The Following Aesthetic Reasons

As denizens of the techno subculture, we are skeptical of celebrity. The luminaries who emerge are often more dark than bright, but the most intriguing incarnation of techno anti-star is he who is practically undetectable, he who is totally anonymous.

There have been a number of releases in 2008 which could fall into this category, for instance the recent Wax 100001 which was released out of Hardwax in June. Some have speculated that it is the handiwork of Shed, a rising star who also happens to work at Hardwax, because of its unique, dynamic and hard-hitting style. Either way, it received a lot of attention and has been featured in the playlists of a number of dj's (Simon Flower, Swayzak). Another well-hyped record was Sons of the Dragon, on the record label of the same name. This record is coming out of the US and is highly influenced by the classic Detroit house sound, lending itself to the rumor that it is the work of two legendary Detroit producers under the SOTD alias. There were only 300 white vinyl records made but the rumors were widely distributed in the chat forums.

Though this isn't anything new. The unknown artist who releases under the Pom Pom moniker has produced 32 records, the most recent of which (Pom Pom 032) was released this month on CD for the first time ever and is probably my favorite to boot, with dark textures and lots of surprises. The artist is believed to be one of the guys that works at the Space Hall record store in Berlin. Another major talent who has been releasing under the radar for awhile is Stephan T. Laubner, also known as STL. His label, Something Records, and his alias are mysterious and difficult to figure out from the interweb, he has no myspace page, and the releases are vinyl-only. Still, he is one of the most admired producers out there, especially among his peers.

Finally, 2008 has seen the creation of a label that shuns labels. Story introduces itself with the following: "Say hello to a label, run with passion, and witness the birth of a beautiful and deep house imprint. You won´t find any artist names on our records, we do not feel the need to let you know who did the record and so do the artists who contribute tracks. The only important thing is, they produced these tracks, full of understanding and with a great love for house music. Let the story begin and let us tell you something about our history." The first EP release, Story 01, uses the artistic alias CB Funk and is called Subway to Cologne. It was also on heavy rotation with dj's this summer.

Thoughts/feelings on this phenomenon? If you're reading this I hope you'll contribute your opinion, anonymous or not...