Cool to see so much discussion about techno on here!
I’ve been a huge dance music fan/nerd ever since I was a teenager and techno is my favourite genre, particularly the deeper and more hypnotic varieties.
Would be cool to chat techno more with people from this site (and further afield, but I guess I’m thinking the shared interest in tech is another thing in common), I find sites like Reddit don’t really work for me for whatever reason... would there be any interest in a Discord or whatever for techies who like techno? (lol, sorry). Could be fun to share musical discoveries and maybe lead to other interesting connections.
I'm pleased to see accuracy in the history of techno.
I for one did not know it's roots took place back in the 70s and from the black community.
These days when I look at techno artists and their raving followers, its prodimently white. I have since taken active steps to seek out the lesser know black artists to support.
Many modern music fundamentals are origins from the black community and very little is correctly attributed and/or black artists are sidelined.
I love techno / house music. I’ve been unable to shake it since I caught the bug many many years ago in Kenya. It came as a pleasant surprise and shock to meet Carl Craig at thanksgiving some years back. My wife neglected to mention he was her cousin — real Detroit House music royalty. They understand he’s big somehow but all that is lost because techno and house are not considered “American” or “black” music for that matter. I’ve had the pleasure of hanging out on stage with Carl watching him do his thing which I could have never imagined happening.
I find live performances quite nostalgic for obvious (pandemic) reasons. Along those same lines, Fatboy Slim at BA i360 in Brighton UK is worth experiencing:
Edit: I'll just add that these histories are always subjective and regional. This one seems to focus on "pure" techno, but overlooks artists like Ken Ishii and skips over the first peak techno era with Eon, Lords of Acid, Bizarre Inc, etc.
Edit 2: and no mention of Phuture's Acid Tracks? A crime I say!!
This is about as conventional a narrative as you can get. I've never been happy with it though, it's way too much of a tidy, linear, clean through-line.
For instance, this narrative always leave out free-style and electro like Hashim (example: 1983, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykK0uEjSsqY), Newcleus, etc. Soulsonic Force (1982: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHQ11l4uiM4) predated Atkins Cybotron project and Atkins even said he didn't see a huge difference between the free-style, electro, and what he was doing.
It also leaves out Italo Disco and the British New Wave movement. Take the intro to 1983's Hypnotic Tango by My Mine for instance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6EbVwOumlE
They do an obligatory Kraftwerk but the entire berlin school and midera is left out in the cold as well (Tangerine Dream for example. 1975, Ricochet P2 for instance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoSNbCNYsA4) along with artists who were giant in their day like Jean Michelle Jarre.
Also what's left out are the other influential Krautrock artists like Manuel Göttsching and his 1981 E2-E4 album. (https://youtu.be/ys0HyevZpQg).
There's also the left-field weird albums that were mighty influential at the time, such as Misa Criolla by Fuego (1981: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Era1x9hRnBQ) There's your "four-on-the-floor" with tape loop sampling. Speaking of children What about the next year,
Liaisons Dangereuses - Los Niños Del Parque ... https://youtu.be/a_sAH2QGotE there's your techno
Or what about Stopps "I'm Hungry" from 1983? https://youtu.be/I26lP56-UeA ... this strange track was played in Chicago house clubs, Belgium pre rave new beat "acid house" parties and the early EBM scene. Pretty expansive one to leave out
And keeping things in the US, they always ignore the west coast, with outfits like Megatone records out of san francisco and gay club music (eg Hi-NRG) and people like Bobby Orlando.
Anyway the history is vast and rich and this article is essentially the same story that's always written. I dunno, I almost feel like this structure misses the boat. I know that's a big claim.
It's a shame this isn't the top comment, because it's a lot more interesting than Ishkur's smartassery and all the across-the-pond sniping.
There used to be a great website called Deep House Page which archived loads of Hot Mix 5 mixes, and you could really hear just how diverse that early era of post-disco dance music was, before it even got pigeonholed into "house" or "techno" and the myriad of subgenres that came since. Sadly the page has disappeared, and I'm not sure where to find the mixes now.
Meanwhile, in parallel, people in other countries were experimenting with synthesizers and unconventional composition too. I remember finding mixtapes of an obscure Australian band called Hugo Klang (https://hugoklang.bandcamp.com/) who were doing techno-y stuff with the 303 a few years before Phuture put together their seminal tune.
Without a doubt the big names that everyone remembers as the progenitors were hugely influential. Already in the 90s people were writing articles that started out exactly like this one, so we're already a full generation into the myth. But it's still interesting to go digging and find all the other stuff that surely played a part in influencing all the other people whose stories never got written up.
Histories of techno always leave out some of my favorites from the early 2000s Adam Beyer / Drumcode era of fast maximalist techno—Zenit records for instance
Great song picks. Absolutely agree. Hell, the article even largely omits the massive influence of house on techno in general, as most of these narratives seem to do.
As a result, many people seem to think techno preceded house. But taking the view that Juan Atkins' early 80s work was basically electro and not yet really "techno", it's pretty clear that house was already quite prevalent prior to techno becoming a distinct genre.
And even then, early 80s italo-disco was leagues ahead of house in terms of production quality... a few of my personal favorites:
These articles always mention "Shari Vari" since it's so early (1981) and influential (and still good!) but I always find it odd that they omit so many great tracks from the next few years.
"As stated below by Jerry Calliste Jr., this video is not and original version of Hashim - Al Naafiysh (The Soul). Probably it was made for the purposes of one of the UK television programs, like " The Tube", during the early 80's. This recording is one of the first hip hop stories to be seen and published on the British Television. The track "Al Naafiysh (The Soul), was originally used for this video, added by unknown author or crew which worked on the video, as the only thing that was known so far, was Geoff Stern, the director."
One clue to this is that there isn't anyone smoking in the video, and the tube windows have a "no smoking" roundel. The smoking ban on the London Underground came in on the 9th July 1984.
Just out of curiosity: What do you mean by New Wave in this context? When I hear new wave I think of acts such as Adam and the Ants and Duran Duran. But are they related to techno?
Agree. It's always such a 'just so' with these kinds of articles about Detroit techno. That being said, I think Kraftwerk is actually a little underrated in their influence. I know that probably seems hard to believe given the praise they got, but there was something about the spectre of 4 white robo-mannequins that triggered some latent afro-futurist impulse that, for me, goes back to Sun Ra and Alice Coltrane.
I'm surprised there's no mention of New Order's Blue Monday in there. I thought it was seen as a key moment in the history of techno? Can anyone with more knowledge than me comment on why it isn't there?
There were tons of electronic dance tunes during that period of time. Blue Monday was a great tune and had some great original ideas, but it at the peak of synth pop.
That same year, Phuture released Acid Tracks which influenced Hawtin to make Spastik.
Agreed. It is apparently "the biggest selling 12-inch single ever." But maybe because of its classic song structure (verse/chorus), it is not lumped in with what is typically considered techno.
Simon Reynolds's book Energy Flash is a pretty good read on the history of early techno / rave culture up to about the 90s (if I remember corectly, it's been awhile). A lot of history regarding Detroit techno and the roots of the genre.
I've been listening to techno (not EDM in general, Techno) since the 90s. It's definitely my favorite music for deep work; something about the tight repetitive loops is just perfect for concentration. Since the pandemic started I've been listening to techno mixes almost constantly in order to mask the noise from everyone else in my house. Initially, I found it difficult to find decent mixes since Techno has become a generic term for EDM. I just returned to following the genre so I really didn't know where to look. However once I found a single Soundcloud account curating mixes of the style I like, it opened up an unlimited supply of music through following recommendations. Maybe someone will find this useful:
EDIT: There's craploads of content, a lot of styles, although I will observe that oldschool sounds have continued to come back in a big way in 2020. Rave, electro, acid.
I've got about 40 or so playlists on SoundCloud for individual techno DJs I like, as well as a couple for general techno mixes - they're all the ones with "techno" in the title :) You'll find a some overlap with the artists in your playlist in fact, I've got playlists for Ben Sims, The Advent and Drumcell that I found in the first minute of scrolling through it.
What sort of techno do you prefer? The artists I've got are mostly the tougher end of European techno, there's also some Detroit techno, acid techno and hard techno/schranz. You can look at my likes for my favourites...
I've also been into techno since the 90s and it's still my favourite thing in the world :) The combination of relentless kick drum and the constantly changing synths and percussion never fails to draw me in. It manages to sooth my ADHD with the constant heartbeat of the kick drum while the constant progression of everything else serves to keep my attention from wondering off after a few bars.
Not sure if you have spotify, but here's my "techno" playlist that has over 800 songs in it so far. I put techno in quotes because I'm sure someone can find songs in there that aren't "real techno" but you won't find any big room EDM, that's for sure.
Slam, Adam Beyer (Drumcode) and Chris Liebling (CLR) are all good places to start. They all have weekly radio stations.
From there on you can follow an guest DJs who you like the style off.
Also when did “techno” become an umbrella term again? I was possessed off enough when “EDM” was redefined as a specific genre (and such a lousy one at that).
I think the repetitive loops of percussion and basslines let you keep a certain part of your mind "busy" so you can focus on other things. Like it occupies some sort of nervous energy and let's other areas of the mind run more free.
I agree completely - techno is hypnotic and almost by design is meant to be heard and not listened to, and I find this really helps me maintain focus/flow while working. No vocals, ear catching melodies, or overdone chord progressions that try to grab your attention. Techno is my go to work music for this reason!
Cercle channel on YouTube puts out some great techno shows. They go to historical places and record a set with some of the best djs
Here is the link for Pan-Pot set
https://youtu.be/hENgrbIMiy4
Just to pitch in a suggestion for anyone looking: NTS radio and boiler room both have a huge number of mixes by techno artists - generally speaking I find artists by listening to mixes on NTS and checking the track list and then find mixes by them on boiler room.
I maintain a YouTube playlist called "music to hack by" which is up to over 500 songs now. Basically the criteria are: 1) electronic 2) has a beat (no ambient) 3) few to no vocals, with only one or two exceptions
Not really. Not in the in sense of where the music came from. I'd agree on an enjoyment level it taps into something similar. But the roots of the genre as far as I am aware owe nothing to tribal music.
If you want to go back a little further and understand why Germany and Kraftwerk always feature so prominently in articles written about the history of Techno then I recommend reading about WDR Studio in Köln.
WDR Electronic Music Studio was sponsored by the then West German state beginning in the early 1950s. Its charter was basically to promote a musical identity that was a contrast to the GDR's populist state music policy. Kraftwerk's Ralf Hutter listened to the radio broadcasts that came out WDR. Everyone from Karlheinz Stockhausen to Conny Plank worked out of WDR Studios. The following are couple of good articles on WDR Studio:
An accurate history. Got to see where this music evolved from in real time. Worked in an all-black mailroom (except me) in the 70s where there was one station and one station only: Los Angeles’ KISS 106. You heard Cerrone, Cameo, Toto, Grandmaster Flash, Prince, Teena Marie, Kool and the Gang, Black Russian, EWF—-the least formatted format on the market. It was a Cambrian explosion of dance music, much of which became the basis of techno styles.
Combine that with the fact that Southern California set so many music trends, and literally nothing until about the Nirvana era was even remotely new to me for decades (and of course Nirvana’s music style isn’t particularly new to anyone who listened to the White Album or Iggy Pop, not that it’s not great music). It was all recycled constantly in the dance music world and continues to be to this day.
Techno and hiphop so obviously came out of these roots that I laugh every time someone names a new variant of EDM, which is about twice a week. Prince, Earth, Wind and Fire, and Kool in the Gang didn’t even call themselves R&B groups. They called themselves rock bands, intentionally. Nothing new etc.
[+] [-] tomduncalf|4 years ago|reply
I’ve been a huge dance music fan/nerd ever since I was a teenager and techno is my favourite genre, particularly the deeper and more hypnotic varieties.
Check out Donato Dozzy’s 2008 Labyrinth set for an idea of what I mean, it blew my mind at the time (still does) and redefined my musical tastes quite a lot: https://soundcloud.com/user-602354628/sets/dozzy-labyrinth-2...
Would be cool to chat techno more with people from this site (and further afield, but I guess I’m thinking the shared interest in tech is another thing in common), I find sites like Reddit don’t really work for me for whatever reason... would there be any interest in a Discord or whatever for techies who like techno? (lol, sorry). Could be fun to share musical discoveries and maybe lead to other interesting connections.
[+] [-] mqp|4 years ago|reply
I for one did not know it's roots took place back in the 70s and from the black community.
These days when I look at techno artists and their raving followers, its prodimently white. I have since taken active steps to seek out the lesser know black artists to support.
Many modern music fundamentals are origins from the black community and very little is correctly attributed and/or black artists are sidelined.
[+] [-] 8bitsrule|4 years ago|reply
http://www.bleep43.com/bleep43/2009/10/4/juan-atkins-intervi...
'Alleys of Your Mind'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMHNhJJnve4
[+] [-] Dowwie|4 years ago|reply
Kraftwerk's first live recorded performance was in 1970: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWUiLJnEYJI
How many people in the 1970 audience sensed that they were listening to something as significant as what it became?
[+] [-] fodmap|4 years ago|reply
Here's the book in Spanish https://archive.org/details/latelegrafiarapida.eltritecladoy... and this is a homage to his work in 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFZk6WrbOKw
[+] [-] dkobia|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] josht|4 years ago|reply
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqz8c4ZP3Wg.
I find live performances quite nostalgic for obvious (pandemic) reasons. Along those same lines, Fatboy Slim at BA i360 in Brighton UK is worth experiencing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AvC05kXS9I.
[+] [-] the-dude|4 years ago|reply
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26212706
[+] [-] radley|4 years ago|reply
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfRh37c5lvivabQPDnLGR...
It's pretty challenging to play along.
Edit: I'll just add that these histories are always subjective and regional. This one seems to focus on "pure" techno, but overlooks artists like Ken Ishii and skips over the first peak techno era with Eon, Lords of Acid, Bizarre Inc, etc.
Edit 2: and no mention of Phuture's Acid Tracks? A crime I say!!
[+] [-] kristopolous|4 years ago|reply
For instance, this narrative always leave out free-style and electro like Hashim (example: 1983, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykK0uEjSsqY), Newcleus, etc. Soulsonic Force (1982: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHQ11l4uiM4) predated Atkins Cybotron project and Atkins even said he didn't see a huge difference between the free-style, electro, and what he was doing.
It also leaves out Italo Disco and the British New Wave movement. Take the intro to 1983's Hypnotic Tango by My Mine for instance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6EbVwOumlE
They do an obligatory Kraftwerk but the entire berlin school and midera is left out in the cold as well (Tangerine Dream for example. 1975, Ricochet P2 for instance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoSNbCNYsA4) along with artists who were giant in their day like Jean Michelle Jarre.
Also what's left out are the other influential Krautrock artists like Manuel Göttsching and his 1981 E2-E4 album. (https://youtu.be/ys0HyevZpQg).
There's also the left-field weird albums that were mighty influential at the time, such as Misa Criolla by Fuego (1981: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Era1x9hRnBQ) There's your "four-on-the-floor" with tape loop sampling. Speaking of children What about the next year, Liaisons Dangereuses - Los Niños Del Parque ... https://youtu.be/a_sAH2QGotE there's your techno
Or take the Bobby Orlando sounding driving beat in Le Jeté - La Cage Aux Folles (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzI2v0RJ8DQ) - a common track of the hot-mix 5. Or Massimo Barsotti's cover of Led Zepplins' Whole Lotta Love (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsEwWSs-t7w)
Or what about Stopps "I'm Hungry" from 1983? https://youtu.be/I26lP56-UeA ... this strange track was played in Chicago house clubs, Belgium pre rave new beat "acid house" parties and the early EBM scene. Pretty expansive one to leave out
And keeping things in the US, they always ignore the west coast, with outfits like Megatone records out of san francisco and gay club music (eg Hi-NRG) and people like Bobby Orlando.
Anyway the history is vast and rich and this article is essentially the same story that's always written. I dunno, I almost feel like this structure misses the boat. I know that's a big claim.
[+] [-] alisonatwork|4 years ago|reply
There used to be a great website called Deep House Page which archived loads of Hot Mix 5 mixes, and you could really hear just how diverse that early era of post-disco dance music was, before it even got pigeonholed into "house" or "techno" and the myriad of subgenres that came since. Sadly the page has disappeared, and I'm not sure where to find the mixes now.
Meanwhile, in parallel, people in other countries were experimenting with synthesizers and unconventional composition too. I remember finding mixtapes of an obscure Australian band called Hugo Klang (https://hugoklang.bandcamp.com/) who were doing techno-y stuff with the 303 a few years before Phuture put together their seminal tune.
Without a doubt the big names that everyone remembers as the progenitors were hugely influential. Already in the 90s people were writing articles that started out exactly like this one, so we're already a full generation into the myth. But it's still interesting to go digging and find all the other stuff that surely played a part in influencing all the other people whose stories never got written up.
[+] [-] tern|4 years ago|reply
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPN0gicPJTTUJVhVMzCne... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOfuXwU6GoQ
And I was surprised they mentioned Surgeon and Regis, but not their Downwards Records
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBilbhSIIhgKbRezA7RoO...
[+] [-] evanelias|4 years ago|reply
As a result, many people seem to think techno preceded house. But taking the view that Juan Atkins' early 80s work was basically electro and not yet really "techno", it's pretty clear that house was already quite prevalent prior to techno becoming a distinct genre.
And even then, early 80s italo-disco was leagues ahead of house in terms of production quality... a few of my personal favorites:
Charlie - "Spacer Woman" (1983) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZDPCjEoIMI
Klapto - "Mister Game" (1983) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQUVg-HCjEE
Mr Flagio - "Take a Chance" (1983) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDV_dBYp4h0
Fun Fun - "Happy Station" (1983) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb5B1C5PFVo
Meanwhile on the house side we have debatable-first-house-record Jesse Saunders "On and On" (1984) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUeMFG4wjJw. Although my personal favorite under-appreciated proto-house pick would actually be from nyc, Boyd Jarvis "The Music Got Me" (1983) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYfG8tcEl3E.
These articles always mention "Shari Vari" since it's so early (1981) and influential (and still good!) but I always find it odd that they omit so many great tracks from the next few years.
[+] [-] 3dee|4 years ago|reply
I always have a mixed feeling about music style classifications. It shifts focus from the music to discussions about what style a piece of music is.
Maybe techno originated from rhytmic tribe music. Who knows. Personally I don't care.
[+] [-] rorykoehler|4 years ago|reply
It's like a better version of Sven Vath's Electric Salsa.
BTW the link for Manuel Göttsching E2-E4 is the wrong one (duplicate of Hyponotic Tango). Here is the right link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys0HyevZpQg
[+] [-] DanBC|4 years ago|reply
From the YT description:
"As stated below by Jerry Calliste Jr., this video is not and original version of Hashim - Al Naafiysh (The Soul). Probably it was made for the purposes of one of the UK television programs, like " The Tube", during the early 80's. This recording is one of the first hip hop stories to be seen and published on the British Television. The track "Al Naafiysh (The Soul), was originally used for this video, added by unknown author or crew which worked on the video, as the only thing that was known so far, was Geoff Stern, the director."
One clue to this is that there isn't anyone smoking in the video, and the tube windows have a "no smoking" roundel. The smoking ban on the London Underground came in on the 9th July 1984.
[+] [-] jim-jim-jim|4 years ago|reply
Newcleus is fully sick though. I dunno if people overlook them as a gimmick or what, but the first album is just track after absolute track.
[+] [-] cpach|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] l33tbro|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] james-bcn|4 years ago|reply
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYH8DsU2WCk
[+] [-] radley|4 years ago|reply
That same year, Phuture released Acid Tracks which influenced Hawtin to make Spastik.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igNBeo3QSqc
[+] [-] insickness|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] calmoo|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ahartmetz|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Severian|4 years ago|reply
https://www.amazon.com/Energy-Flash-Journey-Through-Culture/...
[+] [-] tmearnest|4 years ago|reply
https://soundcloud.com/invite-1
[+] [-] emptyfile|4 years ago|reply
https://www.youtube.com/c/H%C3%96RBERLIN/videos
EDIT: There's craploads of content, a lot of styles, although I will observe that oldschool sounds have continued to come back in a big way in 2020. Rave, electro, acid.
Here's my favourite party set from 2020.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0qeZ1fpWwU
[+] [-] spiralx|4 years ago|reply
What sort of techno do you prefer? The artists I've got are mostly the tougher end of European techno, there's also some Detroit techno, acid techno and hard techno/schranz. You can look at my likes for my favourites...
https://soundcloud.com/spiralx/sets
I've also been into techno since the 90s and it's still my favourite thing in the world :) The combination of relentless kick drum and the constantly changing synths and percussion never fails to draw me in. It manages to sooth my ADHD with the constant heartbeat of the kick drum while the constant progression of everything else serves to keep my attention from wondering off after a few bars.
[+] [-] ceh123|4 years ago|reply
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1LSjVUxQk1Nrh7kHavZ4uu?si=...
[+] [-] laumars|4 years ago|reply
From there on you can follow an guest DJs who you like the style off.
Also when did “techno” become an umbrella term again? I was possessed off enough when “EDM” was redefined as a specific genre (and such a lousy one at that).
[+] [-] randomopining|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] aasasd|4 years ago|reply
(IIRC they were on Mixcloud previously, but parted ways for some reason.)
[+] [-] dylan604|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ylhert|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] you_know_the_|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] FuckButtons|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pas|4 years ago|reply
https://soundcloud.com/hate_music/sets/hate-podcasts
https://soundcloud.com/resident-advisor/sets/ra-podcasts
https://soundcloud.com/resident-advisor/sets/ra-podcast-arch...
[+] [-] bityard|4 years ago|reply
I maintain a YouTube playlist called "music to hack by" which is up to over 500 songs now. Basically the criteria are: 1) electronic 2) has a beat (no ambient) 3) few to no vocals, with only one or two exceptions
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2A7B99AB93F1E522
[+] [-] hahamrfunnyguy|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Jommi|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tbronchain|4 years ago|reply
disclaimer: I love techno
[+] [-] senorjazz|4 years ago|reply
Not really. Not in the in sense of where the music came from. I'd agree on an enjoyment level it taps into something similar. But the roots of the genre as far as I am aware owe nothing to tribal music.
[+] [-] Ariez|4 years ago|reply
This one has connected with me recently on that more tribal level!
[+] [-] wolverine876|4 years ago|reply
What tribes? Where? When?
Techno is the sound of automation, or as one of the Detroit originators said, 'like James Brown and Kraftwerk stuck in an elevator together'.
[+] [-] PicassoCTs|4 years ago|reply
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wPbNf1jhzM&t=2632s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hS9qK_Z1IM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhGXn9Qo9HA
[+] [-] PicassoCTs|4 years ago|reply
Bedrock For What you Dream off https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzHmXaUSL6o
Undeworld Born Slippy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQGOlawi6n0
[+] [-] bisRepetita|4 years ago|reply
I went from "techno is boom boom music" to "mind-blown" in one week. Forever.
Thank you Detroit, thank you New York City, and huge thank you Berlin.
[+] [-] vehemenz|4 years ago|reply
https://www.youtube.com/c/MixtapeMagic/videos
[+] [-] bogomipz|4 years ago|reply
WDR Electronic Music Studio was sponsored by the then West German state beginning in the early 1950s. Its charter was basically to promote a musical identity that was a contrast to the GDR's populist state music policy. Kraftwerk's Ralf Hutter listened to the radio broadcasts that came out WDR. Everyone from Karlheinz Stockhausen to Conny Plank worked out of WDR Studios. The following are couple of good articles on WDR Studio:
http://120years.net/wdr-electronic-music-studio-germany-1951...
and
https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2017/08/stockhausen-ph...
This is also a good article on the environment in and around Dusseldorf that birthed some of the artists mentioned in the Beatport article:
https://www.factmag.com/2016/02/02/dusseldorf-krautrock/
[+] [-] tomcam|4 years ago|reply
Combine that with the fact that Southern California set so many music trends, and literally nothing until about the Nirvana era was even remotely new to me for decades (and of course Nirvana’s music style isn’t particularly new to anyone who listened to the White Album or Iggy Pop, not that it’s not great music). It was all recycled constantly in the dance music world and continues to be to this day.
Techno and hiphop so obviously came out of these roots that I laugh every time someone names a new variant of EDM, which is about twice a week. Prince, Earth, Wind and Fire, and Kool in the Gang didn’t even call themselves R&B groups. They called themselves rock bands, intentionally. Nothing new etc.