Distinguishing Minimal Techno and Tech House
Often times I can not say which one is which, although I suppose that tech house has more of a house drums feel and is less dark/strange, kinda like deep house but stripped down, whilst minimal has more delayed/decaying elements and a more alien feel. Can anyone help me out in understanding what separates these two genres?
thx
i think this topic could go much bigger. there are so many sub genres of music it all gets too confusing.
yea it could, and the general topic has been discussed on this forum in the past, but I am looking for personal thoughts on these 2 sub-genres as I feel they have many similar elements and even after quite a bit of listening to the 2, and I still find it tough. With sufficient listening most genres become elucidated quickly, however these are tough so if anyone has any pointers that could speed up what feels like has been a long road, with miles (or km) to go, i’d love to hear em.
yeah you pretty much nailed it in the first post.. i find tech house to have more depth to the overall sound and find it slightly bouncier with some drive
also the drum loops in techno seem more full, as in more elements, lots of small hits going on, not fuller kicks and snare (which I might award to tech house)
It’s quite simple really, but I blame beatport for the confusing of these sub genres. Anyway, minimal is exactly what it says. Minimal music contains a minimal amount of elements and the producer basically utilizes those elements and enhances them and develops or changes those specific sounds to create the flow of the song. With tech house there are more elements like in traditional techno, the trAcks just are not as “hard” and they tend to have normal house elements combined with the percussive elements you find in techno.
What may confuse you even more is there is minimal techno and minimal house. But let’s not get into that. 
to some extent I had hoped you might throw your 2 cents my way, I agree with what you said and am debating to change my tech house to being a subset of techno, or even making it and minimal their own separate genre, which is mixable, but very different (at least the stripped down aesthetic). At the very least I will have a mental connection between these two when mixing
ed. so thanks
I stick with the theory that when I previously dj’d before my long hiatus we didn’t have too many sub genres of house, now there are lots so I carry on with the if i like it i buy it theory, it seems that Deep House/Tech House and Minimal are the ones i love above all else, strangely they sound just like the House I played then but now it’s been sub catagoried! eg I don’t mind the odd vocal that was Garage it’s now Soulful House
either way I am working on my first Minimal/Tech mix, will be different to my Deep House mixes, as I feel you have much more leeway to mess with effects and loops as it’s fits the genre more.
as for the difference, Lance probably said it how i hear the music so can’t disagree 
Yeah Lance nailed it… but anyway… who cares? Music is music…
Usually, my favourite tracks seem to be the ones that don’t quite fit in anywhere… Which is why I store my tracks by purchase date.
Mixing the Genres is the only way i know how to DJ. I get to a point in a set/mix and i might think “right thats enough of that, time for a bit of this”. The genre is of no concern to me at all. If it fits the mood or changes the mood in the direction i want to go i play it.
I dont really like nites or DJs that stick to one thing. It gets very boring very quick especially if its to minimal [snooze]. Too many of the newer DJs that i come across in my town are way to wrapped up in Genre specific nites. Loosen up is what i say.
Oh yes, that’s the only way to go. Minimal djs are boring…
I look for groove, or energy, or contrast, or certain types of harmonies.
Minimal makes me want to take a nap, but after 15 minutes of hard style I need to leave the room or I start wanting to pull my hair out.
It’s all about diversity. Can’t we all just love EDM?
10 years ago it was all just called tech house. i dont know wtf is up with all these newfangled labels, marketing most likely.
Cosmic Fjord Funk. Thats my fave genre.
I used to dj primarily electro, but as my palette has widened I now do most everything, and it is interesting how I might enjoy doing two totally different sets depending on mood and how the set really evolves to take people to somewhere that they didnt start at.
as long as it is techy i like it.. but i find i can work in deep house to minimal to tech house to techno, and just about all over around there!! :shameless plug: http://lanceblaise.com/podcast/
(All of this is IMO)
Tech house usually follows a very defined house pattern i.e:
1 - Kick
2 - Kick + Clap/Snare
3 - Kick
4 - Kick + Clap/Snare
Minimal techno usually has more of the techno sound, where there may OR may not be claps on the 2 and the 4, but you also have a lot of the tech elements (i.e lots of small percussion notes, fx fills, etc intermixed in a bar).
Tech house has much more simplistic percussion patterns, minimal techno often times has a lot more going on, but the sounds used aren’t as pronounced.
A minimal track could have 6-10 different percussion notes or fx hits in each 4 beat bar, but the sounds are either detuned or processed in a way that makes their sound flatter or less noticeable individually in the overall mix of the track. Things like flat bass sounds, drums that are eq’d down in the highs, etc. are things you would find in minimal tracks.
With minimal, you might use 4-6 different notes/hits to create one meshed “sound”, where in tech house you’ll use one pronounced, unique drum hit or note for that sound.
Overall though (to me at least), there is a BIG difference between tech house and minimal techno, just as there is a big difference between house and techno.
tech house goes swoooooooooooooooooooooshhhhhh and then drops into the beats
minimal goes swiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeshhhhhh and then drops into the beats
there’s my two cents lol 
Only only a few genres of electronic music IMO.
Good
Ok
Bad
Shitty
Psy Trance