Psytech
Psy · 2004 · 125 to 135 BPM · also known as Psy Tech, Psychedelic Techno
Psytech is a crossroads between techno and psytrance rather than a straight line out of psy prog: the kick turns dry, the groove turns club oriented, and the bass no longer bounces on the offbeat but rolls straight, techno style. Its roots sit in Hamburg in the early 2000s, when X Dream and The Delta hardened their sound, and today it is carried by the netlabel scene, Digital Diamonds foremost, and by Techgnosis. What separates it from its two neighbors is that straight kick and club function, since psy prog keeps an offbeat bass and melody while zenonesque slows down for texture.
4 reference tracks
- X-Dream: Panic in Paradise (2004)
- Son Kite: Colours (2004)
- Neelix: Disco Decay (2005)
- Ace Ventura: Presence (2008)
At a glance
- Tempo: 125 to 135 BPM
- First appeared: around 2004
- Machines: Synthétiseur modulaire, Ableton Live, Xfer Serum, Roland TR-909
- The sound: Kick techno sec, Basse roulante droite (jamais offbeat), Séquences modulaires, Delays dub, FX psychédéliques dosés, Percussions de club
- Labels: Solstice Music, Zenon Records, Digital Diamonds, Occulta Records, Techgnosis, Boshke Beats
- Key artists: X-Dream, The Delta, Beat Bizarre, Kliment, Sensient (versant techno), Fog
Producing Psytech
Psytech runs 130 to 138 BPM, a club techno tempo rather than a psytrance one, with a straight, unswung grid where the groove comes from a bass rolling in regular sixteenths, slower than psytrance but built the same way. A dry techno kick, tuned around 55 Hz with a sharp, compressed attack, plays four per bar under a short reverbed clap on two and four, closed hats on the offbeats, an open hat on the upbeats. The bass rolls straight, a kick on the first sixteenth followed by three bass notes with short releases, a less aggressive tone than psytrance. Modular style step sequences, dub style tape delays, and sparingly dosed psychedelic effects, a squelch, a filter sweep, a background drone, round out a sound built never to saturate the spectrum.
The full production course, in French: tempo, drums, bass, sounds, arrangement, mix, plugins and machines, and a step by step start.
Frequently asked
What is Psytech?
Psytech is a crossroads between techno and psytrance rather than a straight line out of psy prog: the kick turns dry, the groove turns club oriented, and the bass no longer bounces on the offbeat but rolls straight, techno style. Its roots sit in Hamburg in the early 2000s, when X Dream and The…
What tempo is Psytech played at?
Between 125 and 135 BPM.
Who are the key Psytech artists?
X-Dream, The Delta, Beat Bizarre, Kliment, Sensient (versant techno), Fog.
