Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan, in the United States during the mid-to-late 1980s. Stylistically, techno is generally repetitive instrumental music, oftentimes produced for use in a continuous DJ set.
Birth: 1985 Bloom: 1994
Juan Atkins,one of the founders of the style, once said: «Techno is the music that sounds like technology».
The initial take on techno arose from the melding of electronic music, in the style of artists such as Kraftwerk, Giorgio Moroder and Yellow Magic Orchestra, with African American music styles, including funk, electro, Chicago house and electric jazz. Added to this is the influence of futuristic and fictional themes relevant to life in American late capitalist society, with Alvin Toffler`s book The Third Wave being a notable point of reference. Pioneering producer Juan Atkins cites Toffler`s phrase «techno rebels» as inspiring him to use the word techno to describe the musical style he helped to create. This unique blend of influences aligns techno with the aesthetic referred to as afrofuturism. To producers such as Derrick May, the transference of spirit from the body to the machine is often a central preoccupation; essentially an expression of technological spirituality.
The genre hadn`t got a certain name even after the first track of this style «No UFO`s» by Model 500 (Juan Atkins` pseudonym) had been released in 1985. This music was called just house, new disco, or even hip-hop. The explosion of the interest to the underground dance music during the late 1980s provided a context for the development of techno as an identifiable genre. The mid-1988 UK release of «Techno! The New Dance Sound of Detroit», an album compiled by ex-Northern Soul DJ and Kool Kat Records boss Neil Rushton (at the time an A&R scout for Virgin's «10 Records» imprint) and Derrick May, was an important milestone and marked the introduction of the word techno in reference to a specific genre of music.
Initially, that compilation meant to be named as «The House Sound Of Detroit». But music that could be attributed to house was played in Chicago and sounded much different. That`s why there was used the word «techno».
In the USA techno music was underground, whereas in the UK techno gained mainstream success in the late 80s.
Also read: Tech House, Industrial Techno, Tech Trance
Deriative styles: Acid Techno, Bouncy Techno, Deep Techno, Detroit Techno, Dub Techno, Electro Techno, Euro Techno, Funky Techno, Ghettotech, Hard Techno, Melodic Techno, Minimal Techno, New Beat, Schranz, Yorkshire Bleeps and Bass
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