That's because techno blows, dork.

But if techno matters so much to so many, why don't these producers etc get more play on Seattle's 24 hour techno station (and how many cities can say they have one of those?), C-89?

can't complain about 55 minutes of booty-shaking techno, which can be found on 89.5. Get off of KEXP's jock and rub yer nuts on the bass that 89.5 bumps. Not really. It plays lame house crap with the occasional trance. Not much variety. Seemingly thousands of genres of electronic music and they have chosen one...

this is about just the same complaint as jennifer wanting more metal on KEXP a couple of weeks ago. You should just go to KEXP and ask for an hour every week when Stranger writers can play what they want. You can play some T. Raumstein, Jennifer can play some 3 Inches of Blood, and Megan can play some Fugazi or something, and you guys will all be happy.

KEXP's a community station (s'posedly), so it's only fair that the community should have input into what KEXP plays. That they don't shouldn't be any surprise (although feel free to send your $$$ to the John Richards Yacht Club), but it is sad to see that Seattle radio is lacking a whole mess of genres, from metal to techno to whatever. (Thankfully, KBCS has my jazz fix covered.) That's what community radio is all about: providing airplay for less-heard musics.

I was unaware that they ever played Lusine on KEXP. I might tune in a little more.

Electronic-wise, I'd expect the most pop-savy of this genre to get fair play- which they do- Goldfrapp, and Royksopp for example.

It's refreshing, and even surprising to me, that Lusine is mixed in at all, because techno and electronic music (the less pop-swaying) is non-format compared to traditional "songs", This "electronic" music, though rather well-documented now, seems to still be a bit of a shock for radio-friendliness.

(Yet I do remember THE END's Ultrasound in '96- but that was a kind of "re-intro to electronic music 101" and in another era)

The more unexpected things I hear, the better. I just didn't think they would play material like Lusine during the day.

I shall request that KEXP fuse some non-format in. A little Unai here or there, and maybe shake it up with some choice 12"s from Trapez or Kompakt. And of course more local support (add Tom Butcher/Codebase to that list).

C89 is NOT techno.

It is pop music played in Gay bars and gyms. Those are the only places i have ever heard music like they play on C89.

C89 sucks and cannot be used excuse for not putting more techno on KEXP.

Isn't C-89 a "learning station"? It's something like the biggest high school or community college station in the country. Since it has a huge audience and is already aimed at the ultimate counter-culture (gay men with nipple piercings screaming at each other in sweet sweet agony), and since there is apparently a dearth of good techno broadcasting in Seattle, okay.... I don't like techno, but I like Seattle and I like a scene. Who is gonna put the producers of this great techno in touch with the folks who run the broadcasting at C-89? I hate to see good talent go to waste, and I think that the broad audience of C-89 would even enjoy some local imput. Dave, I put you in charge. Cold climates go well with techno. Even if it's not my favorite brand of music, what if Iceland had said the same thing to Bjork? Gus Gus?

Dave: you man the PNW techno revolution. Treat the revolution well, and be realistic. Tap C-89 deeply-- you have the power to do so! Research your new position! Who was in charge of the rekjavek or however you spell that revolution? Be that person or organize those people, here. "Only you have the power to save Seattle from insignificance".

Hmm, wasn't this topic beaten to death a few months ago in the context of your Decibel / Sean Horton interview? To me the complaint seems kind of grudging in a month when KEXP hosted an in-studio Underground Resistance interview, a rare techno event by any standard.



KEXP's variety programming represents the rebirth of the 1970s lite AOR format - with a new sheen of indie self-congratulation. Any devotee of a minority genre is going to be disappointed. But the playlists track Seattle indie store sales pretty closely, and the relationship is not wholly causal.



Given that the station has to be all things to all people, I think the station's electronic programming is more than a token gesture. Looking at the playlists for this month, I see Jeff Mills, Aril Brihka, Christopher Just, UR, Kirk Degiorgio, Ian O'Brian, and Thomas Brinkmann.



Sure, Expansions was dropped from two nights a week to one. But it was replaced on Saturdays with the punk show, and you would be hard-pressed to argue that punk doesn't deserve some representation on the Seattle airwaves.

"Given that the station has to be all things to all people, I think the station's electronic programming is more than a token gesture. Looking at the playlists for this month, I see Jeff Mills, Aril Brihka, Christopher Just, UR, Kirk Degiorgio, Ian O'Brian, and Thomas Brinkmann."

Hmm, those are impressive names, but I didn't see any of them on KEXP's most recent chart. Were they played by one DJ at 1AM or something like that?

That article w/ Sean Horton came out summer 2004. Since then, techno has not made much headway at all on KEXP (Riz plays a lot of quality electronic music--if not much techno--but he's the exception). Lusine mostly received airplay at night. I've never heard techno aired during the day on the station, but I don't monitor it 24/7. If somebody HAS heard techno (downtempo funk w/ female vox doesn't equal techno) during sunlight hours, please let us know.

"KEXP's variety programming represents the rebirth of the 1970s lite AOR format - with a new sheen of indie self-congratulation. Any devotee of a minority genre is going to be disappointed. But the playlists track Seattle indie store sales pretty closely, and the relationship is not wholly causal."

I agree with this assessment, and I think it's not something to get excited about. The programming is for the most part non-applecart-upsetting and conservative indie rock. It's mostly pleasant and only slightly more stimulating than Muzak™.

C89? I can't deal with it. Sorry.

I can't speak for the rest of the producers in town, but I have absolutely no expectation for KEXP to play my music at all. There's no reason they would have any of it because I never sent any to them. This is because .05% of my material has been released in a domestic CD format.

I would argue that Lusine has gotten the most airplay because he's the only one who put out a full-length domestic CD, which KEXP received as a nice package with all the proper trimmings direct from the label. The bulk of us are working on 12" format and/or with labels on the other side of the planet. There's really no reason for KEXP to have heard of us.

It's obvious that on the whole they are not techno fans, and the few that tolerate it (Expansions crew) have their own tastes and that is fine with me.

But realistically, the only way that KEXP is going to play a bunch of German/Minimal/whatever-it-is-this-week techno is if they have a DJ who is buying a lot of it themselves (or maybe that new Greg J guy). So unless they want to give the few of us in town who are even buying that sort of music our own show, I really don't see the use for a debate.

"this is about just the same complaint as jennifer wanting more metal on KEXP a couple of weeks ago. You should just go to KEXP and ask for an hour every week when Stranger writers can play what they want. You can play some T. Raumstein, Jennifer can play some 3 Inches of Blood, and Megan can play some Fugazi or something, and you guys will all be happy."

Is T.Raumstein a new project featuring T.Raumschmiere and Rammstein?

Anyway, I can't speak for Jennifer and Megan, but my desire to see KEXP play more techno isn't for MY enjoyment. I can play all the great techno in my own collection whenever I want w/o having to rely on a radio station. I would just like to see Seattle's producers get some much-deserved attention and in turn have KEXP listeners' horizons broadened.
KEXP fancies itself as a local-music supporter, so why shouldn't that include techno? Ignorance of the local electronic music scene is inexcusable. All the programmers have to do is read The Stranger and go to Seattle clubs once in a while to realize there's an abundance of talent in their backyard.

"I can't speak for the rest of the producers in town, but I have absolutely no expectation for KEXP to play my music at all. There's no reason they would have any of it because I never sent any to them. This is because .05% of my material has been released in a domestic CD format."

I did send them my Force Inc CD album which was distributed by Caroline locally along with press materials when Michele Meyers solicited among the mailing lists for local electronic music. I think someone played it once.

But I agree with you Jeff; I don't really expect KEXP to play my music at all. For me, it's not really a disgruntlement or that I feel I need or deserve local exposure. Techno just doesn't seem to be their thing, and I don't care that they're not bending their format to play my music.

I listen to radio when I don't feel like selecting music myself or whenever I want to listen to something outside what I normally have on. So in this sense it doesn't matter to me what they play. I'll listen if I like the DJ's selection, even if that means heavy rotation on C89 ;-)

I usually have your back Dave, but let's look at what's happened at KEXP over the last 1.5 years or so:



1) Expansions no longer sucks. Riz and Masa are playing good, current music again. On top of that Riz is hosting people like UR.



2) There was an entire Audioasis program dedicated to the Decibel Festival, complete with a live Caro set and a Sean Horton interview.



3) John Richards played Caro on his show and announced the DB festival multiple times in the weeks leading up to it.



Those are all good examples of KEXP giving some love the genre. A better point though is: Why should they bother?



They're a huge national success (HUGE) in terms of being a community funded station, and that success dicates that they don't have much incentive to change their format just because a local niche market doesn't like it. Techno is totally outside of the programming that got them where they are today.



Seriously, C89 should be the target here. They're supposed to be a dance music station and they've decided to completely ignore what's going in the dance music scene here in Seattle. Why attack the rock station?

Isn't it wrong to classify KEXP as strictly a "rock station"? Admittedly, rock makes up the bulk of its playlist, but other genres are represented, too.
I've mostly written off C89's format as set in stone, while KEXP seems more worth agitating for change because its employees supposedly listen to the public and rely on its monetary support.

Paul cites some encouraging developments at KEXP in 2005, but they are isolated incidents, the exception rather than the rule. I would like to see a regular daily or nightly hour of techno, programmed by somebody who has knowledge of and enthusiasm for the genre (Jerry Abstract, Sean Horton, Paul Edwards, Kristina Childs, Jeff Samuel… there is no shortage of suitable candidates).

I find it strange that Seattle's techno producers--those who could benefit most from increased airplay--are so complacent and/or defeatist about KEXP's status quo.

"I find it strange that Seattle's techno producers--those who could benefit most from increased airplay--are so complacent and/or defeatist about KEXP's status quo."

I imagine I'm not alone in hearing what people in Seattle tend to listen to, and deciding that KEXP's programming reflects the tastes of the community as a whole reasonably well. Last time I emailed the station, it was to tell Riz that "Sea of Hands" would go really well with what he was playing-- and guess what, he played it. In general, I feel like I can get involved to the extent that I want to. So, no complaints from me.

Granted, what seems at times like an indie-rock monoculture is reinforced by the station giving its most devoted listeners so much of what they want. But who am I to intrude on this gentle circle jerk? Someday these kids will look back on the mid-00s as a Golden Age for their whiny, horrible music.

I really appreciate your agitation in general, but I think this one's not happening. If you could do something about indie DJs using the word "electro" when they mean electronic music, though, that would really help. I get another gray hair every time I hear that shit.

So, basically, we need to clone Riz or make him Grand Wizard of KEXP.

Way I see it, KEXP giving short shrift to Seattle techno in the mid-'00s is almost akin to Rolling Stone magazine ignoring punk rock in the late '70s. It is a golden opportunity missed.