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Techno

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Techno
Stylistic origins House, Electro, Synthpop, Disco, Dub, EBM, Funk, Chiptune
Cultural origins
  • Early-to-mid-1980s
  • Detroit (US)
  • Tokyo (Japan)
Typical instruments Drum machine (Roland TR-808 or TR-909), synthesizer
Derivative forms Big Room, Hardcore, Trance
Subgenres
Acid Techno, Bangin' Techno, Bleep Techno, Dark Techno, Deep Techno, Dreamtech, Hard Techno, Lo-Fi Techno, Melodic Techno, Minimal Techno, Peak Time Techno, Techno Kayƍ, Warehouse Techno
Fusion genres
Ambient Techno, Breakbeat Hardcore, Drum and Bass, Dub Techno, Electro House, Glitch Techno, Industrial Techno, Jungle, Tech House, Techstep, Wonky Techno
Regional scenes
Belgium, Germany, India, Japan, Netherlands, UK Techno, US
Local scenes
Berlin Techno, Birmingham Sound, Bombay, Detroit Techno, London, Tokyo, Yorkshire

Techno is a form of electronic dance music (EDM) that emerged in the mid-1980s, which possesses a purely synthetic sound (with the exception of occasional vocal samples) centered around a four-to-the-floor beat and mechanically precise rhythms from a drum machine (typically a Roland TR-808 or TR-909).

The term techno was originally coined in Japan as an abbreviation of techno-kayƍ ("techno-pop"), which initially meant electronic music more broadly (including Synth-Pop and Electro) during the late 1970s to early 1980s. Japanese techno-kayƍ artists, particularly in Tokyo, produced early forms of what is now known as techno during the early-to-mid-1980s. The techno genre would later be more clearly defined as a distinct genre of its own in Detroit, Michigan, during the mid-to-late 1980s. The popularity of Detroit techno in the United Kingdom during the Second Summer of Love in the late 1980s led to techno gaining worldwide popularity in the 1990s.

The early wave of Detroit techno are considered the foundation on which later techno styles were built on. In comparison to other major electronic music genres like House, Techno is often described as "soulless" (this is rather ironic as early pioneers of the style were inspired by very soulful music like funk), which is to say the sound is often robotic or mechanical, dark and consisting of themes that explore dystopian futuristic aesthetics.

Music journalists and fans of techno are generally selective in their use of the term; so a clear distinction can be made between sometimes related but often qualitatively different styles, such as tech house and trance. "Techno" is also commonly confused with generalized descriptors, such as electronic music and dance music.

History[]

Tokyo techno-kayƍ[]

Ryuichi Sakamoto - "Riot in Lagos" (1980)
Ryuichi Sakamoto's "Riot in Lagos" (1980)
Yellow Magic Orchestra - "1000 Knives" (1981)
"1000 Knives" from Yellow Magic Orchestra's BGM (1981)

The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in Japan during the late 1970s. The term techno‑kayƍ ("techno‑pop") and its abbreviation techno were originally coined in Japan to denote electronic music more broadly (including Synth-Pop and Electro) during the late 1970s to early 1980s. The techno-kayƍ genre was established by Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO), a Tokyo electronic music band consisting of Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi (and occasionally, Hideki Matsutake). They also popularized the term "techno" with titles such as "Technopolis" (1979),[1] Technodelic (1981), and "The Spirit of Techno" (1983). Japanese media used techno-kayƍ in reference to Japanese electronic bands such as YMO, P-Model and Plastics.[2] Most Japanese techno-kayƍ artists were based in Tokyo.

Examples of Tokyo techno-kayƍ in the late 1970s:

YMO's success led to Alfa Records establishing the Yen Label in 1980 to publish techno-kayƍ by YMO and associated experimental artists who also used the "techno" genre label, as can be seen with titles such as "Technobose" (1982) by Interior and "Techno Age" (1982) by Testpattern (Masao Hiruma and Fumio Ichimura).[2]

Japanese company Roland released the TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines in 1980 and 1983, respectively. Techno was, in large part, defined by the distinctive sounds from the TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines, particularly their deep, booming bass drums.[3] This led to techno-kayƍ evolving into what is now known as techno during the early 1980s. At the forefront of this evolution were the YMO trio, who were the first to produce instrumental techno-kayƍ tracks with TR‑808 and TR-909 beats. Various experimental techno-kayƍ tracks from YMO and associated Yen Artists anticipated the sound of what is now known as techno, with the YMO trio cited as a major influence on Detroit techno, for which YMO are considered godfathers of techno.[1][2]

Examples of Tokyo techno-kayƍ in the early 1980s:

Examples of Tokyo techno-kayƍ in the mid-1980s:

Examples of Tokyo techno-kayƍ in the late 1980s:

Examples of Tokyo Ambient Techno in the early 1990s:

Video game techno-kayƍ[]

Tokyo's techno-kayƍ scene, especially the YMO trio, heavily influenced Japanese video game music composers, some of whom anticipated the sound of what is now known as techno during the early‑to‑mid‑1980s. Sound chips such as the Ricoh 2A03 (used in Nintendo hardware) and Yamaha's FM synthesis chips (used in various arcade and computer systems) started featuring drum/percussion channels, which could produce sequenced beats that resemble drum machine beats. Combined with the influence of techno‑kayƍ, this led to early examples of techno-sounding music in various Japanese video games at the time. According to video game techno composer Yuzo Koshiro, "the sound of game music" was a precursor to "the techno music of today."[9]

Examples of video game techno-kayƍ in the early 1980s:

Examples of video game techno-kayƍ in the mid-1980s:

Examples of video game techno-kayƍ in the late 1980s:

Yuzo Koshiro discovered Detroit techno in Tokyo clubs towards the end of the 1980s, influencing his techno soundtracks for games such as Sega's Revenge of Shinobi (1989) and Streets of Rage series (1991‑1994) as well as Enix title Misty Blue (1990). With these soundtracks, Koshiro was able to overcome perceived sound chip limitations and simulate the sounds of the Roland TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines on a Yamaha FM chip.[3] This led to a techno boom in 16-bit video game music during the early 1990s.

Bombay proto-Techno[]

Charanjit Singh - "Raga Bhairavi" (1982)
"Raga Bhairavi" from Charanjit Singh's Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat (1982)

Several Indian disco songs from Bombay (now Mumbai) anticipated the sound of acid house and/or techno in the early 1980s, by combining disco music with the Roland TR-808 drum machine and/or TB-303 bass synthesizer.

Examples of Bombay proto-techno in the early 1980s:

Examples of Bombay techno or proto-techno during the mid-to-late 1980s:

Towards the end of the 1980s, Chicago house and/or Detroit techno began influencing the Bombay disco scene. This influence can be seen in Bappi Lahiri's "Habiba" (1988), which combined acid house/techno with Indian and Arabic music to produce an early example of trance music. Biddu also produced house and/or techno music in the late 1980s.

Detroit Techno[]

It was in Detroit, Michigan, where the techno genre would be clearly defined in the mid-1980s. Detroit's initial take on techno arose from blending house and electro with synth-pop by artists such as Kraftwerk, YMO, Giorgio Moroder and Tangerine Dream along with Hi-NRG and African-American music such as disco, funk and jazz.

Added to this is the influence of futuristic and fictional themes that are relevant to life in American late capitalist society—particularly the book The Third Wave by Alvin Toffler. 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 Afro-futurism. 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. In this manner: "techno dance music defeats what Adorno saw as the alienating effect of mechanization on the modern consciousness".

Early proto-techno songs from Detroit include "Shari Vari" (1981) by A Number of Names and Cybotron's "Techno City" (1984) but it was "No UFO's" (1985) by Juan Atkins (under the name Model 500) that largely defined the sound of techno and is thus considered the first true Detroit techno track.

Examples of Detroit proto-techno in the early 1980s:

  • Cybotron's "Alleys Of Your Mind" (1981) produced by Juan Atkins and Richard Davis
  • "Shari Vari" (1981) by A Number of Names
  • Cybotron's "Cosmic Cars" (1982) produced by Juan Atkins and Richard Davis
  • Cybotron's "Clear" (1983) produced by Juan Atkins and Richard Davis
  • Cybotron's "El Salvador" (1983) produced by Juan Atkins and Richard Davis

Examples of Detroit techno in the mid-1980s:

  • Cybotron's "Techno City" (1984) produced by Juan Atkins and Richard Davis
  • Model 500's "No UFO's" (1985) produced by Juan Atkins
  • X-Ray's "Let's Go" (1986) produced by Derrick May and Juan Atkins
  • Model 500's "Play It" (1986) produced by Juan Atkins
  • Kreem's "Triangle Of Love" (1986) produced by Kevin Saunderson, Derrick May and Juan Atkins

Examples of Detroit techno in the late 1980s:

Examples of Detroit minimal techno in the 1990s:

Euro Techno[]

German kraut rock band Kraftwerk came across the term "techno pop" while visiting Japan in 1982. They liked the term and announced their next album would be titled Techno Pop.[14] The Japanese usage of "techno" then started appearing in German media to describe electronic music more broadly, including bands such as Kraftwerk, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Depeche Mode, Gristle and Front 242. Kraftwerk's album ended up releasing as Electric Cafe instead in 1986, but contained the electro song "Techno Pop" (1986). German techno would later be derived from Detroit techno, following the genre's introduction from the United Kingdom towards the end of the 1980s.

Detroit techno was introduced to the United Kingdom in the late 1980s during the Second Summer of Love, popularized by Detroit techno hits such as Rhythim Is Rhythim's "Strings of Life" (1987) and Inner City's "Big Fun" and "Good Life" (1988). This led to the development of UK techno in the late 1980s. From there, Detroit techno was introduced to mainland Europe, leading to mainland Euro techno productions beginning to appear towards the end of the 1980s. In the 1990s, the UK, Belgium and Germany were the main hubs for Euro techno.

Examples of UK techno in the late 1980s:

Examples of Yorkshire bleep techno during the late 1980s to early 1990s:

Examples of UK techno in the early 1990s:

Examples of mainland Euro techno in the early 1990s:

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://pitchfork.com/features/afterword/ryuichi-sakamotos-borderless-brilliance/
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://boomkat.com/products/alfa-yen-records-1980-1987-techno-pop-and-other-electronic-adventures-in-tokyo
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Yuzo Koshiro (June 27, 2012). "Liner Notes". Bare Knuckle Original Soundtrack. Ben Schweitzer (trans). Wave Master, Square Enix Music Online. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  4. ↑ https://mixmag.net/feature/things-you-need-to-know-techno
  5. ↑ https://invisiblesandwichtm.wordpress.com/2018/10/24/yellow-magic-orchestra-bgm-1981/
  6. ↑ https://www.theransomnote.com/music/playlists/8-tracks-of-80s-japanese-funky-synth-fusion-w-kay-suzuki/
  7. ↑ Raw, Son (30 July 2016). "10 accidental grime tracks that predicted East London's signature sound". Fact. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  8. ↑ https://soundcloud.com/platform/mumdance-in-conversation-robin-carolan
  9. ↑ https://shmuplations.com/yuzokoshiro/
  10. ↑ https://artsandculture.google.com/story/plugging-in-the-indian-roots-of-electronic-music/fgXxZIcwghUvNw
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Geeta Dayal (29 August 2010). "'Studio 84â€Č: Digging into the History of Disco in India". The Original Soundtrack. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  12. ↑ William Rauscher (12 May 2010). "Charanjit Singh – Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  13. ↑ Geeta Dayal (6 April 2010). "Further thoughts on '10 Ragas to a Disco Beat'". The Original Soundtrack. Archived from the original on 2 September 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  14. ↑ 2009ćčŽăźăƒȘマă‚čă‚żăƒŒæ–°èŁ…ç‰ˆă§ăŻă‚żă‚€ăƒˆăƒ«ă‚’ă€ŽTECHNO POPă€ă«æˆ»ă—ăŠă„ă‚‹ă€‚
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