Underground Techno Gets Daytime Play With Vocals

Record companies would love to capitalize on the underground buzz of the rapid-fire, electronic dance sound known as techno, but radio programmers and record executives know that, above ground, nobody likes to listen to jackhammer music during drive time, leisure time, any time.

So how do they produce user-friendly techno? Easy: Just add vocals. This development marks a retreat by the industry from the violently rapid techno known as hard-core.

Of course the whole idea behind techno was to provide a lyric-free, inspiring soundtrack for the hyper-real, Warholian, dance-till-dawn parties known as raves. The deejays were faceless, the music was disposable, and the audience was the star.

We are now entering the era of the techno star. Call the music vocal-tech.

First, the best: N.R.G.’s “I Need Your Love,” available as an import (on the Chill label) or on the “Best of Techno: Volume 3” compilation (Profile), is a killer jam that pits cooled-out, Depression-era nasal singing with hyped “break beats” (ultra-fast hip-hop).

On the good side are the Shamen and Information Society, which might be called techno-pop because of their superior pop-rock structures and slower, more melodic sounds. After crossing over from the rave scene last year with the dance hit “Move Any Mountain,” the Shamen have proven that success hasn’t spoiled their will to experiment. The title track off their most recent album, “Boss Drum” (Epic), is an ode to the healing power of music and is complemented by the Brit-rap style of Mr. C.

Information Society has done the best job of bringing a message to techno. Using catchy synthesizer melodies and driving techno beats, the group heads a yuppie backlash with the single “Peace & Love, Inc.” (Tommy Boy/Reprise). The entire album of the same name is also worthy.

High on the cheese scale is L.A. Style’s single “I’m Raving” (Arista). Chorus: “I’m raving / You see I’m raving / All night long.” If you’re raving, you don’t need to sing it, especially in a happy-go-lucky tone over formulaic, wah-wah techno. Though L.A. Style brought you the groundbreaking “James Brown Is Dead” two years ago, the rest of its self-titled debut album still seems stuck in ’91.

Sunscreem’s album “03” (Columbia) is competent and well produced but often uninspired. Despite its vocals-dominated hit “Love U More,” Lucia Holm’s singing on the rest of the album seems thin in spots. Like other vocal-tech albums, “03” uses a techno sandwich formula--laying vocals over drum machine tracks and melodic loops without much attention to progression or structure.

Techno lovers will want to stay away from Digital Orgasm’s debut album, “It” (White Labels/Def American). Though Rick Rubin and his Def American label are banking on techno to become the next rap, it ain’t happening with D.O. The vocal tracks, sung by a Belgian woman named Jade, are atrocious. If you must try D.O., sample the standout single “Running Out of Time,” which was a better cut before its vocal content was expanded in the studio.