Well have you heard? It's the newest craze in Europe and there are officially superstars in the movement. I am not talking about Big Brother 7 or Europe's Got Talent... It's tecktonik and it has hit hardest where booze, "X" and hard trance rule the night.
I must admit, I am a somewhat taken by the the dances and the videos being posted all across the net. The tecktonik videos range from superb dance moves to the absurd; they range from serious and well thought out themes to the ridiculous, confounding and many times laugh-out-loud goodness. Listening more closely while I created the playlist for this post, I realize that tecktonik is, unlike its promoters and followers like to claim, not a new movement.
The roots of tecktonic are in the 90s hard trance/techno tracks that up to now, were considered part of the underground, to hardcore for mainstream society and many times, only followed by people entirely devoted to the music. Say, the head banger's doppelganger. So, it's sort of like drawing this parallel: The rock head bangers of the 80s and 90s are now punk rock followers
who dress the part and are an intersting mix between 'i don't care' rockers and 'i am better than you' hipsters.
Techtonik is hardly the movement of France's youth; rather, it is a style, a brand name and a image thrusted upon impressionable youths that want to be unique and different from 'mainstream'. What they fail to realize is that by trying so hard to be different and seeming like they don't care, they are part of a larger group of people and no longer unique. If everyone is unique and original then no one is unique or original. How could a techtonik follower dress in original designs and styles if Techtonik is a brand of clothes, a record label and have mainstream 'stars' and symbols.
Jey Jey, one of the most popular techtonik dancers who broadcasted his moves to the world via YouTube, was hired to go on a tour of France, serve as the spokesperson for the clothing line and signs autographs where ever he goes. In fact, check out this Microsoft Ad campaign:
That's Jey Jey and he's selling PCs... can there be a greater sell out than Microsoft? Well, being in a Meredith Grey, Harvey Weinstein, and Helena Christensen sandwich... to steal from a greater blogger, for Tecktonikers everywhere, this should be like finding out there is no Santa. Bienvenue a L'Amerique Tecktonik! Are you here to keep Europop company?
Nevertheless, my guilty pleasure is the moves and the agility, energy, flexibility and synchronization with which tecktonikers everywhere move. My hat is off to you and I will be learning moves at home while I watch a tutorial on youtube being taught by a 7 year old. An old man has got to try, right?
Here is my Tecktonik playlist followed by some videos I thought would make for a great complement as they serve as a visual representation of what I am talking about. I will most definitely follow up this post with further insight or breaking news but for now, let the raver in you free!
Tecktonik
And the videos:
