Technics celebrate 30 years of dance music culture with the launch of Technics1210.com the official legacy website

This year Technics, the renowned audio sub-brand of Panasonic celebrates its 30th anniversary. Over the last 21 years, Technics has been at the epicentre of musical culture, with its SL1200 series of turntables being the favourite of DJs since scratching and spinning began. The ambitious website http://www.technics1210.com, which will form part of the anniversary celebrations, was conceptualised at Deepend and completed by the newly formed design and communications partnership de-construct. As well as showcasing new products, the site will focus on the SL1210 turntable and how it came to achieve its iconic status, explored in the two key areas of the site; a cultural timeline and a sound flyer.

Interviews and testimonials from some of the worlds most influential DJs (Todd Terry, Graeme Park, Cash Money, DJ Craze, Howie B, Maseo from De La Soul and Sasha) along with anecdotes from the original SL1210 design team have been gathered by the de-construct team and its project consultant, DJ, photographer and presenter Normski, to create an audio-visual journey through 3 decades of Technics culture. The timeline outlines the evolution of dancefloor music and the pivotal role that the SL1210s have played. Represented as a visually striking retrospective, it stretches across a graphical backdrop inspired by club flyers and supported by photography, the majority of which has been supplied by PYMCA and Normski. The user navigates by spinning the turntable to pull content accompanied by a soundtrack created by independent sound designer Richard House that forms a generic representation of major influences and key moments in dancefloor music.

In addition to the absorbing narrative content, the website features a unique 'sound tool that allows users to create their own tune. The online sequencer was completed by Richard House to offer the choice of 3 genres; hip-hop, drum and bass and house with the DJ contributors from the timeline now being invited to submit additional loops and beats for the timeline -- the first contributor will be Leroy from the Prodigy, who will create his own tune as a demo of the sound tool. By incorporating the composers personal details and chosen song title, the resulting visual interpretation of the sound forms a completely unique flyer. The tune can then be emailed to friends. However they can only see the flyer, in order to hear it, friends have to visit the Technics site. Tunes are uploaded to a forum area of the site where people are able vote for their favourites. The winning composers will be eligible for prizes including limited edition products created by the Technics original design team. The individual personal flyers can then be screen printed onto a T-shirt available to buy online, promoting elements of exclusivity and desirability, in keeping with the SL1210 values of originality, style and discernment.

The Technics website and supporting viral marketing are intended to develop an online community around appreciating music and making tunes.

Following the launch of the site there will be a special birthday celebration at an exclusive venue, with material from the event encoded and uploaded to the site. Special guests will include some of the most influential DJs, as well as music industry movers and shakers, with some limited tickets to be won on the technics1210.com site. Current plans, which are yet to be finalised, could see the We Love brand partnering with Technics to create a We Love Technics" event on New Years Day.