IN DECEMBER, a local news rag published an article on local electronic-music producer Fred Giannelli, a/k/a " The Kooky Scientist. " In that article, Giannelli stated his dislike for the popular electronic-music scene. His opinion on that subject, naturally, created quite a stir in the local dance-music community, and the ensuing blow-up generated a lot of publicity — most of it unkind — for Giannelli. There was one letter to the Editor in particular (that was printed soon after the article came out) that really attacked Gianelli in a vindictive way. Which was just fine with him.

" Friends of mine thought I wrote the letter as a publicity stunt, which would have made me a genius, but the sad fact is that I didn’t even have to write that letter, " says Giannelli with a laugh. " That’s the majority of people around here. They aren’t even aware of underground electronic music. They think the [mainstream] stuff … is great stuff. "

The truth is that many of Boston’s clubgoers may not be familiar with Giannelli’s career. His work might not reach the mainstream electronic-music fan. For better or for worse, his product is rarely found blaring on the sound systems of Boston’s larger and better-known clubs. But although he’s often overlooked locally, his importance to the international music scene is great. Giannelli’s Telepathic Records label was associated with techno-god Richie Hawtin’s Plus 8 Records, and Giannelli is praised for his influence on Plus 8’s unique, futuristic techno sound. His 1997 debut album on Plus 8, Unpopular Science, is considered a modern techno classic. He has also worked with everyone from Hawtin to My Life with the Thrill Kill Cult.

Giannelli began his music career long before most electronic-music fans were even born. A Boston native, he played in local bands as a teen, and later had one of the first electronic-music shows on WZBC. In the late ’70s, Giannelli played guitar in several bands, where he first got the taste for machines. His band in high school lacked a drummer, so he made one — electronically. Turning Shrines, his first recording project, came together in the early ’80s. In the mid ’80s, he met cult figure Genesis P-Orridge, who shared the musician’s love for sounds.

Giannelli later joined Orridge’s infamous band, Psychic TV, where he did everything from production and DJing to playing guitar; his programming was an integral part of the band’s contribution to the Acid House revolution that changed the face of England’s music scene forever. Giannelli remembers the atmosphere of the now-legendary Acid House era as being very different from today’s club scene. " That was the thing about Acid House, " he says. " You went to an Acid House club in ’88 in England, and everyone wanted to dance. No one paid any attention to the DJ. It was all about getting into the music. Or the drugs, if you were into that. "

Acid House soon came to an end, but Giannelli was creative enough to evolve. He continued to work on his own music, and a chance meeting in 1991 led to his collaboration with Richie Hawtin. Along with Hawtin and many others, he contributed to another electronic-music revolution, Detroit’s second wave of techno. Hawtin and

Giannelli worked together as Spawn; later, Hawtin’s Plus 8 Records helped push Giannelli’s first endeavor as the Kooky Scientist, an incarnation that would come to define his quirky and strikingly original techno sound.

Giannelli’s live performance at the Phoenix Landing on September 4 will mark the Telepathic label’s 10-year anniversary. " Ten years ago, my friend was murdered, and I remember I went out to Richie Hawtin’s house to do a second Spawn record, " he says. " His house had been hit by lightning, so a lot of his equipment had been fried. So we were both in really bad moods, and we didn’t get a record done. But from that visit, they offered to help me to do a label, so I came home and made the first record for my label. "

Ten years have passed, and Telepathic Records has churned out over 30 critically acclaimed releases. Giannelli has also produced tracks for several other labels, including the Fuck Trance EP, which was released on the Detroit label D Records this year. And while Giannelli may not be a household name to most electronic-music fans, he maintains that doesn’t matter. His goal is simply to produce music he deems quality electronic dance music, despite his dissatisfaction with the current scene. " There is tons of stuff out there now, and everyone is drowning from the tidal wave of mediocrity, which is a good thing and a bad thing, " Giannelli says. " If you can stand out from the mediocrity, even though you won’t sell much, it’s a good thing. "

PHOTO BY KULAPHOTO.COM

Issue Date: August 27 - September 10, 2002