Dub Techno
Techno · 1993 · 120 to 132 BPM
Berlin, 1993: Basic Channel applies the methods of Jamaican dub, echo, filtering, disappearance, to techno. Chords become misty pads that pulse inside the reverb, and the track becomes a state rather than a journey. Moritz von Oswald and Mark Ernestus almost never gave interviews: the music, reduced to its grain, speaks for itself. The style has become its own contemplative continent, one that still defines what a minimal, hypnotic techno track can be.
10 reference tracks
- Blunted Dummies: House For All (1993)
- Human Mesh Dance: Dahlia (1993)
- Basic Channel: Octaedre (1994)
- Basic Channel: Quadrant Dub I (1994)
- Fluxion: Thumb (1998)
- Gombeen & Doygen: D'Americana / Auto-Lies (2021)
- Dominik Eulberg, Satie*: Gymnopédie No. 1 (Dominik Eulberg Rework) (2022)
- Grad_U & Eazystyle MC: Kasdienybės Šventykla (2024)
- Fred again.., Kettama, Shady Nasty: HARDSTYLE2 (2025)
- Alton Miller: Movin Shadow (Antony Adam Remix) (2025)
At a glance
- Tempo: 120 to 132 BPM
- First appeared: around 1993
- Machines: Roland RE-201 Space Echo, Roland TR-909, Korg MS-20, Console de mixage
- The sound: Accords filtrés en écho, Roland Space Echo, Filtres résonants lents, Souffle et grain de bande
- Labels: Basic Channel, Chain Reaction, Ilian Tape, Giegling, Echocord, Main Street
- Key artists: Basic Channel, Maurizio, Deepchord, Fluxion, Yagya
Producing Dub Techno
Work between 118 and 126 bpm, slower than Detroit, with a soft groove template at only 10 percent, since motion comes from delay rather than swing. Lock every delay to the tempo, dotted eighth or quarter, so it creates the sway. Build a soft, almost acoustic kick filtered above 1kHz, with faint ghost kicks before beats 3 and 4, a snare transposed far down and saturated, and alternating shakers with a closed hat on the offbeats. For bass, hold a dry mono sub sine on the root while everything else dissolves. The signature sound is a minor chord stabbed on an offbeat and sent into a Space Echo with 40 to 60 percent feedback, then a slowly moving resonant filter.
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 Dub Techno?
Berlin, 1993: Basic Channel applies the methods of Jamaican dub, echo, filtering, disappearance, to techno. Chords become misty pads that pulse inside the reverb, and the track becomes a state rather than a journey. Moritz von Oswald and Mark Ernestus almost never gave interviews: the music,…
What tempo is Dub Techno played at?
Between 120 and 132 BPM.
Who are the key Dub Techno artists?
Basic Channel, Maurizio, Deepchord, Fluxion, Yagya.
