Detroit Techno

Origins

Source – Wikipedia

The three individuals most closely associated with the birth of Detroit techno as a genre are the “Belleville Three“; Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May. (More specific readings on the Belleville Three). These three high school friends from a Detroit suburb would soon find their basement tracks in dancefloor demand, thanks in part to seminal Detroit radio personality The Electrifying Mojo. Ironically, Derrick May once described Detroit techno music as being a “complete mistake…like George Clinton and Kraftwerk caught in an elevator, with only a sequencer to keep them company.”^[1]

Detroit techno music was originally thought of as a subset to Chicago’s early style of house.^[2] However, some critics believe that the Detroit techno movement was an adjunct to the house music.^[3] (Named so for the new style of music played at a Chicago nightclub called “The Warehouse”). Although producers in both cities used the same hardware and even collaborated on projects and remixes together, Detroiters traded the choir-friendly vocals of House with metallic clicks, robotic voices and repetitive hooks reminiscent of an automotive assembly line. Many of the early techno tracks had futuristic or robotic themes, although a notable exception to this trend was a single by Derrick May under his pseudonym Rhythm is Rhythm, called “Strings of Life.” This vibrant dancefloor anthem was filled with rich synthetic string arrangements and took the underground music scene by storm in May of 1987. With subtle differences between the genres, clubs in both cities included Detroit techno and Chicago house tracks in their playlists without objection (or much notice by non-audiophiles) from patrons.

A small selection of Detroit techno, some obvious and some not some obvious.

Blake Baxter – Forever And A Day (mixed by Kevin Saunderson)

Cisco Ferreira – Cisco’s Groove

Fade II Black – The Calling

Wiggin [The Remix]

Inner City – Big Fun

Reese & Santonio – The sound (acid remix)

R-Tyme – Illusion (Mayday Mix)

Dark Comedy – War.of.the.worlds-epic.mix

K-Alexi – My Medusa

Rhythim Is Rhythim – Beyond The Dance

Rhythim is Rhythim – Sinister (trolley mix)