Detroit Techno: Evolution and Impact on Electronic Music

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Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan, in the United States during the mid-to-late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno in reference to a specific genre of music was in 1988. Many styles of techno now exist, but Detroit techno is seen as the foundation upon which a number of subgenres have been built. In Detroit, techno resulted from the melding of African American music including Chicago house, funk, electro, and electric jazz with electronic music by artists such as Kraftwerk, Giorgio Moroder, and Yellow Magic Orchestra. Stylistically, techno is generally repetitive instrumental music, often produced for use in a continuous DJ set. Many producers use retro electronic musical devices to create what they consider to be an authentic techno sound. Drum machines from the 1980s such as Roland's TR-808 and TR-909 are highly prized, and …show more content…

Unlike Chicago House, which has a lingering obsession with seventies Philly, and unlike New York Hip Hop with its deconstructive attack on James Brown's back catalogue, Detroit Techno refutes the past. Techno is a post-soul sound...For the young black underground in Detroit, emotion crumbles at the feet of technology. Despite Detroit's rich musical history, the young techno stars have little time for the golden era of Motown. As the 1980s came to a close, the difference between techno and house music became increasingly pronounced, with techno's instrumentation growing more and more adventurous. Presenting themselves as a sort of techno Public Enemy, Underground Resistance were dedicated to 'fighting the power' not just through rhetoric but through fostering their own autonomy. Any form of electronica genealogically related to Techno but departing from it in one way or

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