Christian Smith Pushes Melodic Techno to the Fore on His ‘L.A. Loves Techno’ Mix

When it comes to techno—alongside fellow Swedes like Adam Beyer and Joel Mull—Christian Smith has played the long game. The Barcelona-based DJ, producer, and boss of the Tronic label has been at it since the early ‘90s—though like his aforementioned colleagues, he’s seen the pendulum swing in his direction, as techno exploded from the underground and stepped into the spotlight the past few years. When we spoke with Christian in early September, we assumed he’d be extremely busy, and that was indeed the case.

“I’m in Madrid, Spain, right now. I arrived here yesterday from Bogota and am waiting to collect my Chinese work visa so that I can fly to Beijing for Resistance this weekend. This month is pretty insane, as I’m playing in South America, Asia, Europe, and North America.”

Beyond the personal milestones he’s hit this year—such reaching the 300th edition of his Tronic Radio show, plus a huge remix package of his Synergy album from last year—it’s generally been a massive year for techno. There’s been a particularly huge enthusiasm for the powerful melodic side of the sound, in which the Tronic label just happens to specialize.

“I have been pushing melodic techno [since] long before it became trendy. I love all styles of techno, but Tronic is definitely known as one of the main musical techno labels out there. I’m happy to see that North America is really picking up it. We have a few Tronic events in the pipeline in the States, as well as Canada.”

Did he ever think techno would take hold to the degree that it has the past few years?

“Techno will continue to rise in the next few years, because it has the energy that EDM kids can graduate to and appreciate.”

“It really exploded recently. However, it’s always been big, and there are around 100–200 techno DJs that travel the world every year. Now, you see some artists taking it to the next level and becoming very commercial, almost like EDM. I am very happy I don’t have the pressure to play hits. I can do what I want, and my fans appreciate me for this. For me, techno is more about playing music that the clubbers don’t know. It’s one of the few genres where you can play completely underground music and rock the house.”

“Techno will continue to rise [in the next few years], because it has the energy that EDM kids can graduate to and appreciate. There will be a big divide between commercial and underground techno. I also think that house music will become big again. I love both house and techno.”

With the explosion of the Tronic sound on our minds, we asked Christian how he’s balancing DJing, producing, and label responsibilities at the moment. The conversation quickly turned to the topic of family.

“It’s tough sometimes. I am also a husband and have two young kids. Finding balance is really important to me, and every two months, I try to take a weekend off. It doesn’t happen as often as I want, but I am home quite a lot during the week. As much as I love touring and playing all over the world, it’s equally important to be home and spend time with friends and family. It’s easy to get caught up with just working. Quite often, I appreciate that I’m not super famous and have the luxury to do as I please.”

Europe was the first place where techno graduated to mass-market status, with hotspots like Berlin and Amsterdam hosting huge local scenes, plus specialist festivals catering to tens of thousands of partygoers in every corner of the continent. It’s similarly swelling in the US, though Christian says that much like in other countries, it’s been a case of slow and steady growth over the years.

“The US is a huge country, and it takes time for trends to catch on. In Europe, we have many smaller countries, and techno has always been very present in their scenes. It’s ironic that the US techno innovators like Jeff Mills, Derrick May, and Joey Beltram all got their fame in Europe whilst being relatively unknown in the States. But all this is changing now. It’s very exciting!”

His next US appearance is this weekend—a very special L.A. Loves Techno open-air day party at Academy in Los Angeles, alongside Kevin Saunderson—for which he’s prepared a special mix to get attendees in the mood.

“This mix is a recording from a present set I played at Origen Festival in Mallorca, Spain. I had around 6,000 people in front of me, and it was great fun!”

Christian Smith’s ‘Metronome’ Mix Track List: Renato Cohen “Pontape”
Loco & Jam “Resonate”
Nematic “Peculiar”
Pig&Dan “Unknown Destination”
Laat “Give Your Love”
Paride Saraceni “Mindrush”
ANNA “Razor”
UMEK “Collision Wall”
Goncalo “Sa Punta” (Drunken Kong Remix)
Café Del Mar “Energy 52” (Tale of Us Remix)
Christian Smith & John Selway “Delirium”
Mario Ochoa “Becoming Human”
Slam ft. Mr V “Take You There”
DJ Hyperactive “Wide Open” (Len Faki Remix)
Green Velvet “Perculator” (Will Clarke Remix)
Sam Paganini “Rave”
Loco&Jam “Contact”
Kaiserdisco “Varuna”
Vangelis “Blade Runner” (Maceo Plex Remake)

Christian Smith is playing at L.A. Loves Techno, which takes place Saturday, September 29, at Academy LA in Hollywood, CA. Tickets are on sale now.

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