# What is Hardtekk?

> An English translation of a Tumblr post on Hardtekk

**Published by:** [ciefa.eth](https://paragraph.com/@ciefa.eth/)
**Published on:** 2024-07-05
**Categories:** subcultures
**URL:** https://paragraph.com/@ciefa.eth/whatishardtekk

## Content

gm, On Farcaster, I run the /speedymusic channel; a channel for all kinds of hard and fast music. Just now someone wrote a reply to a song I posted (with a mention of the person) saying: "I have a really hard time indentifying this genre, sounds like some h-ard and experimental subgenre of Tekno (def with the K), does this style have a formal name?" Feels like I've been waiting my entire to answer this 😄 There isn't really much information on Hardtekk, but there's a great introductory Tumblr post (not by me) - written in German (of course :D) So I thought I'd translate to the best of my ability, because it's in my opinion really interesting. Let's start.What is Hardtekk?Hello and welcome to my Tumblr page. I noticed that there's little to note information on the Internet on what Hardtekk is.First and ForemostDo not confuse Hardtekk with Hardtek. Both are harder and faster subgenres of electronic music, but the second "k" in Hardtekk makes a significant musical difference. Hardtek is more a thing from France and could be seen as a softer variation of Frenchcore. But as the title says, this blog is about Hardtekk. There's very little sources that one can use to orientate. Therefore, much of what I'll be stating here are to be seen as claims and conclusions. I also see this text more as a work-in-progress... if someone wants to contribute, feel free to contact me or comment below. Hardtekk probably originated in around the year 2000 and can be seen as East-German answer to Schranz, Hardtechno, Hardcore and Gabber. Important characteristics are:The music is created live.Especially in the electronic music scene it became standard that the DJ is playing the music in the clubs. In Hardtekk, however, you mostly have live acts. Especially favoured instruments instruments are the classic Korg Electribe Series, known in the scene as "Rote Korg" (Red Korg) and "Blaue Korg" (Blue Korg).Punk AttitudeIt's hard to generalize here, but some of the shared characteristics defining almost all Hardtekk-Productions are the hart, raw beats (among others the infamous "Acer Kick"), which are often overdriven. The whole thing is accompanied by a scratchy offbeat bass with plenty of swing. The rest depends entirely on the creator. Some sample their way wildly through all kinds of chart hits, others rely more on melancholy piano melodies underlaid with movie quotes. Overdriving plays a major role anyway. Many outsiders criticize this, of course, but in my opinion this is precisely the appeal of this genre. Here, all musical rules are simply thrown overboard; a few people buy a Korg and start producing. At a time when even techno has somehow degenerated into the new EDM and every underground production comes across as top-mixed, high-gloss, Hardtekk simply conveys the FUCK OFF feeling like no other electronic music genre. That's why the comparison to punk rock is obvious. [Ciefa's Note: This is merely are musical comparison, absolutely not a political one.] "Fuck mixing and mastering. Is that thing [the level] in the red zone? That's good!" "Fuck proper song structures. I'll stand behind my Korg for 30 minutes and bang out a live set. You can listen to it when you're in the club. If you're lucky, I'll put part of it as a recording on Soundcloud."The beginningsIt's hard to say where it all began. As far as the term Tekkno with a "k" is concerned, one could point to the East-Berlin Tekknozid parties at the end of the 80s, which basically formed the original cell for electronic dance music from East Germany. Another significant influence was certainly the group Cannibal Cooking Club, which has been bringing very hard live techno to the people since 1999. Brachiale Musikgestalter from Wiesbaden should also be mentioned at this point. Although they were of course more part of the West German hard techno scene, their sound has always been much closer to what we call hard techno today. As I said, the beginnings are difficult to pinpoint and if you have any further information, please get in touch with me. The West parties hard, but the East parties harder[Ciefa's Note: The literal translation would be "The West parties well, but the East parties better". While those words are used in German, to translate the meaning into English I think hard/harder suit better.] The Tekk scene is already established in the East. Even at big events like the Sputnik Springbreak, there is a stage that only plays hard tekk. But the sound is slowly finding its fans in the West too and more and more Tekk scene stars are playing in West German cities. There are still a lot of blank spots on the map, but they are becoming fewer and fewer. If Corona hadn't thrown a spanner in the works, there would certainly be a few less blank spots by now. During Corona, of course, the internet has played a much bigger role. More and more new acts are now releasing their tracks on Spotify & Co. Check out my playlist here: ","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Spotify","thumbnail_url":"https://image-cdn-ak.spotifycdn.com/image/ab67706c0000da84d17d08a54d6a2556bce4a61d","type":"rich","thumbnail_height":300}" format="iframe">https://spotify.comHARDTEKK 🔥HARDTEKK 🔥 · Playlist · 157 songs · 15.9K likesEnd of Translation, Thanks for Reading!Make sure to check out /speedymusic!

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