(Synth Pop, Minimal) Techniques Berlin - Discography (3 релиза) - 2004-2012, MP3, 192-320 kbps

#77701 Scarlet Woman
02 Machine Language
03 Walk In SIlence
04 Love Via Computer
05 Metropolis
06 Erotica
07 Planet 21
08 Cyberbeat
09 Where Have You Been
10 Killing Time
11 Run Away
12 Miles Away
13 Now Is Ever
14 Time Fades To Nothing

#77701 Love Declaration (Demo)
02 Scarlet Woman (Demo)
03 Dancing To The Fall
04 Transmissions
05 Anywhere
06 Just One Look
07 Secret Lies
08 Scarlet Woman
09 Beats Like A Machine
10 Calling Your Name
11 Watching You (Remix)
12 Machine Language (Dub Version)

#77701 Watching You
02 Love Declaration
03 Eye Desire
04 Dancing To The Fall Of The Berlin Wall
05 Love Via Computer
06 Erotica
07 Metropolis
08 Transmission
09 She Fades Away
10 Secret Lies
11 Alienation (bass cut version) (Bonus Track)
12 Beats Like a Machine (live at the Moonlight Club) (Bonus Track)
13 Inner City (Bonus Track)
14 Pieces Of Glass (Demo) (Bonus Track)

It is hard to believe that almost 30 years have passed since David Rout and I started making music in a southern Ontario basement. The place was full of little electronic gadgets, instruments and recording gear that were in various states of disrepair. We were still in High School, and our makeshift studio was totally state of the budget, and not state of the art. A mixer, a reel to reel, a cassette deck and a cheap microphone were all we needed when we first started making music. We lovingly called the place, The Bombshelter and it became home to countless recordings, live performances and parties. The Bombshelter was where both of our musical careers began, and that was where we started Techniques Berlin in 1984.
Noise didn’t seem to matter; all that was important was the sheer excitement of making music. When we first started writing songs, we would record them on a cheap ghetto blaster. Thanks to David’s father’s the reel to reel, we could now layer instruments. Love Declaration was one of the first songs we recorded with the new set up. A Rhythm Ace beat box, a cheap synth (It was a Technics keyboard which inspired half of our band name) and a guitar was what we relied on for instrumentation and a spring reverb provided the vocal effect. By the time Scarlet Woman was recorded we were using better instruments. Initially we were heavily influenced by England’s Depeche Mode and Yazoo, but we soon took notice of our Canadian contemporaries like Rational Youth, Men without Hats and Trans X.
Eventually we discovered the 4 Track machine. Finally we had the ability to record several tracks with little noise. We started to feel like professionals. Even though we did a few sessions in a real studio, with the legendary John Press at the helm, our budget constraints kept us coming back to the 4 track machine.
In 1989, Dave moved to Toronto but we managed to keep the band going. Countless tracks were recorded during many lost weekends at his new apartment. Soon Kris Helstrom became our unofficial extra member and much pre and post production work was done at his place. He started to do drum programming as well as suggestions for arrangements and backing vocals. Then Dale Hanlin joined up with us and we entered our most productive phase, recording and practicing constantly, and getting plenty of live experience. Since we had moved our base of operations to Toronto, we started to receive local airplay and played many shows, supporting the likes of Images in Vogue, The Spoons and Rational Youth. At the same time, we started to draw substantial crowds in Niagara’s underground (and unlicensed) club scene.
We eventually learned to use 4 track machines well beyond their intended use, recording 4 tracks at a time, mixing those to two track onto Super VHS tape, and then recording them back onto the 4 track so that we could add backing vocals and other tracks.
Although we released three cassette albums independently, we never did secure a record deal. Since some of our material was showing signs of a darker alternative influence, A&R reps would comment that our songs were either too alternative to be classified as pop, or too pop to be alternative, which became rather discouraging in the long run.
By the time the 1991 came to a close we had delved into the industrial scene and Dave and I had both joined !Bang Elektronika and were working with Digital Poodle as live drummers. Both of these projects were soon picked up by record labels. Dale Hanlin decided to retire from the music industry and Techniques Berlin played its last show at the University of Toronto in November of 1991, debuting the last track we had recorded, appropriately called Time Fades to Nothing.
I suppose, like your first love, your first band always stays with you. A little red suitcase contained all of the master tapes and for many years I thought they would remain there. A while back, I started digging through the suitcase. Gradually I began to restore a lot of the tapes and found out that many of the recordings still sounded well enough to present to the public.
Techniques Berlin’s “Back Issue Volume 1 and 2” are currently available on iTunes, and Fabrika Record’s have released “Suburban Playgrounds and Concrete Beaches” on vinyl with great success. David and Andreas are currently in rehearsal studios, working on putting together a live Techniques Berlin show, and plan on hitting the road in the near future.
David is currently part of The Beautiful Spies as well as Data Freq, while Andreas is working as Agents in Infrared as well as being a part of NeuroRythm.