– I think techno is the new punk, just a milder version. And I think it’s here to stay. This is what Kent Tonning, known as “MRD”, tells us. He is a world-renowned techno DJ. The genre is currently experiencing a new spring, and Tonning’s music has now become so popular that he has quit his part-time job as a veterinary assistant to start playing techno full-time. We meet him for a coffee at Oslovelo, known as a meeting point for the techno milieu in Oslo. Tonning says that he has been on tour all week, and has slept 12 hours before the interview. He has Daffy with him, a dog that he, like his three cats, has adopted. – I will miss working with animals, but the job mostly consisted of washing shit, he says with a laugh. Now he can focus entirely on techno music. In Norway, not many people know who he is, but abroad he plays in the biggest nightclubs and clubs in the world. Among other things, the popular and well-known nightclub Berghain in Berlin. – It is peaking quite well now. I have never experienced that techno has been so well known until now, says Tonning. – When you mentioned techno to someone before, they often thought of Scooter. But now they know what techno is, who the DJs are and which clubs are cool. I notice that it has become a big deal to get into Berghain, that it is a kind of puzzle that you have to put together to get in there, he says. Tonning has toured extensively in Europe, and he particularly points to Kyiv as an important city for techno. Before the war, Kyiv was becoming the best place to go out to party in Europe, he believes. On par with the party city of Berlin. – It was the new city, in a way. The new Berlin, as they called it. People were so much freer, and there was such a new energy that started there. It was a completely different matter, he says. He believes there are several reasons for the genre’s sudden resurgence, but points in particular to the fact that techno has gained a completely new relevance and resonance as a result of the war in Ukraine. Make a song with a soldier – Techno is about freedom, protest and unity. It has become a kind of popular genre in Ukraine, a kind of symbol of everything they are fighting for, he explains. Tonning is currently collaborating on a song with a friend and DJ in Ukraine, Daniel Detcom. They met in Ukraine before the war, and have kept in touch. Daniel and Tonning in Ukraine before the war. Photo: Privat He has previously been mentioned in news when he decided to take up arms against the Russians in the first days of the war. – Me and Daniel are collaborating on a song, he says. – He has taken his desktop PC into the war zone and made music when he has time off. I’ve said he needs to get a laptop. Daniel is currently in hospital. After fighting the Russians for eleven months, he has now been injured. He says that it is not serious. Daniel has been fighting in the war since it started. Before the invasion, he made techno and organized festivals in Kyiv. Photo: Privat Krigermusikk Detcom agrees with Tonning’s idea that techno is a symbol of the values he fights for. – True techno is warrior music. It has always been about protest, says Daniel. We talk to him from the hospital bed over Instagram. – Techno originated as protest music against social injustice in the 80s, he says. He explains that he and Tonning have sent sound files back and forth to each other over several months, and that the song they are creating will soon be ready. Important arena Tonning describes the bar Oslovelo as important for the techno environment in Oslo. – I like the Oslovelo and Storgata 26 nightclubs because they bring in the new generation of techno artists, and they don’t “gatekeeper”. That is, they do not try to make it something exclusive and not inclusive. Tonning says the focus in the environment should be on being safe and inclusive. – It has made the new environment stronger, he says. – Oslovelo is a safe place, says Mitchell Bridges. He works at Oslovelo and helps organize several of the techno events there. – Several of the environments in Oslo are defined by people who know each other, but I wanted this to be a place where people got to know each other regardless of who they were. – The only rule is “respect the people who are here”. – Here people can just come and try something new or play a “set” they haven’t played before, he says. Bridges explains that this should be a place where new people can try themselves and new things are tried. – I have taught many people how to use the equipment needed to start DJing. It’s mostly about enthusiasm, if you have it, the rest just happens naturally, he says. Boycott Russian artists The war also affects the techno environment in other ways. An informal boycott of Russian techno artists in Europe has arisen. – If you book Russian artists, you know where the money is going, says Tonning. – Some Russian artists have fled their country and clearly distanced themselves from Putin, and that’s fine. But you don’t book Russian techno artists without facing criticism. Never gone away Today, techno is very popular among the younger generation, and artists such as Drake and Beyonce have used the genre in their albums. Music and film critic Sandeep Singh believes that electronic dance music has existed since the 80s and has never disappeared. Sandeep Singh reviews and talks about music, including in the news podcast Musikkrommet. Photo: news – It’s nothing new, but like all music, genres also come in waves, he says. – Techno really came to Europe and spread to Berlin and London in the 90s and stayed. Many who moved out to these cities brought the culture back to Norway and spread it here. The pandemic affected Singh says that the pandemic has helped to influence who we are and what we become interested in. He says that because the pubs were closed, it became natural for many to party outdoors. Many started organizing raves in the forest in order to continue the partying. This ensured that interest in techo and house increased, because many who had never encountered the genres before were introduced to them in this way. – Many of the organizers were DJs with an interest in house and techno, and then that was usually what was played outside, Singh explains. He says that many people romanticize techno culture and that genres that were previously only reserved for a small group of people are now available to everyone.
ttn-69
– True techno is warrior music – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
