Techno, its Texts and Uses

Abstract

That techno is a form of dance music aimed at the festive and/or political uses of clubs,raves, or free parties, seems obvious – so much so that one often takes it for granted.This article seeks to counter this view by focusing on the music itself, which we wish to redefine. We will thus try to illustrate the limits of an ethnographic approach based on uses – and users – of techno as dance music, which is prevalent throughout the literature, and will argue that a full understanding of the genre requires combining them with other approaches that are more focused on texts, the nature of which will be
suggested within the theoretical framework of audiotactile music. Finally, an analysis of the track “Dirty Chat” by French DJ and producer François X will have us question its relationship with the dancefloor, thus proving the existence of a kind of techno that has clearly been produced for listening.