Picotto is quite the chameleon, subtly altering his sound to match the backgrounds of popular electronic music. An appropriate parallel given he had a thing for reptiles, naming three singles after various types (Lizard, Iguana and Komodo if you’re interested).
Before 1999, Picotto was relatively unknown outside his Italian homeland. Just as trance was kicking off big style, Lizard - a euphorically laden yet also hard number - hit. Come 2000 Picotto started playing gigs in the UK. As Hard House was the in thing, his sets reflected this. Then, by the tail end of 2000 when everyone realised that as good as the Juno hoover sound was it had already been done to death years ago, his sound morphed in to a mishmash between the realms of Trance, Techno and Hard House.
The big question at the time was, ‘is Picotto techno?’ The answer, like most things in life, was a delightful shade of grey: yes he was, but no he wasn’t. While tracks like Iguana and Save A Soul were clearly chart trance nonsense, others such as Taub, Verdi and Strum Und Drang were much harder to place, sharing from both the trance and techno list of production values. Further fuel stoked the fires of confusion when Picotto would end up spinning all out techno belters such as Gabry Fasano - Logarithm.
No surprise then to hear that around this time Tech-Trance was starting to really establish its self as a legitimate and popular sub-genre. It kept true to trance’s techno roots, but at the same time embracing a less tune-spotter, mainstream friendly format. In the end a modus vivendi was reached; Picotto was Italian Techno. The elitists could be happy their uber-cool and way better than you genre wasn’t ‘poisoned’, while the non-elitists could pretend that they were elitists listening to real techno.
True to form though, as people started switching off from tech-trance and rediscovering what real techno was about Picotto once more made a change, this time to full on techno belters, at which point we get Taotek. While the elitists will no doubt say it’s not techno, frankly they’re wrong, and are just put off by the itinerary of Picotto’s musical travels. Still, there is something inherently commercial and calculated behind it which leaves a sickly sweet taste in the mouth; it tastes good, but too much is bad for you and in the end you’ll just end up regretting it.
And guess what? For the last few years he’s been playing minimal too. Unless you’ve been living beyond the reaches of civilisation, you’d not need a degree to work out that the cool underground sound of the moment is, you guessed it, minimal. So, the more important question which should be asked is not, ‘is Picotto techno?’ but, ‘is Picotto a trend-setter, ahead of the pack in the musical development stakes, or is Picotto a shameless bandwagon jumper, hopping onto “the next big thing” to keep the euros rolling in?’
In the end, I don’t really know. As a self-proclaimed techno elitist on the one hand I want to say bandwagon. Yet on the other hand, with admiration for pop sensibility, he’s clearly an astute individual who has a knack for seeing which way the wind blows. Ultimately, all I can say is that from time to time it’s ok to give into those sickly sweet cravings…just don’t get fat.
The big question at the time was, ‘is Picotto techno?’ The answer, like most things in life, was a delightful shade of grey: yes he was, but no he wasn’t. While tracks like Iguana and Save A Soul were clearly chart trance nonsense, others such as Taub, Verdi and Strum Und Drang were much harder to place, sharing from both the trance and techno list of production values. Further fuel stoked the fires of confusion when Picotto would end up spinning all out techno belters such as Gabry Fasano - Logarithm.
True to form though, as people started switching off from tech-trance and rediscovering what real techno was about Picotto once more made a change, this time to full on techno belters, at which point we get Taotek. While the elitists will no doubt say it’s not techno, frankly they’re wrong, and are just put off by the itinerary of Picotto’s musical travels. Still, there is something inherently commercial and calculated behind it which leaves a sickly sweet taste in the mouth; it tastes good, but too much is bad for you and in the end you’ll just end up regretting it.
Why I only recently bought this record I’ll never really know; it should have been in my collection from the day of its release. This is potentially one of the best records I now own, looped techno at its finest. It’s that good, I’d even say it’s touching ‘never leave the box’ status. With the funk turned up to 11, it’s guaranteed to get the dance floor hot and sweaty within seconds.
Yesterday, I suggested that there were few exceptions to the generally mundane trends in electronic music of recent years. Joey Beltram however is one of those priceless few exceptions. Each record he produces seems better than the last. Making his debut on MB Elektronics, Marco Bailey’s superb techno imprint, Dragon is the type of track I wish I could make if I only had the skills to do so. It’s a brooding and understated techno piece which subtly nods to underground acid house. While it may not be a peak time monster, it certainly will add tension when well placed in the mix.
Felix Da Housecat is without doubt a talented producer. While his DJ skills are not entirely flawless he is by no means boring behind the decks. Sadly, his A side mix of Harlot just lets us down. Some nice elements are thrown in, but overall the final product doesn’t seem to work. Everything changes when you flip the record over and place the stylus on the B side. Justin Robertson reworks the substandard electro mumblings into a utility laden dance floor workhorse. The sleazy vocals and warm synths retain the feelings of its electro origin, but the four to the floor kick and driving percussion bring into focus the worlds of house and techno. This is where the track fundamentally shines. Robertson has delivered us one of those multi-purpose, all terrain tracks which are at once functional and danceable. For the astute DJ this track can comfortably sit at home in an electro, house or techno set.
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