Neill, Ben

Totalism is a postminimalist current in American contemporary composition that emerged in New York City at the turn of the 1990s. It pairs minimalism’s driving repetition and clear harmonies with the simultaneous layering of contrasting tempos, meters, and rhythmic cycles. Where classic minimalism often favors a single steady pulse, totalism embraces multiple, coexisting pulses—often in rational tempo ratios (such as 3:2, 4:3, 5:4)—to create grooves that are both propulsive and metrically intricate. Its sound world frequently mixes amplified chamber ensembles with rock instrumentation (drum set, electric guitar and bass) and draws rhythmic inspiration from rock, funk, and global polyrhythms. Aesthetically, totalism sought a middle path between the austerity of modernist complexity and the smooth surfaces of early minimalism: music that is visceral and loud, yet intellectually and rhythmically detailed.

Techno is a four-on-the-floor, machine-driven form of electronic dance music that emerged in mid-to-late 1980s Detroit. It is characterized by steady 4/4 kick drums, repetitive and hypnotic rhythmic patterns, synthetic timbres, and an emphasis on texture, groove, and forward momentum over elaborate harmony. Producers typically use drum machines, sequencers, and synthesizers to build layered percussion, pulsing basslines, and evolving motifs. While often dark and minimalistic, techno spans a wide spectrum—from soulful, futuristic Detroit aesthetics to hard, industrially tinged European strains—yet it consistently prioritizes kinetic energy for dancefloors and a sense of machine futurism.

Electronic is a broad umbrella genre defined by the primary use of electronically generated or electronically processed sound. It encompasses music made with synthesizers, drum machines, samplers, computers, and studio/tape techniques, as well as electroacoustic manipulation of recorded or synthetic sources. The genre ranges from academic and experimental traditions to popular and dance-oriented forms. While its sonic palette is rooted in electricity and circuitry, its aesthetics span minimal and textural explorations, structured song forms, and beat-driven club permutations. Electronic emphasizes sound design, timbre, and studio-as-instrument practices as much as melody and harmony.