New Labels Put New York Techno Back on The Map

New York isn’t the first place that comes to mind when talking about techno—house music, maybe; disco, certainly. Even despite its many other offerings, it’s common knowledge that the Big Apple can’t compete with techno-topias like Detroit, Berlin, and even London. But the past few years mark a new era for the city, which now boasts at least half a dozen new labels catching the ears of techno tastemakers worldwide.

Techno is an international sound, and every major city has its techno scene. New York is no exception, with parties like BlkMarket Membership and Bunker bringing the biggest names from the festival circuit to our intimate dancefloors. Promoters like Wolf + Lamb—who have since moved onto the brighter and more Balearic sounds, but are still essential to any story on techno in New York—have been releasing records for years. “Obviously it’s nothing like Berlin or anything, but it’s probably a good thing for my health and sanity that I’m not tempted to spend 48 hours straight at Berghain every weekend,” says Divvorce, who runs Fifth Wall Records.

And like any serious techno label, each of these new imprints has pressed at least one of their releases to vinyl. Wax is so central to the techno experience that some don’t even feel a need to explain why. “It’s a record label,” stresses William “Speculator” Burnett of WT Records. “It’s not a record label without records.” Many of the label heads are in their 30s—not exactly upstarts in the world of electronic music—and the majority are based in Brooklyn. Nearly all of them release a variety of electronic genres, not just techno. Long Island Electrical Systems‘ Ron Morielli, in fact, is dead set against a strict techno format. He told Little White Earbuds, “It’s cool to hear some gnarly techno for, like, two and a half hours, but by the third hour, man, your mind is not blown anymore, there’s no distinction.”

The wave of new labels comes just as there’s been an explosion of new clubs in Brooklyn with top techno promoters’ heavy involvement. But most of these imprints are not party-affiliated. You can find their artists DJing around the boroughs, and you might catch the occasional label release party at a neighborhood bar, but throwing parties isn’t their focus (longtime promoters ReSolute are one exception here). WT Records’ Burnett points out that he’s “not concerned about some ‘scene.’ These days I prefer to spend time making music in my studio at night, not wasting money and time at a club or bar.” And to think—we used to call it dance music.

Enough talk already, let’s turn the volume up:

Fifth Wall

Plan B

WT Records

Sequencias

ReSolute

Sci-Fi & Fantasy

L.I.E.S.

Mr. Saturday Night

Mike Steyels is going blind from staring at his laptop in the dark – @iswayski