Jtek

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Jtek (also spelled 'J-Tec') or Japanese Techno is an electronic music genre, and also a subgenre of Techno. Like many other techno genres, the difference between Jtek and techno music originating in Europe and the United States sometimes has more to do with nationality than style, still it has several idiosyncratic qualities including the use of more trancey synths, 'cartoonish-sounding' samples, a faster BPM and harder, driving sound that can be used to distinguish it from related genres including Swedish Techno, Wonky Techno, Tech House and German Techno.

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[edit] History

Japanese artists were some of the pioneers of experimental electronic music and synth pop in the early 1980s, but by the end of this decade and beginning of the 1990s, the synergy between American and European producers that was emerging as the acid house and techno movement was late to make a major impact on Japanese dance floors. One of the earliest Jtek labels was Ken Inaoka's Syzygy Records, founded in 1993. This music emerged as a fusion of synthy, Eurobeat-influenced Japanese pop innovations with the raw, funky electro dance sound of the west that could be heard on Tokyo dancefloors. Ken Ishii's Sublime Records, founded in 1994, was and continues to be one of the pillars of the Jtek movement. Releasing a wide range of techno, house and ambient music by Japanese producers, Sublime defined the sound of Japan's contribution to the techno world, putting it on the radar of European DJs. While some Japanese trance and breakbeat producers gained mainstream popularity, techno DJs and producers have continued to stay fairly underground and in more obscure nightclubs. In the 2000s, the somewhat limited chances of success for this music in Japan encouraged many Japanese producers to move to Berlin, Frankfurt or Cologne to work with German labels such as Tresor, Harthouse and Phont Music. This cross-influence has created a strong resurgence of modern German techno elements into the Jtek genre, as well as inspiring many German techno producers and DJ to create Japanese-influenced music.

[edit] Musicology

Jtek shares a groovy bass line and beats with the European genres of techno, while being recognizable from the heavy use of trance-like synths and arpeggios. It is generally between 135 and 145 bpm, faster than tech house and minimal techno but slower than schranz. Artists such as Denki Groove, Ken Ishii and Dr. Shingo have a unique way of building unpredictable patterns of pads and lead sounds, keeping faithful to the purest Japanese Techno sound, while several new Jtek producers as Akira Ishihara or Toshiyasu Kagami prefer to focus on a more percussive style, getting closer to Detroit Techno. Jtek's characteristic sound has a stronger 'housey' influence than many of the hard techno, minimal techno and synthy influenced artists and labels currently producing techno music in Europe; it could be said that Jtek is less of a departure from the classic German and Swedish techno sound of the late 1990s, which was in turn very influenced by house music and Detroit techno.

[edit] Notable Artists

[edit] Jtek Record Labels

One of the largest and most reputable techno labels is Sublime Records, based out of Tokyo, and its sublabels Reel Musiq and Sublime UK. Major Japanese Labels also releasing Jtek records include Subvoice Electronic Music, Frogman Records, Loopa and Ki/Oon Records. Some major releasers of Jtek records outside of Japan are Exceptional and Kazumi.

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