‘In truth, once upon a time, exiles from England, from the West, came to the Czech Republic to occupy its welcoming territory. And in the Czech Republic, due to the conditions and mentality, this became one of the mainstream cultures — existing to this day, normalized by the everydayness of Czech life.’
Czechia is a nation where free tekno is a mainstream musical genre. The Czech population is more deeply immersed in free tekno than anywhere else in the world. It’s not just a subculture—it has become a kind of normalized escape, even for people who aren’t fully involved. While it’s true that France (Bretagne, Occitanie, Marseille—major base for several established sound system and one of the worst area, danger area in France) has the largest free tekno community in absolute numbers, when adjusted for population size, Czechia has the largest. It’s a central hub for the European sound system scene (probably this is the reason why Czech free tekno community tried in a past for absolute biggest free tekno event in Europe, Czechtek). And unlike most countries in the European Union, free tekno is relatively tolerated here.
If you look at another dominant electronic music trend in Czechia—neurofunk or crossbreed—you’ll notice a connection between that and the reasons why free tekno is so mainstream. The free tekno community itself often acknowledges that neurofunk or crossbreed are subgenres of drum and bass that are acceptable to listen to.
Another reason for the fragile borders between free tekno and neurofunk in Czechia lies in the nature of raving here, especially in connection with drug use. Just as free tekno is often experienced in a hypnotic state induced by substances, neurofunk or crossbreed can evoke similar sensations.
It’s also common that, when someone in Czechia starts attending drum and bass parties, they are very quickly exposed to the world of free tekno. Unfortunately, liquid drum and bass—often the gateway into the genre—can be the reason why someone is almost immediately confronted with the mainstream forms of neurofunk and free tekno, simply because free tekno ravers are so involved in the broader Czech drum and bass scene. Many Czech drum and bass DJs are also part of the free tekno subculture. Likewise, free tekno DJs—such as Suburbass—often play neurofunk at typical neurofunk events. For example, Come Forward (2020) by Imanu was popular at Czech drum and bass events because its 174 BPM sounds similar to tekno tempo. Similarly, jungletek (Mandidextrous, for example) is now popular at Czech drum and bass events because its speed is close to that of tekno.
Another factor is drug culture. Raving in Czechia often involves heavier drug use than in Western European countries. For example, Czech methamphetamine, which is non-existent in Western Europe, plays a role. Ravers frequently gravitate toward free tekno, where there are no real boundaries around drug use, and people can function as junkies without judgment. In that space, there’s no need to spend money on civilized behavior—like clean clothes—because everything goes toward drugs. Meanwhile, they may not have enough money for tickets to more organized drum and bass events. This is something you see very often in Czechia. Although techno has its politics in Detroit Afrofuturism, or Berlin queer liberation, or ADE (Amsterdam Dance Event) professional, licensed sphere operate within [Dutch] system, what a man see at Czech drum and bass scene, the same applies to the broader Czech techno scene. Czech clubs itself—as is Cross Club Prague or Storm Club Prague—are involved in free tekno subculture.
In this environment, it can be difficult for liquid drum and bass artists. Their music might be the reason someone first gets into drum and bass—listening at home—but once that person attends a drum and bass event in Czechia, they’re immediately thrown into a scene dominated by neurofunk, crossbreed, and free tekno.