The Birmingham sound is a subgenre of

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

that emerged in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the early 1990s. It is most commonly associated with the city's House of God club night, the

Downwards Records Downwards Records is a record label founded by the techno DJs and producers Regis and Female in Birmingham, England in 1993. The label was initially established to release the set of tracks that fellow Birmingham DJ and producer Surgeon had record ...

label, and the local DJs and producers

Regis Regis or Régis may refer to: People * Regis (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Regis (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Regis (musician), full name Karl O'Connor, an English ...

Surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

and

Female An organism's sex is female ( symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and ...

. It is characterised by a hard, fast and uncompromising style that strips the music of the bassline funk that characterised the techno of Detroit and Berlin, leaving only "huge slabs of unrelentingly unchanging minimalism". The Birmingham sound marked a turning point in the development of techno and its influence can be heard throughout the

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

techno of the

Berghain Berghain () is a nightclub in Berlin, Germany. It is named after its location near the border between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain and is a short walk from Berlin Ostbahnhof main line railway station.

and

Ostgut Ton Ostgut Ton (also known as Ostgut Tonträger) is a German record label owned by the club Berghain in Berlin. Resident Advisor described it "a dominant force in dance music, beloved for its mix series and dozens of EPs, albums and compilations." T ...

. It also formed the starting point for Regis and Female's later Sandwell District project.

References

{{Techno 20th-century music genres Techno genres Music in Birmingham, West Midlands English styles of music