Detroit techno

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Detroit Techno is a stream of electronic music that developed in Detroit around the mid-1980s . She draws on elements of funk , electro-funk and house music, but is also strongly oriented towards European styles such as electro-pop , EBM or industrial . Detroit Techno is one of the pioneers of techno in the 1990s.

The concept

Detroit Techno is particularly modern in its outlook. It's a mesmerizing underground of new music, looks to the future with the past breaks and European Industrial - Pop with black American Garage radio mixes. Derrick May said that "his music goes beyond the beat". It's not just dance music , it's a series of sound experiments that defy the logic of simple and straightforward dance sounds like Chicago House .

Derrick May: “The philosophy that has been behind the term Techno from Detroit since the beginning means individuality , innovation , to be first and on top, and is in clear contrast to what we have always understood by bourgeois conformism , under Industrial serviceability and commercialization . Techno should be an alternative for people. ”May repeatedly turned against commercialization and against the ignorance of the history and origins of techno.

The origins

The electrifying mojo

This synonym stands for the father of three generations of Detroit techno activists. The Electrifying Mojo (Charles Johnson) is known for his distinctive radio voice. In his program he defied the "musical apartheid " in the US radio stations and played in a unique mix James Brown , Pink Floyd , The Parliament , Joni Mitchell , Aretha Franklin , Kraftwerk , Prince , The B-52’s , The Clash or also early electro and house productions and thus paved the way for European sound into the Detroit club scene.

Sharevari

In the early 1980s, Detroit had numerous high school party organizations. Their parties went so well that any organization was able to produce and press their own records. One such was Sharevari (1981) of the Act A Number Of Names , which consisted of students. “Sharevari” appeared before the well-known techno tracks by the Detroit act Cybotron (Richard Davies & Juan Atkins ).

Alvin Toffler

The book author Alvin Toffler wrote two authoritative books for Detroit techno. The Third Wave is about the third stage of technological development as a kind of future legacy without fear of the effects of the technological revolution we are in. In Future Shock (Future Shock) it comes that the company is going through a huge transformation, a revolution from an industrial society to a "Super industrial society." This change overwhelms people, the accelerated pace of technological and social change decouples them and they suffer from grueling stress and disorientation - they are shocked for the future. Toffler believes that most of the social problems are symptoms of future shock.

The first steps

The origins of Detroit Techno can be traced back to the synthesizer groups that were displaced in America in the 1970s, such as Kraftwerk and Yello, and to the more poppy British bands Heaven 17 , New Order , The Human League and Ultravox . Their music has elevated the synthesizer to the creative core of new music, which has prompted an entire generation to transform their homes into semi-professional studios. Black America - largely unknown in Europe - has heard this music with increasing fascination.

Juan Atkins , a student at Belleville High School and an avid Kraftwerk fan, started out with simple drum patterns on an old Roland DR-55 and refined his technique in the following years until he developed highly complex synthesizers that were heavily influenced by Europe. Could write tracks. In the heyday of electro funk, he wrote some tracks with his group Cybotron, of which he simply called Techno City, an homage to Detroit. At first he thought his sound was a uniquely daring piece of synthesized funk and more in tune with German music than black music. But then he got to know the track Planet Rock by Afrika Bambaataa on a discouraging trip to New York and discovered that the show had been stolen from his vision of a Spartan electronic dance sound. He went back to Detroit and renewed his friendship with his former classmates Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson . The three began to create their very own sound: Detroit Techno.

Detroit

Derrick May is considered a philosopher of Detroit techno. He sees the music as post- soul and believes it's a well-thought-out break with the traditions of black music: “The music is just like Detroit - a complete mistake. It's like locking George Clinton and Kraftwerk in an elevator with a sequencer to keep them social. "

Detroit symbolized the demise of an industrial city in the 1980s during an automotive crisis. The eponymous city and especially the subjective perception of Detroit during this time play a major role for the protagonists. It is perceived as broken, falling, cold and threatening. Detroit is also a divided, racially segregated city. The black population lives in the dilapidated inner city and the trailer parks on the 8 Mile and the white population in fenced, well-kept suburbs. That's why Detroit Techno is not positive and bright, but dark and melancholy.

"Techno is undoubtedly the music of Detroit, but it has none of the optimism of Motown - Labels . The city is reflected in the music in a disturbing way. Factories close and people drift away. Old industrial Detroit is falling apart, the structures are falling apart. It's the murder capital of America. Six-year-olds carry guns and thousands of blacks don't care if they ever find work again. If you make music in such an environment, it cannot be happy. In Great Britain there is New Order - we have New Disorder . "

- Derrick May

The increase in racial discrimination , violent crime and youth unemployment have also had an impact on music in this context. Eddie Flashin 'Fowlkes : “Detroit has its own face. You are walking down a street, someone suddenly drives past you, winds down the car window and tries to shoot you. ”With the end of Motown and the decline of the automotive industry , the potential for social conflict and the associated crime automatically increased. The resulting tension, this special form of aggression , was reflected in the music from then on.

Motown

Detroit was previously only known musically for Motown . Juan Atkins, who himself techno movement Detroit sees himself as the captain of the is a strong opponent of the Motown supremacy: " Berry Gordy has Motown on the same principles as the conveyors of Ford built. Nowadays cars of robots and computers built and I'm more interested than at Gordy's music at Ford's robots. "

Chicago

House music ( Chicago House ) was popular in Chicago around the same time . Numerous tracks from Detroit were successful there - be it Ride 'em Boy by Blake Baxter or Nude Photo and Strings of Life by Derrick May, which are adapted as acid house in Chicago . Still, May believes there are big differences between Chicago and Detroit: “It's a difference of respect. House still has his heart in the 70's disco that we don't have for the past. We are making dreams of the future and are more inclined to experiment. "

Influencing musical groups

Producers

First wave

Second wave

Third wave

In the meantime, records are being produced around the world, which in a broader or narrower sense can be assigned to the style of Detroit techno and electronics. Artists and labels such as Vince Watson from Scotland or Delsin Rec. From the Netherlands are downright specialized in the sound of the "Motor City", other artists irregularly publish individual pieces that can be assigned to Detroit techno (for example Laurent Garnier , The Hacker , Oxia , ...)

Major record label