Interested in getting into techno? There are quite a few producers and bands out there, but that doesn’t mean you should just opt for any album or song. These five artists are essential musicians to start with if you want to get into techno!
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1. Thomas P. Heckmann
Thomas P. Heckmann has been making electronic music since he was a child, and it’s clear that experience evolved him as an artist. Outside of techno, the German producer is also known for his industrial, experimental, new acid, and synth-pop works. “Amphetamine” is probably his most famous song, but the albums Electronic Body Music and Knarz-Kapriolen are also essential listening for newbies.
2. VTSS
Martyna Maja, also known as VTSS, is a Polish techno artist who is based in the United Kingdom. Her 2022 EP Circulus Vitiosus is quite popular and an excellent place to start if you’re looking for new techno artists, or just want to experience the current wave of techno for the first time.
3. Shadowax
This relatively underground techno artist from Russia specializes in the minimal side of techno music. Their debut EP nikolai reptile was released back in 2019 and is a great little piece of work to listen to if you prefer simpler, barebones techno music.
4. Buttechno
Buttechno, a.k.a. Pavel Milyakov, is a Russian-born, Germany-based techno artist with quite a massive discography of releases. Luckily, you can start basically anywhere with this producer. The 2019 album badtrip is an entertaining piece of work, as is the 2023 collaboration with Perila titled pmxper – pmxper. We recommend opting for the latter if you prefer more unsettling and ambient-leaning techno music.
5. Locked Club
Locked Club is another electronic outfit from Russia, and their music is quite unique compared to other contemporary techno artists at the moment. They definitely lean toward dance and electronica, plus elements of industrial techno and ghettotech.
The 2019 EP Irak is a good place to start to get a feel for their particular brand of distorted electronic music. Egipet from 2021 and It’s My Rave from 2022 are also great pieces of work. Footage of their live sets is also quite entertaining, as the outfit performs with masks on and shielded identities. They also don’t restrict themselves from performing non-techno songs, including Russian folk music.
Photo courtesy of VTSS’s X account
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