ORIGIN
- Techno is computerized music first created in the 1980s in Detroit, MI
- Juan Atkins is credited with being the originator
- Techno music was dance/club music
- For a time you could only got to underground dance parties to hear it
- Techno gained popularity in the UK before the US
- Techno came right after Disco
ELEMENTS
- ‘Four of the floor’- this element is the essence of Techno and the main identifier to label it Techno
- Four on the floor is a beat that has a steady for count. It can be identified in all of the music and this element is defines it as dance/club music
- Digital Audio Workstations were also a component artist used when making their records. With this, they were able to truly be creative and explore all avenues.
CREATORS
- Juan Atkins is known as the ‘Godfather of Techno Soul’
- Juan Atkins, Eddie Fowlkes, Kevin Saunderson, and Derrick May were the originators of Detroit Techno. They met in high school and formed the group, ‘The Belleville Three’. Their sound is described as ‘like George Clinton and the Kraftwerk stuck in an elevator’.
COMMODIFICATION
- Juan Atkins, Eddie Fowlkes, Kevin Saunderson, and Derrick May set the tone for many other artists to follow them.
- Their creation transformed computerized music.
- It would eventually turn into dubstep, downtempo, breakbeat, electro and EDM or electronic dance music. EDM is played at what is known as raves which are organized dance parties
OPINION & SUMMARY
- I thought it was very interesting that four friends from high school came together and made an entire genre
- Their content is the root for all electronic music today which is a multi million dollar business. Raves, festivals and dance parties are big business
- Personally, I like to listen to electronica music on Apple music and Soundcloud where I can listen to new artists.
- I am interested to see how far computerized music will go and what will come next out of it.