Ibiza Virgins' Guide to... Minimal music

Ibiza is known for its dance music the world over, but that is an umbrella term for various different styles. Our series on the genres of music found on the island helps identify the parties, clubs and DJs best suited to your tastes.

Burrowing deep into the underground, our spotlight next moves on to Minimal music.

Perhaps it would be simpler to present a playlist of tracks to determine what can be considered Minimal

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Ibiza parties where Minimal is played in 2024:

Music On at Pacha | Fridays
Pyramid (Terrace, Ricardo Villalobos dates) at Amnesia | Sundays
extENDed at 528 Ibiza | 8 September only
HOME//GRXWN at 528 Ibiza | 15 September only
TRIP at Club Chinois | Saturdays
PIV at Cova Santa | bi-monthly Thursdays
Eastenderz at Cova Santa | monthly Thursdays
Do Not Sleep at Cova Santa | monthly Thursdays
tINI & the gang at Akasha | Tuesdays in August
SlapFunk Records at Akasha | selected Fridays
Appetite Ibiza at Club Chinois | 9 July and 1 October only
Josh Baker presents You&Me at Cova Santa | 29 August only
One Night Stand (Next sideroom at NOSPACE) at Eden | Fridays

What defines the Minimal sound?

Making Minimal music is an art form. Well, at least to make interesting Minimal is.

The concept involves stripping away channels to leave the bare bones. Modest musical elements, such as simple arrangements, sparse beats, repetitive pulses, consonant harmony and single loops are the essential spine, where almost all the auxiliary organs are removed.

Stating the obvious, but with less to work with, Minimal tracks need a certain 'something' to hook the listener in. Tracks need to maximise the potential of its limited components.

Though we talk of the simplistic nature of this type of music, it's harder to produce than it might initially seem. With so few elements involved, there's nowhere to hide and the line between subtle and dull is very fine indeed. Less is more (but only if you can master it!).

Minimal's origins

Like with many forms of music, especially dance music, Minimal has been somewhat culturally appropriated.

Taking it back to its roots, we begin with Detroit Techno originator Robert Hood (one half of father-daughter duo, Floorplan). Hood's 1994 masterpiece Minimal Nation is widely regarded as the first Minimal long-player. An important foundation of Minimal Techno, the record is a great place to start when examining how Minimal production styles work.

Created using a simple set-up of synths and drum machines, Minimal Nation showcased the producer stripping back Techno's traits to just its core audio components.

Though we don't tend to associate Robert Hood too heavily the genre today, he definitely paved the way for what it has become.

Modern Minimal

Introducing you to some of the names of DJs synonymous with the style, you may already be familiar with old guards like Ricardo Villalobos, Apollonia, Zip and Craig Richards.

[a:rpia:r] Soundsystem, Nicolas Lutz, Margaret Dygas, East End Dubs, Chris Stussy, Francesco Del Garda, and Sonja Moonear are names that might be unknown to you now. After you've dipped your toes in, you're likely to see their names crop up more often.

2022 sees the electronic music scene inundated with labels, producers and DJs delving into Minimal and each making their own interpretation.

One example of this is prominent London-based label and party series FUSE, spearheaded by Enzo Sirugusa. Selling-out pop-up parties, as well as having a substantial back-catalogue of music, FUSE oversaw Minimal's rise in popularity in the UK.

In the modern day, it's fair to say that Minimal is one of the sounds carrying the underground party scene. DJs and producers to keep an eye in include Toman, Josh Baker, Elliot Schooling & Liam Palmer, Casey Spillman and Rossi.

Setting the record straight

Having read all that and at the risk of confusing you, here's the bombshell: "Minimal" in-and-of itself is not a genre. Rather it's a production technique. Therefore you can have Minimal House, Minimal Techno and even Minimal Garage.

Here's an overview of the different types you might encounter.

Although the tweaks between them can be subtle, you might be able to distinguish the differences between each one - even you novices!

Minimal House (Deep-Tech)

Commonly referred to as "Deep-Tech" nowadays, this is a reduced version of House music that is essentially Tech House stripped right down to the bare essentials. Deep-Tech makes groove the primary focus, with bass and melody taking a back-seat.

It's dubby to such an extent, it almost sounds underwater.

Minimal Techno

Although it has waned in popularity recently thanks to a desire for faster, more pumping Techno, for a while Minimal was big. Championed by Richie Hawtin and his reference point label M-NUS, it is linear in composition, rolling in nature and almost completely absent of "drops".

It has a plinky-plonk sound and features unusual, sometimes disorientating noises.

Ro-Minimal

Romanian DJs and producers have played a big part in the uptake of Minimal music. With annual festivals like Sunwaves attracting crowds from all over the globe, it has a big domestic scene and widening global influence. Names such as Praslea, Cristi Cons, Barac and Mihai Popoviciu are just a few of the DJs pushing this sound - hence the tag "Ro-Minimal".