Minimal techno's parallels to Reich/Riley/Young phase and drone music may be an accidental artifact of loop-based tools

Writer Daniel Chamberlin draws parallels between productions by Richie Hawtin, Wolfgang Voigt and Surgeon and the phase-music techniques of Steve Reich, plus La Monte Young’s sine-tone drones and the repetitive patterns of Terry Riley’s ‘In C’. However, Philip Sherburne suggests these similarities to American minimalism ‘could easily be accidental’: much EDM technology was designed for loop-based composition, which naturally yields loop and pattern-phasing features resembling Reich’s. So the resemblance may stem from shared tools rather than deliberate influence.

Examples

Listen to Steve Reich’s ‘Music for 18 Musicians’ alongside Richie Hawtin’s Plastikman material. Identify repeated motifs, phasing, and gradual change as shared compositional techniques.

Assessment

Name the classical minimalist composers whose techniques are compared to minimal techno, and explain Sherburne’s argument for why the resemblance may be accidental rather than an influence.