Fnoob Techno is not a political entity. We are international yet we fly no flags in any nationalistic way. The crew who volunteer to run the radio live in a couple of different continents, spanning seven different countries and cover a few different time zones. If pushed to state a common belief we’d subscribe to universal human rights, peace and love to our fellow human beings and a lust for sound systems. However we do discriminate in one area – music. It’s got to be techno. (Well… Some residents might get away with a bit of electro – but that’s it!)
Arguments around the creation of techno sometimes veer towards Kraftwerk and even Daphne Oram, but most would agree after Chicago house came Detroit techno. Atkins, Saunderson, May, Mills, Hood and Banks are all generally cited as being godfathers of techno. Aside from this accolade, they all have something in common – they’re black. Originators and creators of a sound that has changed many lives, spawned many dreams and generated a fair amount of income for a few (mostly white) people around the world. Techno is black music, but this has never been it’s defining trait. It is universal. Whilst it means different things for many people, most when asked would probably tell you techno is electronic music. Some might even state it’s four to floor, very loud and banging or that it lacks vocals. But… Techno is black music.
The world in 2020 seems like a bleak place. What has happened with Covid 19 quickly followed by the unrest in USA around the murder of George Floyd has led to anxious times for many of us. As stated Fnoob Techno believes in universal human rights. In normal times that could equate to something like all lives matter. However, these are not normal times. Black People and people of colour, need to know they are loved, cherished and supported in their time of need. Racism cannot be tolerated. Therefore Black lives matter. As a techno streaming site we owe our heritage to black innovators. This is not forgotten.
As one of the crew and person writing this post, I admit it’s not something I wanted to do. Because I think Fnoob Techno is only supposed to be about techno. However, Fnoob Techno is also about our community; those who love techno. This post had been motivated in part by our volunteer crew and resident’s actions on social media. We are run by a group of volunteers who are individuals and have their own political beliefs and thoughts about the world. Social media is often a lens which magnifies the best and the worst of us. It shouldn’t need to be said in 2020 but racism is abhorrent, should not be tolerated and all our crew believe in that. Black lives matter.
For the record we hate issues that divide us – this post might do that. C’est la vie. Haters are always gonna hate. Trolls are gonna troll. Negative people will always try to drag us down. We are not the enemy we are an ally. You can only overcome adversity with persistence, positivity and love. Judge us not on the actions of individuals but as a collective. Let’s look out for one another. Keep it techno.
(This post is dedicated to Andy Torres – one of the good guys).
