At its core, since its birth in the ’80s Detroit underground, techno has always been about freedom, self-sufficiency and experimentation—creating sounds of the future to get people moving. In that sense, Luke Slater has always been techno. In his early DJ days in the late ’80s and early ’90s, he was part of the U.K. dance contingent popularizing Detroit-inspired techno across the pond.

In 1989 he dropped his debut single, “Momentary Vision” (under the name Translucent) as a white label on his own Jelly Jam Records, a grooving breakbeat techno number. It would be two years before he dropped more tracks to shake up the U.K. techno scene, but he’s been on roll ever since.

To him, techno is best defined by its Detroit roots that first inspired him to produce it himself.

“For me, as an artist, it goes right back to the origin of house and techno, especially people like Juan Atkins,” Slater explained. “[In] 1983, he did ‘Clear’ by Cybotron, which really didn’t fit in with hip-hop [or] electro at the time. That was probably the first techno record I ever heard. And there was this kind of melancholy thing about it, but it had a lot of rhythm.”

“And then when house came along at the end of the ’80s, that was really the connection for me, that rhythm can come from machines,” he continued. “I loved that. That really bore into my soul.”

The British DJ and producer has kept himself busy exploring and expanding the nuance and range of techno with a prolific output over the past three decades. He has done so under a handful of aliases including Planetary Assault Systems, Clementine, Morganisitic, and The 7th Plain, to name a few.

As clubs remained shuttered with COVID-19 running wild, he was understandably uninspired to make dance music. In the first months of the pandemic he savored time at home with his family and worked on an experimental collaborative project with Anthony Child (a.k.a. Surgeon), KMRU, Lady Starlight, Speedy J and Tom Moth (Florence + The Machine‘s harpist) called DIALOGUE.

The project is composed of four spacious ambient musical dialogues (15-24 minutes long) between the artists that reflect the distance and uncertainty we all felt in 2020. “It was kind of really fitting for the time, but after that was done, there had to be more,” Slater shared.

He went on, “It was a hunger I haven’t experienced since I first started… I was just dying to get back to the events, to play, just to be out there again. And so that’s really how the [latest] Planetary album came about.”

After vaccines were rolled out to the public in 2021 and the possibility of DJing finally appeared on the horizon again, the creative flame within Slater was reignited. “When things looked like they were opening up, I wanted to go back to the roots and just write,” he said.

Yet he didn’t know where to start. His wife Heidy Slater reminded him that people really liked his track “Give It Up” from his 2019 Planetary Assault System double EP, Straight Shooting. So, he started with that as an inspiration, building around that style and the TR-909, with a heavy sprinkling of rebellious energy.

In a sense, Slater made Straight Shooting as much for himself as for his fans. He crafted it “purely for imagining that things were gonna open, the festivals, everything. It was like, ‘When I play again, this is what I want to play. I want to be around this.'”

The result was his latest album (released October 2021) as Planetary Assault Systems, Sky Scraping, which he describes as “straight off the shovel.”

Planetary Assault Systems is one of his most active aliases and home to some of his hardest techno. For Slater, aliases offer a way to organize his music after he makes it, as he finds himself working on music much of the time, and multiple things at once.

“I think if I was just working on one thing, I’d overthink it too much,” he said. The aliases also represent different parts of him and offer more outlets for his creativity, keeping his sense of freedom in music alive, as he feels less limited by fans’ expectations for one specific sound.

“When I go out and play, people know me. And people have got a lot in their minds [lately], they’ve been through a lot, Slater explained. “They’ve had to deal with exactly the same kind of anxieties and changes in their life as me and everyone else. So if I’m going to do a gig, I’m not going to try and be teaching right now. They want to hear the records I make, so that’s exactly what I’m going to be playing. It’s not so much giving people what they want, but just being true to what you’re really good at and what you’re known for.”

Huge huge thanks to all @berghain over the weekend ! ??? Wow , coming together extraordinaire , can’t put into words that feeling with all ,after such a long break from the club . ???

— Luke Slater (@reallukeslater) November 2, 2021

While COVID-19 variants and vaccination challenges have kept a full return of nightlife at bay, in July 2021, Slater was finally able to get back to DJing. A few months later, in November, he had his first set back at the legendary Berghain.

“It was an amazing night, and I felt that everyone there had this kind of spirit of like ‘We’ve won. Yes, we are back.’ It was quite an emotional set to do, to be honest. I was super happy,” Slater beamed. “I’m glad I got to do it right before it shut down again.”

Back in the seemingly distant pre-pandemic days of late 2019 and early 2020, Slater worked with Berghain’s label, Ostgut Ton, to create Berghain Fünfzehn, a seven-track album made up entirely of sounds and samples from their catalogue, which dates back to 2005. The arduous creative process was inspired by a Richie Hawtin album from years ago where he took tracks apart to build new ones.

“It was one of my crazier ideas. (Laughs.) Ostgut sent me every single track they’ve ever released. And then I would take samples and loops from each set of 12 [tracks] and make a new track,” Slater recounted. “And I thought, ‘Well, that sounds like a challenge.’ So that’s exactly what I did. Someone at Ostgut helped, we had a kind of a Henry Ford system going… Daniel put everything into Ableton Live for me so I could go through and choose. On the album, there’s seven tracks, but I actually wrote, like, 34 tracks. It took about six months and yeah, it was mad.”

When asked how he feels that techno and the culture around it has shifted since he started producing it 33 years ago, Slater reminded us that change is constant. “It’s always changing. I was doing this before the internet (Laughs), so I’ve seen a lot of changes,” the “Engine One” producer said with a smile.

“Back in the day, the only time people would read anything that I said was if I did an interview. That’s how close you got to someone who was writing the music unless you hung around them, he recalled. “And it’s really different now, because everyone’s speaking, everyone’s on social media. I think that’s okay. I think it’s pretty cool…Things always change, always mutate. I try and embrace that.”

Even as techno and technology constantly morphs and mutates, to Slater, the essence of a great techno track is straightforward: “Rhythm. Capturing the rhythm. I think that’s the hardest thing to get right. It’s all about the beat.”

While the techno community continues to grapple with its “business techno” shadow—the DJs, promoters and brands that put profit above all else—Slater reminds us that no one can truly kill its essence.

“The other day, someone on Twitter with a lot of followers said, ‘Rest in peace techno.’ I’ve heard that so many times over the years,” he said. “Techno, the concept of it, of what dance music is, it’s not a phase or fad or a current trend. It’s a revolution that happened a long time ago, and it’s kind of embedded in all electronic music.”

The Swedish DJ, producer and Tronic founder has released music since the late ‘90s. In that time he’s traveled between Brazil, New York and his nation of origin, weathering the ebbs and flows of the industry while eking out a niche for himself as a tastemaker.

Earlier this month, Smith set aside some time to speak with Selector at SeifhauS presents An Intimate Evening w/ Christian Smith at Milk Bar in Denver, Colorado. During the interview, he went as far as to disclose which Tronic signee he considers to be most underrated.

Christian Smith also touched on topics like Movement’s controversial 2018 lineup and his upcoming John Selway collaboration. Find his answers to our questions below, and expect the Count Zero EP out on Tronic March 5th.

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You recently announced that your John Selway collaboration is out on vinyl in March. You and Selway have teamed up on a diverse cross section of house and techno over the years, so where does part one of the Count Zero EP fall on that musical spectrum?

Christian Smith: John and I have made a bunch of singles throughout the years. In the past ten or so years I’ve worked more by myself, but this year I was in New York and we were in the studio together and we decided to work together again because we always had very good chemistry in the studio. We started making techno when we started working together 13 years ago – and we still make techno – so the single coming out in March is pretty much peak time techno.

Kind of like you and Selway’s 2008 Drumcode collaboration, “Total Departure?”

CS: I would say stylistically similar to that, yes.

What led you to divide the EP into two parts?

CS: Just to make it more interesting. These days there are very few stories behind releases and the shelf life of music is very short. I wanted to make it a little bit more interesting, do special artwork, and with this project I want to make it a series. Two or three albums; we haven’t decided yet.

So far 2018 has seen two massive Tronic compilations, one of which titled Flashback just came out this week. Your particular style of techno could already be described as melodic, but selections from both albums were especially progressive. Is that deliberate – and if not, what do you feel might be inspiring such a creative tangent?

CS: I wouldn’t say “progressive.” “Musical” for sure; I’ve always pushed musical techno with melodies. It’s funny because I’ve done this a long time on Tronic and right now musical techno is very popular. If you look at Drumcode, for example, pretty much every release is very musical right now. I just do what I love and I follow my passion. I don’t care what is trendy right now, and I think that is one of the secrets of the success of Tronic: not following trends.

Among the locations in which you’ve spent meaningful time over the years is São Paulo, Brazil, which also happens to be a hot growth market for electronic music. As you command a significant following there, how have you observed the city’s house and techno scene evolve?

CS: I lived in Brazil for a couple of years and also toured a lot through South America. Yes, you’re right, the region has expanded a lot. The first time I played there was around 17 years ago, so I can really see how everything evolved – and now when I go to Agentina, even if I play alone I get 3-4,000 people. Argentina is huge and people are very passionate. At the end of the day the Latins like to party so they’re very passionate, and yeah, the scene is fantastic. In my opinion Argentina is the best country in the world right now to DJ in. Brazil can be very good too; it’s a very strong market but it tends to be more on the commercial side.

Five years ago you began releasing studio-length albums, and Tronic’s focus has also shifted more to albums as of late. Meanwhile, mainstream electronic tastemakers like Calvin Harris are adopting a single-only model for more practical reasons. Do you think the roles have reversed and house/techno audiences call for longer, more conceptual efforts nowadays?

CS: I wouldn’t say so, and actually, I disagree with that question. I release albums on Tronic because I want to help the artists evolve musically and push them to release music that’s more outside the box musically. It’s easy to do one techno single after another, but it’s much more difficult to release a cohesive album. I honestly believe that concept is not very lucrative right now. Albums don’t do well, but I don’t really care about sales or income. It’s about developing the artist and moving forward, and I think that if an artist gets a chance to produce an album, he or she should. It’s a lot of fun as well. However, this year I’m going to do less albums on Tronic because last year we had around five, I think. Each album entails a lot of work between marketing, public relations and planning. This year you’re going to see a little bit more singles.

You were recently revealed as one of the Movement 2018 headliners amid a somewhat controversial lineup announcement. What are your thoughts on the social media clamor?

CS: I honestly just saw a few comments. I understand from the promoters’ standpoint. At the end of the day they do a festival for 30-40,000 people, and you will always hear people moaning about the lineup. Also, you can’t book the same people every year. You can’t book Jeff Mills and Richie Hawtin every year. You have to book other people. I think Diplo – who is, by what I hear, the person everybody is moaning about – I’m sure he’s not gonna play a cheesy EDM set. He’ll adjust and, I hope, play a more techno-style set. As for the other commercial acts, like I said, it’s a festival and they want to please several markets – and they want to grow. Nothing wrong with that. Also, if you consider this Movement lineup commercial have a look at EDC. The commercial names on Movement would be considered underground acts at EDC. I’m actually really happy to be on it.

“Tech house” is something of a dirty word among dance music purists these days. Although your style predates the descriptor, some of your music does share a lot in common with much of what has been termed such. Honestly, do you ever feel pressure to find ways of setting your releases apart from what comes out on labels like Toolroom?

CS: That is a very good question. Like I mentioned before, one of the secrets to my longevity as an artist is not really caring about trends. I’ve been making techno and house long before the term “tech house” existed. I used to call it “housey techno.” At the end of the day, if something is house and techno that’s the best of both worlds, and together it’s a great product. To me tech house, if done right, is not a dirty word. Of course, if you do the really commercial side of it, it sucks – but the same with techno. There’s a lot of shitty techno out there, so you just have to seek out the good music with any genre.

Tronic has provided a platform for several notable producers over the years. Currently, however, who do you consider to be the label’s most underrated artist?

CS: I would say Wehbba from Brazil. He is a fantastic producer and amazing DJ. He’s got two albums on Tronic and a single coming out on Drumcode next month, I think. He’s doing very well, but he should be doing even better. I hope the next single on Drumcode will give him a little bit more promotion so he gets out there a little bit more than he is now.

I couldn’t help but notice that you’re a sake fan, which appears to be a common drink of choice among techno producers. Have you tried Richie Hawtin’s ENTER. sake?

CS: Yes, of course. I’m friends with Richie so I’ve had all the different flavors that he has on his line.

Be honest – what’s your take on it?

CS: They’re really good. He’s teamed up with excellent sake producers from different regions in Japan, most of which are small, boutique producers. The quality of the sake is really impeccable. I really like sake, but I love wine. I’m also a big wine drinker. Not all techno guys only drink sake; if you look at the big picture there’s only Richie Hawtin and Dubfire who are really into sake. I like sake, of course, but if I had to choose between sake and wine I would choose wine.

Aside from tracklist entries on the aforementioned Tronic compilations, you’re still holding back on the production front so far in 2018. What can you tell us about your first big release of the year?

CS: My collaboration with John Selway is definitely gonna be my first big project of 2018. It’s coming out on March 5th, and I’m really excited about that because one is peak time dark techno and one is really musical but also really powerful at the same time. I’m excited about this project and I hope it will do well.