dj maddsound
Since I have already posted the History Of House Music, I thought that would pot this genre as well...
Techno as we know it started with the German band Kraftwerk. In 1970, Florian Schneider and Ralf Hütter began to churn out innovative electronic pop hits. In the United States Kraftwerk did not go unnoticed.
In the early ’80s a trio of pioneers in Detroit began merging the sounds of Kraftwerk with funk. Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson combined synthesizer beats with basslines inspired by Parliament, George Clinton, and Funkadelic. In 1983 Atkins and Richard Davies, aka 3070, released the hit “Techno City” under the name Cybotron. “Techno” was born.
Around the same time, the infant hip-hop community picked up elements of Kraftwerk’s music, thanks to DJs like Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash, and created electro. Electro relied heavily on synthesized beats and computery vocoder voices. In 1982, Afrika Bambaataa took the melody from Kraftwerk’s “Trans-Europe Express,” combined it with the chunky beat from Kraftwerk’s “Numbers,” and composed the anthem “Planet Rock.” Electro spawned the idea of the funky computer. MCs rapped over its beats, and breakdancers formed a new culture in the cities where electro reigned.
Techno and electro were made possible by new, inexpensive technology. The Roland TR-808, a programmable drum machine released in late 1980, formed the distinctive sound for the entire electro genre, and was used in countless early techno tracks. 1981’s Roland TB-303 mini-keyboard was used to create squelchy basslines for house and techno, once someone discovered the weird sounds that emerged from a little knob twiddling. Samplers and sequencers also became commonplace.
In the early ’90s, something odd happened. Techno, which had failed to gain mainstream success in the United States, became a huge phenomenon in Europe—especially in Great Britain. Meanwhile in the United States, electro died as hip-hop absorbed it. While ’80s techno was created almost entirely by African Americans, early ’90s techno was dominated by white Europeans.
Around 1990 enormous raves began to appear all over England. Organizers of these huge, illegal parties made lots of money dodging British licensing laws. The locations of most raves remained secret until the night of the event. Beforehand organizers distributed rave flyers emblazoned with a phone number. The night of the party, a message recorded at that number directed ravers to a meeting place where the real location of the party was divulged. Thousands of people descended on raves simultaneously, making them difficult to break up.
At these raves, a happy, simple style of techno called “hardcore” was born. DJs created these tracks with drug-addled dancers in mind. Unrelenting bass and fast beats accompanied chipmunky vocals and jingly pop-hooks. Many of these tracks were filled with copyright violations and were distributed on bootleg records called “white labels.” By 1992 hardcore was mainstream in England and The Prodigy’s “Charly” hit Number 3 on the pop charts. When the record industry realized techno could sell, the genre became much more commercialized.
Today the increased interest in techno allows more acts to see the light of day. A variety of record labels are cropping up with a new generation of artists. Currently, techno musicians with names like Autechre (Sean Booth and Rob Brown), Aphex Twin (Richard D. James), µ-ziq (Mike Paradinas), and Squarepusher (Tom Jenkinson), are creating alien atmospheres which push the boundaries of musical conventions.
A small group of minimalists keep Detroit-style techno alive. Richie Hawtin, an English-born Canadian who DJed in Detroit in the ’80s, produces music under the name “Plastikman.” Hawtin’s hypnotic tracks involve subtle changes in repetitive, syncopated percussion.
Where is techno headed? It’s difficult to say. More and more electronic music is being released, and the genres are becoming increasingly specialized. Styles like ambient and drum and bass are branching into new types of music that defy classification.
Techno has become the soundtrack for the wired world. Some of its original creators are approaching their forties, but many of its current listeners are in their twenties and early thirties—people who grew up with computers.
There is a certain sense of detachment that occasionally comes with encountering new technologies, but techno reminds us that humans control the machines, and electronics can be used to express funk and soul. Techno is as much a philosophy as a genre. It’s about Postmodern sampling and pushing the boundaries of technology. Techno fills the space between humans and their computer monitors.
MS
Techno as we know it started with the German band Kraftwerk. In 1970, Florian Schneider and Ralf Hütter began to churn out innovative electronic pop hits. In the United States Kraftwerk did not go unnoticed.
In the early ’80s a trio of pioneers in Detroit began merging the sounds of Kraftwerk with funk. Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson combined synthesizer beats with basslines inspired by Parliament, George Clinton, and Funkadelic. In 1983 Atkins and Richard Davies, aka 3070, released the hit “Techno City” under the name Cybotron. “Techno” was born.
Around the same time, the infant hip-hop community picked up elements of Kraftwerk’s music, thanks to DJs like Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash, and created electro. Electro relied heavily on synthesized beats and computery vocoder voices. In 1982, Afrika Bambaataa took the melody from Kraftwerk’s “Trans-Europe Express,” combined it with the chunky beat from Kraftwerk’s “Numbers,” and composed the anthem “Planet Rock.” Electro spawned the idea of the funky computer. MCs rapped over its beats, and breakdancers formed a new culture in the cities where electro reigned.
Techno and electro were made possible by new, inexpensive technology. The Roland TR-808, a programmable drum machine released in late 1980, formed the distinctive sound for the entire electro genre, and was used in countless early techno tracks. 1981’s Roland TB-303 mini-keyboard was used to create squelchy basslines for house and techno, once someone discovered the weird sounds that emerged from a little knob twiddling. Samplers and sequencers also became commonplace.
In the early ’90s, something odd happened. Techno, which had failed to gain mainstream success in the United States, became a huge phenomenon in Europe—especially in Great Britain. Meanwhile in the United States, electro died as hip-hop absorbed it. While ’80s techno was created almost entirely by African Americans, early ’90s techno was dominated by white Europeans.
Around 1990 enormous raves began to appear all over England. Organizers of these huge, illegal parties made lots of money dodging British licensing laws. The locations of most raves remained secret until the night of the event. Beforehand organizers distributed rave flyers emblazoned with a phone number. The night of the party, a message recorded at that number directed ravers to a meeting place where the real location of the party was divulged. Thousands of people descended on raves simultaneously, making them difficult to break up.
At these raves, a happy, simple style of techno called “hardcore” was born. DJs created these tracks with drug-addled dancers in mind. Unrelenting bass and fast beats accompanied chipmunky vocals and jingly pop-hooks. Many of these tracks were filled with copyright violations and were distributed on bootleg records called “white labels.” By 1992 hardcore was mainstream in England and The Prodigy’s “Charly” hit Number 3 on the pop charts. When the record industry realized techno could sell, the genre became much more commercialized.
Today the increased interest in techno allows more acts to see the light of day. A variety of record labels are cropping up with a new generation of artists. Currently, techno musicians with names like Autechre (Sean Booth and Rob Brown), Aphex Twin (Richard D. James), µ-ziq (Mike Paradinas), and Squarepusher (Tom Jenkinson), are creating alien atmospheres which push the boundaries of musical conventions.
A small group of minimalists keep Detroit-style techno alive. Richie Hawtin, an English-born Canadian who DJed in Detroit in the ’80s, produces music under the name “Plastikman.” Hawtin’s hypnotic tracks involve subtle changes in repetitive, syncopated percussion.
Where is techno headed? It’s difficult to say. More and more electronic music is being released, and the genres are becoming increasingly specialized. Styles like ambient and drum and bass are branching into new types of music that defy classification.
Techno has become the soundtrack for the wired world. Some of its original creators are approaching their forties, but many of its current listeners are in their twenties and early thirties—people who grew up with computers.
There is a certain sense of detachment that occasionally comes with encountering new technologies, but techno reminds us that humans control the machines, and electronics can be used to express funk and soul. Techno is as much a philosophy as a genre. It’s about Postmodern sampling and pushing the boundaries of technology. Techno fills the space between humans and their computer monitors.
MS
Posted Fri 10 Feb 06 @ 3:32 am
dj maddsound
@ Moderators
Could you make this a sticky please...
MS
Could you make this a sticky please...
MS
Posted Fri 10 Feb 06 @ 3:35 am