracks by unknown artists, on unknown labels.

Frozen Border ‘1.2’ (Frozen Border)

The Frozen Border crew are apparently a collective of techno artists in the UK. Their first release ‘1’, featured two tracks of solid loop based techno, with ‘1.2’ fitting somewhere in between tech house and techno.

The stripped back drum arrangement and monotonous acid lines sound like early 90s techno, but the sound quality is much more up to date.

EQD ‘B’ (taken from #001) (Equalized)

‘Equalized #001’ was one of the most talked about techno releases of last year, with a great number of blogs and messageboards joining in a witch-hunt that eventually led to the door of Hardwax and one of its employees.

Berghain resident Shed admitted responsibility for Equalized #001 and the equally-hyped ‘#002’, which contained an eye-opening dubstep cut on the flip.

It was ‘B’ on the first Equalized though, that endeared the most with an odd bumbling bass and drum combo that was ever so slightly out of time.

Wax ‘WAX10001_2’ (WAX)

There is nothing but gnarly and raw drum loops on ‘WAX10001_2’, which quickly found favour in the house camp for its stupendously simple analogue layout.

The track isn’t subtle or clever, but as a tool, there is probably no better.

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