Sheer Ecstasy

John Tejada (Minimal techno)
Track: The End of it All (2006)
Lindstrøm (Space Disco)
Track: I Feel Space (2005)
Chelonis R. Jones (Techno)
Track: Deer in the Headlights (Radio Slave Remix) (2006)

If you simply can’t get it on with techno, I’m not about to try and change your mind. Personally I’m intrigued by the talent that can get to grips with this kind of music making.

As fans know, even if you're mad for electronica it's hard to keep up with new developments. Since the explosion of sequencing, sampling and synthesis technology in the late 80s, electronica has developed to the point where there’s a mind-boggling array of combinations. Sub-genres have their own sub-genres, and you can hone your personal taste to the nth degree.

During my sporadic forays into the underworld of the techno tribes I inevitably unearth something which excites me, and I'll obsess for a while about that artist till my hunger for groove has been exhausted. These three tracks have had my head spinning for weeks, and remind me of one of the main attractions of electronica: I love to draw the blinds and shake my booty when no one's looking.

Whether it's house, techno, glitch pop, drum & bass or even instrumental hip-hop, John Tejada seems to have the ability to switch effortlessly between categories with predictaby splendid results, never sacrificing melodicism in the process. Another in a long line of masterpieces, the minimal techno of The End Of It All is perfectly realized, each note spherical and elegant, the whole a sublimely understated groove.

Norway’s techno genius Hans-Peter Lindstrøm is such a huge presence there are few dancefloor devotees who aren’t already familiar with I Feel Space, an irresistible taster from the It's a Feedelity Affair 12” single collection. Already acknowledged as classic space disco, I Feel Space’s squelchy stabs give way to a gorgeous wash of synths and Lindstrøm's insistent Moroder beat never lets up.

The Radio Slave remix of Chelonis R. Jones' Deer in the Headlights steps things up a gear with a more direct techno attack. Beautiful sci-fi clicks give way to a gurgling beat and soulful vocal sample. Heard on a packed rush hour train hurtling through Japan’s urban nightmare it’s absolute heaven, and cranked on a club sound system at 2AM I’ve no doubt it’s sheer ecstasy.