Schranz

This article is about a style of techno music. For the skier, see Karl Schranz.

Schranz (German pronunciation: [ˈʃʁants]) is a European style of music derived from techno. It originated in Germany.

Etymology

The term emerged in 1994 when Frankfurt-based DJ Chris Liebing and The Advent described a certain type of techno while searching for records at the now closed "Boy Records" store. The next time he visited the shop, the owner had a selection of harder techno records filed under Schranz. "For me personally, since that day in 1994, Schranz is a description for various dark and distorted sounds in techno", Liebing said in 2002.

To this day, speculation remains about the meaning of the word Schranz within the techno scene. Many believe it to simply imitate the sound of a crunchy low fidelity (lo-fi) percussion loop. For example, schranzen means to eat loudly and voraciously in German (and Dutch) slang and it is also a surname found predominantly in Austria. Meaningful speculations indicate that it was meant as a contraction of the two German nouns Schrei (scream) and Tanz (dance), i.e., Schr-anz.

Characteristic

The original Schranz sound is a harder, uptempo (about 150 BPM) Techno style inspired by Detroit Techno with reduced melodic elements. Schranz often features just single synth stabs or atmospheric sweeps with an emphasis on percussion. A trademark of this style are heavily compressed and filtered loops, combined with Roland 909 kick drums, snares, and high hats. A prime example of this are Chris Liebing's records The real Schranz 1-3 and the Stigmata series by André Walter.

Current trends

Starting as a simple hard-techno sub-genre in 1998, Schranz evolved into a blend of hard and minimal techno sub-genres in 2002. In its infancy (1999–2001), the genre was prominently represented by, e.g., Carl Cox. When it was popularized, modern Schranz artists such as Chris Liebing and Adam Beyer became its most well known producers. The music is set at a tempo which usually is between about 130 and 170 BPM.

External links

• Techn0.eu - Techno portal dedicated to electronic music community, including DJs, producers, artists, promoters, organizations and fans.
• Bluezone Corporation - Hard Techno & Schranz Audio Samples.
• Global Hardtechno International Hardtechno & Schranz Community
• Hardtechno.lt (English)
• USB - The Hardtechno Family (German)
• TECHNOMOSHPIT - Hard-Techno, Schranz, & Industrial Hardcore Label