Farley Leads Black Techno Matters In A Reclamation Of Electronic Music For Black Creative Expression

“I think I was put in this world to be part of the party. The person who ignites the energy in the room and gets everyone involved. I also like to think outside the box and create music and art that shows people a new way of seeing or doing things. I see the essence of Black Techno Matters It's one of the phases of my career and it's a combination of both."

These words belong to the versatile artist Bernard Farley, whose work is based on the celebration of black artistic expression. Washington, DC native Bernard's persistence from a music-filled childhood to his work championing innovative techno is the power of self-belief and community.

Bernard's exposure to sound began in his youth with tapes and rhythms. "I enjoyed doing simple tape overdubs, distortions and channel mixing effects on my sister's old karaoke machine in 6th grade," he says. “When my family finally got their first computer, they had a demo of Beat2000, a program for making loop-based music, all kinds of fan-house, techno, drum and bass and rave loops. Eventually I got into modular music software like Audiomulch and DAWs like Ableton Live. "Now I only record on drums and synths like the Roland TR-8."

Music played an important role in his childhood and instilled in him an understanding of various genres. "My mother always listened to the album," says Bernard. “He had a very beautiful voice; he always sang at home and composed songs immediately. He was also a great dancer, that's where my dancing genes come from. I picked up music from artists like Sylvester and MFSB and labels like Salsoul Records. When I was in elementary school, I lived in Queens, New York, and my mom would always bring home mixes recorded by New Jack Swing DJs she met."

Bernard's father was a jazz musician and multi-instrumentalist, playing a variety of instruments including guitar, saxophone and keyboard, and was a fan of artists such as Sade, Anita Baker and Prince. “He improvised jazz instruments and recorded them live. The father was as hard as a board: he tried to teach him to play the guitar, but he was no good. "I think I prefer to learn everything on my own, including playing and writing music."

Bernard grew up obsessed with Michael Jackson and was one of those kids who memorized all of his music video choreography. In high school in Middletown, New Jersey, he heard artists such as Daft Punk, The Chemical Brothers and Aphex Twin through local radio stations, and got into techno after learning the music of Jeff Mills and Richie Hawtin in high school. . , and the others. Abstract music by Autechre.

“I went to Virginia Tech and spoke on the college radio station. I picked up hundreds of CDs playing songs live on my computer, which really opened my taste buds to all kinds of artists, including Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and John Cage. I became a huge Björk fan when I was in college and learned to sing songs from Homogenic and Vespertina by practicing them over and over.

Technological recovery

Out of a need for a platform to elevate Black artistry in techno music, Bernard gave birth to Black Techno Matters, a collective whose mission is to reclaim techno as an expression of Black self-expression. The collective creates online and in-person spaces that celebrate the black origins of techno, support the creators of the genre, and give new creators a place to find their voices as artists.

I started Black Techno Matters in October 2019 after searching for Black Techno Artists and being disappointed with the search results. Some sites have mentioned pioneers like The Belleville Three and Jeff Mills, but I haven't seen a list of black artists specifically doing techno in the modern era. I was especially surprised because it was black techno! "After searching the internet for about an hour, I was able to compile a notebook with the names of black artists."

"I came up with the phrase 'Black Techno Matters' and I had a black party in Washington," Bernard continues. “Many people who came to the show thanked me for creating this space, and I realized that there was a real need to highlight black artists, as well as physically gather them in one space. Since then, Black Techno Matters has grown into a collection of events, playlists, mixtapes, music releases and other resources that highlight and celebrate hundreds of black artists from around the world."

While personally reclaiming the techno genre and celebrating black music, Bernard's music has taken many forms over the years. “I have recorded several electronic music solo albums, such as Outputmessage, from downtempo to techno to indie dance. I recorded a couple of ambient albums with my good friend and musical partner Patrick Blinkhorn called Smoke & Tea. I have a new album coming out in March, it's called "hell0" and I think it really sets the scene for the musical portals I want to open as B_X_R_N_X_R_D. Bernard Black will release his new album as B_X_R_N_X_R_D on Techno Matters music. label, streaming platforms and Bandcamp.

Bernard's determination to celebrate the presence of a black artist and the history of black art drives his work, both personally and in the community. His way of thinking refuses to submit to the depressing narrative and thus creates his own.

"As a person of color, to stay healthy in this racist society, I must choose hope over fear, patience over anger, and joy over despair. I must think outside the system and work to achieve my goals, because the system works not for people like me. The world of music is no different. The goal of my music as B_X_R_N_X_R_D and my work with Black Techno Matters is to create another timeline where the great power of black creativity is properly respected and celebrated ."

There is an undeniable sense of pride and joy in Bernard Black's words as he recalls those moments with Techno Matters.

“I have moments like the crowd singing Black Techno Matters at our Liber8 party in San Francisco. Black artists comment and show each other respect and love in the comments of the Instagram Takeover series, artists say how welcome and appreciated they are after playing our events.

The Black Techno Matters website also serves as a comprehensive black electronic music resource, including the "Blackness is a Revolution" playlist, which features over a thousand songs by black electronic music artists. "Seeing artists cross over and collaborate on our platform, artists growing to see themselves in genre after feeling isolated, all the black faces on our Contributors page on the site - I could go on and on. It gives me all the strength to keep pushing forward and evolving Black Techno Matters."

Society is the future

"2023 is the 20th anniversary of the release of my first music, Bernard's Song, on Ghostly International," said Bernard. “I see Black Techno Matters as a way to channel my creativity and music industry experience into the community in a way that creates opportunities for new artists. In general, this is how our team works: we all contribute to the mission of Black Techno Matters using the skills and experiences we've gained along the way.

While techno is at the core of Black Techno Matters, the group also advocates for other artistic expressions outside of music, while creating a more cohesive and inclusive arts community. "Audio and video documentation of our events is an important part of what we do. Graphic design is important to promote and create the atmosphere for our events, and the dancers who come to our events bring energy to the space we create . Also, the heartfelt words used to highlight the artists in our Instagram photos are music. They are a true tapestry of black love and pride."
2023 is the year of growth for Black Techno Matters. "We're spreading the black fire we started in Washington and taking it to other cities across the United States. As always, we'll be doing something special for June 10th, but that's all I'll say, so stay tuned."

As part of Black Techno Matters, a year-long initiative designed to celebrate and inform others about the impact of black innovation in music, art and culture, Bernard actively challenges and transforms undervalued perceptions of black collectives and their contributions to world history. Black History, as Bernard mentioned, is seen as "a special chapter at the end of an American history book that a teacher will never read in the classroom."

“To be clear, black history is American history. This country was built on the backs of slaves, on black suffering. Blacks have made many contributions and innovations in music, art, culture and technology that have literally changed this country and the world," he explained. "This of course includes the global phenomenon of techno and dance music, which would not exist without us. We are not only part of history, we need history, and this is one less whitewashing of history. With Black Techno Matters we celebrate our black heroes every day."

Supporting black artists throughout the year is part of what Black Techno Matters does, and Bernard shares the ways each of them can help support and inspire black voices while supporting the collective through their online channels. "Join our email list or buy a t-shirt, attend one of our events, follow our popular artists on social media, attend their events, buy their music, leave comments or send thank you messages. Also make connect with other artists or venues near you to get more. People can donate to Venmo or CashApp (@blacktechnotters) to help other artists. "Every little action counts."

Community and shared knowledge are core values of the Black Techno Matters ethos. Through exchange, their community is strengthened, and in that strength lies strength. "The future is the family. The future belongs to society. The power of the people is the new power. Don't wait for the white man to give you something. Build your own if necessary. Trust your community to build a stronger future for all."

Find Bernard on Instagram.

Learn more about Black Techno Matters on Instagram, Bandcamp and Spotify.